U-M Now Has Their Central Michigan, But To The Nth Degree

I was at a friend's house that September Saturday, in 1991. We were taking in the U-M/Notre Dame game, watching it on a TV in the garage, when someone burst into the backyard with the news.

"Michigan State lost to Central Michigan! Michigan State lost to Central Michigan!"

We laughed and howled and wondered how such a thing could happen: a Mid-American school beating a Big Ten school, in the Big Ten school's house.

It couldn't have been too flukey; CMU did it to the Spartans again in 1992.

Every MSU fan must, today, feel like the kid who did something embarrassing at school, only to have the popular kid do something even MORE embarrassing, taking the first kid off the hook -- forever.

Never again should the Sparty faithful have to put up with the CMU talk -- which still does crop up from time to time, some 16 years later. Never again should they have to defend or try to rationalize that loss. Never again.

"Michigan lost to Appalachian State! Michigan lost to Appalachian State!"

There's a new mantra in town.

Heck, I thought it was going to be bad enough when it appeared the mantra was going to be, "Michigan ALMOST lost to Appalachian State!" Even if the Wolverines hadn't allowed that last field goal drive, or even if their own FG attempt at the end had been between the uprights instead of between an ASU player's numbers, sealing a precarious victory, the critics would have had a field day.

"Michigan ALMOST lost to Appalachian State!"

Well, lose the "almost" and that mantra has shelf life like you wouldn't believe.

Oh, how much will the MSU folks be able to squeeze from this one? Or any other U-M hater out there. You think they danced a little jig in Columbus Saturday evening? Blew a kazoo on the USC campus?

It's been written that Michigan's season is now over with, before Labor Day. If the sole goal is National Championship, then that viewpoint might prove to be correct. But it's always about how you finish. Look no further than last season, when U-M started 10-0 but then a loss to Ohio State ruined their BCS hopes. Folks remember what happened most recently.

U-M will never, and I mean NEVER, live this loss to ASU down, from a historical perspective. But if they pick themselves up, and just keep winning football games, and end up with just the one loss ... who knows? So the season isn't over with. They just can't lose any more games.

Michigan lost to Appalachian State, and we won't stop talking about it. Nor will our grandkids.

But the season isn't over. It just feels that way to the Michigan faithful. It's coach Lloyd Carr's job to make sure it doesn't feel that way to his kids.