In case you don't know about this, Appalachian State University, a few miles up the road, bested a much larger, by a cosmic scale, opponent Saturday. (Sample comparison: "...Compare the schools' spending power. App State's football budget is $1.5 million. Michigan is in the middle of a $226 million renovation of its stadium"...)
NCAA Football - CBSSports.com: "...The Beatdown in the Big House shouldn't have happened. But neither should Watergate, 9/11 or the Iraq War. The difference is that Lloyd stood in front of God and man Saturday and took the blame. It was his fault, he said. That put him miles ahead of a couple of presidents on the accountability scale.
Yes, coaches always blame themselves after games like this, then they go into a meeting and rip the staff a new one. But Lloyd fell on the sword in a genuine way. There was plenty of blame to go around. Defensive coordinator Ron English doesn't look so hot right about now. Neither does kicker Jason Gingell, who couldn't clear a backyard fence in the fourth quarter. Neither does the defense that was completely surprised by the Mountaineers speed..."
Sometimes it is hard for people to remember that the eleven people on the field are the ones playing the game, not the budget, not the perceived power, not the reputation, not the sportswriters. Over the last decade, ASU has regularly drubbed my more local team, WCU. In fact, I've been told ASU no longer considers WCU a rival, just a contemptible little school they've been playing for 50 years or so before ASU found a string of wealthy benefactors in the 80's and 90's and became a football powerhouse. Well, who knows? Whatever. It is interesting that there is far more hand-wringing over Michigan's loss than there is congratulations over App's victory. I say congratulations to App for really pulling one off (my daughter is an App alumnus so I kinda have a dog in the fight [excuse me, Michael].) Just remember when you face the Catamounts, like Michigan has learned, karma is a bitch.
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