Michigan

Well. It hurts to be a Michigan fan today. So much for big expectations. So much for the sacrifices of Mike Hart, Chad Henne and Jake Long. So much for the grand exit of Lloyd Carr.

This is the single most embarrassing loss in Michigan football history. It hurts Michigan's image as an 'elite' team, damages national respect for the Big Ten and officially sunsets any National Championship aspirations while simultaneously raising serious red flags on anything else Michigan hoped to do this season.

Beat Oregon next weekend? Beat Notre Dame? Ohio State? Big Ten Championship? Forget it all if this team can't handle it's home opener against a 1-AA team. None of it seems likely, or even appropriate, to think about anymore after the fact that Michigan got outclassed by Appalachian State in every facet of the game.

How quickly the tables have turned. It's officially crisis-management time at Michigan.

Now, unless Carr shows us something Phoenician in terms of resurrecting his team by next week, I'd say it's going to be a mighty long season for the Wolverines. Whether they have the talent or not, it's going to come down to the spirit of this team and whether its already broken.