There was a lot of question as to whether Hart and Henne would play in this one given that the game is essentially meaningless (thanks to ESPN for reminding us of that like 70 times during the game) to the team’s goals. Give credit to the Bagders because they played hard, with QB Donovan making some great plays but…it’s clear Michigan pulled its chips off the table for this one. It goes without saying but Henne and Hart would have played had the team wearing red was from Columbus. It’s a bit of a concern that no one on defense rested and at times Donovan and the Badgers sliced them up. Not a good way to go into the Big Game but what can you do? Obviously would have a been much different with H&H intact. As for Mallett, he started out pretty slow missing a W-I-D-E open Arrington that would have been a touch had the ball been within 20 yards of #16. Mesko could have punted the ball to Arrington. Mallett never really settled down; throwing some pretty weak balls and making some poor decisions. I don’t know what Manningham’s problem is but he’s got to understand that Mallett is going to make mistakes. His 97-yarder was pretty sweet and it easily became the longest TD catch in…
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Big Ten Rose Bowl Tie-Breaker Rules
10/25/2009: The Big Ten rules changed in 2009, FCS games played is no longer a factor. Click here for more. 11/8/08 Update: Spartan fans, that Iowa win over PSU is a buzz kill. Had Penn State won out and lost to Michigan State, Dantonio and company would go to the Rose Bowl per the rules below. Not to say that Ohio State won’t lose again but I think that’s unlikely. As reported by Jim Carty and noted here, I’ve confirmed the rule changes to the Big Ten tie-breaker. The rule change applies to the Rose Bowl only, but it does penalized Big Ten teams for scheduling teams from the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), aka the former Division I-AA. I got this from the Big Ten offices, who also mentioned that this would be put online at bigten.org ASAP: METHOD TO DETERMINE BIG TEN CONFERENCE AUTOMATICREPRESENTATIVE TO THE BOWL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES Effective for bowl games following the 2006-09 regular football seasons, the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) will consist of five (5) bowl games: BCS National Championship Game, Rose Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Orange Bowl, and Sugar Bowl. Participation by a Big Ten Conference member institution will be determined as follows: a. BCS National Championship Game. In the event the conference has one or two football teams ranked No. 1 and/or No. 2…
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Joy Miller & The Disgrace of 1909
In an ironic twist to Yost's claim that the Irish held loose eligibility requirements, on Christmas Eve 1909 the New York Times broke the news to the world that Coach Yost's house wasn't quite in order. The headline declared "FOOTBALL SCANDAL IN MICHIGAN TEAM". The issue was with Michigan's halfback J. Joy Miller who it seems didn't bother to attend any classes in the Fall of 1909.
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The Wolverine Pack and 1926
Given the mood of most Michigan fans right now, it may be refreshing to take a look back at better days. Check out this graphic taken from the October 23, 1926 issue of the San Diego Sun which several members of the 1926 Wolverines.
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Happy New Year – Go Blue!
Ahh, New Year’s Day is here with a full slate of great games headlined by the much-hyped Rose Bowl. Speaking of the hype, wow, the ABC/ESPN machine really went after it in the past couple days, huh? How about that coundown to the Rose Bowl running on ESPN? I told the gang here I wish they’d do that for every Michigan game. As far as the game, I’m thinking Michigan will have a little too much for J.D. Booty and the Trojans and will win a tight one: 26-20. The keys? Getting pressure on Booty and containing Jarrett. It’s been so long since the Ohio State game and I’m looking forward to seeing David Harris fly around the field and see what trouble Woodley and Branch can cause up front. Prescott Burgess is completely healthy and it’ll be interesting to see his impact. Here’s some more New Year’s Day predictions for you, against the spread: Wisconsin +2 over Arkansas Tennessee -4 over Penn State Nebraska +1.5 over Auburn Georgia Tech +9 over West Virginia Oklahoma -8 over Boise State
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All Big Two, Err.. Ten
This is a test
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Michigan Crushes Indiana in Warm Up
BLOOMINGTON, IN What a great way to round out the season before the big one against the Buckeyes next week. Michigan crushed the Indiana Hoosiers on both sides of the ball and cruised to a 34-3 win. Next for the Blue is a mega-hyped, media-saturated week leading up the showdown in Columbus.
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Heading Back to Bloomington
SALINE, MI NOVEMBER 10, 2006 It’ll be great to get back to IU, the first time since graduating from business school in 1998. It was a great two years in Bloomington and of course this time coincided with Michigan 1997 National Championship run. I actually received two tickets to the 1998 Rose Bowl against Washington State from the IU Athletic department. Ahh, good times. Here’s a few things I’d like to see tomorrow: – Henne crisp passes, with completions of 40+ to Manningham and/or Arrington. – Hart having less than 15 carries. – Minor, Grady, Jackson looking sharp. – Defense holding IU to less than 200 passing yards. – Overall, a 20 point+ win, going away, giving some of the 2nd string a chance to redeem themselves. – A porterhouse steak at Little Zagreb
