• Deserving Better (Ohio 26, Michigan 21)

    I left Columbus with more questions.   Like many of you I’m puzzled why Denard wasn’t used in the second half especially down the stretch.   If he was hurt and out of commission he sure didn’t look it in the postgame and Hoke didn’t say as much in the postgame.  While Hoke never really talks about injuries, it’s not like there’s some gamesmanship required here—the bowl game is five weeks away.   And let’s say he was dinged up and couldn’t run the ball for some reason–toss him in the backfield as a decoy, no?    Other than the lack of Denard down the stretch, the other frustration was how he was used in short yardage.   He showed no indication that he was ever going to pass it and really didn’t throw in warm-ups.    So if you aren’t going to have him throw it–at any point–then on short yardage put him in the backfield with Gardner and hand it or toss it to Denard, or fake it to #16 and have Gardner run it, or toss it to Gallon or ARGH.  After the 2001 Michigan State Spartan Bob game Lloyd Carr summed up how he felt about his team, when he said, “They deserve better.”    Kovacs was on the brink of tears in the postgame.  The defense made huge players to keep Michigan…