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Be There: Ohio State-Michigan tickets, from $50: Click Here, Stubhub.com

What can you say?  A big time effort put down by Brandon Graham, and more evidence of how critical the quarterback is in this offense.  It was really tough to watch Minor walk out in sweats, and I’m not sure why Brown didn’t get the ball.  They had their chances.

Sights and sounds from during the 21-10 loss:

• Where should I start?:

    

• Someone apparently used a text to this number to complain about the two ridiculously annoying and pickled Buckeye fans sitting behind me.  The gal was asking every single person walking up the aisle things like, ‘Do you know who’s going to the Rose Bowl?’ or ‘Do you know the score of the game?’.   Few actually reacted to her, but one guy responded to the latter question saying, “Yes, because I can read.”
• Much of the talk after the game was about all the Buckeyes in the stadium during the game.  As frequent MVictors commenter Chris put it:

The idiots who sold all those tickets to the mouth-breathing, knuckle-dragging, inbred, sheep-f**ing, sweaty-yellow-t-shirt-wearing, PBR-swilling, wife-beaters from Ohio should NEVER be allowed anywhere near Michigan Stadium again. That was a freaking home game for tOSU.

Listen, there are obviously exceptions to the rule – you have friends or family that are Buckeye/Spartan/Irish fans and you have them up for game, etc. -  but it went way beyond this Saturday.  That fact is that there are a certain number tickets in play for each game, and the interest was way down for Michigan fans.  I definitely didn’t have anyone bugging me for tickets.  Here’s a view down section 22 and 23, tickets that are certainly owned by season ticket holders or the athletic department:

• A few folks got a chance to break in the luxury suites:

• Steve Schilling’s freakin’ loose shoe that cost Michigan a timeout in the first half:

 

 

Related:

Hit CTRL-Z

Ohio State – Pregame (Photos)

1969 Wolverines Take the field

Fare Thee Well

Various folks reiterated that Rich Rodriguez will return in season three which is the right thing to do and say.  But just like everything over the past few seasons, even a simple thing like a statement in support induced some drama. 

Via Dave Birkett in AnnArbor.com, check this out:

“Rich Rodriguez is our coach,” he said. “I and the administration fully support him, and you’ll see him in the future.”

When asked if that meant next year, Martin said, “Absolutely.”

Even if Michigan is found to have committed NCAA violations regarding excessive practice time?

“He will be our coach next year, today,” Martin said.

Ummm, wha?

Asked to clarify what “today” meant, Martin said, “Well then delete the word today.”

“He’ll be here next year, no question,” Martin said.

Nothing is easy.

I noticed Cleveland.com had it slightly different, with Martin affirming Rodriguez like this:

"He will be our coach next year," Martin told media. "You’re asking me today if he’s going to be our coach. There’s no if, ands or buts about it. He is our coach and he has my full support. He’ll be there next year. No question about it."

Recent Posts

• Ohio State Game Notes
• Hit CTRL-Z
• Ohio State – Pregame (Photos)
• 1969 Wolverines Take the field
• Fare Thee Well

A few of the sights and sounds from the pregame Saturday. 

Beastly Jake Long returns to the Big House for the game:

CNN Chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta represented.  He was only asked 39 times if he had a prescription for the Wolverines’ woes:

A look at the Ohio State throwback uniform and the Buckeye stare drill:

 

This Buckeye band member got tuckered out in the middle of the script Ohio and decided to take a knee on the Michigan sideline:

1969 team take the field, you can also see a video here:

Zoltan and parents:

Team getting ready to come out, check out Brandon Minor in streets on the left (with towel covering some type of brace on his shoulder):

Sweetness Melanie Collins of the Big Ten Network swung by our tailgate (hosted by Kristen and Todd Mitchell) to get some footage for their Big Ten Cookout show:

 

You’ve no doubt seen quite a few pics and videos of the M Club banner.  Here’s kind of a unique perspective from right past the banner.  I actually felt a strong breeze as they rushed by:

Recent Posts

• Ohio State Game Notes
• Hit CTRL-Z
• Ohio State – Pregame (Photos)
• 1969 Wolverines Take the field
• Fare Thee Well

A short video of 1969 squad, trotting out to touch the M Club banner once again.  A very cool moment along with a bit of levity tossed in, as many guys struggle to find their leaps:

 

Assume that’s Reggie McKenzie at the end there?   Great stuff.

Recent Posts

• Ohio State Game Notes
• Hit CTRL-Z
• Ohio State – Pregame (Photos)
• 1969 Wolverines Take the field
• Fare Thee Well

Almost forgot to salute Hacker, the winner of my haiku contest from many moons ago. 

John Borton of The Wolverine chatted with former offensive line coach Jerry Hanlon about the Ohio State game and in particular, about a certain tradition he carries on each year.

Hanlon scribes a letter to the team each year before the Ohio State game and Rich Rodriguez mentioned this tradition just prior to his Wednesday press conference.

Borts convinced Hanlon to share his letter on air, here it is:

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You can check out all of Borton’s fine work here, or listen to the full Hanlon interview here.

Go Blue!

Photographed by: Chuck Solomon/SI 

Jamie Morris dialed into Sam and Ira on WTKA 1050AM this morning and explained his call into a Columbus sports radio station Wednesday.

Morris confirmed he is “110 percent behind Rich Rodriguez,” and, explained why he did the call and his frustration with some of the questions.  He also offered up a few keys to The Game, here’s the audio clip:

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My two cents on one item.   You can question a lot of things about his interview on the Columbus station, whether he should have even done it or answered some of the questions or answered them the way he did…but you can’t question his loyalty to Michigan.   He’s absolutely loyal to Michigan and I never thought that was a part of any of this.   I know a lot of people have reacted to this on the boards (and on this site), but whatever Jamie thinks about Rodriguez or Harbaugh or whatever, he’s 100% loyal to Michigan.

Check out the rest of the WTKA podcasts here.

Photo: Detroit News photo services.

Thanks to BiggieMunn for sending this over. The photo above was set alongside of Angelique Chengelis’s fine piece on a few of those involved with the 1969 Wolverine victory over Ohio State.

Question: Anyone know the significance (if any) of the 26 on Bo’s sleeve?

On the extended team roster, #26 belonged to a sophomore quarterback named William Ross of Beaver Falls, PA.

Answer this question definitively and we win Saturday.

Related: Jim Mandich of ‘69 on WTKA (audio) <—You’ll enjoy this

Celebrate!  Excerpted, mostly, from my piece in Brian Cook’s wonderful Hail to the Victors 2009:

November 20, 1909: The Jug toting Gophers
Michigan was now 5-1 and suddenly back in the conversation of who was to be Western champion. Standing in their way was undefeated Minnesota, U-M’s powerful former conference foe. Six seasons prior on October 31, 1903, the Gophers famously battled the Willie Heston-led Wolverines to a 6-6 deadlock in Minneapolis. It was the first time Yost walked off a field without a victory since he arrived in Ann Arbor in 1901. Michigan also left something behind that day—their water jug.

The legend goes that Fielding Yost asked Minnesota to return the jug sometime after that 1903 meeting and was told he’d have to “win it back”, but there’s little evidence that this actually occurred.* Other accounts claim that just prior to the 1909 rematch, the Gophers proposed that the receptacle go to the victor and Yost and Allerdice quickly agreed.

One thing that is clear: the teams would play for the Little Brown Jug for the first time a century ago this November.

Thus far in the 1909 season, Minnesota had rolled through its schedule unscathed overpowering opponents by a margin of 152-12 including back-to-back shellackings of Chicago and Wisconsin. Gopher coach Henry Williams was cautiously confident the day before the saying, “I don’t see how Minnesota can lose, but Michigan may be stronger than we expect”. Williams’ feelings were compounded by the students and fans, who the day before the game erected a sign that declaring the Gophers “Western Champions”, believing both Saturday’s game and the mythical title were in their grasp.

When Michigan arrived in Minneapolis there was around a foot of snow on the ground, but the field was blanketed with straw to protect the playing surface from freezing. At game time, the field was cleared of its straw blanket and Minnesota took the ball first but failed to convert a field goal. When U-M took over the Gophers, having scouted the Penn game, were bracing for a variety of trick plays but Yost had other plans. Instead of taking it to the air, Michigan hammered away deep into Minnesota territory with a series of old school “short, sharp plunges”.   After two plays were stopped near the goal line, Allerdice pounded into the line and scored the first points of the game. Minnesota countered, driving down to the eight and tied the game on a nifty roll-out pass. The deadlock held up until the half expired.

In the second half Michigan again took the ball down the field but missed a field goal. On the first play of Minnesota’s possession lightning struck for the Wolverines. Hoping to catch the defense on their heels, the Gophers sent another pass into the air—but this time Yost’s defenders were ready. U-M halfback Joe Magidson hung back, snatched the ball out of the air and trotted thirty-five yards the other way for a touchdown. Allerdice tacked on a late field goal to complete the upset 15-6.

After the game Coach Williams returned the jug with the understanding that they would have the chance to win it back the next time the teams played. When the Wolverine footballers held the jug again they would have noticed its color was white, not brown, and that someone painted upon it, ‘Michigan Jug “Captured” by Oscar October 31, 1903’. “Oscar” was Minnesota custodian Oscar Munson who discovered it a day or two after the game.

It’s unknown whether Yost also took the Minnesota fans’ makeshift ‘Western Champion’ sign, but nonetheless he and his Meechigan men snuffed out any Gopher claim to that title as they hopped the train back to Ann Arbor.

* This will be explained on this site soon, I am certain there was never any letter, wire or request from Yost that the jug be returned after the 1903 game, or really, at any point.

Related:
Part I: What Really Happened in the 1930s
Part II: Spinning Myths
Part III: Getting it Right
Part IV: 2013: A Space Quandary
Part V: Red Wing Roots
Part VI: Is the Greatest Trophy in College Sports a Fake?
Part VII: Open Questions

Preface: I’m a big fan of Angelique Chengelis of the Detroit News.  She just gave me a great interview that’ll appear soon in GoBlueWolverine magazine.  She’s a pro and certainly classes up the local media pool, et cetera.  Yet:

Violation #1:  Chengelis likely fractured the code established by the Intergalactic Federation of Nerds, (IFON) that requires you acknowledge or offer up a ‘hat tip’ to the source of certain information for a piece, post or story.  She ran a quick piece today on the Jamie Morris interview on Columbus radio that I posted yesterday.  Now, Angelique has Buckeye ties so perhaps someone mentioned this to her, but I’m pretty confident she first heard the audio here.  Keep in mind that no actual journalist has agreed to the IFON Accords (yet).

Violation #2:  Chengelis left out an important part of Jamie Morris’s response to a question when she transcribed part of the interview in her piece.  While her quote is technically accurate, it leaves off the beginning of Jamie’s answer and it’s an important omission IMO.  Here’s what she wrote:

On any chance Rodriguez doesn’t return as coach if Michigan loses to Ohio State: "I think what people want is Michigan football. They want hard-fought plays, they want a team that performs at the highest level and give everything they’ve got, win or lose, and let the chips fall where they may."

Judge for yourself.  Here’s word for word what was said (yes, I added the [long pause], because there was a damn loooooong pause before he gave an answer):

Hooley: “Do you think if Michigan loses the game Saturday, do you see any way Rich is not there next year?” 

Morris: “[long pause] You know that’s tough.  You know what?  I think what people want is Michigan football.  They want hard fought plays.  They want a team that goes out there and that performs at the highest level and give everything they got, win or lose.  And then you just let the chips fall where they may.

The “You know that’s tough,” answer matters.  It’s important in providing the tone and what appears to be a struggle by Morris, a U-M athletic department official, in answering the question straight up.  I think the long pause may matter even more.

So—Angelique Chengelis, on the authority vested in me by IFON, I sentence thee to…

…oh forget it, 30 Rock just started.

 

HT: BiggieMunn for send over the News story.

Via U-M Media Relations:

Following is the team’s injury report for the game against the Buckeyes:

Out

David Molk (knee)

Brandon Minor (shoulder)

Doubtful (25 percent chance of playing)

Mike Williams (ankle)

Probable (75 percent chance of playing)

Martavious Odoms (knee)

from U-M Media Relations:

For IMMEDIATE Release

Media Contact: David Ablauf (734) 763-4423

Team Elects Four Captains for 2009 Football Season

ANN ARBOR — University of Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez announced Thursday (Nov. 19) following practice the four permanent captains elected for the 130th team in school history. Linebacker Stevie Brown (Columbus, Ind./Columbus East HS), defensive end Brandon Graham (Detroit, Mich./Crockett Technical HS), punter Zoltan Mesko (Twinsburg, Ohio/Twinsburg HS) and left tackle Mark Ortmann (Klein, Texas/Klein HS) were selected by their teammates as captains of the 2009 football team.

“Our players have selected four student-athletes who represent our program at the highest level both on and off the field,” said Rodriguez. “Stevie, Brandon, Zoltan and Mark have played at a high level all season and received the greatest honor that a player can receive, selection as captain by your peers. They, and our other seniors, will lead us into Michigan Stadium Saturday to play the greatest rivalry game in college football.”

Brown joins Graham as a defensive captain. He is the team’s leading tackler with 73 stops and is second with eight tackles for loss, both career highs. Brown has also contributed one sack, one forced fumble, one interception and four pass breakups. He has started all 11 games at linebacker and will see action in his 50th career game when U-M faces Ohio State.

Graham is the most dominant defensive lineman in the Big Ten, racking up a league and NCAA-best 21 tackles for loss. He has 8.5 sacks on the year and has contributed at least one quarterback stop in six of the past seven games. Graham has recorded a career-best 57 tackles, two PBUs, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. He has also contributed on special teams, blocking two punts and returning another for his first career touchdown. An All-America candidate, Graham is second all-time at Michigan in sacks (27.5) and third in tackles for loss (51).

Mesko is one of the nation’s top all-around student-athletes, excelling on the field, in the classroom and the community. He leads the Big Ten and is sixth nationally in punting with a career-best 44.7-yard average this season. A semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award for the second straight season, Mesko has punted 46 times for 2,054 yards. He had 16 fair caught, 15 boots of 50 yards or better and 13 downed inside the opposition’s 20-yard line. Mesko is a finalist for the Lowes Senior CLASS Award, the Danny Wuerffel Trophy and has been named to the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team. He earned CoSIDA Academic All-District IV first team honors and is top candidate for Academic All-America honors.

Ortmann has started all 11 games at left tackle and helped anchor the Wolverines’ offense that is rated top in the Big Ten in scoring (31.3 points per game) and is second in rushing offense (195.8 avg.). He has started 24 contests and played in 35 games during his career.

The captains will lead the Wolverines against No. 9 Ohio State Saturday (Nov. 21) at Michigan Stadium. The 106th meeting will be televised nationally by ESPN on ABC at noon EST.

Bo and Mandich, looking ahead to Ohio State in ‘69

Excellent interview this morning on WTKA 1050AM, as Michigan legend and current Miami, FL radio personality Jim Mandich dialed up Ira Weintraub to discuss Ohio State, 1969, the current team, Bo, Chad Henne and Jake Long on his Dolphins and much more.

Gotta love that he’s flying up to the big game on Steve Ross’s luxuriously private jet.

Definitely worth a listen:

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You can hear all of the WTKA podcasts here, anytime.