Notes going into the Golden Dome

Both teams in the Michigan-Notre Dame game are coming off of close victories against shall we say, less than sterling, competition. Michigan beating MAC east champ Miami (Ohio) by ten with only two really solid drives throughout the game without much of a passing attack. Notre Dame beat San Diego St by eight in a game where they got a little luck and a lot of help from the referees.

One of the things that Notre Dame will have going for them in this game, aside from home field advantage, is the revenge factor. Michigan has outscored the Domers 85-21 in the last two seasons, they are ticked off and hungry for vengeance. Their offensive line, virtually all freshmen last season, now have a year of experience under their belt, and they will undoubtedly want to destroy the Wolverines.

The Maize and Blue on the other hand come into this game with a chip on their shoulder. A loss to Utah by two, a win against Miami by ten. Not impressive to the media or the fans, they have something to prove, and that is, they are better than this they can be a solid winning team with a good offense and a suffocating strangling defense. One of the advantages for the Wolverines this year will be up in the trenches, every one of the starting front four, which made the Domer front five see wings in their sleep a year ago, has returned. Not only that the conditioning program they've dealt with over the summer have made it look like their helmets actually give them wings.

Both teams come in with some changes, Michigan arguably comes in with the bigger one with a new coach and a new offensive system that runs the ball out of a different formation. Notre Dame on the other hand, their biggest change is the amount of hair on Jimmy "sunshine" Clausen's head. A major distraction to be certain for the Irish, his hair should be ample motivation for the Wolverines. Seeing as that he would like a kiss from a defensive tackle, something i'm sure Terrance Taylor, Will Johnson or Mike Martin will be obliged to do. A helmet to helmet kiss that is.


I don't see much to scare me from Notre Dame's passing game, their receivers are decent, but unless they figure out a way to throw the ball to whoever Charlie Stewart or Stevie Brown is covering, i don't see Clausen having a great game. The biggest threat i see on the Notre Dame offensive front is running back Damon Allen, the first opponent whom our defense has faced who can legitimately break tackles. Our defense, which hasn't missed a tackle so far this season, will be severely tested, as the Irish will try to do the old three yards and a cloud of dust attack against a team that's seen the spread set two in a row.

The Domers do not have a spectacular defense but they have experience on their side, not to mention the idea that they want to pound the heck out of Michigan for what happened the past two years. They will try to blitz Michigan every down and force Steven Threet to make quick decisions, his ability to make the zone read will be tested as will our offensive line. My idea, control the ball, avoid turnovers at any cost, run draw plays, maybe even an old school single wing fullback trap. But above all else, DO NOT TURN THE BALL OVER. Let the defense do their job, they're faster than they were a year ago against virtually the same guys they faced last year.

Anybody who says this is going to be an ugly game should remember that ugly is just beauty in disguise.

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

c-ya

It wasn't pretty but we won.

Last week, the Rich Rodriguez era of Michigan football got off on the wrong foot as the maize and blue lost their first game of the season to Utah. Many people wondered if the offense was worth noting, as Utah gave us several drives via penalties and our defense seemed to only shut down the Utes when they were taking their foot off the pedal.

Make no mistake about it, Miami is nowhere near as good a team as Utah, but hey a win is a win, no matter how you play it. Today was a day in which Wisconsin and that school in Columbus both trailed a Conference USA opponent and a MAC team respectively by at least eight points at some point in the game. Michigan however did not trail at any point during the game, and while our defense gave up a couple of big pass plays, we kept Bo's alma mater out of the end zone all afternoon. Our line was particularly impressive with it's speed and ability to put pressure on the quarterback.

Going into the Notre Dame weekend let's look at some of the pros and cons so far.

Pros:

Defensive line; if Brandon Graham continues to have the season he's having this year so far, he might be a contender for all-American. The best part about that is, while opposing lines are trying to focus on stopping him they might let loose one of his equally capable, yet less heralded teammates.

Steve Threet can run the ball when he needs to. Granted the defensive ends for the Redhawks are nowhere near as fast as the DE's for Utah, Threet really executed the zone read extremely well today. Everybody was surprised by that, most of us came into the season expecting Steve Threet to be like John Navarre at very best, but he's quick, he's made some good decisions and, for right now, he's our man at Quarterback. I don't care what anybody else says, he's our guy right now.

Our O-line this year, is nowhere near as bad as Notre Dame's was last year. While that might not be saying much they are practicing against the same line that molested Jimmy Clausen last year so badly he saw yellow wings in his sleep. While Mark Ortmann's injury is a HUGE loss that can't be understated, due to our lack of depth on the line, at least we can keep the opponents our long enough for a play to develop, sometimes.

The McGuffie sweep works. I'd be surprised if we don't use it more often, Wham bam Sam might not have the reputation of Noel Devine or Steve Slaton yet, but he's getting there.

And last but certainly not least, our defense has not missed any tackles. Last year the biggest problem for our team's defense was letting guys slip through our fingers. Now while we haven't played anybody like Travis Beckum or Beanie Wells just yet, the fact that nobody's pulled out of the polygrip so far has been, in my opinion the most impressive thing about this team so far this year.

Cons:

The secondary still has problems. Morgan Trent was a projected pre-season all-American this year, but he's shown that he is probably the only player that has trouble making tackles. Donovan Warren has been good, making crushing hits and breaking up key passes, Brendan Harrison broke up a sure touchdown against Miami. But Stevie Brown continues to set a bad example for the secondary by letting sure pick sixes slip through his fingertips.

The return game has not improved. Granted we don't have Steve Breaston, but it would be nice if we had somebody who could get us out of the bad field position Miami had us pinned in all day long.

McGuffie sometimes zigs when he should zag. This is a typical freshman running back mistake, probably every running back, including Barry Sanders, has probably made a mistake like that at some point in his career. I'm not asking McGuffie to be Barry, clearly he isn't, but what i am saying is he needs to learn how to move better when his O-line lets him down. It's clear that he can break tackles and is one tough mo, but he needs to be able to shake and bake with some more consistency if he's to be carrying the mail for this team.

Finally, the passing game. To say it's been lackluster, save a few big plays would be a gross understatement. Sheridan's problem is that he's under throwing too much, Threet's problem is that he's overthrowing too much. Thankfully for us Threet's overthrows have trouble staying on the field so far, so no INT's. We haven't seen very much good execution on the bubble screen which was so dear to the success of West Virginia the last couple of years. But hey, what did you expect, Pat White?

Speaking of which, i think both guys are glad not to be Pat White this weekend, i'm not even sure he'd want to be.

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

c-ya

Oh well, it's a new season b/w The battle for Bo (football version)

I tore my Michigan hat to pieces by the end of the third quarter and then demanded that i be photographed holding it "for the state of Michigan." This illustrates how frustrating the first three quarters under Rich Rod were. The fourth was a ray of sunshine amongst dark clouds, but it was very deceptive. We had a one play drive in which Threet threw the bomb to Hemmingway for the score, and the McGuffie touchdown was set up by three penalties. Not only that, we had the ball three times after that, and still couldn't score.

I know that this team is young on offense and that in the second half the defense was impressive, but was that because the Utah receivers had just turned the gas off or because we had finally adjusted to playing bump and run with them in our secondary. I'm not sure, but i hope to god that the adjustment to what the offense gives us strategy that Scott Schafer (a.k.a. HRG) talks to us about doesn't mean first halves where our secondary gives the receivers as much room as they need to catch the ball and run with it.

Now we go into the Miami game, the battle for Bo, the school he went to vs. the school he made famous. The Redhawks program has lost a lot of it's luster since Bo left, they've only won four MAC titles since 1969 despite dominating the conference in the 50s and 60s under Bo, woody and Ara, who each won conference titles. They haven't been as well known as the cradle of coaches in football since, and they would like an instance of revenge on the school that took their last hall of fame coach.

Michigan for their part are frustrated and ready to prove something to every TV pundit and enemy blogger out there. They will want to make a statement saying, "Here we are world entertain us. We're the team they should be playing highlights of on NBC right after Heroes."

The wolverines are going to try to make it look like their helmets actually give them wings tomorrow, because they want a win, not just for themselves, not just for Coach Rod, but for the whole state of Michigan who is counting on something uplifting to happen out there in the Big House.


