It's one thing to say something stupid by accident. It happens. Even the most well intentioned people do it. You're not paying attention and someone drops a verbal land mine in front of your stumbling conversation skills. But instead of alertly dodging it, you don't just step on it, you do a back flip, three quarter twist onto its trigger.

Maybe you asked someone "When are you due?" when they're not pregnant, considering adoption, in the process of a divorce proceeding, and a guy. Maybe you were asked for financial advice and said "That Bernie Madoff, man, is he a wizard! Let me put him in touch with you." It's one thing to do this out of ignorance or lack of an attention span. It happens.

It's another to say this:

There's a reason you're reading that over and over again. Your mind simply can't cope with what you're reading. If you continue reading it your brain will shut off out of necessity and you'll end up a drooling, twitching mess on the floor in need of a fresh pair of undergarments. Frankly, If you've made it this far in the post it's a miracle that box quote didn't give you a stroke or put you into a coma.

Questioning whether a college campus, nay, a college football school can handle a massive influx of people and media for a football game is akin to asking whether... oh I don't know... whether the ocean has water in it .... or whether it's cold enough in Antarctica to make ice, in January. This is the Pontiac Aztec of things to say out loud. This is the equivalent of someone living on the equator questioning whether the Sun is capable of heating the Earth. And this is how the BCS wishes no just to sell itself, but preserve itself.

I've seen people suggest that this is all part of a grand marketing scheme. That if you say things loud enough, often enough, and with enough confidence people will eventually begin to believe it (PAAWWWWWWWLLLLL ALUBAMA'S WON FERTY FUTBALL CHAMPEONCHIPS! I'll hang up and listen). Others have covered the financial aspect of this hypocrisy and what it means for the fans. Zach recapped it again this morning. There's probably some truth there. But there's also the issue of the disappearing fart.

/Whut now?

Think about it. Your buddy (you) drops ass in the room. Everyone smells it, is repulsed by it, but eventually everyone gets used to it. The only people that can smell it are the people entering the room and gagging on it. To you the stench of what you've just delivered is now lost on you. It makes sense to you. And your brain, rather than leaking out your ear in an attempt to escape the smell of moldy bacon wrapped in feet, has simply shut off that aspect of your sensory organs. It's a survival issue.

That is what's happening here.

Ole' Mr. Hancock has become so used to the rancid smell of what he is peddling that he has become immune to how foul and noxious it really is to the human brain. Whenever he speaks on the topic, it doesn't even register just how stupid the things are that come out of his mouth. Despite all the dropping, shaking bodies around him as he drones on about how important the BCS is, it doesn't register with him that he is the cause of it.

Therefore, congratulations, Mr. Hancock. You have become immortal. Your flawed logic and seizure inducing commentary on a sport that your "entity" has no business being involved with in the first place has taken you to a level of verbal idiocy that only a few have ever dared reach.

You now sit amongst the pantheon of greats:

So, again, my congratulations Mr. Hancock. You are one of the greats and you sit a top Mt. Olympus of Idiots with your peers. I'd warn you that it smells of sulfur and month old milk... but you'd never notice anyway.

In a shocking press conference this morning University of Michigan Athletic Director Dave Brandon announced that Heinz Mustard would no longer be available as a condiment at Michigan Football games in Michigan Stadium.

The reaction from fans was swift and harsh. "I can't believe he's doing this," said one recent alumni, "I mean, it's OUR MUSTARD. What's next? Is he going to take the wings off the helmets? It's like its not even Michigan anymore. I don't even know why I'd go to the games if there's no Heinz Mustard." Heinz representatives were clearly shocked as well, "We were really looking forward to being at Michigan Stadium this year. I mean, this is the mustard of Bo and Lloyd. How can they do this?" When asked about Fritz Crisler's fanatical hatred of mustard in general, the representative declined comment. Around the internet, the reaction was equally swift with fans taking to Twitter with multiple hashtags, including:

#NoMustardNoPeace
#Heinzinmyhouse
#BoUsedHeinz
#MustardisMaize

The blogs were outraged as well.

Tens of people gathered on an internet chat room to protest the decision, chanting "We want Heinz" in unison, turning it into a You Tube clip, and then sending it to Brandon's office attached to a sternly worded email. The Athletic Department has not issued a follow up statement, but channels have indicated that no change in policy will be forthcoming.

In other news, there will be football played in 2012 and the Earth continues spinning on its axis.

/end self troll

Eight.

It's such a simple thing to say and to read. It's a number. It's arbitrary. It has no significance by itself other than its place between seven and nine when you learn to count as a child. But when put in the proper context, eight means so much to Michigan, and in particular to this Michigan senior class.

Think about it. It's been four years since Michigan reached eight wins. The last time anyone on this team, anyone, saw eight wins they were a red-shirting freshman. But for almost all of this senior class, they've never really been close to eight. As freshmen, they won three games. As sophomores they won five. As juniors they had three cracks at eight, but ended up getting thumped by Wisconsin, Ohio State, and Mississippi State consecutively. As juniors, they finished at seven with eight never truly being a legitimate option. But as seniors... as seniors, it's different.

Eight.

On Saturday, the 2011 Michigan football team did what its three previous incarnations could not. Win an eighth game. And unlike this team's previous incarnations, they won it on the road, with defense. A defense that for the three previous years couldn't stifle a sneeze, much less the offenses that lined up across from them.

The transformation of this defense has been astounding. Through 10 games Michigan has 21 sacks. This compared to a paltry 18 sacks through 13 games last season. Over the past three years Michigan's defense has allowed Juice Williams, Justin Siller, and Matt McGloin to torch it. Read that again and try not to cry. But today... man... it's just amazing. This is now a defense that corralled a mobile, talented quarterback to the tune of four sacks and a pick. Even more impressive, they held Illinois to just 37 yards rushing. 37 yards. That's almost a 10th of the 315 rushing yards they gave up a year ago. The difference is night and day. And the difference is shown in the win column. Eight.

I think the surprising thing about eight is that this isn't a particularly dominant team. It's an offense that is deeply flawed, with an electric quarterback who is just as capable of frying his own team as he is the opposition. This isn't a team that knows for sure whether it has a primary back. Not because Fitzgerald Toussaint hasn't earned the starting job, it's because no one knows if he can remain healthy. Then there is the offensive system, or lack thereof. Al Borges is still struggling to figure out how to use his best, but most erratic player. It's a team in transition from one philosophy to another, replete with the speed bumps just a transition entails.

Just not as many as we saw over the last three years.

And that brings us to Saturday. Eight. Eight was the number of wins that Michigan reeled off in 2007 after two embarrassing losses to start its season. Eight was the combined win total for 2008 and 2009. Eight was the number the 2010 squad could never quite reach. Eight is the number we're at today.

As I think about this season compared to the last four (2007 included) there is a different feeling going into Michigan's final two conference games. Since 2007, the last two games of the season have been a death march into the offseason. In 2007 Michigan was manhandled by Wisconsin and Ohio State. In 2008 Michigan was manhandled by... well... everyone. 2009 closed with five straight losses, and the last two to Wisconsin and Ohio State weren't even close. 2010... more of the same. Over the last four years Michigan has been a ship taking on water when the eleventh game finally rolled onto the calendar. Defense, offense, special teams, and (especially) coaching, all seemed to be collapsing on themselves.

But not this year. For all of Michigan's struggles they still hung 31 points on Illinois. This despite turning the ball over three times on Illinois' side of the field, missing a 38 yard field goal, and gacking up a fourth and goal. If Michigan's offense had executed they could've hung 50 on the Illini. But, let's be honest here, 31 was more than enough because of Michigan's defense. The Defense is the no longer the reason Michigan isn't winning games. The Defense IS the reason Michigan has eight wins to its credit. The Defense is the strength of this team right now, and it's clear that it takes that role and responsibility seriously.

As times have changed so have we. Eight used to mean something different to Michigan fans. Eight used to mean a back slide. A step toward mediocrity. At one point we looked at the 7-5 2005 team as the benchmark for how bad Michigan could possibly be. Times have changed.

Today, Eight means a step back toward the lofty goals Michigan holds for itself. Eight means the last four years are finally, mercifully, over. Eight means Michigan has three more games to play and the chance, mind you the chance, to finish the season with more wins than any Michigan team of this century save the 2006 squad. And also keep in mind that if they match the 2006 squad it means they'll do something the 2006 team wasn't able to do, end the season with a win.

That is what Eight means. Eight means Michigan is no longer fighting to escape its demons, "Three and Out", Rodriguez, Bill Martin, the "Process". Eight means Michigan has more important things to worry about than its own mental roadblocks. Eight means Michigan is on even footing with Nebraska and Ohio State when the Cornhuskers and Buckeyes come to town in consecutive weekends.

Eight means the question is no longer "can they win eight games?" Eight means the question is "how many more can they win!?" Eight, all by itself doesn't mean a lot. But when you put it in context it becomes something else. Eight becomes something special.

Just like this team. Just like these seniors.

To all the men and women who have served. To my brother, 82nd Airborne, 325th.  To my father in law, a Navy Corpsmen (ret.). Thank you. Thank you for all you have sacrificed. Thank you for all you have done and continue to do.

When you see a veteran or someone in active duty, shake their hand and say thank you. And make sure it's not just today that you do it. Today may officially be Veterans' Day, but in reality, every day is. 

Until everyone comes home safely. Thank you and God bless.

My brain knows what to make of this. It is cold and rational. It is able to separate the feelings I've had since I first became a college football fan from the harsh, horrifying realities that have recently come to light at Penn State. Objectively, it knows the decision to fire the winningest coach in college football and the president of Pennsylvania State University was the right one. It knows further punishment is warranted. In my brain, there is no debate about that.

But my heart.... my heart feels like it's been ripped apart by a hundred horses thundering in different directions.

The brutal reality of what has occurred has shattered what and who we believed were right and just. Further it has exposed the premise of our ascending evolution as species to be a bald-faced lie. The cruelty of what happened is horrific to everyone, no matter where or what culture you come from anywhere on this planet. The fact that it happened simply reminds us that we might as well have just crawled out of the swamps or out from under a rock a generation ago. Worse, the fact that it happened, and that supposedly good men and women did nothing to stop it shatters any vestige of our remaining illusions.

There are no heroes. There are only victims and survivors. And it's a gift or curse of divine lottery that separates you into one of those categories.

I honestly cannot recall a worse college football off-season and regular season than 2011. The Pony Express doesn't even register on this Richter Scale. Before this I thought the worst thing in college sports was the out of control Barry Switzer Oklahoma teams or the tragedy of the killing of a Baylor Basketball player by one of his teammates or the unnecessary death of Len Bias. They pale in comparison.

So much of what we thought was right, wasn't. No matter your allegiance, the news out of Miami this summer had to make you stomach turn. Then there were the investigations at Auburn and Oregon, the two national title game participants. Of course, the Ohio State fiasco. Now this.

On a personal level, this is harder to deal with. Paterno seemed to be all that was right with college sports. He seemed to be a man of integrity. You don't last as long as he had without doing something right, at least that's what I told myself. I've met the man. I've interviewed him. I've seen him doodle plays on a coffee table. He makes "pisan" jokes at the Big Ten media luncheon about Bo Pelini, and talks with reporters and people alike like they are the only person in the room. He seemed so..... right.

Now this.

College football, for all its flaws, appeared pure between the lines. Once the the clock started and the ball met the kicker's foot, it was simply a pure escape. Now this. I look at it differently. I think of the summer camps that young children are so excited to attend, to play, to make new friends, to learn the sport better so they can excel at it. Now this. Sport was once a pure enterprise. Now the coaches and heroes that we entrusted to teach them, to keep them safe, have done the opposite. And they have used the sports we and our children love as a means to exploit and abuse them.

As the details of the horror story in State College continue to unfold, I become more and more nauseated. It's almost as if some poison has entered my lungs, and my body is convulsing to get it out, certain that if it heaves once more the poison will be gone forever. Sadly it won't. It will hang in the air for the foreseeable future, creeping back into my body with every breath and starting the cycle all over again.

What sickens me further is that no one did anything to stop this. Not the University. Not the graduate student. Not the President. Not the legendary coach. There were no heroes here. The people that knew might as well have never existed. All that existed were monsters and victims.

It galls me that this could happen. And where it happened makes it even worse, at an institution of higher learning, with educated, successful, charitable people looking on, mute to the world around them. But then again it shouldn't surprise me that this happened, when I consider what truly goes on in our world, and what has happened this past year in college football. Nothing is sacred. And nothing made that clearer than the news out of Penn State.

As children we are taught that when the moment arises, you will know what to do. You are taught that if you are a good person, you will do the right thing. Good people will do the right thing. That there will be a hero that stands up for what is just and right. The reality, it turns out, it so much different, and worse, than we could ever have imagined.

Heroes exist only in stories and fairy tales. Sadly, in this wretched story there are no heroes. Only victims and survivors. Pray for both.

Steal? Steal.

Since we didn't have time to put together a quality guide to Iowa City, we'll instead rely on the experts at Lonely Planet for their expertise. Enjoy.

At a Glance:

Though at first glance it may not appear to merit a traveler's attention, Iowa City boasts a cornucopia of delights for the traveler willing to make the trek into the middle of hell nowhere Iowa. Iowa City is a place trapped in a bygone era yet thoroughly modern at the same time. Where else can you see a meth addicted Amish carpenter putting 20 inch dubs on his buggy? Only in Iowa City.

From a fourth rate college band playing Abba to the sounds of Culture Club blaring from a local watering hole, it's just like taking a time machine back to the early Eighties. Visitors will be able to tour the plethora of John Deere and International Harvester tractors wrecked parked on the roadsides, many of which date back to the 1920's, and go trinket hunting in the mucky remnants of whatever flood that's sure to strike the area while you're there. Marvel at Iowa City's skyscraper. See the old people that have moved there to die (it is the 3rd best place to retire according to Money Magazine!). Tour the pig farms and see where most of your tax dollars go as you tour the ethanol plants and poorly run family farms. Only in Iowa City!

When to Go:

Iowa City is blessed with two spectacular seasons: Winter and Flood. Both provide ample opportunity to see some local flare.

Ranging from late October through late April, Winter in Iowa City is a site to behold. Buried in a storm of hot ash, sulfur, freezing rain, blizzards, and residual flood damage, the local color (a dull gray) really comes out. Depending on the mood of Melxtulycial, the resident demon spawn, county board chairman, medicine man, and mayor, you may actually see all of the above at once (Warning: this is usually fatal and if not requires the signing over of your soul in exchange for survival). The predominant precipitation in Winter is, of course, snow. Lots of it. The largest benefit for travelers is that the freezing temperatures and six feet of snow buries the smell of the rancid pig farms and ethanol plants. It also has the benefit of being quite pretty when the town is buried in snow, meaning you can't really see it. It is much like a very, very flat Planet Hoth, except replacing the Empire with roving groups of the local inhabitants looking for food and things to burn for warmth.

For the more adventuresome, the Flood season has all the charms and thrills of white water rafting without the raft. Excitement for all! Bring the kids. They'll get plenty of exercise running from ritualistic beatings and escaping the molten eruptions of slag from the fire pits just below the city streets. Everything is in perfect balance in Iowa City, as whenever the streets get too hot all that snow from the Winter melts and cools the place off in four feet of water. All that snow's gotta go somewhere. You never knew how much fun it was to swim with farm animals and their fecal matter! Intermittent with the melting of the snow, there are brief unpredictable period of dryness where visitors can see the barren fields of corn husks, the deforestation, and local meth labs in all their splendor.

If you're going to visit, keep a copy of the Iowa Hawkeyes' College Football Season Schedule nearby. The ideal time to visit is during the run-up to the Iowa Penn State home game in Iowa City. The locals are usually too transfixed by the prospect of beating a team ranked ahead of them to notice a tourist snapping photos and dodging the chupacabres behind them. That said, a visitor's presence at game time or immediately thereafter is strongly discouraged. Should Iowa win, it starts what is known as the "Rut", or breeding season, in Iowa City where everything not nailed down or locked away in a safe is fair game. A correspondent recently recanted a weekend of terror huddled under an overturned garbage truck as the backpack she dropped outside to escape the mob was repeatedly molested. She left what was left of the backpack in Iowa. On the flip side, an Iowa loss sends the populace into a menacing spiral of grain alcohol and prescription drug consumption worthy of a night with Keith Richards, circa 1968.

Background Info

Incorporated in 1973, Iowa City was previously a collective of mud farming, sheep rapists that banded together for low cost health insurance. With the expansion of Medicare and Medicaid, the locals figured it was better to incorporate in order to begin the bilking process, and thus a city was born.

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When you start tailgating at noon for a 6pm game, you know what you're getting yourself into.

On Saturday twenty fellow Michigan fans and I gathered in Evanston for a pre-game tailgate on Lake Michigan. It was glorious. The sandy beach. The open space to throw the football. Meats grilling on the Webber. Cold, cold beer in the cooler. Good conversation, good friends, and a beautiful day allowed time to simply glide by. In some way, the game itself became ancillary to the good time that was being had. Even everyone there had arrived with tickets and the intention of going to the game, for a while at least, it seemed like the game really didn't matter that much. Such is the power of a good tailgate. It frees you from your nervous anticipation. Dispels your game time jitters. And it replaces them with a belly full of meat, cheese and beer, and fills you ears with the sounds of good friends.

Still. When you fill yourself with meat, cheese and beer, there's always a price to pay later. Whether its a handful of Tums to quell the roiling caldron of your stomach or a mid-game hangover at 8pm, you live and die with the noon tailgate. But you'd do it again in a heartbeat. The same can be said about Denard Robinson. You live a little, die a little with every play. And despite the heartburn a lot of Denard can cause, you still can't stop needing more.

With about two minutes left in the first half I, and most of the seemingly 30,000 Michigan fans who had turned Northwestern's Ryan Field into a Michigan home game, were nervous. Michigan was down 21-14 and was beginning to remind everyone present that the team really wasn't that far removed from 2010. But, after surrendering a touchdown to the Cats' with two minutes and change on the clock, Michigan's offense trotted onto the field. I turned to a friend and muttered that I had a bad feeling about this drive.

My friend turned to me a said "Yeah, but with Denard Robinson anything can happen," or something to that effect. He meant it in the best possible way and I took it as such. You see, my friend hasn't watched as much Michigan football as I have, nor has he been a keen observer of Michigan's electrifying signal caller, but he was right. Anything can happen. A minute later Denard tossed his third interception of the half to a wide open Northwestern safety and I turned to my friend with a wry smile and simply said "Anything." We both laughed, but the point remained. As a Michigan fan in 2011, you live and die by Denard's appendages.

