Did Michigan's Punter Go to Classes today?

It what might have been the most weird and improbable way to an end a game, Michigan's punter has certainly been the goat sacrificed at the altar of Michigan fans' and head coach.



Do you think he went to class today?

SpiffCoug wrote:
It what might have been the most weird and improbable way to an end a game, Michigan's punter has certainly been the goat sacrificed at the altar of Michigan fans' and head coach.



Do you think he went to class today?

Oh Geez, I am still in shock over that one. I don't think the kid got out of bed let alone went to classes. Not only did he muff catching the ball but instead of just falling on the ball and forcing a long FG attempt, he simply lateraled the ball to an opposing player and escorted him into the end zone. That was the most incredible way to lose a football game I could possibly not imagined.

Poor kid's been through hell; best of luck to him.



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He's actually received death threats.



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KingCoug wrote:
He's actually received death threats.



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That is really sad. The kid didn't mean to do what he did. No one deserves this type of treatment, especially a college student. Football just simply is not that important.

I stood there with my jaw dropped for at least two minutes. This was the wackiest way to lose a game I have seen since the "kick 6."



Best thing for Michigan fans is to emphasize the team element. And, I'm pretty sure Michigan State did all they could to bring the house for a block. Some credit goes to them for perhaps making it a panicky kind of catch for the punter.



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A bizarre thought here, but the MI punter is also a rugby player yes? I wonder in the desperation of the moment, after he dropped the snap,that auto reflexes kicked in and he did a rugby lateral like in a rugby match? Problem is that he lateralled to an MSU player. Sad moment for the kid.

I think maybe for a second Jim Harbaugh forgot he's playing with college kids and not seasoned NFL types. How often do you see a botched punt attempt in the NFL? Those guys are much less likely to mess up a situation like that. College kids are a different animal. But at around the 40 yard line with less than 10 seconds to go and only 2 yards to get the game winning first down, you run it and hope to get the first down. If you don't, MSU still has almost no time and Michigan has a tough defense. At the very least the coach is kicking himself for not reminding the punter before he runs out there to just secure the ball and go down if anything bad happens with the snap.

BlueK wrote:
How often do you see a botched punt attempt in the NFL?

The Colt's fake punt last week???

Ok, but I think a fake punt is a lot different than a routine punt. A team might actually try a fake punt maybe once a season, so pulling it off is much higher risk than running it like normal.

How come no one is upset with the Long Snapper that gave a low hike? It was not just the punter.

BlueK wrote:
I think maybe for a second Jim Harbaugh forgot he's playing with college kids and not seasoned NFL types. How often do you see a botched punt attempt in the NFL? Those guys are much less likely to mess up a situation like that. College kids are a different animal. But at around the 40 yard line with less than 10 seconds to go and only 2 yards to get the game winning first down, you run it and hope to get the first down. If you don't, MSU still has almost no time and Michigan has a tough defense. At the very least the coach is kicking himself for not reminding the punter before he runs out there to just secure the ball and go down if anything bad happens with the snap.

I wish more people were talking about this. It was 4th and 2 and Michigan was on Michigan States side of the field. I think they should have tried to run the ball up the middle for the first down. If you are unsuccessful the worst case scenario is MSU trying for a 50+ yard hail mary.



Punts are almost always successful, but muffed punts and blocked punts happen multiple times every Saturday at the division 1 level. Were that to occur, at best you're giving MSU a chance to win via a long field goal. The details of this particular punt are pretty exceptional since the punter managed to recover the ball before throwing it away, but there are bad punt plays every week.



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Forget the first down - direct snap it to the fastest, most sure-handed player on the team, and tell him to run around anywhere but his own endzone until he sees :00, then hit the turf, and keep two hands on it. You can't tell me your KR can't avoid being tackled for 5 seconds when there's no requirement that he gain yards. Heck, if he runs straight backwards, it would take at least 4.3 seconds for the fastest player anywhere just to get to him, assuming an obstacle-free, straight-line, no-pads sprint to the endzone. Get the ball, turn around, run as fast as you can to the far sideline at your own 1, with a convoy blocking for you. You can easily kill 5 seconds that way.

^^this^^