P.S. maybe Schafer could put the Kensei symbol on all the players bodies to give them super powers, you never know.


ahhhhhhhhhhhhh

c-ya

For lo the summer is long and past

And the autumn leaves turn their color.

The men in blue will put on their blue jerseys and their winged helmets for a new coach, enter the stadium in a new way and will try to once again make the University of Michigan the pride of the two peninsulas.

With great success has come great envy from many people and programs. Some respect, others hate, all are green with jealousy (some literally). But when the men in blue take the field and leap up to that banner it will signify the end to one of the toughest times of my life.

I'm not gonna speak for anybody else, but i know i have waited so long for this moment, and if the Wolverines can deliver a win on the turf of the big house it would make me once again proud to be a part of this once great state that has fallen on such hard times and given me so much hell these past three months. It would be a restoration of hope for me in being here.

But enough about me, let's play some football.

Utah's good, but they are beatable, and in my slightly biased opinion every opponent on our schedule, including Ohio State, is beatable. It's not a matter of doing the impossible for this team, or being perfect, it is merely a matter of will to win.

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

c-ya

When new coaches come in, historically speaking

The first game of a Michigan coach can set the tone for his time here in Ann Arbor. Most coaches start off with a win and then go on to much greater success here.

Who can forget Lloyd Carr's first game against Virginia. After two less than stellar seasons he lead a team to a national championship and then two yrs after that guided the maize and blue to five comeback victories and a win in a BCS bowl game. Although later in his career he would slip as we all know but the fact that he got off to a great start like that made the team known for their ability to stay in games and never give up.

His predecessor Gary Moeller was considerably less lucky, and ended up being on the short end of a 14 point Notre Dame comeback in which The Bus ran over the winged helmets in the fourth quarter. The problem with giving up comebacks to other teams would culminate in that play with Kordell Stewart and Bryant Westbrook that nobody needs to be reminded about.

Bo's first game was against Vanderbilt, a then mediocre southern team which had still not integrated. Ol General Patton led his troops out in his first game and kept the infantry on the field until they had racked up 367 yards rushing as a team, largely behind the legs of their newcomer sophomore running back, and their junior quarterback!!!! Patton's troops would walk out of the Big House with a 42-14 victory that was quickly overshadowed by the embarrassing 40-17 loss we would endure to then fifth ranked Mizzou and two weeks after that when we lost to the Duff beer company of East Lansing in Bo's first intra state classic.

By this point the Michigan fans, who had never heard of Bo before 1969, were starting to grumble considerably, they probably weren't happy when the winged helmets went down 9-7 at halftime to Minnesota in Minneapolis. At halftime of that game the old general called on his troops to save the season that day, and by golly they did scoring 28 points to win the ball game and set the tone for the rest of the season to set up the stage for the funeral of the 1969 Ohio State Buckeyes.

Now with this in mind does this mean that if Rich Rod wins his first game will we be great again and triumph over Ohio State at the end of the season and return to the pantheon of the college football gods, or that if we lose we will return to being over hyped and disappointing. Well, first games are always hard to tell, and here in Ann Arbor there seems to be a pattern at Michigan for the coaches and their success on the football field. Which is an easy explanation for why Rich Rod's only the tenth coach here at Meeechigan since 1901. And there's a good chance that he will continue that if he gets a win at Utah on saturday.

The only two Michigan coaches since Yost who have lost their first games were Moeller in 1990 and Bump Elliot in 1959. The last Michigan coach to lose his first Ohio State game was Harry Kipke in 1929, and then won two national championships a few years later. The last Michigan coach to BEAT Michigan State in his first attempt was Bennie Oosterbaan in 1948. That's right Bo, Mo, and Lloyd all got bested by Little Brother in their first attempt one way or another.

But nevermind all of you in the land of the winged helmets, for you should hang onto your maize and blue kilocycles, because it's going to be one interesting ride.

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

c-ya

It's been a while but I'm BAAAAAAACK

Hello everybody, i've been gone for almost a month now with work and a loss of Internet at my parents house but i'm back and i am ready for the new semester of University of Michigan.

