Michigan Wolverine Football: We’ll bring the stake, you bring the whine — Part I
Posted at 5:45am — 10/28/2014
Michigan Wolverine Football: We’ll bring the stake, you bring the whine — Part I
Nothing encourages acts of sheer idiocy like a college football rivalry. Trees have been killed, innocent spectators have been assaulted walking to their cars and passed-out fans have had genitalia bounced on their foreheads, all in the name of some alum’s alma mater or some crazed fan’s favorite team.
Then there are those acts of ridiculousness that are initiated by the participants themselves. Such was the case before, during and after Saturday’s Michigan- Michigan State game.
BEFORE THE GAME: As the Wolverines emerged from the tunnel at Spartan Stadium, junior linebacker Joe Bolden produced what appeared to be a stake and drove it into the turf, electrifying his teammates. Coach Brady Hoke later admitted in a written apology that it was a camping stake presented to his team the night before the game as part of a speech about—you guessed it— motivation. Specifically, staying together in a tough environment. He said he had no idea about what happened on the field, only that “we meant no disrespect to [Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio’s] team.”
How much wrong do we have here? Most video games don’t have as many levels. But I’ll touch on a few.
First off, scoreboard. 35-11.
Second, the fact that a message of solidary amid hostile surroundings could be so profoundly misinterpreted says a lot about this year’s team.
Third, while it’s assumed that Bolden’s bold statement might be backed up by action, it should at least be PRECEDED by something. Something more than a five-point win over Penn State and a 3-4 record.
Fourth, he just stabbed one of the two authentic grass playing surfaces in all of the B1G. Show a little respect for living things, will ya?
Fifth, this could backfire and become the latest in a long string of embarrassing events that symbolize not only the Wolverines’ season, but the current state of the football program as a whole.
And sixth… just spitballing here, but what if it riles up the home team, who happen to be 17-point favorites? Before the start of a game Michigan had less chance of winning than any in the last half century?
DURING THE GAME: With 3:40 remaining, Michigan found their way into the end zone and cut the MSU lead to 28-11. Any hope at all rested in recovering the ensuing onside kick. They didn’t.
The Spartans fell on the ball, and on third and 2 from the Michigan 40, running back Jeremy Langford rumbled through the battered Wolverine defense for a first down. With a 17-point lead, a minute and change on the clock, and the Wolverines with no timeouts, it’s game over for Sparty, right?
Nope. Rather than taking a knee, Dantonio preferred kicking Michigan in the head. With the first-string unit still in the game, State continued running it down the Wolverines’ throats, with Langford finishing off the seven-play drive from five yards out and 28 seconds left.
Unlike Ohio State’s Wayne Woodrow Hayes, who in 1968 brought in his starters and scored a last-minute touchdown against Michigan with a 44-14 lead, Dantonio didn’t go for two points because he “couldn’t go for three”. But he was motivated by a loathing of all things maize and blue that ran just as deep.
Before his current seven-year reign, Dantonio was a member of Nick Saban’s staff at MSU for five years and Bobby Williams’ staff for a sixth. He also spent time in Columbus, first as a graduate assistant under Earle Bruce from 1983-84, then as defensive coordinator from 2001-03, following Jim Tressell to Buckeye country after five years as his DC at Youngstown State. He even endured a 28- 10 defeat at the hands of Bo Schembechler’s 1981 Wolverines as a graduate assistant at Purdue (ironically, under Bo’s former DC Jim Young).
In short, he hates Michigan. And like Woody, he won’t miss an opportunity to let it be known.
Part II we will discuss after the game.
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Written by GBMWolverine Writer — Chris Hill
Go Blue — Wear Maize!