Weather-shortened contest a 'different' experience for Michigan players
Michigan coach Brady Hoke shouts from the sideline as it pours during the third quarter of Saturday's 34-10 win over Western Michigan.
Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com
Brady Hoke said he's only had one other lightning-delay experience similar to the one he went through during his first game as Michigan's head football coach Saturday.
And it wasn't a good one.
"The first thing that went through my mind was when we played Northern Illinois in Muncie (Ind.) when I was (head coach) at Ball State," Hoke said. "We had a 45-minute delay, we were winning the game 14-7 or 14-0. We come back, and (former NIU running back and current NFL free agent) Garrett Wolfe ran for 355 yards.
"So I wasn't feeling really good about a delay."
Saturday's outcome was much more beneficial for Hoke and company. The Wolverines came away with a 34-10 win over Western Michigan in a mutually agreed-upon, weather-shortened contest at Michigan Stadium.
It was Hoke's first experience as the program's head coach -- one he dubbed as "wet and wild" -- and it was a memory neither he, nor the rest of his club will soon forget.
"We were ready to go, we were ready to keep playing," Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson said. "When coach Hoke told us we won the game, everybody got quiet and were like 'seriously?'
"Everybody wanted to play, still."
The Wolverines and Broncos were forced to wait through a pair of third-quarter lightning delays and a stadium evacuation that eventually led to the game being declared an official Michigan victory with 1:27 remaining in the third quarter.
The situation wasn't ideal, as players, coaches, trainers, support staff and even band members were forced to take shelter on two separate occasions.
It put everyone involved in uncharted territory.
"It was different, I've never really been through anything like that," junior safety Jordan Kovacs said. "We kind of just relaxed in the locker room, stayed quiet, focused and honed in.
"We traveled up the tunnel several times, I don't think we've ever done that before."
Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon spoke with reporters following the game, explaining that he and his staff were aware of the possible weather issues prior to the game and even went as far as discussing contingency plans.
But even so, he admitted that the situation was a difficult one to handle.
"It was an unpredictable day, these cells kept popping up and dying down really fast and we were hoping we could get it in," Brandon said. "We got through that first delay and we were hoping we had about an hour window, but this time of year with the humidity and heat that we had, we had buildups come out of nowhere."
Brandon explained that had the game been a Big Ten game, there would have been more specific rules and protocol to be followed. But the fact that Saturday's game was a nonconference affair made things more "open-ended" as far as a resolution was concerned.
In the end, he said both sides agreed that the game was in hand --Â and that Michigan "deserved the victory."
"The choices that we had were to wait it out, to suspend the game and leave the score where it was --Â and then there were some other options, but none of those were acceptable," he added. "I want to compliment (WMU coach Bill) Cubit and Kathy Beauregard, the athletic director at Western, I think they were terrific about this -- we thought about the safety of the fans and the safety of the players.
"The agreement that was reached between Western and Michigan was that the game was in hand and the game would stand. … It's a win for Michigan, it's a loss for Western."
Kovacs said that when all was said and done, "a win is a win, and we're happy with that."
And asked if there was any different end-game reaction by the club in the locker room following the weather-shortened victory, Kovacs explained that, no, that part was business as usual.
"We did what we do after every victory," he said. "Sing 'The Victors.'"
Nick Baumgardner covers Michigan sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at 734-623-2514, by email at nickbaumgardner@annarbor.com and followed on Twitter @nickbaumgardner.
Comments
MRunner73
Sun, Sep 4, 2011 : 6:12 p.m.
If it would have been a noon start then the temperature would have risen from 90 to 95 by the end of the game. That could have some impact on the players for both teams and a bigger issue for the fans in the stadium. The storms impacted games across the Midwest so it was just a bad day for college football. I was at the game and decided to leave at half time when I saw the clouds building and started to tower up. The first storm hit soon after. My concern was lightning and evacuation of 110,000 fans. I saw the paramedics were extremely busy assisting folks overcome by the heat. Asside from that, this is a new Michigan team, actually a throw back to Bo, Mo and Lloyd in terms of attitude. I for one will be patient. I an pleased with how well the Maize and Blue coaching staff made adjustemnts during the game and we were able to overcome weakenesses we had earlier in the game. A good start, take 'em one game at time.
Tru2Blu76
Sun, Sep 4, 2011 : 3:41 p.m.
On reviewing video: I notice that at least the ball returns didn't involve dropping the ball. OTH: Michigan's run backs were short, probably they'll get longer as the season goes forward. Defense on kick offs was poor: too many long ball returns by WMU. Hopefully, that will improve significantly. We can be sure: Notre Dame will be pouring over game film and they'll see the same things we are talking about. Clearly, the Wolverines still have vulnerabilities and still need further improvement even in the areas where they've improved. It will be easy to forget just how far they've come under the new coaching staff. Coach Hoke took on a monumental task but has made substantial progress in this first showing. Go Blue! Beat the Irish!
heartbreakM
Sun, Sep 4, 2011 : 12:51 p.m.
Work in progress is what I'd grade this game. It seemed like there was a lot of momentum on both sides of the ball in Michigan's favor and it seemed as if M was about to really pull away. I think the defense needed to settle down and once it did, it started playing better. Offensively, also, the running backs and offensive line needed to start to settle down and just play rather than press. The receivers did not seem to be dominant and that's a concern, but I would guess they will improve. Remember, this is the first game and the team WILL improve.
81wolverine
Sun, Sep 4, 2011 : 12:43 p.m.
What a game! My wife and I couldn't have been wetter if we'd jumped in a swimming pool. After the first downpour, we were actually starting to get a little drier. Then, the BIG ONE! But, it was a very good first game overall. The offense started out very shaky, relying on the offense of last year for a while (Denard left, Denard right, Denard up the middle). But, later, they got much sharper and started getting a lot more contributions from other people. The defense was clearly much better than last year. Are they a Big Ten championship caliber unit? No, most likely not. They still need to upgrade positions with more talented and experienced players. But that will happen over time. Go Blue and Beat ND!
Tru2Blu76
Sun, Sep 4, 2011 : 4:01 a.m.
As far as I can see, there's little cause to complain about this game. We saw that coaches Hoke, Mattison and Borges are capable of delivering what they said they'd deliver: a renewal of Michigan football through widespread improvement in performance on both sides of the ball. Most satisfying is: the Hoke defense is night-and-day better than the Rodriguez defense. To actually see Michigan's defense sacking the quarterback and intercepting him for touch downs is like... a miracle! The secondary was also day vs night improved: they actually stayed with receivers and even broke up passes to prevent TDs. Many were the same players we've watched in previous seasons with dismay. Tackling: was anyone as sick as I was to see two Michigan players "tackle" someone as if they were trying to carry that guy by his jersey sleeves? I'm talking about the RR-trained "tacklers." To think, it's been four years since we last saw tough, hard-hit tackling. Deep down, the most satisfying thing about this game is that it showed we have seen the last of "that other style" of football. Thanks to Brady Hoke, Al Borges and Greg Mattison: we are back on solid, familiar ground.
Hebner
Sun, Sep 4, 2011 : 2:33 p.m.
Remember, poor tackling was never RR's fault it was the players. He differed accountability to the players. We looked good, and kept our composure...great start.