Thankfully we caught Dr. Sap in a good mood Saturday despite that thing he watched on the field. Perhaps he was cheered up by the knowledge that a Nebraska man presided over Ricky Leach’s wedding. Here are your dekes and once again I contributed the Ufer Fan Award and Editor’s pick: OFFENSIVE CHAMPION DEVIN FUNCHESS MANBALL – That’s his new name – DEVIN FUNCHESS MANBALL – because that’s the only Manball I see out there right now. How many positions can this guy play? Did I hear it right? Gallon had zero catches in the 2nd half? This offense, as one-dimensional as it is, would be NOTHING without DEVIN FUNCHESS MANBALL. Can he play the slot? Can he line up in the backfield? Can he kick a 45-yard-plus field goal? DEVIN FUNCHESS MANBALL needs to have more touches – plain and simple! DEFENSIVE CHAMPION JAMES ROSS III – #15 in my opinion may have played his best game as a Wolverine. Some big stops on key plays that got the defense off the field is EXACTLY what you want from your linebackers – SOLID! SPECIAL TEAMS CHAMPION BRENDAN GIBBONS – This one was going to Wile, but you can’t miss a field goal and be the Special Teams Champ. Gibby’s bank shot gave UM its first lead in what –…
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Nebraska Game Photos
A big thanks for photographer Christopher Dack for shooting for me Saturday. Dack and his brother James are the duo that produced the book Wings, a photo-filled tribute to the Michigan helmet. One thing I noticed looking over the photos – note all the threads hanging off Morgan’s jersey above? It’s pretty common on these jerseys for whatever reason. These guys came in HOT. There was a C-47 flyover scheduled but the pilots called no joy due to the wind. It didn’t stop these madmen. One guy was pretty close to taking out the sousaphone section of the MMB. “Nobody move…I lost a contact lens.” This is how it looked all game (below)…expect for this play (below) …DO THIS MORE ! Any kickers out there? Check out Gibby’s plant foot (right) – is that ok? Follow MVictors on Twitter
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TWIMFbH: Relief from The Crash (1929)
For Saturday’s WTKA pregame show, we step back to the first game after the stock market crash of 1929. It was a biggie and yielded this iconic program cover:Despite the financial mess just days earlier, 87,000 fans packed the big to witness the heavyweight clash. While Yost had established Michigan as a national power long ago, the Wolverines had, up to this point, failed to beat or even score on Harvard in their four previous meetings dating back to the 1880s. That changed on this day in Michigan Football History 84 years ago on Saturday: Here’s the clip: [display_podcast] You can catch all of the This Week in Michigan Football History clips here….sponsored in 2013 by Ziebart of Yspilanti. And don’t forget to catch it live Saturday on the KeyBank Countdown to kick-off on WTKA 1050AM or inside the Victors Lounge.
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Storytime with Sap: “By the Power Vested in me by Husker Nation”
[Ed. You know I’m a huge fan of Steve “Dr. Sap” Sapardanis & he’s featured here each postgame with Dr. Sap’s Decals. You might know that his detailed knowledge of uniform tweaks since the Bo era helped spearhead the Uniform Timeline. Bottom line – the Sap mind blended with the Sap archives is a Wangler-to-Carter-esque combination. God willing Sap will be sharing a few of his favorite stories and anecdotes on these pages in the future and here’s one for you.] Guest post by Dr. Sap We all know that former UM All-American QB Rick Leach has Michigan ties that run as deep as perhaps any Wolverine player. His dad and uncle both played varsity baseball for the maize and blue and Leach himself was born at the U-M Hospital. But when Leach got married, there was a big red Nebraska tinge to his wedding day. This was all explained during the 1986 Fiesta Bowl Preview Show that was hosted by Fred Hickman on Detroit’s WDIV-TV station. Father Kenneth McDonald from Mason, MI officiated Leach’s wedding. Not only was the Father a huge Cornhusker fan, he actually wore a red robe during Leach’s wedding ceremony! Believe it: When asked if he was a fanatic, the Father responded that he was “more of a loyalist.” On a side note: There was…
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Don’t Like the Present? Bentley Extended Hours this Friday
Note! The Bentley Library will be open for special extended hours on November 8th (this Friday, before the Nebraska game) from 5pm to 8 pm EST. At 5:00 pm Bentley archivists Greg Kinney and Brian Williams will give a special presentation on “Michigan Football Firsts,” using rare original documents, photographs, and publications from the University of Michigan archives to highlight some of the notable firsts across 134 years of Michigan football — the first team and first game, first coach, first airplane trip and much more. The hour-long presentation will be followed by extended viewing hours for the exhibit, “Harmon of Michigan” profiling the career of Michigan great Tom Harmon, along with showings of “One Saturday Afternoon,” a 1965 television feature celebrating the 25th anniversary of Harmon’s Heisman trophy winning season. The 30 minute long “One Saturday Afternoon” features Harmon game footage and interviews with Harmon, Fritz Crisler and Forest Evashevski. The U-M Bentley Historical Library is located at 1150 Beal Avenue in Ann Arbor.
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Sights & Sounds | Oh Brother, What Now? (Michigan State 29, Michigan 6)
I saw that coming but that didn’t make watching it any easier. I called it 31-16 in a contest to score one of Bennie McCready’s awesome Michigan football prints on The Fort…Bennie tells me I took second out of over 400 responses. Weee for me. The team played hard and the defense made hits. All that will be remembered is that we couldn’t handle the heat and took a brutal beating. Maybe it was the green uniforms against the field, but at times I swear there were a baker’s dozen Spartans in the box. It felt like 4th and 48 more than the one time it was really 4th and 48. What’s next? Another Come to Jesus meeting? JC is Platinum on Delta by now. That’d be #4 in 2013 according to my unofficial count. Feels like splitting the next 4 games would be a great result. Mood > Battered: That’s 98% The Blockhams, and 2% MVictors (black eye). That’s a cheerful trend: Uniforms > Nothing of note beyond Dr. Sap’s concern about the helmets in low light. Clear now that LHS will remain through the season. Uniform Timeline here for your reference. Bruce Gets a Paul > One Michigan Man took home a Paul Bunyan Trophy and that’s longtime #1000SSS media man Bruce Madej who was honored by the…
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Dr. Sap’s Decals | Ducking for Cover Edition
Sap is back with one caveat: “After a game like that, there are no Champions – only three Hustlers and one Uniform CHUMP.” OFFENSIVE HUSTLER DEVIN FUNCHESS – Dude was doing his best to give Michigan a spark through the air – tough at times to do when your QB is lying on his back, or not getting the ball out early enough. DEFENSIVE HUSTLER JAKE RYAN – He’s still not 100% back physically, but he is emotionally and energetically. The D did get a turnover, but in this game they needed to score points – too much to ask for Saturday. SPECIAL TEAMS HUSTLER MATT WILE – Not a good sign when your punter has to kick the ball 25 times (ok, it was only 8 times, but it sure felt like 25). His 49-yard field goal gave Michigan their only lead of the day – WOO HOO! UNIFORM CHAMP CHUMP GOLD FLAKES – Maybe it was my foul mood caused by the score, but I didn’t like the way the yellow color looked on the U-M helmets in East Lansing. In low lighting or in Saturday’s case, the absence of sunshine, the gold flakes in the Michigan helmets gave off a decidedly dark yellow look – certainly not the bright yellow color they have given off on bright,…
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Fourth and Forty-Eight (Michigan-Michigan State 2013)
Here’s a look, from the 2013 Michigan trip to Michigan State where Devin Gardner was sacked 100 times. One series set up a 4th and 48. Yes, 48-yards to go:
