Minnesota is 4-1 (and 1-0 in the Big Ten) after beating Michigan in Ann Arbor, despite the fact that the Wolverines were favored by double digits. The Gophers dominated both sides of the ball, riding a balanced offense (167 yards passing by Mitch Leidner, 233 from scrimmage by David Cobb) and a defense that got to play against the Michigan offense (3.4 yards per passing attempt and three yards per rush, with two turnovers).
Minnesota vs. Michigan final score: 3 things we learned from Gophers’ 30-14 upset
The Little Brown Jug is going to Minneapolis, and the Wolverines’ leadership is going to be looking for new work soon.
Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
The Golden Gophers’ sad recent record against Michigan? It’s suddenly a thing of the past. The Little Brown Jug, among the oldest rivalry trophies [corrected] in college football, is Minnesota’s for the first time since 2005.
Things are *BAD* at Michigan. http://t.co/ZGNQhDVN2L pic.twitter.com/yYztED0iDL
— SB✯Nation CFB (@SBNationCFB) September 27, 2014 Three things we learned
Our sites on these teams
1. Brady Hoke is as gone as gone can be. His boss might be, too.
On the field, the Wolverines have lost to two rivals in five games (and yes, Minnesota counts as a rival when it takes away a trophy), surrendered home-field advantage in Ann Arbor to a former Mountain West team, been shut out in a game for the first time in two decades, and generated almost unfathomably bad offense overall.
Off the field, athletic director Dave Brandon’s program has goofed up marketing, fan retention, and just about everything else -- and that’s just this week. There’s plenty more.
We said a couple weeks ago Michigan would have to reach nine regular-season wins in order to justify keeping Hoke. Reaching that would mean winning at Michigan State and Ohio State, not to mention the five other teams that might also be better than Michigan.
And the faintest hopes only live if top player Devin Funchess, a wide receiver, can remain healthy -- he was hobbled again in the final minutes.
2. Hooray for Minnesota!
Let’s not let the fog of embarrassment that is Michigan rob us of the fact that the Golden Gophers went to Ann Arbor and won, for only the third time since 1962. The Jug is Minnesota’s, fair and square, and with Northwestern, Purdue, Illinois and Iowa up next, consecutive bowl bid No. 3 is looking like a safe bet for Jerry Kill’s squad.
3. Michigan is a program with no one at the wheel. In the fourth quarter, a potentially concussed Shane Morris was left in for another play (a pass!) after taking a shot to the chin. Passive voice, there, because it's hard to say anyone was in charge of leaving the quarterback in. He staggered around on a teammate's arm, waved at the sideline, and just remained on the field. No adults did anything about it. Oh, and he'd hurt his ankle earlier, too.
Former starter Devin Gardner entered the game after Morris eventually made his way off the field. A defender knocked his helmet off, meaning by rule he had to leave the field for a play. As third-string quarterback Russell Bellomy put on his helmet, someone sent Morris back in.
The Wolverines could have spent a timeout in order to avoid either putting in their third-stringer or the potentially concussed Morris, but they did not.
To summarize: Michigan pulled its best quarterback and replaced him with one who needed multiple injuries in order to leave the field, and then when its best quarterback had to leave for a play, someone chose to send the hurt guy back in, with two better options available. All in the fourth quarter, with the game essentially out of reach.
Michigan football is a creaking barge sailing over a waterfall.
See More:
