Sports Frog

Reacting aplenty, especially in Detroit:

Bob Wojnowski in the Detroit News:

"Appalachian State, the two-time defending champion of what used to be called Division I-AA, was terrific in stunning U-M, which should immediately plummet from fifth-ranked to unranked. As good as the Mountaineers were, that should not detract from how sloppy and ill-prepared U-M was."

True dat. Come up with every reason for why this happened, but in the end, it's all on Lloyd Carr's doorstep.

Michael Rosenberg in the Detroit Free Press:

"Michigan players, fans and alumni all face the same "dastardly fate," as announcer Bob Ufer used to say. Wherever they go, whatever they do, people will say: You lost to Appalachian State! Michigan will not get over this for a long, long time. College football, more than any other sport, is a perception game. The championship-game matchup is decided, at least in part, by public opinion. People argue about the relative strength of their conferences long after the bartender asks them to leave. And the perception is that Michigan just lost to the Washington Generals. There is no response to that. If you're Michigan, you simply cannot lose to Appalachian State."

Also true dat. And let me say, from here in Memphis, where conference supremacy arguments rage each year as jockeying for the fucked up BCS title game appearances unfold, the taunt to Big 10 supporters with regard to Michigan's loss will be next to impossible to argue against. It's not like Michigan was the presumptive pre-season conference favorite or anything like that. Oh, wait. Well, at least it's not like the Big 10's last national championship game entrant wasn't humiliated in the big game. Oh, wait. Jim Tressell still doesn't know what happened. You are perhaps left with this...the Big 10 is as down as a conference in terms of strength as it has been in my lifetime (stretching back 37 years now).

More after the jump.

Drew Sharp in the Detroit Free Press:

"Defensive coordinator Ron English will become the convenient scapegoat. In just his last three games, he's gone from the future U-M head-coaching fast track to possibly interviewing realtors and warming up his résumé come winter.

But the Wolverines' patent inability to contain athletic quarterbacks was a problem long before English arrived. Michigan still hasn't caught up to Donovan McNabb from nine years ago, when Syracuse rolled into Michigan Stadium and rolled over the Wolverines. The M.O. was the same Saturday as it was then. This reflects on Carr. Why is there such a strategic mental block when it comes to containing athletic quarterbacks? You would think, eventually, an answer would reveal itself. And if it hasn't yet, then perhaps the time has come to bring in a head coach that fully understands that the playmaking quarterbacks of today's college football aren't necessarily the lead-footed pocket purveyors of 20 years ago.

This loss doesn't negate all the positives of Carr's days at Michigan, but it once again offers a telling perspective that the powers-that-be at Michigan can't deny -- a fresh voice is needed much sooner than later."

Hard to argue with that. It is next to impossible to believe anything other than the college game has passed Lloyd Carr by. And did so about eight years ago.

Mitch Albom in the Detroit Free Press:

Golly gee. Can you believe Michigan lost to Appalachian State?

Okay. That's not a direct quote. But pretty much sums up his entirely useless contribution to the conversation. He sucks. As always.

After the game, Lloyd Carr advised an incredulous public that Michigan wasn't well prepared and that was his fault. What? You think so, doctor?

Still one of the damndest things I have ever seen. At least Michigan has this going for them, thanks to the game being on the Big 10 network, very few people actually watched the shocker unfold live.

By the way, Oregon should be nervous. They are next up against Michigan, and if they lose? Well, they just lost to the team that lost to Appalachian State...