They sure deserved to win that game. It's not the end of the Wolverine's season, but it almost certainly wipes out any title hopes. It wasn't clear to me whether the defense just stank, or whether Appalachian State was that good. The coming weeks will tell.

[Update a few minutes later]

It wasn't just the defense. Special teams fell down, too, losing in the final seconds. You don't win national championships by having two field goals blocked in a game.

[Another update]

One more thought. When was the last time Michigan lost three straight games (over two seasons, of course). And it's been a long time since they lost an opener as well. They usually stumble when they play the Irish in the second or third game.

[Sunday morning update]

As I note in comments, it just occurred to me that the Wolverines haven't won a football game since Bo Schembechler died.

And Iowahawk kindly sends along this song. There ain't no freude like schadenfreude.

"Hail To The Victors" it's not.

[Update on late Sunday morning]

Should Michigan even be ranked now? I think not. Just shows the stupidity of pre-season polls. They can earn their way back into the top ten, but they have to run the table now.

[Afternoon update]

Here's a Michigan fan, drowing his sorrows in...kittens.

Well, they are cute.

And Michigan State won. :)

Don't rub it in...

Given this loss and his recent record against the Buckeyes, I'm doubt that Coach Carr will still be the coach in December. That was embarassing.

It seems very unlikely that Michigan will change coaches. Carr is there until he retires. That may happen this year, though.

It just occurs to me that the Wolverines haven't won a game since Schembechler died.

Rand,
I love your site, so I won't pile on wrt this game.

In my opinion, I would like to see the BCS (at least), really wait until October to rank teams. They shouldn't use any inputs from systems that rank teams before then. This game is just one in a littany of many that show that teams get ranked more by reputation than by merit. I would like to see the first rankings come out 4-5 weeks into the season, we'll see better sorting of teams then.

Rand,

I watched the game on the Big 10 network (believe only DirecTV viewers are getting that channel). Michigan looked great on their opening drive... and then they went flat. On defense, what really stood out to me were the Michigan LB's. They looked slow.

Good luck the rest of the season.