• Maryland Champions | Dr. Sap’s Decals

    Steve “Dr. Sap” Sapardanis is a Schembechler-era savant and once again he’ll be diligently handing out his postgame helmet stickers after each game. Sap has pored over hours and hours of U-M games over several decades, and in these posts he’s able to tie the present to the past. I encourage you to subscribe to Dr. Sap on YouTube, or follow Sap on Twitter: OFFENSIVE CHAMPION – Against Maryland, there were several players (once again) that were deserving of helmets sticker on offense. While that’s great to hear and see, it makes my job tougher. Speaking of tough, ain’t no one tougher on this Wolverine squad than Ben Mason!  My gosh he runs with such power, emotion, ferocity and intensity!  And, #42 got some hops, too!  Great day for a hurdle, isn’t it, @UMichFootball‘s @benchmason42? pic.twitter.com/WQub0a5nlR — Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) October 6, 2018 Never expected a fullback to leap defenders in a single bound, but that’s what Superman, er, Ben Mason did against the Terrapins, yesterday. His game is infectious and that’s saying something for a fullback who is not an every down player. But hey, maybe he should be! DEFENSIVE CHAMPION – I gotta tell ya, I was worried about this game – much like Bo used to worry about playing Northwestern back in he 70s.  Schembechler would routinely tell everyone how good and improved…

  • Homecoming Tidings (Moe’s, Mud Bowl update)

    Sorry to be the bearer of these tidings, but if you are heading back to town this weekend for the Homecoming game there’s a couple things missing on campus: There will be no SAE Mudbowl this Saturday.   Organizers plan to hold the annual pigskin slopfest on November 3, 2018 and the event once again benefits Mott.  You can support it here.   I’m confident they will NOT be crowning a Mud Bowl “queen” either like they did in ’54: Moe’s is closed.  Yes, the iconic Moe Sports Shops on North University, a mainstay of campus for over 100 years, closed in June.   To cheer you up, here’s a Homecoming sign from 1947 posted up on East Quad:

  • Wild, Wild Wildcat Champions | Dr. Sap’s Decals

    Steve “Dr. Sap” Sapardanis is a Schembechler-era savant and once again he’ll be diligently handing out his postgame helmet stickers after each game. Sap has pored over hours and hours of U-M games over several decades, and in these posts he’s able to tie the present to the past. I encourage you to subscribe to Dr. Sap on YouTube, or follow Sap on Twitter: So how many of you thought this game was over when the score was, 17-0? As poorly as the Wolverines looked, were you confident they would rebound? Did you really think this was going to be a tale of two halves? Did you know that prior to the Northwestern game in 1984, Bo said this? The more things change, the more they stay the same. So in that vein let’s hand out some helmet stickers, just like Bo did back in the day. OFFENSIVE CHAMPION – In tight games, like this one was, you wanna put the ball in the hands of your playmakers. Saturday night, that playmaker was Shea Patterson. When a 3rd down conversion was needed to keep the drive (and game) alive, #2 kept moving the chains with his arm and/or his legs. He played a gutty game and willed his team to victory. A game like that will not only endear you to your teammates & coaches, but…

  • Slippery Rock and the Michigan Tradition | This Week in Michigan Football History

    On this day in 1979 the #1000SSS gave the keys to the Big House over to Slippery Rock, who hosted Shippenburg.  Over 61,000 fans attended, good enough for an all-time Division II attendance record.  Here’s the history of this great Michigan tradition: Most Saturdays in the Big House you’ll public address announcer Carl Grapentine share scores of college games around the country, including a score that’s not quite like the other. I’m talking about Slippery Rock of course, and to this day it receives a big roar from the Meeechigan faithful if they happen to win. Calling out the Slippery Rock score at the Big House started in 1959 when then-PA man Steve Filipiak (FILL-IPEE-ACK) saw the score of a team with a funny name come across the wire. He decided to liven up what was a boring game and—-> the crowd LOVED it. The tradition continues today as it should. Did you know it was on this day 39 years ago in Michigan football history that a record crowd entered the Big House to see….Slippery Rock play in Ann Arbor. Yes, opportunistic AD Don Canham was no dummy and over 61,000 fans witnessed The Rock take on Shippensberg, It was enough to set the All-Time Division II attendance record. Did you know Slippery Rock got its name during the…

  • What you Kept

    Do you have a unique U-M or Michigan football-related item that you’ve held onto for many years?  Either something from your school days (if you went to U-M) or from early days of your fandom that you now deem somewhat sacred?   For example:  the Desmond Howard stadium banners from 1991.   I’m talking outside the norm of jerseys, footballs, ticket stubs or stuff sold to the masses over the past few decades. If you’d be willing – shoot me a pic and a brief explanation via email [mail @ mvictors.com] or hit me on Twitter. Update:  Like this: @MVictors What I kept? Does this piece of Michigan Stadium original concrete and steel bench support count? pic.twitter.com/CEvdaz2xvq — Allen ][V][ (@buckeyehater76) September 27, 2018

  • Overwhelming – Sights & Sounds (Michigan 56, Nebraska 10)

    The most complete performance in a while and yes, Harbaugh’s Michigan teams have proven very adapt at pounding the crap out of weak opponents. Plenty of sights and sounds from the game: Husked.  We’ve done this before to the Huskers, back in 1905 the Yostmen rolled up the Huskers 31-0 at Ferry Field and the Daily pulled out the thick typeface to let campus know: ICYMI, we had less luck in 1911 when we tied, 6-6 but team, fans and everyone had a lovely time afterward at the joyous feast. Pregame.  I must say I love the James Earl Jones-narrated pregame hype video that they blast out before the team comes out.  And props to the athletic department for updating it each week -for Saturday they slipped in the “Go Blue” that Emmy winner Darren Criss dropped in his speech.  Well done.I’m also a sucker for the parachute drops, especially parachute drops with an on-field hype man barking out stuff until they land. Spectacle.  An underrated must-watch element of these games is watching punter Will Hart kick the snot out of the pigskin.  If he qualified (not enough attempts) he’d be #2 in the country with a 52.6 average, just behind a gent from Georgia State (Go Fighting Peaches!) with 52.8.  The current #4 spot requires a 47-yard average.  Also Michigan…