I couldn’t wait for Saturday so last night I made it up the Mount Pleasant to take in the Central Michigan vs. Eastern Illinois game. It’s great to have football back again. Tailgating at Central was excellent (more on this shortly). We were able to park for $8 a few steps from the stadium in a perfect spot. Beer, brat, kraut, tator salad and pasta did the trick. A few things I learned: #1 – Dan LeFevour and the Chippewas can play. They took down Eastern Illinois 31-12 and looked pretty solid. Led by Rich Rodriguez’s former offensive coordinator Butch Jones, they keep the tempo hot and they really could move the ball. They play solid special teams and I’ll be interested to see how they fare at #1 Georgia next week. I think they would have given Michigan a handful had they been scheduled in the opener. #2 – It ain’t Ann Arbor. Along with the tailgate spots just outside the stadium, we were able to buy tickets this week on the 45 yard line in Kelly/Shorts Stadium. Keep in mind, this is the two time defending MAC champ, and they were recognizing the coaching legend Herb Deromedi for his recent entry into the college football hall of fame. Believe it, from our seats: #3 – Chips travel in…

The Big Ten Conference loaded up some of the spots from its “I Will” series; here’s the Maize and Blue version and it’s pretty cool: I will….crush beer at Fraser’s Pub on Saturday like an underage football player in the 70s. Elsewhere: WolverineHistorian’s 2007 Penn State-Michigan game on the You.

More on the Wolverines from the WDFN drive time hosts. Stoney admits he’s got a gut feel that Rodriguez is a little sleazy (although he struggles with the adjective) and Wojo admits a bit of the same. Wojo predicts that this season, Michigan fans “are going to find out what they did like” about traditional Michigan football.

Check it out here. There’s a lot of ‘OR”s in the offensive listing but if I read it correctly, RR’s got McGuffie or Shaw as the starter. David Moosman will start somewhere, but is listed as an ‘OR’ on both center and right guard. Quarterback as expected is a toss up between Threet and Sheridan, with Sheridan listed first but I don’t think that means anything. Brandon Harrison will return kick-offs, with Donovan Warren handling punts. Other items from the updated Game Notes: * Legends Ron Kramer, Dan Dierdorf and Bob Chappuis will be the Alumni captains for the game and will be out there from the coin toss. A great new tradition; thanks to Rich Rod for that. * Speaking of legends, Lloyd Carr will be recognized at halftime for winning the 2007 Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year award. * Michigan coaches are 15-2 in the debuts (Bump Elliott lost in 1959 to the Irish, Gary Moeller did the same in 1990). * This is the second earliest game in school history (tie), the earliest being the epic Pigskin classic vs. Virginia – Scotty Driesbach to Mercury Hayes baby. * There are players from 21 US states on the Michigan roster.

Via Michigan Sports Center: MSC also introduces the new Rich Rod tradition, the The MVictors Walk: “The Victors Walk” calls for the team to be dropped off of their buses at the edge of Crisler Arena, giving fans the opportunity to watch the players and coaches head to the stadium in an up-close and personal way.

Debut is Tuesday 8/26 at 6pm EDT. Good stuff when he runs into Moosman in the hallway: