What if these two plays went JH’s way?
1 - 4th inches conversion by JT in 2016
2 - Maryland dropped 2 pt conversion vs OSU in 2018 (this was a 2 yd drop to a wide open receiver for those that don’t recall)
That would give JH two BIG Championship game appearances and, I think, at least 1 playoff appearance. The whole narrative flips. In comparison, Beilein had 2 huge similar plays go his way: Burke’s 3 against Kansas and Poole’s 3 against Houston. If both of those shots miss, Beilein’s tenure at Michigan is still viewed in high regard, but not as high as it is now. Neither Final 4 would have happened.
I am not trying to make any excuses for JH nor does this excuse our dismal performances against OSU and in bowl games. But, he was damn close to completely changing the narrative. It does go to show how a couple of plays that were very, very close to going our way in football and two that did go our way in basketball can really, really change things.
And, please. I am not saying anything negative about Beilein. You’d be hard pressed to find anybody that respects and admires JB on this board more than me. And, again, I am not making any excuses for JH. We obviously have more issues than just two plays, but he was pretty damn close. I also know close only counts in horse shoes for all of those that want to take this much farther than they should.
1 - 4th inches conversion by JT in 2016
2 - Maryland dropped 2 pt conversion vs OSU in 2018 (this was a 2 yd drop to a wide open receiver for those that don’t recall)
That would give JH two BIG Championship game appearances and, I think, at least 1 playoff appearance. The whole narrative flips. In comparison, Beilein had 2 huge similar plays go his way: Burke’s 3 against Kansas and Poole’s 3 against Houston. If both of those shots miss, Beilein’s tenure at Michigan is still viewed in high regard, but not as high as it is now. Neither Final 4 would have happened.
I am not trying to make any excuses for JH nor does this excuse our dismal performances against OSU and in bowl games. But, he was damn close to completely changing the narrative. It does go to show how a couple of plays that were very, very close to going our way in football and two that did go our way in basketball can really, really change things.
And, please. I am not saying anything negative about Beilein. You’d be hard pressed to find anybody that respects and admires JB on this board more than me. And, again, I am not making any excuses for JH. We obviously have more issues than just two plays, but he was pretty damn close. I also know close only counts in horse shoes for all of those that want to take this much farther than they should.
