By Steve “Dr. Sap” Sapardanis A couple of months ago I crossed off an item on my Bucket List when I became a member of the National Football Foundation. For those of you not familiar with the NFF, they are the organization that oversees the College Football Hall of Fame. Why did I want to become a member of the NFF? Simply put, I was tired of seeing other players get voted into the College Football Hall of Fame instead of some of the all-time greats of Michigan. So instead of sitting around and complaining, I did something about it. I am now a voting member, and while there are some great Michigan players and coaches enshrined (see below), there are several other deserving M-Men that need to get their due. According to the Bentley Historical Library, there have been 128 first team All-Americans at U-M. But only 25 players have been inducted so far! While it was great to see Rob Lytle finally get recognized for his achievements last Saturday, you might ask why did it take almost 40 years for #41 to get inducted into the CFB HOF? Part of the reason is that the Michigan Chapter of the NFF has experienced a drop-off of membership due to elderly attrition. We need to pick up the torch…
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Sights & Sounds: Zero Tolerance (Michigan 38, Northwestern 0) 2015
Fans & pundits grasp to find historical context at times like these, but no matter what you come up with doesn’t really help you explain or understand what’s going on. It’s head shaking. Michigan is destroying these teams. This game felt over when Michigan went up 14-0 just a few minutes in. It was certainly all but done at 21-0. Teams aren’t even getting decent looks at field goals right now. All this said – State looks better than any of these teams we’ve crushed. Connor Cook is an outstanding QB. Despite this, at this point, it’ll be a big letdown if Michigan doesn’t win. Sights and Sounds: Opening Kickoffs – The last Wolverine to take the opening ball to the house was Coach Wheatley against Houston in 1992. Coincidentally the big board showed a few highlights from Tom Harmon’s performance at Cal in 1940 – and Old 98 took the first kickoff back in that game as well. Sadly #1000SSS didn’t show this highlight, Harmon’s TD run where the final “defender” was Harold Brennan, a drunk Cal fan. More on that epic run & incident here. TDs in 3 Phases: via #1000SSS, the holy trinity achieved: • The last time U-M posted touchdowns on offense, defense and special teams was 2003 against Indiana. Steve Breaston scored on a 69-yard…
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Wildcat Goose Egg Champions | Dr. Sap’s Decals
Guest post by Steve “Dr. Sap” Sapardanis I was there at Michigan Stadium when this last happened. When Michigan last rolled out three straight shutouts, I had the same reaction in 1980 as I did on Saturday – “Wow! Didn’t see that coming!!”Granted, 35 years ago the Wolverines stymied some pretty good QB’s, with one of them being the all-time leading passer in NCAA history, but as the old hockey saying goes, “They don’t ask how – they just ask how many.” So true and so impressive. Even more impressive are this week’s Champions: SPECIAL TEAMS CHAMPION – Typically the Special Teams Champion gets also-ran, ho-hum coverage – not anymore! I’ve played on enough teams and watched enough football to realize that the truly great teams end up getting contributions from different players each week. Saturday against Northwestern was a classic example. In recent weeks I have mentioned how the defense may have set the tone early in the game with an INT, or how the offense may have set the tone by dominating and driving for an early score. Well, Jehu Chesson sent a message that hasn’t been sent since Tyrone Wheatley returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown against Houston in 1992. We’ve all seen how masterful Coach Baxter has been with these Special Teams in the first…
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It’s Cool…
don’t mean a thing: Follow MVictors on Twitter
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TWIMFbH: Wrecking Roger, Swindling Sparty, & Wiping Out Woody (1964)
This Week in Michigan Football History talks about the brilliant 1964 Wolverines, and specifically, a match-up with reigning Heisman winner Roger Staubach, Duffy Daugherty and the powerful Spartans, and Woody and the hated Buckeyes:
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Mudbowl is On | October 10, 2015 11AM EDT
Saturday, the 82nd Annual Mud Bowl is on. The former residents of the giant red house with the kettle hole in front at 1408 Washtenaw are on triple non-secret probation, but the game goes on nonetheless. Don’t be surprised if you see a former resident and blogger in the mud. Deets: Hey, I love the pic (HT: MVictors, circa 2009). Speaking of the Mudbowl – I added this to the list of Michigan Traditions. Follow MVictors on Twitter
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Sights & Sounds: Terrapin Cushions (Michigan 28, Maryland —)
Via the #1000SSS game notes: “The U-M defense forced 12 three-and-outs, holding the Maryland offense to 1-of-18 on third-down opportunities.” Yikes. For the second straight week the opponent didn’t even get close to scoring. I haven’t felt bad for an opponent in a long time but I was seriously concerned about the welfare (well before he was body slammed) of that Terrapin back-up QB. The dude should have hid his helmet. Bullets: We’re fortunate to have many options at back, but clearly De’Veon Smith was missed. Here’s to hoping he’s ready for Northwestern. Brandy and Dierdorf went on and on about this on the radio call (I #mutedMillen) but the physical recovery of Drake Johnson after the ACL is remarkable. I love how that dude runs with the pigskin. Check out this shot (HT: G. Loose), DJ gets up at least 6’ on his repaired knee: You can’t do it, but seriously, I’d love to see the analysis on whether Michigan should have elected to kickoff to start the second half. Mathlete? I loved the performance of Desmond Morgan – if nothing else for how many times the guy had his hand on the football. Via the Michigan Daily: From the shelves of Ann Arbor Armchair & Nitpick: I don’t get going for two up 12-0 with eight minutes left…
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Testudo Champions | Dr. Sap’s Decals
Guest post by Steve “Dr. Sap” Sapardanis Well, I was one of those guys who predicted a shutout against Maryland – just not like that – yikes! The defense is starting to look very 1980/1985-ish. But the offense? The offense is still a work in progress, or is it? I don’t know. I guess we’ll find out where this team is in the next two weeks. In the meantime, here are the Champions for the Maryland Game: OFFENSIVE CHAMPION – Gotta go with Drake Johnson. With no De’Veon Smith and Ty Isaac not being able to hang on to the ball, The Drake made plays and looked comfortable running the ball – brace and all on his left knee. When the team was sputtering and looking for a spark on “O,” #20 made the most of his opportunity. DEFENSIVE CHAMPION – It’s obvious the D-Line is playing lights out these past few games, but when the game/match was resembling an FA Cup Final and tied nil-nil after 15 minutes, Desmond Morgan was the difference on defense. His INT and strip thwarted Maryland drives when the game was still in doubt. The more I see of #3, the more I think that he is starting to look like a classic Michigan middle linebacker. SPECIAL TEAMS CHAMPION – Speaking of soccer, you…