Now, if we're being honest, Denard's first half was not good. Aside from an opening game drive to put Michigan up a touchdown, he was off. Something wasn't quite right early on. It's a tough thing to say as a Michigan fan because Denard's personality and athletic ability seem to have afforded him a near infallible status in certain corners of the Michigan fanbase. I can't tell whether it's a blind allegiance similar to Packers' fans who left the fold when Brett Favre went AWOL, or whether it's some kind of concern that the kid can't take criticism so every mistake must be placed on the shoulders of someone else. I don't know. Personally, I think the kid can take it. I think he knows the weight of the mantel he carries, and the grace he does it with throws some of us off. Regardless of which, his first half sucked.

Denard tossed three interceptions inside the Northwestern twenty. Two horrific overthrows that sailed yards above their intended, wide-open targets, and one throw into a sea of black and purple jerseys that no one I've talked with seems to be able to understand. Put simply, he was responsible for all three of the redzone interceptions that were tossed. Ironically, just before Denard's first pick, he completely an NFL level throw into a tiny window of space that led my wife to exclaim "Oh! So we've got that Denard today!" I chuckled. I married so well. Then he sailed a ball six feet over a wide open Junior Hemingway right into the waiting arms of the back side safety. Sigh....

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Some days you're the nail. Some days you're the hammer. Then, occasionally you're neither, you're a giant ass bulldozer and you run right over the the hammer, the nail, and whatever fool school has gotten in your way.

Saturday was cathartic. After three years of watching Michigan struggle to put away bad teams and stop even the most mediocre of offenses Michigan finally, wonderfully, mercilessly rolled over the hapless Minnesota Golden Gophers 58-0 in a game that wasn't as close as the final score indicates. On offense Michigan did whatever it wanted. On defense Michigan held the Gophers to 86 total yards in the first half and just 177 total yards on the day, without giving up a score. Sure we've seen the Wolverines do this to Delaware State over the last three years, but we've never seen them do this to a conference opponent. The only thing that comes close is the epic 2007 yackety-sax of Notre Dame, and Michigan only scored 38 points that day.

What made it even better was that Saturday was beautiful. The clouds gave way to the sun and clear blue skies. The temperature rose to a comfortable 60+ degrees and the rain faded out with the dispersing clouds. The hot dogs were grilled to perfection, the donuts were hot and gooey, the beer was cold, and that was before the Michigan Wolverines ran through the Golden Gophers like a bulldozer through a pile a of solo cups.

For the first time since his magical fourth quarter against Notre Dame, Denard Robinson looked every bit of the Heisman candidate quarterback we thought he'd be this season. His passes were crisp and on target, his reads were good, and he was explosive in the running game. Maybe it was comfort. Maybe it was a switch going on. Who knows? Bottom line, Denard looked great, he didn't turn the ball over, and looked comfortable. That can only mean good things going forward.

More importantly for the season, Michigan finally appears to have a running game not named Denard Robinson. Fitzgerald Toussaint ran for 108 yards on 11 carries. Vincent Smith ran for 27 on 5 carries and a TD, caught a 28 yard screen pass that he turned into a touchdown, and threw a touchdown. Michael Shaw got back in the groove, running for 60 yards on 8 carries. And finally, freshman Thomas Rawls was impressive running for 73 yards on 10 carried. Amazingly, Michigan racked up 363 yards on the ground with Denard accounting for only 51 of them. And to top it off Michigan had its second 100 yards tailback of the season in Fitz.

On the other side of the ball, the difference between the 2011 and 2010 teams is night and day. Five games in Michigan has given up 51 points compared to 137 through five games last season. Michigan picked up three more sacks and five more tackles for loss (all of which came from different players), and even returned a fumble 83 yards for a touchdown. At NT, junior William Campbell looks like the light has finally gone on. At times during the game he was downright dominant. At one point, Campbell literally bulldozed his blocker in a single move, ran right over him and hammered Minnesota's Max Shortell as he released the football. Then there was the play of freshman Blake Countess who seems to legitimately know whatever route the receiver is running before the receiver does. Countess put up two more PBUs on the young season and spent his entire day in the hip pocket of whatever poor sap he was assigned to guard. More on him below.

Want to know something even more impressive? Jordan Kovacs had one assisted tackle. That's it. One. In two years of football with Kovacs as our starter, that's the lowest output he's had on the stat sheet since he came in against Western Michigan in 2009. He could've spent the day in a lawn chair if he wanted to. That's how good the front seven were today.

It's tough not to be excited about the most complete game you've seen your team play in almost two decades, even if it was a horrible Minnesota squad. Frankly, if the game didn't put a smile on your face, you're probably watching the wrong game and reading the wrong website. Saturday was wonderful. In the long run it may not mean much. Minnesota is an awful team. The hardest part of the schedule is staring Michigan in the face. I don't care.

For one Saturday it was nice to be the Bulldozer again.

Notes (more notes tomorrow, but I figured since the column was short I'd add some thoughts)

• We made three field goals. I'm not kidding. Even more amazing? Brendan Gibbons kicked them at progressive distances. 25, 32 and 38 yards. What a difference a year has made for this kid.
  

More after the jump.....

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A quick look at Michigan's Big Ten Schedule going forward:

Oct. 1, The Minnesota Golden Gophers- Wow. Whether its on the message boards or on the Mothership or even here, there are a lot of people starting to wonder if this program is cursed in some way. Minnesota, in the span of five years, has gone from a perennial top 25 team to, well.... this. Minnesota currently sits at 1-3 with losses to USC, one of the worst programs in the history of Division One football in New Mexico State and some directional, Division I-AA Dakota school. The program seems like it's in free fall right now. Sadly, that makes them incredibly dangerous this weekend.

Oct. 8, The Northwestern Wildcats- Northwestern has been incredibly unimpressive over the first three weeks of the season. Their offense is anemic. The defense can't stop a pop warnerteam from scoring on them. Yet, there they are at 2-1 heading into the conference season. If this was, as our friends at Black Heart Gold Pants like to say, just Northwestern, you probably wouldn't care that they're on the schedule. Here's the issue. They get back All-Big Ten quarterback Dan Persa this week, comingoff his season ending injury last year win he tore his Achilles beating Iowa on the play he got hurt. It straight out of a Disney movie. Well, if the movie had ended there. Instead the 'Cats went on to lose their next three games convincingly. Persa makes this squad an entirely different team. While he can't make up for the Cat's lack of a run defense, he can help to cover for it by scoring touchdowns. While I don't think this is a very good team in Evanston, I think Persa makes them very, very dangerous. And he's got a game to get warmed up before he faces Michigan.

Oct. 15, The Michigan St. Spartans - At 3-1 Michigan State is about where everyone projected them to be. They've housed three bad teams and lost to Notre Dame in convincing fashion. The big question here is Michigan State's offensive line, which is currently being held together by packing tape, FlexAll451, and prayers. On top of graduating their best offensive linemen, the Spartans have been decimated by injuries. They're starting a pile of first year players and even playing guys who just switched over from the defensive line. That's really not good if you're a team that bases its passing game on establishing the run. State get'sThat School Down South this weekend and I'm really, really curious to see how this one plays out. If there's one thing TSDS does well, it's hammer teams with bad offensive lines. If Michigan State can stand up to TSDS'sfour man front and run the ball, my fear level for the October showdown goes way, way up. If they can't, I think Michigan probably goes into east Lansing a favorite.

Oct. 29, The Purdue Boilermakers - Hey! Purdue's 2-1! Great news! They scored 56 points in their last game! Woo! the only problem was it was a body bag game against a hapless by FCS standards FCS school. Purdue needed a last second field goal to beat Middle Tennessee State in week one, and then promptly dropped another nail biter to Sam McGuffie's Rice Owls. Purdue is a Big Ten team. Nail biters against Conference USA teams aren't supposed to happen. Especially not against bad CUSA teams. Well, now they get to go up against a pissed off Notre Dame squad with seven times the talent than Purdue has. Lookingat Purdue's schedule, barring a major turn around, this squad could potentially only win two more games this season. That schedule is murder.

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Our buddies at MGoVideo, where you should go, right now, have put up every snap from this past weekend's win over San Diego State. They rock. Go tell them so.

First up is every snap from the Defense. Watch the constantly shifting line play and the misdirection that the supposed blitzers give Ryan Lindely. You'll see a number of players (sometimes six or seven on the line) and then have as many as have of them drop into coverage. It's really cool to see. You'll see Kovacs sprint up to the line, then drop out into the flats. Or Jake Ryan simulate the rush to the point of contact and then drop back into a zone. It's really cool stuff. The difference between this and last season is night and day. Also, pay attention to the coverage that J.T. Floyd and Troy Woolfork give their receivers versus Avery and Countess. Especially Avery. He looks really comfortable in close Bump and Run, and Mattison seems to enjoy using it. The Donkey Kong music is a plus.

Next up is every snap from the offense. Pay attention to the routes being run by the receivers. To be honest, they don't look that good to me, but that may be because we're not getting the 1,000 foot view. Also pay some attention to the offensive line play. You'll note they were having all kinds of trouble opening gaps against Eastern but seemed to really get it together on Saturday. Lastly, watch Denard Robinson on his throws. I've seen a lot of people suggest that Borges needs to give him some easy throws to get him in rhythm. Two of his first three throws were short passes (one tailback screen and one tunnel screen sandwiching a deep ball that he threw into double coverage [Bad Read]). Then there were two more short passes sandwiching a crossing pattern by Roy Roundtree. I'm not sure how much easier Borges can make those first throws. Here's hoping the second half was just a bad dream in terms of the passing game. He was actually pretty accurate in the first half.

We're three days removed from Michigan's 28-7 win over Coach Hoke's old San Diego State Squad, so it's time to sit back and take a hard look at what we saw. What say you internets?

Where the hell were you last week? - Dude. Real life. Job. Family. Things like that.

I don't care. You abandoned me. - Come on, you know those other things mean nothing to me. You're the one I ... mumble....

You're just saying that. - No. It's true. I ... mumble..... you. Come on. Who's my favorite?

i am. - What? come on...

I am! - That's better. Shall we move on to the Game Notes?

Yes, let's.

So, Craig Roh was back with a vengeance - Man. Was he ever. I know the whole "hearing football" meme has been overdone, but that third down stick Roh placed on Ronnie Hillman made my fillings hurt. It was one of those colisons that make you either: a) look away, then slowly look back expecting to see someones bones protruding from their body; or b) make you jump out of your seat and go "DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMN!" and proceed to hit the person next to you over and over again saying "DIDUSEETHATDIDUSEETTHAT?" until they get mad at you and punch you in arm. Tack on a sack and some solid, solid play and Roh looks like me may finally be all the way back from whatever slowed him down this summer.

What's that mean for Jibreel Black? - Maybe a little less playing time. Rohand Black were rotating anyway, but I can certainly see times when both will be on the field at the same time. If you're going big, William Campbell and Mike Martin with Ryan Van Bergen and Roh makes a lot of sense. But if you want speed and pass rush, Black and Roh bookending Van Bergen and Martin seems like a no brainer. We'll see what happens. I think Roh won his starting spot back, and Mattison is going to keep them rotating to keep them as fresh as possible.

Talk about Blake Countess and only say nice things or I'll knife you - Kinda hard not to say nice things about the first true freshman cornerback since Donovan Warren to step on the field at Michigan and not be immediately burnt crispy. Think about it. Courtney Avery, Terry Talbott, Cullen Christian, and so on and so on. While Avery has some incredible upside, he got beat up pretty bad last year. On the flip side Countess acquitted himself very very well. Seven tackles, a PBU and didn't give up a big play. SDSU immediately went after him the second he was on the field and he responded by being awesome. People inside the program have been saying he's going to be something special since he first showed up on campus. Nice to see those words weren't just lip service.

Say more nice things about the defense - This is like last year, except the opposite. The personnel on the field are largely the same as last season, but instead being put in positions to fail they're being put in positions to suceed. I know that sounds trite, but it's true. As I mentioned yesterday, Michigan has given up almost HALF the number of points it'd given up at this point last season (51 this season versus 92 in 2010 and 91 in 2009). That's staggering. Through four games, here's what the break down looks like in comparison to the last two years.

Ah, statistics. Michigan is somehow ~80 yards worse against the run this season than last, yet has given up ~200 fewer yards without managing to spend a lot of time in the backfield. The difference? You mean besides Playing Eastern Michigan whose entire offense is based on its Rushing attack? Yes, besides that. Two things, pass defense and turnovers. Pass Defense? Really?I kid you not. Put the NotreDame game out of your mind for a minute and really look at the quarterbacks Michigan's faced. Two of them are legitimate NFL prospects with some scouts pegging SDSU's Ryan Lindley as the best QB in the draft. And then there was Notre Dame's insane cadre of talent on the wings. Michigan has given up just 780 passing yards in 2010. That's down almost three football fields from last season at this point.

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Four weeks into the season a few things are clear:

1. The defense is much, much better than it's been in four years;

2. This coaching staff is far and away the best staff Michigan's seen since the late '90's early '00;

3. Stephen Hopkins, as much as we love him here at MnB, can't hold onto the damn ball;

4. Denard Robinson is going to carry this offense as far as it will go; and,

5. That ain't going to be too far if he can't stop turning the ball over.

Of all the things I was confident in going into the 2011 season, Denard improving as a passer was somewhere in the middle of that list. I figured we'd see a number of interceptions based on new scheme or bad reads. But I also figured with the accuracy he displayed early in the 2010 campaign that he would eventually "click" in Al Borges new offense and turn into something special in the pocket, and not just sprinting out of it. It's early, but the returns on that confidence are dipping like the Euro. This isn't to say there won't be a rebound, but investor confidence is a little shaky right now. In the passing game any way

On the other side of the coin, there's little to worry about with Michigan's gorund game. For all the handwringing about the pro-style offense and the lack of production from the backs, Michigan's lead tailbacks Smith and Toussaint averaged 5.2 yards a carry on 22 carries (114 yards between them). And yes, I'm ignoring Hopkins 8 yard dash and drop. Then, turning to Robinson, you note the gaudy 9.5 ypc and 200 yard day. That's not too shabby.

A good deal of credit for that goes to the offensive line. I think my favorite play of the day was Ricky Barnun pulling on Denard's first touchdown run and smushing two linebackers in route to Michigan's first, easy score. It was pretty. But even when the line wasn't opening gaping holes, Michigan's backs were finding ways to make yardage. A close second to Barnum's smushing was Vincent Smith's Houdini impersonation that turned into a 32 yard scamper. Taking the handoff, Smith hid behind his linemen before exploding out of a crease no one saw. At first you saw a tiny man run into a wall of bodies and thought, "damn". Half a second later Smith had exploded out of that mass of humanity and was driving toward the endzone. It's time to break out my Fred Jackson hyperbole machine, because that reminded me of... wait for it.... wait for it... Mike Hart.

/Hyperbole machine turned off/ But enough of the nit picking (for now).

It was a weird game. Michigan dominated the first half. The Aztecs managed only 133 yards in the first half, turned the ball over twice, punted twice, and turned it over on downs once. Importantly, they didn't dent the scoreboard. Michigan did. Robinson's legs were electric as usual. If not for a Vincent Smith fumble, it's conceivable that Michigan would have scored on all three of its opening drives. As it stood, Michigan was up 21-0 at the end of the first half, having held a team that had scored 20 points or more in 17 straight games dating back to 2009, to nothing.

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On a clear Saturday in September, Michigan fans had to feel like they were watching a repeat of last season. Bad defense. Denard left. Denard right. Denard up the middle. Twenty-five carries and almost 200 yards later, Michigan had topped Eastern Michigan 31-3. While a 28 point victory is usually the cause for celebrate, this weekend's jump into Marty's DeLorean created more questions about this season that  generated answers.

One question that seemed to be answered though was the question mark at tailback. And to me at least, the most important thing that happened in Saturday's game was the emergence of Vincent Smith as a legitimate rushing threat in Michigan's offense. While it is within the bounds of reason to write Smith's performance off as "it's just Eastern," Smith beacome the first Michigan back not named Robinson to rush for over 100 yards since Michael Shaw rushed for 126 against UMass last season. Even more startling, Smith's 118 yards marked the first time since Brandon Minor went for 154 against Purdue in 2009 that a Michigan running back has rushed for over 100 yards against a FBS opponent.

As I said after the Notre Dame game, Smith seems to have it. A certain I don't know what that allows him to pick up yards, block like a lineman, and be the ulti-back the offense so desperately needs. Saturday again demonstrated that his burst seems to be back. He gained the edge or exploded through the hole on several of his 9 carries, including a 38 yard scamper where he looked as fast as I've seen him since his knee injury against Ohio State in 2009. We may all have our favorite backs, but it's clear at this point that Smith is the best of the bunch and we should expect to see a lot more of him.

Smith's stellar day aside, there was plenty to cause some consternation among the Michigan faithful. It wasn't just the all-Denard-all-the-time offense that made it feel like 2010 all over again. For the first quarter, of the game it was the defense that provided the deja vu. For the third straight game Michigan's opponent marched up and down the field on the Wolverines, amassing 147 yards in the first quarter, mostly on the ground. Michigan's defense looked slow and out of position as Eastern Michigan's tailbacks and quarterback repeatedly found gaps in the defensive line and space on the edge to pick up first downs.

When Michigan had the early ball, things looked startlingly like 2010 as well. Denard Robinson rushed the ball 15 times before the end of the half. None of Michigan's tailbacks could generate any yardage on their own. Receivers were getting open, but Denard was missing them. The only person on the offense who seemed capable of generating yardage was Denard, but that was only possible on the ground. So the coaching staff went to that well again, and again, and again. Until finally, the gun for the first half sounded and Michigan was leading 14-3.

But as much as Saturday reminded us of 2010, there were definite differences we should be thankful for. Despite bending all the way to the one yard line, Michigan's defense held, surrendering only 3 points despite having all of Eastern's first three drives end inside Michigan territory (and two of them end inside Michigan's 5 yard line). The Defense again came up with turnovers. More importantly, the defense again held strong on the goal line, stuffing Eastern on a fourth and goal from the Wolverines' 1 yard line. And once the first quarter ended, and the Defense got its bearings, it gave up only 89 yards over the last three quarters.

Unlike 2010 though, the defense seems to be the unit that has its act together.

Continue reading this post »

It's go time. Go Blue! Comments below.

Believe it or not there IS an Eastern Michigan Eagles Football Blog out there. Really! Eagle Totem gave us a shout about doing a Q&A. We honestly knew next to nothing about this week's opponent, so this couldn't have come at a better time. Enjoy!

MnB Dave:  You have Mike Hart on your staff. Tell us how much you love him. And you do. DON'T LIE! HE IS AWESOME!

We’ll see. Now that one "little brother" has had a nice go of things, maybe it's a littler brother's turn.

MnB Dave:  In all seriousness, talk about the staff at EMU. The last few years have been really painful ones for EMU football. How is the rebuilding process progressing?

With progress.

It’s hard to really tell where the team is right now, due to the level of the first two opponents. We’ll know a lot more in 10 days. At that point, EMU will be like the statistician who lay with his head in the freezer and his feet in the oven. On average he was fine; an average of Howard, Alabama State, Michigan, and Penn State should be about MAC quality.

MnB Dave:  Do you foresee the Eagles contending for a MAC title, or even a division title in the near future?

My expectation is that EMU should finish at 3-5 or 4-4 in the MAC this year, partly due to continued improvement and partly due to a weak conference schedule that doesn’t include Temple, Ohio, or Miami, and gets the most-winnable games (Akron, Buffalo, Ball State) at home. I can imagine them having an outside shot at a division title next year.

MnB Dave:  We've heard a lot about Eastern's ground game. Why is it so potent this year and are you doing anything different from last season?

At this point it’s hard to say if it really is any better than last year, or if the statistical improvement is due to the weaker opponents. From what I’ve seen, the receivers are starting to show some blocking ability, and that’s turned some 3-5 yard runs into 10-20 yard gains. Also, last year Dwayne Priest was the #1 running back, but there was no clear #2. Priest struggled with injuries through much of the middle of the season, missing several games, and even when he played he was hampered. The lack of a clear #2 running back meant that time got shared between several players, and no one ever seemed to get really comfortable.

This year the Eagles have a clear 1-2-3 punch, or really 1-1-3. Junior Dominique Sherrer is listed as the starter, but he’s split carries evenly with sophomore Javonti Greene. They’re fairly similar runners who both have good speed and the ability to make a cut or two, but probably lack the power to do much in a clogged middle of the field. More James Starks than Michael Turner, if you will. Gillett has dropped from the #2 ball carrier last year to #3 this year, but he’s still more than willing to pull the ball in and take off running, and he’s had a 40+ yard run in each of the first two games.

MnB Dave: Talk about your passing offense, talk about your quarterback and your play makers on the outside.

Last week I described the passing offense as "an afterthought you wish you hadn’t thought of". There was very little of it, and most of that was ugly. Some of that failure was on Alex Gillett, and some of it might be credit to the Alabama State pass defense, which was one of the best in FCS last year, but the offensive line hasn’t given him very good protection in either game and the receivers have dropped plenty of on-target passes. The offensive line suffered a blow with the loss to injury of Korey Neal, who started eight games last year, but I think they’ll improve as they get more reps as a unit.

The receivers should also get better as soon as this weekend, with the expected return of Kinsman Thomas. Thomas was the #1 receiver in 2010, but he was suspended for the first two games for an unspecified team rules violation. He wasn’t listed on EMU’s depth chart for this week, but EMU’s depth charts tend to be lagging rather than leading, so I do expect him to start.

More after the jump.....

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The look in his eyes made it seem like it was Christmas morning. He had kind of that glazed over look you only see in a ten-year-old who got exactly what he'd asked for that Christmas, and then got the video game console on top of that.

As SCM reached across the dais and shook Desmond Howard's hand, I couldn't help but think of that scene out of a Christmas Story when Ralphie, with that same glazed over look, finally unwraps his Red Ryder carbine-action, two hundred shot Range Model air rifle with a compass in the stock and a thing which tells time. Throw on a set of round glasses and a crappy 50's haricut, and BOOM, cinema magic.

Standing at the end of the podium, I snapped a dozen photos of the moment. Capturing the moment as best I could for SCM's eventual framing of said moment, which I assume will occur over his fireplace or dining room table in short order, if it hasn't happened already. Walking away, SCM was staring down at the newly signed Heisman Pose special edition SI issue he'd gotten on the way in, smiling like he'd just robbed Vegas and gotten away with it. When he finally looked up, there was that look again. I was fairly confident it would take explosives (or at least a month) to remove the smile from SCM's face.

Like I should talk.

As you can imagine, we get a lot of emails at Maize n Brew  asking to "partner" with different companies, link this or that, or to promote something or other. The majority of these emails either get a polite refusal or go directly into the trash bin, because they have nothing to do with Michigan sports or college football. Every now and then you get something special that warrants a mention, a fanpost, or a link on the site because for some reason or another they're germane to Michigan athletics,  beer, or our own little interests.

Then there are the emails asking if you want to meet Desmond Howard. Those get framed.

Last Wednesday the good people with the Sports Illustrated Heisman Tour Presented by Nissan shot me an email asking just that. Being the cynical little bastard that I am I thought "what's the catch?", but as I read further I saw that there wasn't one. Which confused me further. Using copy and paste I put the big details up on a fanpost and told my wife, "So, Saturday.... You wanna meet Desmond Howard?"

Her response, predictably, was:

Sure. Will Herstreit be there too?

Sigh.

Damn you Herbstreit, what with your dashing good looks, knowledge of football, and composed demeanor. You are the scourge of every married man whose wife loves college football. Most people would claim that I get to ogle Erin Andrews every Saturday, but, I must say, she doesn't do it for me. So I, and the majority of men who watch Game Day with their spouses/girlfriends/chick-who-stayed-the-night-and-hasn't-left-yet, are left to watch the women in or lives stare intently at the Blonde Buckeye Bastard. But I digress.

No sweetheart. Herbie will not be there.

That's okay. At least I'll get to compliment Desmond on his suits.

Fair enough. It's at times like these that I must remind you, dear readers, that my wife is a Domer. Up until meeting me, she and her friends, reviled Michigan. The fact that she would think to compliment the man who has broken so many Irish hearts over the years is a sign that she loves me and that she is most definitely a bigger person than I am.

Returning to the story, I'm thinking to myself "I get to meet Desmond." Desmond is... well... Desmond. The man is a legend if you are a Michigan fan or a fan of college sports in general. He is responsible for the single most recognizable act in the history of the Heisman Trophy. The Pose is like Bobby Orr's leap, Babe Ruth calling his shot, Dr. J's windmill layup. It's iconic across any sport. Show, anyone, The Pose and they'll know exactly who it is. Desmond hasn't just reached icon status, he's transcended it.

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We're three days removed from the euphoria of Saturday night's Sunday Morning's win over Notre Dame, so it's time to sit back and take a hard look at what we saw. What say you internets?

