Since everyone else seems to have an opinion I thought I'd give mine too :P
I'm not going to lie- I was yelling for Carr's head on a stick after Appalachia State. In fact I was becoming more and more disgruntled when it became apparent Michigan was simply no match for USC... and Ohio State. Lloyd Carr appeared too conservative, too old fashioned, and incompetent to meet the changing demands of college football. At Michigan we like to win-- a lot. Of course everyone likes to win, the difference at Michigan being, that we actually do win. And when we don't, we get mad. And eventually, something will be done so that we win again.
Being my usual pessimistic self, I picked Florida to win by 5 touchdowns today. I obviously had too much to drink on my birthday- or maybe I just didn't believe that Michigan could ever beat the might Urban Meyer. But from the minute Michigan opened the game with a spread... I knew... maybe Lloyd Carr had something up his sleeve after all.
I noticed something today. Michigan actually wanted to win. They actually believed they could win. They knew they had nothing to lose, rather they had something they truly believed in. They were sick of the ESPN analyst sitting in his comfortable chair in a climate controlled studio drinking coffee with excessive amounts of cream and sugar telling them that the Big Ten cannot compete with the SEC. They were annoyed with the rumors that Carr was inept at his job and that Michigan football was not the same as it always had been. They did something about because they tried-- and for the first time in a long time, played like they really wanted to win.
I do not know why Lloyd Carr did not try the spread earlier. Why he stuck to the same ineffective formations and routes and game plans for so long in the big games. I do not know why Michigan was good enough today to win when they had played in similar big games in the past. I do know that Carr restored the pride that Michigan fans have for their program. He also made us realize what we are going to miss. Although we can look forward to the future, we must recognize and appreciate the past. Michigan fans are truly blessed with the opportunity to do both.
