In an ironic twist to Yost's claim that the Irish held loose eligibility requirements, on Christmas Eve 1909 the New York Times broke the news to the world that Coach Yost's house wasn't quite in order. The headline declared "FOOTBALL SCANDAL IN MICHIGAN TEAM". The issue was with Michigan's halfback J. Joy Miller who it seems didn't bother to attend any classes in the Fall of 1909.
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We’ve Got Worm!
By popular demand, here’s Mariozone Manningham introducing the world to a little thing called style. Check out the video below as 86 delivers The Worm on the last play of the Penn State game: Manningham gets over on the last play of the game in Ann Arbor again! Thanks to “ThrillThrill” who posted the link to this beauty on mgoblog.
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Mike’s Got Fortitude
Mike Hart pretty much fell off the top of all Heisman watchlists after the first two debacles because the winner of the award is typically associated with one of the top teams in the country. I don’t know where the Blue will finish up this year but if Hart keeps it up he’s got to be considered. I’m not the only one, check out the love from CFN’s Michael Bradley: Hart, The Heisman Horse If the Heisman Trophy were to be awarded this week, there would be no shortage of candidates. The West Virginia duo is outstanding. Darren McFadden is tough to beat. Colt Brennan piles up the yards like crazy. Ray Rice. DeSean Jackson. All worthy possibilities. But if you want to find the player who is not only most valuable to his team but also perhaps the most productive and reliable player in college football, look no further than Michigan’s Mike Hart. With the Wolverines reeling from an humiliating 0-2 start, Hart guaranteed a win over Notre Dame (not exactly a Kreskin-worthy forecast, given ND’s horrible team) and then backed it up with a big performance. Last Saturday, with U-M trying to get a good start in the Big Ten and playing against a ferocious Penn State defense that ranked first in the nation against the run, Hart…
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Nine Timing Bastards (Michigan-Penn State 2007)
The Bizarro World 2007 season continues as the Blue takes down Penn State again. The same Nittany Lions team that many folks felt had the inside track for the Big Ten title. It was a classic conference battle where the two teams seemed to pick up where they left off the past couple of games. Big hits, quarterbacks running for their lives and some tense moments down the stretch. In the end, Penn State couldn’t break through Michigan’s defense and never found a way to stop Mike Hart. Nine times in a row Michigan has sent Penn State packing. Now Michigan is right back into the conference picture and will have two weeks to progress as Northwestern and Eastern Michigan should [should!] offer no challenge. Semi-stale takes on this battle: Appalachian Nightmare: Most have heard by now that App State lost today to Wofford. Whatever. I’m more concerned with this little scenario that Jim Carty presented in today’s Ann Arbor News: Let’s say Michigan beats Penn State, Penn State beats Ohio State, and Ohio State beats Michigan. All three teams end up with one conference loss. In that scenario, the Lions win a tie-breaker over Michigan and Ohio State because those teams played I-AA opponents. That’s right, playing a I-AA team can eliminate you from the Rose Bowl. It’s a…
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Strange ‘dogs
Both Michigan and Michigan State face interesting challenges on Saturday, both in situations where the traditional powers are rare underdogs: Underdogs, Part I Michigan is an underdog at home for the first time in recent memory. I believe Florida State 1991 or Miami 1988 was the last time? I think the underdog status is justified if you look at the season on the whole and consider Mallett will certainly be forced to make some big plays. That is, if Mallett indeed starts. Carr mentioned this week that Henne tooks some snaps in practice. I’d take Penn State and expect them to pull away tomorrow. Win, and Penn State remains Michigan’s obedient little bitch. Also, if anyone can find any evidence that the Figurehead (JoPa) actually is doing any coaching please send it here. Underdogs, Part II The Spartans roll into South Bend looking for a 6th straight road win over the Irish. Unreal and impressive. Odds makers have the Green as a 13 point favorite. While folks like Bill Simonson of the ‘Huge’ show think this is a must win for MSU, I disagree. I don’t think there’s shame in losing to Notre Dame at home even this season. Especially in Dantonio’s first year. Win, and it is a great win for his new program. A loss is a big…
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Win it for Jake!
Sad to hear that Ann Arbor legend and street ‘Shakey Jake’ passed away Sunday. It’s unconfirmed whether the football team is dedicating their performance in this Saturday’s Penn State to Jake’s memory. To be continued…
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Best Supporting Actor – Russell Crowe on Michigan sidelines
Seeing famous people on the sidelines of Michigan games is nothing new. Come early to the Ohio State game and you’ll see famous Michigan alums, whether it be athletes such as Tom Brady or Derek Jeter, or journalists like Mike Wallace. No matter what you think of Hollywood or of Russell Crowe in particular, having Crowe and some of his South Sydney rugby team on the sideline Saturday really mattered. The timing of his decision to come by and help out his buddy Coach Carr couldn’t have been better. While we’ll never know the true impact of the visit, here are a few areas where I think the visit was big: – Back to Cool: For players, fans and even recruits, Crowe’s visit reminded folks that despite those calling for the coach’s head and the poor start this is still the University of Michigan football team and this is still a pretty cool place to be. How many players called their folks after the game and told them about meeting Russell Crowe? I openly asked last week if any of the recruits that Carr visited with prior to the Oregon game had any intention of becoming a Wolverine. Well, I think those at the game this week might have a different take on their future plans. [Speaking of future plans,…
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Media Watch: Notre Dame
What they’re saying about the Notre Dame game. In summary, the media has turned the “trainwreck watch” away from Ann Arbor and right upon ol’ Charlie Weis and the Irish. And why not? That was an absolute mess out there and I think my 3 year old daughter knows that ND hasn’t scored an offensive touchdown this year. Yikes. Here’s some of the quotes out there this morning: Jim Carty, Ann Arbor News: “…a relief to know you were finally not the butt of every joke on ESPN, and that you got there by absolutely teeing off on an opponent” John Heuser, Ann Arbor News: “After seeing its national title hopes destroyed in four quarters, then suffering its worst home loss in 40 years, the University of Michigan football team took its first step toward reclaiming its season Saturday.” Bob Wojnowski, Detroit News: “The Irish are really, really putrid, and we’re not overlooking that. But the Wolverines were really, really desperate, and boy, did it show. It turns out the which-storied-program-is-in-more-trouble debate was pretty silly. U-M pounded Notre Dame in every way possible, releasing waves of tension with newfound exuberance in a 38-0 victory Saturday at Michigan Stadium.” Jerry Green, Detroit News: “And what is happening to Notre Dame in this football September of 2007 is equally as honest and…
