Photo: Detroit News, post Wisconsin game Audio: The Dubliners performing folk ballad, “The Leaving of Liverpool” .

Here we are, just a few hours from kick-off from the Big One. Any rational Michigan fan is pessimistic about the ultimate outcome today but no bother. My hopes for today are simple: Make big collisions on defense and finish tackles. Play their wideouts aggressive and wrap up Pryor. On offense, make the plays during the few times they are there, make catches, hold onto the ball. Most of all, just go hard from the start and don’t let up until the whistle. Go Blue!

What can you say about that? A signature win in New York for Coach Beilein as the Wolverines showed a lot of poise on offense while the trapping defense locked up the Bruins. I was really impressed with Stu Douglass and it’s clear that Sims and Harris are much improved. Even Dukie V. was mildly impressed. UCLA probably isn’t anywhere close to the fourth best team in the country and I don’t think anyone in Ann Arbor is making travel plans for next April in Detroit. But no bother–win or lose that game Michigan looked so much better than at any point last year. . That’s progress, that’s refreshing and I’m looking forward to the Duke game(s).

A salute to the winning haiku from earlier this season. Win or lose Saturday, we’ll always have this:

Gilliam the Badger “Michigan State will know by kickoff if the Wolverines did their little brothers a favor, and beat the Buckeyes in Columbus. Unfortunately, this year it would take Lloyd Carr coming back from the dead for Les Blues to have a chance. I mean Schembechler. I really don’t think it would matter anyway, as I can’t see PSU doing anything less that blowing out Sparty in Happy Valley. Go U Northwestern! Congratulations to Pat Fitz and the smarties from Evanston. Wisconsin beat the up-and-coming Gophers to warm up for…Cal Poly. Cal Poly is 8-1, and is averaging about 50 points a game. Appalachian State, anyone?” Lew, the Wolverine, the Hoosier “Despite Coach Spank’Tonio’s anti-Michigan antics (dude, OSU is Michigan’s biggest football rivalry, and always will be, regardless of your lame attempts to goad big brother), I’ll be pulling for Sparty this weekend in Happy Valley (and a subsequent loss by Oregon State). And then I’ll be counting the days before USC gets to open up another can of whup ass on the Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl. It’s Ohio State/Michigan week and, well, if you can’t beat ’em…. F ’em! Gotta love Ohio State/Michigan week! ” Biggie the Spartan “Looking forward to Saturday….it could be argued that this is the biggest game MSU has played in last 18…

From Michigan Today, just posted, check it out. John U. Bacon [author of Bo’s Lasting Lessons] talks a little about Rich Rodriguez days before his first Ohio State game. “People say it’s harder to be at the top than the bottom,” he says. “But I guarantee you, anyone who says that has never been at the bottom. We’re going to get there. It won’t be tomorrow, and it won’t be easy, but we’re going to get there.”