The same thing happened with Penn State in the tunnel. And Harbaugh played dumb about it. It’s an archaic stadium and process for both teams to enter and exit the same tunnel.
FWIW… I love this take by CJF…
- Thread starter EricStratton-RushChairman
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What happened with PSU in the tunnel was drastically different and not even worthy of comparing. Some sandwiches were thrown back and forth between teams. That is in no way remotely close to MSU players ganging up on a single UM player and beating him with a helmet.
I get that, but the common denominator is Michigan.
Much respect and appreciation for the analysis, thank you!
To me though, it boils down to this: let’s imagine the margins of victory for Nebraska and Penn State had been reversed that November 5th weekend. I find it hard to believe we would not have then been much closer to them in first place votes, with at least a fighting chance of coming out on top in the end.
That, plus: I distinctly remember how pi$$ed I was when Indiana had their late score to bring the margin that close, and how I felt that would bite us. My (then “to be”, now “long ex”) wife thought I was being ridiculous because “we won the game.” So it stuck in my craw, and I recall feeling in real time the rest of that season that that “non-quality win” remained an anchor dragging us down.
It’s both interesting and frustrating to debate, because there’s no right answer — at least, not that we’ll ever know!
Exactly. If beating OSU by 50 doesn't impress the voters, there is no number against Indiana that would have.
And yet, and I'm going from memory here, Nebraska's subsequent 13-3 win over a middling Oklahoma team didn't move the needle the other way. Mind you Choklahoma and Indiana both finished, I think, 6-5 that year.
You can comfort (or discomfort, your choice) yourself with this simple fact: Tom Osborne was getting his MNC that year barring a loss.
If we had beaten Indiana 35-14 the result would have been precisely the same.
If I recall, Nebraska also struggled for 3 qtrs against Iowa State, who was at the bottom of the Big 8 and about as bad a 'major' team in the country that year (worse than Indiana). I think Nebraska won by something like 28-12, but it was maybe 14-12 late in the 3rd or maybe into the 4th. That didn't hurt them with the voters.
Our win over IU was far more dominating for 58 minutes, other than the final 2 minutes with our backups playing.
To many, it demonstrated that the voters, both 'coaches' and media, didn't bother to look into what happened in the game, or even read box scores, but just looked at the final score.
The real reason was the Big10 screwed PSU…continues unabated to this day…
I can't recall how voters voted but I seem to remember Big Ten media not supporting PSU in their voting. Looking back at the polls Nebraska always a lot of first place votes.
What hurt PSU more than anything that season was weeks earlier when Michigan allowed Colorado QB Kordell Stewart to complete a Hail Mary TD pass to WR Michael Westbrook to win the game. If Michigan had not screwed up, Colorado would not have moved up in the polls and the Colorado-Nebraska game later in the season would not have had the same significance, and the Nebraska win would not have carried the same weight.
Funny thing is I was in Paris that weekend on business and a PSU fan in the airport waiting room excitedly proclaimed that Michigan had lost to Colorado on a Hail Mary pass on the last play. My first thought, without knowing exactly why at the time, was "this is not good for PSU." Perhaps I was thinking it would be better for Michigan to be undefeated when we played them.
And speaking of teams that did PSU no favors that season, let's not forget that in the Orange Bowl played the day before the Rose Bowl, Nebraska, who had a history of not doing well vs. Miami, trailed 17-9 with about 8 minutes left, and Miami seemed to be taking control of the game. Of course, Nebraska rallied to score two TDs over the next 6 minutes to win the game and stay at #1.
I remember thinking we had it in the bag because Nebraska had lost their previous seven bowl games. It's amazing what happens when you get away from your homer refs. Check out Ohio State and Michigan in bowl games.
Nebraska is 26-27 all time.
Ohio State is 27-29.
Michigan is 23-29.
Penn State is 31-20-2.
Yes, Miami lost that game as much or more than Nebraska won it. They were running the ball pretty well, but in the 4th decided to throw the ball deep too often to try to get the clinching score instead of controlling the ball and the clock. Their D was tired in the 4th, probably because of their ongoing theatrics after any moderately successful play they made.
Oregon was on an upward trend late in the season. I said that they would have probably beaten Nebraska by that point in the season. Miami had peaked in early November, and while still a very good team, wasn't quite the same as they had been earlier in the season.
I will always believe that we would have beaten Nebraska on the field. Still for me, identical 12-0 records, with no playoffs, both teams from major conferences -- should be no worse than a shared NC. Imo, that and 1969, with very similar circumstances to 1994, (my opinion being just as valid as any poll voter those years), are 2 more National Titles for PSU.
I'll cede on 1968 and 1973, even with playoffs, and I love our chances in a playoff system in 1977 and 1981. We lost the '78 and the '85 title games in as true a Championship game as we could get in those years, and winning those title games in '82 and '86. Quite a run of elite success from 1968 thru 1994, with touches of great success in a few seasons after. Here's to another run at that now that we have the playoff system - starting Saturday vs. Oregon.
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I always thought that SAS the case as well but, when I looked at the polls it really wasn't the case other than Colorado stayed undefeated and started to climb.
The real takeaway that I had from looking into it further was first, it was not how I remembered it happening and two I'm not sure it matters what Penn State did as long as Nebraska was undefeated.
False. Michigan created the situation. Franklin told them the tunnel was a problem.
Michigan actually added seating and narrowed the tunnel. After the MSU fight Michigan removed the seats.
Michigan even had an incident this year with fresno state. It is the Michigan culture.
WATCH: Michigan and Fresno State exchange words in tunnel at the Big House
One of the benefits of being a sideline photographer is that you really get a sense of the vibe throughout the game, and it was clear that things were a little
www.si.com
Meh, I disagree.
He justified it well, even if he was generous with “3s and 4s”, and sure, you give them the chance to play football.
But, 4 seconds left, inside the 5, up 38-7, and you throw?
I won’t say classless, but it’s certainly not the accepted norm; 99/100 times, coaches go Victory formation there.
That 6 points, extrapolated over 12 games, represents an extra .5 point differential increase. Not exactly eye-popping difference that will make the CFP committee stand up.
If the score were 17-7, and that score put us up 23-7, then ok, that looks like a more dominant win on paper.
In the media, there was only downside: no one is writing articles about Franklin’s getting his backups run, the only story line is how Locksley was pissed or that Franklin “rankles” Maryland with late score.
IMO, very little to gain, and a whole lot of bad look.
Overall, I really don’t think it’s a big deal, but we shouldn’t pretend he was absolutely justified in what he chose to do, or that his explanation clears that decisions.
My $.02
Good take. My feeling is that what does Locksley even have going for him at this point other than the chance to get some press over getting “rankled?” In that sense we did him a favor IMO
Besides, it’s Maryland… just go ahead and score on the b@$tards.It isn't PSU’S job to stop scoring....it is our opponent's job to stop PSU. I was pleased to hear CJF's remarks after that incident....that last play score was all backup players and he needs to let them execute the whole playbook and not be restricted like Tommy Steven's and Will Levi's were, running plays only.
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Obviously James doesn't get it, lol, when did Beau P become a 3rd stringer
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