In the upcoming week expect me to say something for a preview of the season and a preview of the Utah game coming up, a game i am going to attend. If i could live blog the game i would but that's not going to happen, so what i'll do is post a post game as well as the set list of songs that i sang on the way over to the game and on my way home, of course this will be ex posto facto.

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

c-ya

Lemonade Maker

What we need in Michigan football land is not a snake oil salesman, not a coach who installs a system and swears on the bible that it will never change. No what we need at Michigan is a coach who can take the lemons he is given and make sweet (but not too sugary) lemonade.

The concept of the lemonade maker is about as old as the forward pass in football, it just hasn't been called that. Which means i want a dime everytime anybody says lemonade maker for the rest of my life and once i get off my job, i'm hitting the blogs and checking to see what people are saying.

In my opinion the greatest lemonade maker in the history of college football was Bear Bryant the legendary coach at Alabama. Although many people forget this part, Bryant coached at three different schools prior to taking over the Tide, Maryland, Kentucky, and Texas A&M. At Maryland and Kentucky he ran a single wing type offense that was somewhat similar to what Crisler did here in Ann Arbor, however he changed that when he came to Texas.

Although the Southwest conference and Texas football in general was where the idea of throwing the ball out of the single wing really came to national prominence, by the mid 50s things had changed. And the Bear found himself coaching a team that was on probation as a result of some quite vile sins of their previous coach. He made the Aggies run a training camp in 1954 that might make Barwis queasy he made the team train in the desert for the whole summer and denied them water breaks during practice time. Even though that particular team went 1-9 the underclassmen on that team would go onto an undefeated 9-0-1 season in 1956, and the year after that John David Crow the Louisiana skyrocket who established the Aggies as the best running team in the nation, out of a T-formation!

Although Bear was only at A&M for four years, him and Crow helped establish the Southwest as a running conference that even the Big Ten had a hard time matching. Bur when he came to Bamma he took the lemons he was handed and once again made some delicious lemonade. In the 1960s Alabama was quarterback U as they sent Joe Namath and Ken Stabler out into the world of pro football prepared and ready to win super bowls.

In the 70s integration came and only the Bear could have pulled it off in the racist climate in the SEC at the time. He led the first integrated SEC championship team in 1971 out of a wishbone three yards and a cloud of dust offense with four backs (including the quarterback) sharing the running duties equally.

We all know about the success the Bear had over the years by adapting to changes and adding new things to do in new climates. The thing that many other people don't recognize was that Bo was a lemonade maker too, although it is possible he probably squeezed his lemons a bit tighter than the Bear for his system.

We all know that Bo ran a "three yards and a cloud of dust" offense throughout his time in Ann Arbor. What many non historians don't know is that when he came to Michigan he had the best receiving tight end in college football at the time in Jim Mandich on his team, and throughout the 1969 season, especially in the
Ohio State game, Michigan was at their best when they were able to balance out getting the ball to Mandich while balancing that out with their running attack.

After that season for the next ten years Michigan either lacked a quarterback or a receiver was as reliable as Mandich. That all changed under Anthony Carter, although he only averaged four catches a game he still made Bo rethink the forward pass as well as the reverse in order to get the ball to a player he needed to carry the team. Over the course of the 80s Bo proved to be the anti-matter of Woody by instituting a more balanced attack that at times resembled a hybrid of Woody Hayes and Bill Walsh.

Which brings us somewhat back to the present. Michigan has been running the Woody Walsh system since the eighties and while it may be good enough to have a winning record in the Big Ten it is not nearly enough to compete at the same level as the USC's, LSU's and most importantly that school down in Columbus. Rich Rodriguez brings in a system that may be different from things that the maize and blue faithful are used to seeing, but after watching the highlights of the Spring Game as well as watching Glenville State highlights i believe that he can take the defensive minded lemons and make bitter lemonade for the rest of the Big Ten to swallow, and for the offense, i'm not sure yet. Hopefully he won't need to add any more sugar than is necessary, in any case i hope he proves to be as much of a lemonade maker at Michigan as he was at Clemson and West Virginia.

ahhhhhhhhhhh

c-ya