I come before you today as someone who certainly isn’t himself. I am in such an utter state of shock at this point in time that I still don’t completely know how to explain what I am about to try to. The word disappointment nowhere near describes what this latest Michigan loss has meant to me as a longtime fan and diehard supporter of the Michigan Wolverines. I am not sure I even know what to say, much like the players. When you cheer on a team and die hard when they lose like I do with Michigan, at times teams really do let you down. But losing in this manner the way they did against who they lost to makes this one a loss that I don’t think I will ever be able to forget or even stomach for as long as I am alive to appreciate college football. There simply was no excuse for this horrendous Michigan meltdown and they flat out deserved to lose. Playing this bad, at home against 1-AA  Appalachian State? Are you f^&king kidding me? I’m disappointed, embarrassed and ashamed. Those are the 3 best words I can come up with. And all I am is a fan. What must the Wolverine players be thinking today as they now prepare for Oregon? Does it matter as much to them now? Will they lay another goose egg on Saturday? We’ll see.

The game started out well. Michigan’s highly praised offense brought the ball right straight down the field with very little struggle and punched it in for 6. There really was no worry at this point for me. Why would there be? I was telling people that the Michigan D was brutal but I figured…”It’s a 1-AA team. How bad can it be?” The answer is…BAD! VERY BAD! HORRENDOUS! INEXCUSABLE! Again… DISAPPOINTING! Appalachian State began rolling all over the Michigan defense going right down the field and getting an easy 7 to tie the game on a game breaking play. My worries officially began until Michigan got 7 right back. From there though, 21 straight Appalachian points went on the scoreboard and I began being sick to my stomach. Mike Hart claimed after the game that he never worries about being down and that he knows the offense will come back. Well at this point was that really true though? A weak field goal before halftime made it 28-17 for Appalachian State and I was already embarrassed to even be sporting a Maize and Blue – Mike Hart jersey that day. A 41.5 spread in favor of Michigan, only to be losing by 11 at the half? Lloyd Carr wouldn’t even talk to reporters at halftime and I don’t blame him. There usually isn’t a reason for his lack of class that he shows reporters but on this day, I wasn’t shocked by him not wanting to speak. It was a different Michigan team in the second half but big deal right? The improved Michigan D was already exposed in one half of football and already lost its dignity at the hands of Appalachian State who basically toyed with the Wolverines in the first half of play and embarrassed the entire University of Michigan.

The second half was a much better effort. I didn’t think the offense clicked on all cylinders from an entire game standpoint but they were better throughout then the defense was. The defense really clamped down in the 2nd half (after the damage had already been done). Chad Henne, however, in my opinion took a huge step back in his Michigan career in this half. I thought he looked absolutely brutal and Michigan paid for it. I do have to give them slight credit though. They did come back. Thanks to Mike Hart and his 188 rushing yards, Michigan actually took the lead late in the game, even had an interception and I thought at that point they had survived a scare. This is the humiliating Wolverines though and anything is possible. The Michigan D collapsed again when it mattered the most – down the stretch allowing Appalachian State to kick the game winning field goal. It never fails to amaze me how much this Michigan team toys with your emotions back and forth in such an up and down game like this towards the end. The bomb to Mario Manningham (silent for much of the afternoon) was complete, setting up potentially the game winning kick for Michigan. This is what gets me. How can an All-American (Corey Lynch) NOT BE F&*KING BLOCKED? Of all people on the most important play of the game…how? I’d rather take the delay of game penalty (I’m not saying do that but its better then losing) and make sure all blockers were accounted for then allow this terrible, rotten football play to even transpire. Absolutely terrible and like I said, Michigan deserves to lose and I am f%$king IRATE about the coaching on Saturday afternoon.

So the final score was 34-32 for Appalachian State and what they are calling THE BIGGEST UPSET IN NCAA HISTORY was complete. Appalachian State’s players were celebrating and going crazy and for what it’s worth I do feel happy for them. They deserve all of it. To come into the biggest stadium in college football and beat the SUPPOSED powerhouse Wolverines is simply a crowning achievement for them and again, they deserve to celebrate it. For Michigan there is no excuse to even have that team in the same game as them let alone have this huge upset pulled. I am speechless. I don’t have the words any longer. But why was the upset pulled in the first place? Lloyd Carr claimed that it’s the fault of the coaching staff in that this team simply wasn’t prepared. I know there is a tendancy to overlook teams of this caliber but HOW CAN YOU be so unprepared that a joke team (in the big picture of division 1A but certainly not in 1AA) simply walks all over you? How can a Michigan defense allow an AA school to have their way with them? It just doesn’t make any sense to me and it’s so depressing it’s almost downright comical.

I guess the biggest question at Michigan now would be, “Is Lloyd Carr’s job in jeopardy?” I think the thought has finally reached everyone now from the athletic department in Bill Martin…all the way down. That being said though, with Carr having what is said to be the final decision on this matter it’s unlikely that he will go anywhere. This much we know. But this is what I think SHOULD happen… Lloyd Carr should resign. That’s the bottom line here. You simply don’t fire a man who brought a national title to Michigan, who recruits like he’s an absolute genius and who has had a lot of overall success at the university. To me (and I don’t care where this game lies in the season), this upset game was the last straw for Carr, who all of a sudden can’t win bowl games, the Ohio State game or, sadly enough the bogus games like this one, but, there is too much overall pride here to insult Carr with a firing. I don’t even think you force him to quit. All I am saying is that if you are Lloyd Carr you have to realize something here. The players no longer respond to your style of coaching much of the time. There are too many weaknesses in the coaching staff on the whole and in the way the players play on the field. There have been plenty of disappointing losses throughout your tenure to realize this and correct it but obviously the corrections have not been made consistently. There really is no other choice here. As far as I am concerned, if Lloyd Carr had any decency about the program and its future, after this loss, it’s in my opinion that in the best interest of Michigan that he should resign. CASE CLOSED.

Like I said earlier, there has never been a more disappointing Michigan loss in my lifetime then Saturday. The good thing is it gives Michigan a chance to learn their lesson early in the season, when it matters the least. So they can’t win the National Title now. Were they good enough to win it anyway? Obviously not. Now, all that matters is winning the Big Ten. After Saturday’s game you may not think that’s possible but, perhaps that’s as low as Michigan can go and as bad as they can possibly play? As long as this loss wasn’t in the BIG TEN anything is still possible. Since it’s unlikely that Carr will be fired or be forced to resign as I mentioned, about the only thing that can now make this season successful for Lloyd is a victory over Wisconsin and especially, a victory over OSU in Michigan at the end of the year. Those goals look almost impossible now though. Good thing for the victors valiant that those games are so late in the season.

Michigan is 0-1. A horrible upset loss to Appalachian St? SIGH. I didn’t think I would ever see the day. Coach Schembechler is rolling over in his grave. Coach Carr…I’ve been a long time supporter of yours but I really think the time is now. Stick to recruiting only. This team needs to find a new coach. They need someone they’ll respond to, someone who recruits more overall team speed, someone who can stop a running QB and someone who can defend against the spread offense…something that has certainly evaded Carr’s Wolverines. But mainly, they need someone who can beat AA schools. Is that asking for much? In Lloyd Carr’s prestigious regime, apparently it is.

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