Since I was busy with my own version of pregame festivities on the golf course I missed the events around ESPN’s visit to campus. Based upon the initial reviews it looks like the fans showed well and came up with some clever signs. That’s kind of what the mob of fans behind Corso, Fowler and Herbstreit is measured on these days. Football Jesus broke down the signs of the day and provided a Top 25 ranking. He liked the ‘We need a Carr with Les Miles’ which I’ve seen before but doesn’t really make a lot of sense. There’s a joke there somewhere but that’s not it. His favorite is pretty funny but a tad PG-13, you can check it out here. Of his Top 25 here are my favorites: 3. Only Buckeyes work at Home Depot 4. Charlie Weis ate Notre dame’s season. 6. Herbie sings “the Victors” in the shower 8. Stop talking about Barry Bonds 12. If you can read this you are not a Buckeye 20. Tressel watches “the View” 24. Desmond walks on H2o
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Road Apples
One of the biggest knocks on Lloyd Carr’s program has been its inability to win the first road game of the year. Critics of Carr say the trend unmistakenly points to a lack of preparedness which falls on the coaching staff. Since the ’98 season the Blue have won only 2 road openers: 1999 at Syracuse and last year’s beat down in South Bend. That left a 6 year stretch from 2000-2005 where Michigan dropped the opener. Here’s the dismal record: Michigan Road Openers since 1998 1998 @ Notre Dame Loss – 36-20 1999 @ Syracuse Win – 18-13 2000 @ UCLA Loss – 23-20 2001 @ Washington Loss – 23-18 2002 @ Notre Dame Loss – 25-23 2003 @ Oregon Loss – 31-27 2004 @ Notre Dame Loss – 28-20 2005 @ Wisconsin – Loss – 23-20 2006 @ Notre Dame – Win – 47-21 2007 @ Northwestern In the past decade the first roadie has been a non-Notre Dame, non-conference opponent but it looks like that won’t happen again for quite awhile. Like it or not, Michigan will pretty much fill the pre-conference schedule with home games leaving the opener for either Notre Dame or, when the Irish game is home, the first conference opponent. A few other takes heading into the weekend: Pumping the Records Two major…
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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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Nine Timing Bastards (Michigan-Penn State 2007)
The Bizarro World 2007 season continues as the Blue takes down Penn State again. The same Nittany Lions team that many folks felt had the inside track for the Big Ten title. It was a classic conference battle where the two teams seemed to pick up where they left off the past couple of games. Big hits, quarterbacks running for their lives and some tense moments down the stretch. In the end, Penn State couldn’t break through Michigan’s defense and never found a way to stop Mike Hart. Nine times in a row Michigan has sent Penn State packing. Now Michigan is right back into the conference picture and will have two weeks to progress as Northwestern and Eastern Michigan should [should!] offer no challenge. Semi-stale takes on this battle: Appalachian Nightmare: Most have heard by now that App State lost today to Wofford. Whatever. I’m more concerned with this little scenario that Jim Carty presented in today’s Ann Arbor News: Let’s say Michigan beats Penn State, Penn State beats Ohio State, and Ohio State beats Michigan. All three teams end up with one conference loss. In that scenario, the Lions win a tie-breaker over Michigan and Ohio State because those teams played I-AA opponents. That’s right, playing a I-AA team can eliminate you from the Rose Bowl. It’s a…
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Media Watch: Notre Dame
What they’re saying about the Notre Dame game. In summary, the media has turned the “trainwreck watch” away from Ann Arbor and right upon ol’ Charlie Weis and the Irish. And why not? That was an absolute mess out there and I think my 3 year old daughter knows that ND hasn’t scored an offensive touchdown this year. Yikes. Here’s some of the quotes out there this morning: Jim Carty, Ann Arbor News: “…a relief to know you were finally not the butt of every joke on ESPN, and that you got there by absolutely teeing off on an opponent” John Heuser, Ann Arbor News: “After seeing its national title hopes destroyed in four quarters, then suffering its worst home loss in 40 years, the University of Michigan football team took its first step toward reclaiming its season Saturday.” Bob Wojnowski, Detroit News: “The Irish are really, really putrid, and we’re not overlooking that. But the Wolverines were really, really desperate, and boy, did it show. It turns out the which-storied-program-is-in-more-trouble debate was pretty silly. U-M pounded Notre Dame in every way possible, releasing waves of tension with newfound exuberance in a 38-0 victory Saturday at Michigan Stadium.” Jerry Green, Detroit News: “And what is happening to Notre Dame in this football September of 2007 is equally as honest and…
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Good Reads
A few good reads out there: – Blue-Gray Sky’s Pick Six game for 2007, even though they stole my Bo-bblehead animated gif with no acknowledgement. Blue Gray sky fans, this is for you. – Michigan Football Saturdays on five players to watch in the opener this weekend. – A piece from last month in The New York Times on the power of college football forums and blogs especially as sources of recruiting watchdogs. – How Chad Henne learned to be a jerk, from the Detroit News.
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Bloggers done good
Big props to the team of writers & bloggers that pulled together “Hail to Victors 2007”, a preview of this year’s M football season. As editor Brian Cook of mgoblog argues in the opener, content from the blogosphere can reach highs that “far outstrip those produced by a newspaper industry reports and forgets in a day.” I think they hit the mark with this one. Overview Some might say it’d be hard for a guide titled “HAIL TO THE VICTORS” with a section on M opponents section titled “THE ENEMY” to be unbiased. Yes, the content slants towards maize side of the house, but they authors solicited the help of those inside enemy camps to offer analysis. The Notre Dame preview is dropped by Brian Stouffer of The House Rock Built, and the rest of the opponents overviews were submitted by Matt Hinton of Sunday Morning Quarterback. Cook’s review of the offense and defense provides an assessment of what each player has (and hasn’t) brought to the field to date along with what needs to happen in 2007 to make it work. He touches on points that you and the dude sitting next to you in the stadium are thinking (after your whiskey buzz from the tailgate starts to wear off). A few examples: On Tight ends “Tight end…is a…
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To Hell with Notre Dame…in 2032
Our great departed leader Bo Schembechler felt that the Notre Dame Fighting Irish broke a gentleman's agreement with Michigan to make the M vs. ND game the first of each season. Bo was all miffed at the Domers for rebuffing overtures to join the Big Ten. He felt that Michigan, Michigan State and Purdue should each drop the ND from the schedule immediately. Summarizing his feelings on the Irish Bo told anyone who'd listen, "To Hell with Notre Dame".
