I found this article on the prolific York Daily Record website pointing out that we’re upon the 50th anniversary of the two point conversion in college football. It’s a great read, definitely check it out. So why is this on MVictors? Look who pushed for the rule change: Among those on the committee who liked the idea and were part of the unanimous approval were Oklahoma coach Bud Wilkinson and former Alabama and Duke coach Wallace Wade. But the leading proponent was Michigan coach Fritz Crisler. He said after the rules committee meeting that the two-point play “will add drama to what has been the dullest, most stupid play in the game.” Once the rule kicked in the following season teams went two-point crazy until they came to their senses, perhaps with the help of an egghead in the math department: In 1958, teams quickly became infatuated with the opportunity to score more points. That season, there were more two-point conversation attempts than extra-point kicking tries. In 578 games that season, teams went for two 1,371 times, converting 613 for 44.7 percent, and attempted 1,295 kicking extra points. The fad faded as the math evidence piled up. Over the long haul, the one-pointer was a better bet than the two , and by 1965, college football was down to 331…
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Angel on WDFN: Players asked for 4-man front (audio)
The Angel, back on Shep, Shave and Shower on 1130AM-WDFN this morning: Notes: * Angel said Brandon Graham went to the coaches and requested they run the four man front. * Talked about the significance of the Little Brown Jug before and after the game to Rodriguez and drew some comparisons to how Carr treated it (thank you). * A caller bitched about the late hit on Odoms. Chengelis agreed it was a late hit and said Odoms should be ready this weekend. * Said Threet has a shot at getting back Saturday? * On Minor, Rodriguez said he’s dealing with a bunch of nagging injuries. Angel thinks Minor will be on the shelf this weekend. Elsewhere: Don’t miss Jim Carty, Esquire on WTKA 1050AM this morning.
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Paging Doctor Rodriguez
Letters continue to steam into the Ann Arbor News. I scanned the paper today and the News dropped the Rodriguez missives in their own little section. This gem from writer Leslie landed inside ‘FOCUS: U-M FOOTBALL’ on the Opinion page: Ann Arbor News 11.10.07 As if Rodriguez doesn’t have enough people coming after him for what’s he’s actually paid to do. Leslie couldn’t resist herself and dropped the old coaching-salaries-are-out-of-control anvil. Yes, the sales of Twizzlers at Saturday’s game could fund a ballet troupe for three decades–we got ya Leslie. Indeed there are more important things in the world than football. But guess what–There’s a reason why 110,000 people pack into Michigan stadium each week and millions more watch on TV. We need an escape, sister, so lay off the U. and Rodriguez & fly right.
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HBO’s The Rivalry Released on DVD, Review
Glad to hear that HBO’s documentary on the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry is now available on DVD. You can get a copy here from Amazon.com or head over to your local Borders. I really enjoyed it; here’s my review from last November (with a few tweaks): ———————————————- With the hype building for Saturday it was a great night to watch the premiere of HBO’s first documentary dedicated to sports: The Rivalry. Initial review by those that at pre-screening event was that it was slanted toward the Buckeyes and didn’t mention Lloyd Carr. I went in with an open mind: – The content definitely slanted toward the Buckeye side of the house. I’d say the last half of the piece was 80% focused on Ohio State fans and Woody Hayes. – Overall it was well done. While they didn’t have any mention/picture/video of Lloyd Carr, they didn’t exactly spend a lot of time on Tressel. But the Carr omission was a little weird. I mean, they showed footage of John Cooper and a lot of Earle Bruce, but and didn’t mention Carr? – The quotes from Bo were great. They talked about the gold pants that each OSU coaches and players gets if they beat Michigan (and later show up on eBay). One thing that never occurred to me is that Bo…
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Scouting the Iowa Hawkeyes (2006)
A couple of weeks ago on eBay, a seller offered up what was described to be a folder belonging to a Michigan coach. The photos were blurry, but the description claimed it belonged to someone on the Wolverine staff and held diagrams, notes, plays, and whatnot related to the game against the Iowa Hawkeyes held October 21, 2006 in Ann Arbor. Michigan won the game 20-6 thanks to a solid defensive effort and a strong game from Henne and Hart. If you read Brian Cook’s Hail to the Victors 2008 before the season, you got a little insight into the Carr coaching staff with the wonderful article titled ‘Rock Star’ by author Craig Ross. Ross wiggled his way into a quarterbacks’ meeting led by former QB coach Scot Loeffler, here’s a snippet: Loeffler: “What are the boys doing to us? Chad Hen-ne. (It eventually becomes clear that “the boys” means “the defense.”)Henne: “They are skying us and we are in chili with a dino.”Loeffler: “Rock Star!!!!” Ross later described his head as all this was happening: My head was spinning. I was trying to write notes as quickly as I could and still pay some attention, trying to learn something from what was going on. I was lost. It was hopeless. It felt a bit, perhaps exactly, like Ross after…
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Final takes on the Gopher Snare
A few random takes on Minnesota, closing out the week: * Man, I can’t believe Tim Brewster didn’t rush things a little bit down the stretch. After watching Michigan control the ball in the final minutes of the game it’s clear it wouldn’t have mattered, but Brewster walked off the field with all three timeouts, right? And as the ESPN guy kept pounding home, they had no sense of urgency on offense in the fourth quarter. I don’t blame them for kicking that field goal, but they needed to get some hustle on. * Speaking of down the stretch, after all we’ve been through this season I caught myself watching the clock on every play. I wasn’t convinced we were going to win this thing until a few minutes to go. * Angelique suggested there might be a quarterback controversy this morning. I’m not sure about that–yes, Sheridan looked great but I’m still much more comfortable with Threet back there if he’s healthy. * A few in the local media have suggested that Michigan has given up in games, thrown in the towel, dialed down the effort. I haven’t seen it. In fact, during the Michigan State game one of my takeaways is how somehow these guys think they’re bad. Not bad meaning bad but bad meaning good. I mean…
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I promised myself I wasn’t going to cry
AP Photo
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Slick Nick Sheridan
To the victor goes the spoils, look who was seen with #8 in Minneapolis after the game: So let’s get down to it:* Sheridan played great, not just good. I, like you, expected a train wreck today so give him a lot of credit.* His final passing stats don’t do justice (18-30, 203 yards and 33 rushing). He played smart, he protected the ball, and actually threw a handful of very nice balls downfield, at least two of which were flat out dropped by the receivers.* Give Sheridan half the credit, the rest to Scott Shafer and the defense for protecting the Little Brown Jug, which will now be held in the familiar confines of Schembechler Hall until November 2011. How ’bout dem apples!:
