Some thoughts from the sidelines
I parked my car at a friend’s house about a mile from the stadium. He gave me permission to park there since media parking spots were already sold out when I was granted a pass. I got to the house a little after 5 PM Saturday. There was a couple dozen people there, some in MSU gear, some in um gear, and a couple in Indiana shirts. Right before I started walking to the stadium, I met one of my friend’s coworkers on the driveway, an um supporter. He congratulated me on the MSU victory. I told him not to try that reverse-jinx nonsense on me; he doubled-down.
This was supposed to be a big day for me. I was finally getting photographer credentials so I could be on the field. I had gotten this for one previous basketball game, but despite requesting it for every home football game, I’ve never received one. um was happy to grant my request though. So I get to the stadium and try finding the place I was supposed to go to get my credentials. Most of the stadium employees I asked did not know where to tell me to go. Half of those who did think they know told me the wrong thing. At one point, a woman security guard began yelling at me because I went toward a door that her colleague told me to go to. When I yelled back at her to tell her to stop yelling, an ann arbor cop got in my face. This place is awful.
I finally did get inside, got my vest, and went into the media room just off the tunnel (yes, that tunnel). This room was embarrassingly undersized. For a stadium that boasts to be the biggest in the land, you would expect more from its amenities. I went out onto the field about an hour before the game to catch some of the warmups. I bumped into Alan Haller along the sidelines. I went up to him and introduced myself, and then asked him how he was feeling about the game. He said he did not know. “This isn’t when the game is decided.” I also bumped into Steven Izzo hanging out on the field and I reminded him of the encounter we had back at Senior Day . And of course, I got to say hello to his father. Okay, enough name dropping. Let’s get to the actual game.
I won’t get into too much detail as you all saw it and know what happened. MSU got the ball first, drove right down the field, got to the one-yard line, got forced to fourth down, got called for a penalty when they were going to go for it, and then missed a FG. Every football game is decided by two or three plays. The rest is just filler. Those points left on the board were the first of these determining plays from this game, especially if we could have gotten seven. Imagine if MSU had scored the touchdown there. If the next two drives would have played out the same, MSU’s defense forcing a punt and then the offense getting right back down the field and finding paydirt, this game could have been 14-0. How would that have changed how um would have played after that?
Shortly before halftime, MSU was leading 7-6 and had the ball. We picked up one first down on the ground, but on the next play, a scrambling Aidan Chiles got run down from behind and had the ball stripped out of his arms. um recovered the ball at the MSU 34 with 12 seconds to go in the first half. The home team ran one play, getting a first down, and then kicked a field goal to move ahead 9-7 going into the locker room. The Aidan fumble/um FG is the second crucial moment of the game. How much confidence did um gain by having a halftime lead after being largely outplayed for most of the first 30 minutes of play?
The second half was rough. um opened the 3rd with a touchdown to go up 16-7. MSU came right back with a FG to get within 16-10. Then it went punt, punt, um touchdown. The cheaters were up 24-10 with 13:20 to go in the game. It looked bleak, but MSU responded with a touchdown of their own to keep some hope alive. Unfortunately, that drive chewed up over seven minutes of clock. Fortunately, MSU forced the three-and-out, and even more fortunately, um’s punt made it only as far as midfield.
So with 4:34 left in the game, the Spartans had the ball down by seven. The drive got off to about as bad of a start as possible, an intentional grounding penalty on Chiles that put MSU in a 2nd & 24 back at the 35-yard line. But successive passes of 14 and 30 yards moved us to um’s 21. Three-yard run, false start, incomplete pass, seven-yard completion. MSU had a 4th & 5 at the two-minute notification. The final play of this drive is going to be dissected over and over. Could Chiles have run for the first? Did he miss a read? Did the offensive line fail? Did the receivers not make themselves open? This was the third and final of the plays that determined the outcome, and all three went the other way.
In this week’s weather report , Steve gave cloud #1 to the coaching. Now I am going to elaborate on this. Yes, play calling was not good. We weren’t aggressive enough when we should have been (seven-minute drive down by two scores in the 4th). We got aggressive when we shouldn’t have (onside kick). And there were several other faults that can be pointed out. That is not what my take is about.
I am a massive Detroit Lions fan. For the last four seasons, I have enjoyed having Dan Campbell as my team’s head coach. This guy is full of personality. He is excitable and illustrated and vocal and amped up at all times. He is a master motivator and is getting the most out of his team.
Jonathan Smith is not that kind of guy. He is probably a really good practice coach and an X’s & O’s guy as this team is fundamentally better right now than they were in the early portion of the season, and much MUCH better than last year. But I question his in-game demeanor. I spent most of this game, and the entirety of the second half, in the vicinity of the MSU bench. I tried to watch Coach Smith as much as possible, especially in between possessions. I wanted to see what he said to his team when they came off the field or before going back out. Particularly, I had wanted to see him have a (heated) conversation with Chiles after that fumble just before halftime. All I saw was Chiles come to the sideline and have a seat. Maybe I should have found Izzo and asked him to tear into the quarterback.
Our coach simply has a very calm demeanor. Whenever I saw him on the sideline, he was just strolling around by himself, his arms usually crossed and a monotone look on his face. I rarely saw him talking to his players. I never saw him trying to get his squad ready for the moment. He always has the same energy and expression, regardless of situation and circumstance. I do not see him as someone who is capable of lighting a fire under his players’ behinds. And maybe that is what is wrong with this team right now. No one is tearing into them when they mess up, especially when it is a mistake that has been made repeatedly. False start penalties. Poor ball security. These things deserve a reprimand.
After the game, Coach Smith came into the undersized media room for his press conference. He began with his prepared statement, reciting a few lines with little emotion, and then fielded questions. I asked about the fumble, wanting to know if Chiles simply did not feel the pressure or if it was a case of him not securing the ball. Smith responded, “I didn’t deeply ask him. I mean, he’s got to be aware. He’s running. There’s a guy trailing him, but obviously thought he had another step or two.” Go back to that first sentence. “I didn’t deeply ask him.” How are you not having that conversation with your quarterback? This has been an ongoing issue all season.
So here is my take. There are things I like about this team. I see talent in these players. I see hunger in them and a resolve to never quit in games. However, I do not see a coach who is addressing and correcting the biggest issues. And I do not see a coach who is getting his team energized and playing with the intensity and urgency that is required. And until those things change, this team will continue to lose games that even the other team’s fans are chalking up as a loss even before it starts. Alan Haller’s words to me turned out to be right.
I know I have already spoken about myself a bunch in this article. One more thing, since I have not posted about this in a while. Please take a few minutes to check out my own blog, “O For 4 ”. I kick out a new issue every week or two. You can leave comments on that one, as well. Thanks in advance.