Bo reveals his “bumper stickers” in 1969 (via the illustrious Dr. Sap Archives) Steve “Dr. Sap” Sapardanis returns with his decal-worthy champions for the games. I’ve always said we’d do this until the helmet stickers return. Will they return in 2015? In the meantime: Offensive Champion – I thought Jake Butt showed that he is ready to have a huge, breakout year. The play-action waggle play that Brian Griese brought to prominence back in the late 1990’s is going to be the bread and butter of this offense – provided Michigan can run the ball better than what they did last night – and no one is going to benefit more from this play than Butt. His touchdown grab was money and showed that he is ready to be the go-to-guy on offense. Defensive Champion – What can I say about Jabrill Peppers? I have never seen a defender make blockers miss and use the swim-technique so well and so fluidly to get to the ball like #5 did last night. You can see that this guy has been coached well and has been blessed with some tremendous talent. The scary part? He is only going to get better! Special Teams Champion – I liked how Blake O’Neill effectively used his Aussie punting style to flip field position and limit…
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Salt Lake City Sights & Sounds (Utah 24, Michigan 17) – Jim Harbaugh’s first game
Darn. It turns out there is no magical khaki lint for #4 to sprinkle around the locker room but you, the most rational and reasonable Michigan fan, was still hoping there was. Guilty as well. Sights and sounds from Harbaugh's debut:
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Sights & Sounds | Utah 26, Michigan 10
Son of a BISCUIT I want these guys to turn this around. It’s a little odd to me because I still see the pieces of a decent team but the results are a wreck. Yesterday – with a the exception of a few breakdowns I thought the defense played pretty damn well (Jake Ryan – Manster. Jourdan Lewis – fun to watch). Derrick Green, when he was in there, looked like a seasoned back – he was patient and found the holes. And once again, we outgained our opponent yet failed to score a TD. Gardner. I don’t know what I’d do with 98. He’s losing confidence with every interception – he’s becoming more tentative and locking on. That’s fine against Miami but we’re not going to out-athlete the rest of the schedule. If you bench him now I just wonder if that’s a point of no return for his confidence. So I guess there are a couple options? 1. Start Gardner with a limited playbook. It sucks to say that about a 5th year senior but sorry. Shorter passes with the occasional sideline heave to Funch, and he’s got to run more. I’d encourage the big guy to take off for 5-7 yards more with more frequency. I feel like we’re still on that treadmill of doing what we…
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Ute Ugly, Yeah, Ute Ugly | Dr. Sap’s Decals
Steve “Dr. Sap” Sapardanis is back this season with his weekly postgame helmet stickers. Sap would do a backflip if coach Hoke decided to reinstate this tradition that Bo brought to the team in 1969. Until that day comes, Sap will bring you his game Champions who will be decorated, albeit virtually, with his helmet stickers. I’ll typically toss in the Fan Award and the Editor’s Choice: OFFENSIVE CHAMPION Devin Funchess – There is an old Canadian Hockey saying about getting or giving a “Hotel Dieu Pass” to or from one of your teammates. That means your inaccurate pass caused one of your teammates to get laid out and lit up, to the point where they have to be taken off on a stretcher and taken to the local hospital. (Hotel Dieu is a common Canadian Hospital name.) What that pass did, aside from Funchess taking a wicked shot, was jack up Utah even more. When you get a freebie to lay out one of the stars from the other team, you have just incited the feeding-frenzy to begin. Via mgoblog / Fuller So while it was just one incomplete pass, it was MUCH more than that. It was Utah’s cue to come after Michigan for more. I commend Funchess for staying in the game and making two huge…
