The Alumni Association magazine Early Fall 2008 edition came out today, featuring Rodriguez on the cover. Funny, but he looks about 5 years younger in the cover shot, more hair, thinner…hmm, maybe this town is getting to him. Anyway, the interview with him is a bunch of softballs with one beauty: What are the chances of a home-and-home with West Virginia? RR: I wouldn’t think they are very good. Almost nailed him on that. And yes, I paid my Alumni Association dues and so should you, tightwad!

Michigan dropped like a hot rock this week as might be expected, from alone in fourth with a 62.5 rating, to its present seventh place tie and a 44.3. A few comments on from the pollsters: Gilliam the Badger: “It looks like last year all over again. MSU can’t get out of their own way, UM stumbles in a disappointing opener, OSU, PSU crush inferior opponents. Most positive moves of the week? Minnesota managed to win a game, and Indiana is spending $40 million to finish their stadium. When does basketball start?” Biggie Munn the Spartan, when asked who impressed this week. “Northwestern…nice win vs. Syracuse. Their offense looked very explosive.” Schlimmy the Buckeye agreed with Biggie, “Northwestern- they were the only Big Ten team to beat a team from a BCS conference- so by default I give them the nod this week. Big Ten is off to a slow start as they go 0-3 in their “showcase games” for the week, Illinois is dropping quickly in my eyes as giving up 50+ point is simply unacceptable.”

I drove down State Street past the practice facility this evening (Sunday) at around 9pm. The lights were on so I took a gander…Rodriguez had the team out there in full pads.

Leaving the stadium I caught dejected defensive coordinator Scott Shafer outside section 22 gripping the handrails, head down drenched with sweat. He was waiting for the crowd to clear so he could get down onto the field and into the locker room. Shafer looked like someone just shot his dog; here’s a terrible photo but you get the idea: Obviously, this was huge emotional experience for all the coaches and players and you can understand if these guys were devastated. It was really ugly for most the game and if not for a few breaks and dumb Utah penalties this game could have been out of hand early in the second half. A few takes: I had a hunch we’d lose this game but not like that. A lot of people left the game midway into the fourth quarter when M was down 15 and I didn’t blame them, the game seemed way out of reach. RR’s got to find a way to run the ball. Can you imagine this team trying to hold a lead and eat clock? We’re miles from a Chris Perry 22 play drive that kills 11 minutes. Apparently the quarterback race wasn’t really close- Rodriguez said both guys might play but he didn’t want to put Threet in there or he would have in the…

Posted by MLive, condensed: Michigan post-game press conference

A wonderful array of previews, advice and predictions out there in the nerdosphere this week. I’m catching up after hitting the CMU game on Thursday. Great stuff. Random notes, links, etc: * Know Your Foe: Utah – ‘Spawn of M Zone’ revives this great feature. * “Michigan ditched Carr without adding Miles” – From the Oregonian. Do they give Pulitzers for headline writers? If so, please blacklist whomever is responsible for that. * RAGS TO RICH-ES. Again with the headlines, but this is the NY Post. On Rich Rod, “He’s too good at what he does,” said a Big East coach. “His teams come at you on offense, defense and special teams.” * Open try-out 9/3. Saw this on MSC. Does Rich Rod need bloggers? * There’s been a lot of talk about the MVictors walk, I think it’s very cool. I spoke with a former player and Rose Bowl champion from the Bump Elliott era, he said his players spent the night at the Michigan golf clubhouse (they had bunks set up) and walked across the street to the stadium. * The Ann Arbor News predicts a mild upset, Utah 28 Michigan 24 and Jim Carty provides a primer on the spread offense. * If you want an excellent summary of this game and where we stand, check out…