Iowa goes down, is Michigan in the title hunt? ANN ARBOR, MI OCTOBER 28, 2001 After beating the Iowa Hawkeyes on Saturday Michigan may now have a chance at getting into the BCS championship game at the Rose Bowl. Michigan will have to win the rest of their games (including big games against Michigan State, Wisconsin and of course the Buckeyes), and some teams will still have to lose. I give the Wolverines about a 20% chance of getting to the national championship game in Pasadena, CA. If they do, I know a few Michigan men that will rejoice. This is a pretty good team, but I think they will need a stronger running game to be considered great team. One BCS computer geek runs the numbers Sunday afternoon based upon available data (the real BCS comes out Monday night). He has Michigan currently 4th. IF they do win the rest of their games and don’t get into the final it would be tough to take. Despite a down year in the Big Ten, it is still a brutal task to run the schedule. They would deserve at least a shot. Unless there are two strong undefeated teams left at the end, the BCS will be criticized again. Solution: Keep the polls, but institute a committee (like NCAA hoops) to…
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Bad Bounce Beats Badgers! M Lucks Out in 2001
ANN ARBOR MI November 18, 2001 In the worst offensive performance that I can remember, somehow Michigan combined solid defense, superior special teams and a big break to beat Wisconsin. Michigan can clinch the 2001 Big Ten Championship and the automatic BCS birth by beating Ohio State in the Schembechler Bo-bblehead game next Saturday. I’ll be there with bells on. More Takes on the Wisconsin/Michigan game in 2001: John Navarre: Everyone knew that Navarre had a tendency to lock onto one receiver, but at least he would throw a nice ball to that one receiver. I was fine with his QB abilities after the Washington game because he showed leadership and skill at the end after giving the game away. Now he is missing people and putting up awful numbers. 11-24 for 58 yards? Brutal. Suffice it to say the QB job is wide open next year, if not for the Bowl game. Lloyd Carr is inserting Gonzales into these games to get him ready. On Special Teams: Michigan dominates special teams with raw talent. I would bet that any of the 11 guys on the punt return team would be star players on Wisconsin. Obviously special teams was the difference in this game. Next: Michigan probably has enough to beat Ohio State (again) next week, but if the offense…
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Michigan falls in Bo Bobblehead Game (Ohio State 26, Michigan 20 – 2001)
It was a painful medley of futility, mistakes, and missed opportunities, as Michigan lost to Ohio State 26-20. With the loss, the Michigan Wolverines blew its chance to claim the Big Ten title and the automatic BCS bid. On a brighter note, #1000SSS passed out Bo Bobbleheads! Read on:
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Luck Turns for Michigan
In the worst offensive performance that I can remember, somehow Michigan combined solid defense, superior special teams and a big break when a punt hit a downfield Badger…to beat Wisconsin again. Michigan can clinch the Big Ten and the automatic BCS birth by beating Ohio State in the Bo-bblehead game next Saturday. I’ll be there with bells on. Other theories: John Navarre: Everyone knew that Navarre had a tendency to lock onto one receiver, but at least he would throw a nice ball to that one receiver. I was fine with his QB abilities after the Washington game because he showed leadership and skill at the end after giving the game away. Now he is missing people and putting up awful numbers. 11-24 for 58 yards? Brutal. Suffice it to say the QB job is wide open next year, if not for the Bowl game. Carr is inserting Gonzales into these games to get him ready. On Special Teams: Michigan dominates special teams with raw talent. I would bet that any of the 11 guys on the punt return team would be star players on Wisconsin. Obviously special teams was the difference in this game. Next: Michigan probably has enough to beat Ohio State (again) next week, but if the offense doesn’t improve the BCS bowl game could be embarrassing.
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On the Road with the Wolverines
Here is a listing of the different stadiums in which I have seen Michigan play football. Obviously the most common place I have seen the Blue play is at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor (around 90 or so games). After that, it has to be Spartan Stadium (around 10), then a tie with Notre Dame Stadium and the Rose Bowl (4 each). The best is of course the Rose Bowl, but after that I would have to say Notre Dame and Ohio State. The worst is easily Ross-Ade at Purdue – it is like a high school stadium at the time. I know they made some changes to spruce it up, but it had a long way to go. Michigan Stadium (Michigan) Ann Arbor, MI Spartan Stadium (Michigan State) East Lansing, MI Ross-Ade Stadium (Purdue) West Lafayette, IN Memorial Stadium (Indiana) Bloomington, IN Ohio Stadium (Ohio State) Columbus, OH Ryan Field (Northwestern) Evanston, IL Notre Dame Stadium (Notre Dame) South Bend, IN Rose Bowl (vs. UW, WSU, USC) Pasadena, CA Orange Bowl (vs. Alabama) Miami, FL
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Northwest Airlines Plane buzzes Spartan Stadium
Memo to the pilot: Thanks very much, you Jackass EAST LANSING, MI NOVEMBER 3, 2001 Many fans at Saturday’s Michigan/Michigan State football game had a bone-chilling scare as a large Northwest airlines jet decided to fly above and turn directly over the stadium. Sometime in the first half of the game, fans sitting on the East side of Spartan Stadium stands watched as the jet came from the West, made a slight turn, and headed toward Lansing’s Capital City Airport. Some witnesses believe the plane was a DC9. No Sunday morning papers made mention of this incident (the press box is in the West stands…the press probably missed it), but it was widely discussed after the game. The frightening experience was not limited to the fans in the stadium, as many tailgaters hanging in the parking lots around the stadium also saw and heard the plane. No planes of any kind have been seen above major sporting events since Sept. 11. Obviously, nothing happened with the plane other than scaring people. But here is the problem: Events like football games are a chance to get away from the issues in our day-to-day lives. This could not be more true today, as we all were recently warned of impending terrorist actions. Thanks to the jackass flying that jet (or the people…
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Michigan Football Tickets Arrive, No Upgrade!
Webmaster denied a seat upgrade once again ANN ARBOR, MI AUGUST 13, 2001 Michigan football tickets arrived last week. My efforts to get my seats upgraded failed. I am in the same seats I have in for the past several years. The artwork on the tickets takes you through the history of Michigan Stadium, from Fielding Yost issuing bonds to finance the construction to various changes throughout the years. They did a fine job. The highlight of the year’s schedule has to be the Ohio State game, to be held on November 24. The disclaimer on the back of the tickets notes that the tickets may not be sold or offered for sale at a higher price than the amount printed on the ticket (or it may be seized and cancelled without compensation). The disclaimer ends with the following: “Management reserves the right to refuse admission or to eject any person whose conduct Management deems disorderly, obnoxious or unbecoming.” Sounds like the rules at Bushwood CC under the Judge Smails regime.
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Highlights: Michigan Blue/White Scrimmage 2001
ANN ARBOR, MI. April 14, 2001 The Michigan football team competed in its Blue – White game on Saturday. The format was a modified game (with running clocks) and was held at Michigan stadium. I estimate that roughly 15,000 people attended. Items of note: The offenses struggled most of the game including throwing 7 interceptions – most of which were simply bad decisions by the quarterbacks. No one QB really impressed anyone but it seems Navarre is in position to start next year. Michigan has a very good staff that has produced several pro quarterbacks in the last decade. It is likely that they will have the team ready at that position. The defense was really flying around and hitting people. While the QB’s were primarily to blame for the 7 picks, the defense played very aggressive and deserves some credit. Hopefully this unit will be much improved this season, led by Cato June who returns from injury last season. Kays, Ron and myself played the UM Golf course before the game. Kays pulled teeth. We managed to get an 8:10am tee time and finished the round at around 12:30pm – just enough time to pack up the bags and head over to the game.
