Sights & Sounds: Michigan 31, BYU 0 (2015)

Whoa. What happened? Based on my straw poll of the press box, most media folks had BYU winning this one.

So call BYU a good, at least a decent, team. That was a mercy kill. Offhand, that was probably the biggest beatdown of a good team since, what? 38-0 Vol. I over Notre Dame in 2003?

Rudock made good decisions with the pigskin. Smith missed a couple of holes but it didn’t matter because he’s a beast. The defense was relentless and finished tackles. Special teams were sound. The playcalling was straight money and clearly, the playbook is being cracked open to the later chapters. Maybe there is magical khaki dust after all.

Assuming we handle Maryland on the road, heading back home to face Northwestern will be fun to watch.

It feels good man. To the sights and sounds:

DER-EK JEET-AHH. The Pope could have visited Michigan Stadium today and no one would have noticed – here’s Derek Jeter:

Above there’s Derek Jeter killing it in his Michigan hoodie, with suite ticket in pocket (does he really need a ticket? to anything?) with Sarah Harbaugh on the left.

Any fool who tried to get too close to #2 had to deal with Big Tony, aka The Captain’s Cleaner:

Coach Edwards. I strolled over to the opposing team suite (it’s on the same wing and floor as the media). I asked if any former players from the 1984 BYU team were on prem. A nice older woman told me, “I’m not sure about players, but the coach of that team is here,” and she gestured to an old man sitting against the window. Sure enough, the man sitting a couple feet from me was legendary BYU coach LaVell Edwards.

Coach Edwards was kind enough to pose for the photo below (left), at the time in much better spirits than when the ESPN cameras spotted him upstairs in the second half, flashing a double head palm:

He led the Cougars in their finest hour, which was the last and only other time these teams met. Twas the 1984 Holiday Bowl, where QB Robbie Bosco and crew defeated Bo & your beloved Wolverines to capture the national title. Sap is still bitter about the whole thing but felt better Sunday morning.

Nasty Beasts. Yes, the defense was nasty but not as much as these two. Props to #1000SSS for another good choice on these epic game program covers, this time Bennie and Biff, the actual wolverines Yost procured and trotted out at the 1927 Michigan Stadium dedication game:

1980 Recognized: Speaking of legends, the 1980 team was honored for the 35th anniversary of their championship team – and I ran into a few guys including Rich Hewlett and Doug James on the sideline.

Thanks to their “in” at adidas (none other than quarterback Johnny Wangler who works for the three stripes) they wore some cool gear including these hats:

Left: Bruce Madej’s hat via @UMGoBlog. Right: Devin Gardner got one and wore it well (via @MVictors):

Not that Ford but not Bad: A staple on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, former Congressman Harold Ford Jr. (U-M JD ‘96) was a guest of the Regents and chilling with the Jeter Posse:

Lytle. Also honored today was the late and great Rob Lytle, such a warrior. If you want to get a sense for the power of this dude, watch a few minutes of the 1976 Ohio State game. Or just look at his helmet, here on the NCAA ‘06 cover via Dr. Sap:

Uniform Notes. Not much but whilst we’re on the topic:

The helmet stickers are getting out of control(!) – the helmets will be Hammersteined by mid-October – but so be it. Consider that the third (or fourth?) string back is currently bedazzled through 3 games:

Not Uniform Timeline worthy, but Jeter got a 2015 beauty from Coach Harbaugh, naturally the Captain’s #2 and I’m sure Woodson and Hewlett would be ok with that: