Michigan feels targeting should have been called on Speight hit

Meh. You wanna talk about missed calls, a bigger one a few years back was the Northwestern facemask that whipped Ricky Stsnzi's head around contributing to the serious ankle injury that kept him out the rest of the season.

That and the phantom holding call which brought back Wegher's TD in that game. Think it was Wegher but whoever, you get the point.
 
If Speight hit one or more of his wide open WR's for deep passes (there were opportunities), there's almost no way we would have won. Maybe they should focus on the parts of the game that were well within the team's control.

Also I like how their game banner for the week has 9-0 Michigan against Indiana ... they must not be in too big of a hurry to update the loss column.

This is true too, but still doesn't change the point that there is almost no way we win if they call that, which means that no call cost them the game. There can be lots of different things that can be pointed to that "cost you the game" in a one point game. The team should focus on the ones they could control (like you said). Fans can look at everything tho because they can control nothing.
 
This is true too, but still doesn't change the point that there is almost no way we win if they call that, which means that no call cost them the game.

Where do you get "cost them the game"?

It wouldn't have been an ejection, if that's what you're thinking - that requires "defenseless opponent", which clearly doesn't apply.
 
Where do you get "cost them the game"?

It wouldn't have been an ejection, if that's what you're thinking - that requires "defenseless opponent", which clearly doesn't apply.

Wasn't it on 3rd down of their second to last possession? If they get a 1st it's all but over.
 
This is true too, but still doesn't change the point that there is almost no way we win if they call that, which means that no call cost them the game. There can be lots of different things that can be pointed to that "cost you the game" in a one point game. The team should focus on the ones they could control (like you said). Fans can look at everything tho because they can control nothing.

I don't disagree. I guess my "fan philosophy" includes a refusal (ok ... a reluctance) to blame the refs. But that's a lifestyle choice that keeps me from obsessing over calls.

If my team did everything it could on the field, and a call "cost them the game," I'd probably blame the refs. That was just not the case in this game. Too many errors to look at before focusing on one call. just my opinion.
 
Wasn't it on 3rd down of their second to last possession? If they get a 1st it's all but over.

Ah, I see where you're coming from. Still, if you're right about the timing there were 3 possessions after this. Iowa still had their timeouts. So, a first down by penalty there is not the end of the game.
 
I don't disagree. I guess my "fan philosophy" includes a refusal (ok ... a reluctance) to blame the refs. But that's a lifestyle choice that keeps me from obsessing over calls.

If my team did everything it could on the field, and a call "cost them the game," I'd probably blame the refs. That was just not the case in this game. Too many errors to look at before focusing on one call. just my opinion.

I just don't see the logic of saying fans can't talk about bad calls. It's part of the game. It's like people are stuck in their playing days and never adapted to realize they aren't part of the team anymore so it's ok to talk about something that's such a huge part of the game. And there is no doubt that officiating is a huge part of the game.
 
Ah, I see where you're coming from. Still, if you're right about the timing there were 3 possessions after this. Iowa still had their timeouts. So, a first down by penalty there is not the end of the game.

We would have had to stop them then we would have had one possession left instead of two. There is no way to know if we would have still thrown a pick so it wasn't a guaranteed loss for sure. It just would have made it extremely tough to win from there.
 
I was curious what M's message boards were saying about this. Briefly looked at 4 of them. There was very little complaining about the refs. Blame was placed on Harbaugh and some on the QB. The anger toward Jimmy is somewhat surprising. There were a few threads about play calling and yes some comments about refs.

I wonder if there is a difference between the fans of a program used to winning (well not so much in recent years), and a Development Program. If the tables were reversed, there would be a definite focus on the face mask call and targeting.
 
If you are as good as you and many think you are, don't put your team in a position where one call can decide the game. Take care of business early. Just sayin'.

See Iowa Vs Northwestern State 1st round NCAA basketball game.
 
I just don't see the logic of saying fans can't talk about bad calls. It's part of the game. It's like people are stuck in their playing days and never adapted to realize they aren't part of the team anymore so it's ok to talk about something that's such a huge part of the game. And there is no doubt that officiating is a huge part of the game.

I think it's that we (fans) tend to look at the officiating ONLY as something that costs our chosen team, as opposed to something that goes both ways.

I don't believe officiating is perfect (in some cases, it's probably not even good) ... I just don't subscribe to the notion that it's biased, or that one call can be isolated as having cost one team the game, or handed the game to the other team. I prefer to look big-picture, as opposed to isolating and emphasizing the importance of one call.
 
I think it's that we (fans) tend to look at the officiating ONLY as something that costs our chosen team, as opposed to something that goes both ways.

I don't believe officiating is perfect (in some cases, it's probably not even good) ... I just don't subscribe to the notion that it's biased, or that one call can be isolated as having cost one team the game, or handed the game to the other team. I prefer to look big-picture, as opposed to isolating and emphasizing the importance of one call.
Unless we're talking about the 2006 Outback Bowl.
 
I think it's that we (fans) tend to look at the officiating ONLY as something that costs our chosen team, as opposed to something that goes both ways.

I don't believe officiating is perfect (in some cases, it's probably not even good) ... I just don't subscribe to the notion that it's biased, or that one call can be isolated as having cost one team the game, or handed the game to the other team. I prefer to look big-picture, as opposed to isolating and emphasizing the importance of one call.

I guess I only know what's in my head so I probably shouldn't speak for all the "blame the ref" crowd. I just can't believe people are so extreme with saying refs can't decide outcomes with calls when they so obviously can.

They are also so extreme with saying don't put blame on refs when you can blame players. The more you think about that logic, the more it doesn't make sense. Why blame a 20 year old for not making a play when you can blame an adult for doing a piss poor job? I assume it comes from people growing up playing sports and being told to not worry about the refs, worry about your play. They must have never given it enough thought to realize that thought process only pertains to players. There is no reason for a fan to not call out bad officiating. It doesn't make you a complainer, it simply means you're aware of the situation on how much a call can change a game.
 
Quick question: If a player tackles a runner from behind when the runner doesn't see or know that he's about to be hit/tackled; is that runner considered to be defenseless? Or is the mere act of running void any defenseless notion?

Not defenseless when he's a ball carrier.
 

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