ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Two days after a loss that sent shock waves through the college football world, Michigan coach Lloyd Carr knows what his team must fix: just about everything.
While much national attention is centered on what lingering effects the Wolverines’ historic 34-32 season-opening loss to Appalachian State will have on a team that started the season ranked fifth and as a national championship contender.
Carr said yesterday that Michigan, which was penalized seven times and committed two costly turnovers against the Mountaineers, is starting from scratch heading into Saturday’s game against Oregon.
“What we have to do in a short time here is become a more disciplined team, a smarter team and a team that executes better,” Carr said.
Appalachian State’s stunner at Michigan Stadium marked the first time a Football Championship Subdivision team – formerly I-AA – beat a team ranked in The Associated Press Top 25.
“There were a lot of people on the team (who) were really in a bad mood and a lot of people who took a lot of blame on themselves,”offensive lineman Adam Kraus said.
“But we had a lot of missed opportunities in there, and it ended up really hurting us.”
The final blown chance came with Michigan in prime position to kick a winning field goal after Appalachian State took a two-point lead on Julian Rauch’s 24-yard field goal with 26 seconds remaining.
