Via a tweet from @freepwolverines, Tate Forcier will own a small portion of this week’s cover of Sports Illustrated (is he covering Favre’s face?  That’s a first).  I was able to poke around briefly on the SI website and found an upload of the new cover, perhaps a little early?   Full cover image here, featuring the Vikings’ Adrian Peterson.

Apparently the unwritten rule prohibiting cheering in the press box got a temporary stay on Saturday, at least according to writer Thayer Evans who was covering the Notre Dame for the New York Times ‘Quad Blog’ [HT: Faulkner]: Central Michigan beat Michigan State on a 42-yard field goal with 3 seconds left. As the game’s final minute ticked away before the start of the game here, news media in the press box gathered around televisions to watch. Central Michigan initially missed a potential game-winning 47-yard field goal, but got to try the kick again after Michigan State was penalized for being offside. The announcement of the penalty that set up the game-winner prompted clapping and an announcement in the press box. “Cheering is not allowed in the press box,” the announcer said, “but it is right now.”

I wasn’t in the press box this week and that was a good thing.  I would have had to chew off my tongue on that last drive to avoid cheering for Tate and the crew.   A few random notes and thoughts on Tate and Rich Rod’s big day: This was one ranks up there somewhere with best games in the Big House of recent history maybe all-time.   I heard many folks saying it was the best they’d ever seen and I can’t blame them if you consider the body of work: from the coin flip to Clausen’s desperation toss.   The Braylon Edwards/Michigan State comeback comes to mind but remember that much of that game involved the Wolverines getting hammered.  The Manningham/Penn State finish was wonderful of course against a top ranked opponent.   The 1991 Desmond catch game against the Irish (my god, 18 years ago?  We called Desmond “Magic”back then) seems comparable as I file through recent history.  Toss in all of the off-the-field intrigue and you’ve got yourself a special Saturday to remember. Sights/Sounds: I love the prevalence of the ‘To Hell with Notre Dame’ brand, from drops on WTKA 1050AM to the giant signs and t-shirts found before the game: While this was probably the best “Maize-out” I can remember, I love the complete disregard of the Maize-out…

That’s all I’ve got.  I wrote down a bunch of notes during the game but to quote the great Bob Ufer: “Who cares?  Who gives a damn?”

A thoughts on today game before I head out.  P.S. – For those coming back here for another behind-the-scenes recap from Notre Dame, sorry, I’ll be back in the crowd for this one.  I’m sure a lot of enemy fans are getting a good chuckle over the glee of the U-M faithful after the Western Michigan game.  I understand that a little bit, but this team looked different.  The tackling was much better and the difference with having a quarterback that can throw on the run (and just run) was clear.  I left South Bend convinced that Michigan had the better team last year despite the final score (see game recap, Pushing the Rock): History just might be on Notre Dame’s side (not the Las Vegas history), as recall it was 100 years ago this fall when Notre Dame first beat Michigan, in Ann Arbor no less.  Frank ‘Shorty’ Longman and crew came to town and stunned Yost and company 11-3 on November 6, 1909. Prediction: For today, I just can’t help but think that Forcier will struggle a bit and Clausen will have a solid day.  I think the M defense will look good but will give up the occasional bomb.  All told, I see the Irish pulling away 31-20.

One of the stirring images in my head from my behind-the-scenes experience for the Western Michigan game was the post game experience re-entering a quiet Michigan stadium, filled with trash and the occasional seagull.  Recall this photo:   No doubt inspired by my recap (not really), prestigious author, lecturer and raconteur John U. Bacon picked up from there and wrote about what goes on in the stadium when the fans aren’t packed inside.  For starters, Bacs explains how all that junk gets clean up in his piece for Michigan Today: For starters, the day after a game more than 300 people converge on the Big House to transform 450 overstuffed 55-gallon trash-cans and 300 recycling containers filled with plastic bottles—a total of about 15 tons of refuse per game—into 72 cubic feet of compressed trash. This mother lode fills three dump trucks, plus another truck for plastic bottles. Check out the entire piece here.

[Ed. On the anniversary of 9/11, a repost of the January 2009 look at when scheduled game needed to be moved for various reasons, including the 2001 Illinois game]: Played January 11, 2009, scheduled January 9, 2009 Red Berenson and crew continued its roll yesterday afternoon, wrapping up a sweep of Miami, OH with a 4-0 shutout. The rare Sunday tilt was of course due to the postponement of Friday’s scheduled game, due to the structural issues uncovered at Yost Ice Arena. This wasn’t the first time a scheduled game had to be moved, and unfortunately many of the other incidents were brought on by darker circumstances. I thought this would be a nice opportunity to look at some of those instances: 1963 – Kennedy The assassination of President Kennedy on November 22, 1963 moved out the Ohio State game which was scheduled to be played in Ann Arbor the next day. Played November 30, 1963, scheduled November 23, 1963 I was able to connect with Dr. Barry Dehlin, a sophomore on Bump Elliott’s 1963 crew and ask him about his memories of the days surrounding the assassination. Here’s what he wrote: Naturally the assassination was a shock to all of us. I remember being in the dorm getting ready to go to practice when I heard what had happened.…

HT to my Dad for mentioning this piece, but this Wall Street Journal article notes a wild trend: the success for Vegas underdogs in the Notre Dame-Michigan rivalry.  I would have guessed that the team getting points fared pretty well in the series, but this is amazing: