Dr. Sap’s Decals | Wind-chilled Hawkeye Edition

OFFENSIVE CHAMPION

NONE – I didn’t see one. Not Devin Funchess Manball. Not Devin Gardner. Not Fitz Toussaint. Not Derrick Green. Not Jake Butt. Not Jeremy Jackson. None.

DEFENSIVE CHAMPION

JAKE RYAN – He forced the pick-six to start the game, laid the wood later in the first half and seemed to be back to his normal, pre-injury, self. He was hitting guys like I haven’t seen a Michigan Linebacker hit guys since Ron Simpkins back in the late ‘70s.

SPECIAL TEAMS CHAMPION

RAYMON TAYLOR – Michigan didn’t block Iowa’s attempted field goal in the first half, but Taylor recovered the muff. It was momentum that you take when you are on the road in the Big Ten. I guess that momentum was blown away by all the wind in the 3rd quarter…

HUSTLER /
SPARKPLUG

JEREMY GALLON – Not a Champion, but certainly a Hustler on Saturday. I can honestly say that after the first few games of Gallon’s Michigan career I NEVER thought I’d be saying this in his senior year: “I’m gonna miss that guy.” He has truly been deserving of wearing the #21 jersey and has come to play every game this year, and last year and the year before that. His catches and toughness will really be missed next year.

ROBERT FROST UFER MAIZE & BLUE
FEDORA FAN

SCOTT MERCER – My buddy Scott made the trek from Minnesota to Iowa to watch 176 yards of total offense, 3 first downs in the second half in zero-degree wind chill. Why? Because he is a TRUE Michigan Fan.  How do I know this?  Scott was born in Nebraska and was as BIG RED as you can be.  He was so proud of his team that he invited me to watch a game with him at Memorial Stadium so I could see what big time college football was really like. I went to Lincoln and told Scott that the Huskers’ 77,000 seat stadium, loud rock music and band that wore shorts was, “nice.” I told him that if he wanted to experience the true essence what tradition is in college football, he needed to come to Ann Arbor for a game. A few years later, he did. As he walked into Michigan Stadium, the view gave him chills. During the game, he said he could feel the history and the ghosts of Michigan legends past. Oh ya – he also thought that listening to music played by a pretty cool band throughout the game was college football pageantry at its best. The best part? Scott INSTANTLY became a Michigan Fan that day in 2005 against Notre Dame. So I salute “Merce.” He took the picture below from his seats on Saturday:

A great view. Just not a great 2^nd half. Scott, “Deserved better!” to quote Lloyd Carr.