Pregame rituals vary, but I try to listen to as much of the WTKA Key Bank Countdown to Kickoff show as much as I can.   If you missed it this week you missed an epic segment. Prior to the Purdue game Rick Leach phoned in to comment on the topic of This Week in Michigan Football History.  The topic was the 1978 Michigan-Notre Dame game, aka “The Reunion Game”. Leach was injured the week of the game and he talks with Sam Webb about how he was injured, where he was during game week, about a visit from Bob Ufer, and then a few details on gameday: before the game, what Bo told him at halftime and a bit about after the game.  It’s outstanding. Ira was kind to send me the clip so here it is, the first couple minutes is the TWIMFbH piece on the history of the rivalry and a recap of this game, and then Sam goes right into the Q&A with Leach: [display_podcast] Go Blue! P.S. Speaking of all of this, the weekend WTKA is continuing the tradition of the Ufer Classic, and the game of choice is indeed that 1978 Notre Dame-Michigan game.   Ufer is fired up for this one and it’s a classic.  Make sure you hang in there for the…

Steve “Dr. Sap” Sapardanis is a Schembechler-era savant and once again this season 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 – Remember the George Orwell book, 1984?  Well, good thing this is not 1984. If it was, the season would have been over the moment they walked Wilton Speight off the field early in the first half. Thirty-three years ago, when coach Harbaugh was felled by a broken arm against Michigan State there was a significant talent drop-off at the QB spot for Michigan. [via Detroit Free Press] You think Bo and Jim have ever forgotten that? Nope. That is why John O’Korn and Brandon Peters are waiting their turn. Did you see that type of performance coming out of #8? I certainly didn’t, but I will tell you this: sometimes when you get thrust into the fray, you don’t have time to think and over-analyze things. When that happens, instincts and muscle-memory kick in and you get what we all saw Saturday out of O’Korn – WoW! Listen, I get that…

This week's game hits an anniversary of "The Reunion Game" - a resumption of the Michigan-Notre Dame rivalry after a three decade+ hiatus. Billed as 2 legendary college football schools of course, but also a battle of Joe Montana vs. Rick Leach. Montana was coming off the classic Cotton Bowl win the season before, and Leach was hyped up as one of the nation's most talented quarterbacks.

Steve “Dr. Sap” Sapardanis is a Schembechler-era savant and once again this season 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 or catch Steve rolling around town in the Sap-mobile: OFFENSIVE CHAMPION:  Nothing notable here, but don’t panic, see COACHING CHAMPIONS below.. DEFENSIVE CHAMPION: Chase Winovich seemed to be all over the field on Saturday, especially the Air Force backfield. His intensity and energy seemed to drive him and the rest of the defense to keep pressuring the Fighting Falcons offense all game. While Gary, Hurst and Bush got all the pre-season hype, Winovich’s play is starting to command some attention of his own. Gonna need him to keep it up and do the same come November. SPECIAL TEAMS CHAMPION:  I’m going with Quinn Nordin and Donovan Peoples-Jones, for obvious, and different reasons. First of all, when you kick 5 of 5 field goals and tie a school record for most 3-pointers in a game, you deserve a helmet sticker! Ok – now for DPJ. Amazing how much more comfortable he looked back there against Air Force this week.…

Could Bo reload?   That was the question before the 1972 season after losing 4 All-Americans.  I’ll give you the answer now: Damn right Bo could reload! But there were a few nervous folks in these parts as we kicked off Bo’s fourth season at the helm.  Adding to the anxiety was the prospect of opening the season with a conference game, as the Northwestern Wildcats strolled into town.  A few notes: I’m not sure how the passing of Harry Kipke was treated in Ann Arbor.  He won a national championship as a player and coach (twice), but his coaching regime ended in a shambles amidst scandal in the late 1930s, opening the door for Fritz Crisler.  That’s why his name is on a service drive in the Michigan Stadium parking lot. Speaking of the reception, I wonder if Michigan fans in 1972 had any emotions about having a black quarterback take the reins – did anyone care?   I was too young, but I remember the buzz around guys like the Redskins’ Doug Williams and all that. And speaking of breaking barriers, this game marked the first gender-integrated Michigan Marching Band.  I did not know that there were no female musicians marching back in the day.  Check out James Tobin’s fine piece in Michigan Today for more on this…

Steve “Dr. Sap” Sapardanis is a Schembechler-era savant and once again this season 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 – For the second week in a row, Ty Isaac seemed to give the offense the spark and, more importantly, the consistency it needed to win this game. When the offense sputtered, Isaac seemed to relish the role of carrying the rock. I thought he was finally going to take one to the house in the 4th quarter, but his long run set Michigan up for another score to essentially put the game out of reach. Solid, steady, turnover-free, production from the running back spot is something that Isaac seems to have mastered so far this year. Hopefully he can continue to deliver that kind of play throughout the rest of the season. DEFENSIVE CHAMPION – Tyree Kinnel not only had the pick-six that appeared to (at the time) ice this game early in the 1st quarter, he also had a sack and led the team with 9 tackles. Getting good, smart,…