EAST LANSING Bo would be ashamed.
Hes in heaven right now saying privately between Lombardi and The Bear in front of the locker room chalkboard in coaching Valhalla that hed rather have Michigan States team than Michigans.
And hed want it because as much as he loved what he built in Ann Arbor he cant help but accept that the Spartans have paid rightful homage to his legacy of physical manhood defining football.
Road losses happen. But Saturdays in Spartan Stadium was a Michigan loss that struck at the core of the principles Bo Schembechler instilled in this program and to this day serves as its Holy Grail. The Wolverines got obliterated by a Michigan State team that isnt all that great but at least is very comfortable in its identity playing good defense limiting offensive mistakes and controlling the line of scrimmage.
Michigan missed again.
Michigan States 29 6 victory applied the notary stamp to another failed season for the Wolverines. Their nearly decade long Big Ten championship drought now continues unabated. Conference titles were the minimal standard Brady Hoke established for his program setting an expectation for a program that now only through a delusional fog still believes that it is one of college footballs national power brokers.
I dont think theres a gap Hoke said afterward when attempting to explain why the Spartans had won five of the last six games in this series. I think they played awfully well and executed awfully well.
I dont think we did.
But thats an awfully poor excuse considering the 23rd ranked Wolverines came off a bye week. Its laughable considering the challenge Hoke put forth to his players in the days preceding this rivalry renewal to re establish the physicality thats embedded in the Michigan football brand.
Michigan ran for minus 48 yards against the 24th ranked Spartans.
In other words Michigan Team 134 had the worst single game rushing performance in school history.
Bo is spinning in his grave over that statistic.
We just have to compete better said offensive tackle Taylor Lewan almost exhaustingly tired of having to apply the same excuse every week for why U M doesnt play with the necessary consistency.
But credit Lewan for being classy following the onslaught and graciously shaking hands with The Victors afterward while most of the vanquished Wolverines immediately headed for the locker room and bypassed any postgame niceties.
This game in many ways was an absolute joke. An opportunity was there for a Big Ten national showcase. But not surprisingly this game merely confirmed what truly honest observers already recognized what the locals reflexively pass off as important became little more than an another opportunity for the nation to look at the Big Ten and regret that it invested more than five minutes watching.
Im sure its a big deal for Spartans the players the staff the fans that they have beaten the Wolverines five times in the last six years. But if you actually looked at the state of Michigan football a program of far more style than substance then you cant help wonder exactly how big of a victory is it
Michigan looked demoralized afterward. But it wasnt surprising that the Wolverines fared as poorly as they did. It appeared all week that they expected a whisk of pixie dust to suddenly materialize to cure the fundamental ills of this team following two weeks of preparation.
The excuses will emerge. Theyre still young. Theyre still suffering the lingering effects of the Rich Rodriguez toxin to the bloodstream.
But there comes a point in any programs evolution where the coaches must properly develop what they possess. Hoke isnt doing that. Hes living off the reputation of overhyped recruiting rankings while watching his team getting smacked in the mouth by players who werent highly regarded in recruiting circles.
Bottom line This ISNT Michigan.
Its soft and desperate for the mercy of opponents. And the Spartans werent in a merciful mood Saturday.
Contact Drew Sharp dsharp freepress.com . Follow him on Twitter drewsharp.
What will be the biggest story coming out of Saturday's game
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