Michigan Got Their Chance…and Deferred
The likelihood of Michigan winning was small, there is almost no chance that the UM coaching staff didn’t realize this.
If they played 100 times, how many would Michigan actually win in a straight-up game? 15 out of 100? Maybe? Again, quite sure that UM coaching and UG coaching staffs knew this.
In other words, Michigan needed something weird to happen, a very specific scenario needed to occur. To simply play the average probabilities wouldn’t work, Georgia’s best players were at least as good as Michigan’s, and the average Georgia player is better than Michigan’s. None of this was news, prior to the game being played. Coaching? It matters when all else is equal, yes. In this situation? Nah.
This happens in every competitive situation when there is a heavy favorite: the underdog has to accept its situation, and adjust its “average decision-making.” Ask anyone playing Novak Djokovic in a grand slam singles final. That opponent better win the first set, or else.