Re: How is your dynasty going
"We've been here before," everyone on the Georgia State Panthers roster thought as Michigan teed the ball up to kick off up 17-14 with 3 minutes remaining in the game. It was the truth, as just the game before the Panthers defeated Alabama on a late touchdown drive. Flashback to the beginning, though and I was seriously questioning if we were going to have a shot a winning the game at all. Michigan held us on our first drive, before driving down to field goal range until our defense bared down. Junior Shannon Taylor came in for their field goal, but it was short and Junior Free Safety/ Returner Tony Gross (pictured 2nd row left in this instance) fielded the ball and returned it 40 yards. We drove the ball down field several other times in the first half, but a fumble from Peyton Barber and a late interception by Anthony Woods killed our momentum. In between, Michigan quarterback Shane Morris found Damario Jones on a 43 yard Touchdown strike. To end the half, Taylor trotted out for another long field goal that again came up well short. This time Gross (second row right on this one) wasn't stopped and he returned the field goal 99 yards to tie the game at 7 to go into the half.
Michigan finally got a field goal to begin the 3rd quarter before Barber took control of the game and got us to their red zone. Woods, who was shaky again this game, found Sophomore receiver David Harris (pictured 3rd row left) for a 6 yard touchdown to give us our first lead 14-10. Morris and the Wolverines continued to fight back, but we stopped them and they were forced to punt for the only time in the game. In this position in previous games, Barber ran down the clock so that we could win, but it didn't happen this time and Woods forced a pass on 3rd down that was intercepted. Two minutes later and Morris found Jones again to put Michigan up 3 with 3 minutes to play.
With 3 minutes left I didn't want to abandon the run, so I started to feed Barber again and to my surprise he was gaining big yardage (around 8-9 yards) on every rush. During the drive he also set the NCAA record for rushing yards in a season with 2643 yards by the end. 2 or 3 passes from Woods mixed in had us 1st and goal at the 10 with 50 seconds left. After two runs, we were on the 4 with only 8 seconds left and I had to come up with a possible winning play. If stopped, I fully intended to tie the game with a field goal instead of going for it, but lucky for me that wasn't necessary. I dialed Harris' (pictured 3rd row right) number again and the Sophomore came up huge, catching the slant route thrown by Woods (pictured bottom left). Michigan couldn't score again and we had our first title in program history.
Michigan Senior Shane Morris finished 18-19 for 310 yards and 2 TDs. Senior Receiver Damario Jones finished with 4 catches for 151 yards and the 2 TDs. Taylor, the kicker, went only 1-4 on field goals, which is why we had a chance at all.
Barber 34 att 167 yds
Harris 4 rec 31 yds 2 TD
Black 2 rec 33 yds
Clemons 2 rec 25 yds
Brooks 9 tackles 2 TFL
Batiste 9 tackles 1 TFL
Dawson-Brents 4 tackles
Gross 4 tackles, 99 yard Field Goal Return
It was a great feeling to win our first National Title in my 4th season. What was better, is that two of my recruits, Woods and Harris were the ones involved in the final touchdown. My other recruit and favorite player, Tony Gross, also won game MVP for his performance, which was very rewarding. I expected Gross to make at least 1 big play, and he didn't disappoint as his return kept us in the game and shifted momentum. Now, I'll finish the off season and probably take a bit before moving to next year, until then I'll enjoy the Crystal Ball in Atlanta.
Georgia State Wins National Title at the Very End
"We've been here before," everyone on the Georgia State Panthers roster thought as Michigan teed the ball up to kick off up 17-14 with 3 minutes remaining in the game. It was the truth, as just the game before the Panthers defeated Alabama on a late touchdown drive. Flashback to the beginning, though and I was seriously questioning if we were going to have a shot a winning the game at all. Michigan held us on our first drive, before driving down to field goal range until our defense bared down. Junior Shannon Taylor came in for their field goal, but it was short and Junior Free Safety/ Returner Tony Gross (pictured 2nd row left in this instance) fielded the ball and returned it 40 yards. We drove the ball down field several other times in the first half, but a fumble from Peyton Barber and a late interception by Anthony Woods killed our momentum. In between, Michigan quarterback Shane Morris found Damario Jones on a 43 yard Touchdown strike. To end the half, Taylor trotted out for another long field goal that again came up well short. This time Gross (second row right on this one) wasn't stopped and he returned the field goal 99 yards to tie the game at 7 to go into the half.
Michigan finally got a field goal to begin the 3rd quarter before Barber took control of the game and got us to their red zone. Woods, who was shaky again this game, found Sophomore receiver David Harris (pictured 3rd row left) for a 6 yard touchdown to give us our first lead 14-10. Morris and the Wolverines continued to fight back, but we stopped them and they were forced to punt for the only time in the game. In this position in previous games, Barber ran down the clock so that we could win, but it didn't happen this time and Woods forced a pass on 3rd down that was intercepted. Two minutes later and Morris found Jones again to put Michigan up 3 with 3 minutes to play.
With 3 minutes left I didn't want to abandon the run, so I started to feed Barber again and to my surprise he was gaining big yardage (around 8-9 yards) on every rush. During the drive he also set the NCAA record for rushing yards in a season with 2643 yards by the end. 2 or 3 passes from Woods mixed in had us 1st and goal at the 10 with 50 seconds left. After two runs, we were on the 4 with only 8 seconds left and I had to come up with a possible winning play. If stopped, I fully intended to tie the game with a field goal instead of going for it, but lucky for me that wasn't necessary. I dialed Harris' (pictured 3rd row right) number again and the Sophomore came up huge, catching the slant route thrown by Woods (pictured bottom left). Michigan couldn't score again and we had our first title in program history.
Michigan Senior Shane Morris finished 18-19 for 310 yards and 2 TDs. Senior Receiver Damario Jones finished with 4 catches for 151 yards and the 2 TDs. Taylor, the kicker, went only 1-4 on field goals, which is why we had a chance at all.
My Notable Stats
Woods 9-17 for 98 yards and 2 TDs with 2 INTs. Barber 34 att 167 yds
Harris 4 rec 31 yds 2 TD
Black 2 rec 33 yds
Clemons 2 rec 25 yds
Brooks 9 tackles 2 TFL
Batiste 9 tackles 1 TFL
Dawson-Brents 4 tackles
Gross 4 tackles, 99 yard Field Goal Return
It was a great feeling to win our first National Title in my 4th season. What was better, is that two of my recruits, Woods and Harris were the ones involved in the final touchdown. My other recruit and favorite player, Tony Gross, also won game MVP for his performance, which was very rewarding. I expected Gross to make at least 1 big play, and he didn't disappoint as his return kept us in the game and shifted momentum. Now, I'll finish the off season and probably take a bit before moving to next year, until then I'll enjoy the Crystal Ball in Atlanta.
Comment