Man, Was That Awesome - Agreed.

No Really, That Was So Awesome - We're on the same page here.

SO AWESOME!!!1!! - /slap/

Thanks, I Needed That - You're welcome.

I've Never Seen Anything Like That After a Game - It was truly amazing. It's not quite at the level of the 1997 win over Ohio University of Ohio, as A) It was THE GAME, B) it was for a trip to the Rose Bowl, and C) Michigan was playing for a National Championship. After that game the students actually rushed the field. It was slow at first, but I still remember being out on that frozen ground screaming with my arms in the air hugging random people and jumping around like an idiot. That said, I can't remember any other game at Michigan Stadium where the ENTIRE stadium refused to leave after the game. People were singing and cheering with what little voices they had left for no other reason than it seemed like a waste to leave with any voice at all. The lights, the sea of maize, it was truly something special. This may not have been 1997, but damn was it as close as it could possibly be given the circumstances.

What About the Jerseys? - They actually started to grow on me. But I'm old and senile.

So, About the Game - Yes, let's discuss.

Vincent Smith is Michigan's Running Back? - I think so. Smith gave Michigan's offense the versatility it desperately needed on Saturday and seems to be one of the few running backs who actually understands the blitz and protection schemes. I love Michael Shaw for his speed and his amazing similarities to former Michigan tailback Carlos Brown. I was thrilled when I saw Fitzgerald Toussaint break out for a pair of touchdowns against Western Michigan. But the back that gives Michigan the most in the passing game and on the ground seems to be Vincent Smith. Smith seems to be completely back from the ACL injury that ended his freshman year and ruined his sophomore campaign. He just has that popto his running that seems to be missing from the other backs. On his touchdown run Smith split two defenders, broke a tackle and accelerated like we haven't seen him accelerate in two years toward the endzone. Watching him, I just got that feelingthat he was the guy. I didn't get that feeling out of Shaw or Toussaintlast week. We'll see what happens next week, but I was really impressed withwhat Smith delivered on Saturday.

Stephen Hopkins Is Going to be Glued to the Bench Isn't He? - This was not his best game as a Wolverine. He couldn't pick up any yardage, tripped over his blockers and fumbled on the goal line. These are not good things. He's a great kid, but he's got a lot of work to do.

So, On Desmond's Day, Number 21 Stepped Up - Man. If it wasn't for Denard Robinson's fourth quarter heroics, your hero of the day would've been Junior Hemingway. Hemingway was absolutely incredible Saturday. Despite an early drop, Hemingway caught everything else he had a prayer of getting to. It wasn't the number of catches (three) that was impressive, it was how he got them. Hemingway either out-battled Notre Dame'scorners on jump balls or he simply out-ran them. Hemingway had 165 yards on just three catches to go along with a touchdown. In case you missed it, that was 6 more yards than Michael Floyd on 10 fewer catches. Junior was amazing on Saturday.

Do I Hear The Strains of Bob Marley's "Redemption Songs" Playing For Jeremy Gallon - Oh man, what an about face this kid has done. A jump ball TD. The most important catch of his career. What a game he had. AND HE DIDN'T FUMBLE A KICK!!!! Wow. Gallon was left for dead by everyone, yours included, after his struggles last year holding onto the ball. For him to shrug it all off and be THAT  awesome is incredible. One thing though, Denard, please remember that he is 5'8". No more jump balls to Gallon. They're never going to be his strong suit.

Notre Dame's Offensive Line Was Really Good- I've seen a lot of complaining about the lack of pressure from Michigan's defensive line on the boards, and frankly I'm a little puzzled by it. Sure I would've liked a sack or two, but the Irish returned four starters on their line and sport three upperclassmen in that mix. And in case you're following it at home, all of them were highly recruited out of high school. This line wasn't good by accident, it's veteran and it's big, tipping the scales at over 300 lbs a man. Notre Dame game planned well for the offense and after watching Rees' audible it looked like they had their protection schemes down pat. If their backs and QB can hold on to the ball, this should still be a top 15 team by the end of the season.

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Photo Courtesy: Leon Halip/Getty Images Sport

1:12

That's what the clock read after Vincent Smith's improbable screen pass scamper put Michigan up four points late in the Fourth Quarter late Saturday night. The run itself was beautiful. Smith completely sold the screen, even faining a whiff on a block at Notre Dame's charging defensive end before quietly slipping off to the left hash mark an awaiting Denard Robinson's pass. Everyone bought it. Rolling to his left with the pocket flowing around him, Denard peered into the endzone until the last possible second, and, as the Irish defensive line closed in on him, he whirled at his hips and lofted a perfectly thrown screen pass to Smith.

Somehow, Ricky Barnum and Taylor Lewan had snuck away from the line to set up the screen (quite a feat when you consider their size), and were charging their defenders to open space for Michigan's diminutive tailback. It looked perfect. Then it all looked like it was done. Lewan whiffed on his block leaving smith one on two with the Irish as Barnum got just enough of his man to keep it from being a one on three. Somehow, I doubt it would've mattered. Smith juked left and went right, angling the space between the angled defender to his right and Lewan's missed assignment to his front left, splitting them cleanly as the forward defender's arms bounced harmlessly off Smith's quads. Then, cutting back to the sideline to his left, Smith used the complete and utter demolition of a block laid out by Roy Roundtree on the only possible man who could've stopped him to dance into the endzone.

Bedlam.

Michigan shouldn't have even been close. Notre Dame had more than doubled Michigan's offensive output at half time and probably shoul've been up 24-7 prior to the second half kickoff. Their defensive line had all but completely shut down the Michigan running game and Denard had already chucked three interceptions (two of them which were painly awful). But there they were. In a game they never should've been in, and somehow, they'd completely taken control of it. Michigan had just scored it's 21st straight point since the start of the fourth quarter and the Defense, even thought shredded in the first half had suddenly come to life, stoning the Irish running game on third and short, and setting up Denard and Smith's heroics.

The game seemed in the bag, but there were 72 seconds on the clock. Notre Dame only needed 40 of them. Suddenly rejuvenated, the Irish went immediately to their soon-to-be All-American wide receiver Michael Floyd. Floyd had been unrecoverable the entire night, and with head coach Brian Kelly's determination to keep him all over the field, no one had been able to lock him down. On their final drive, that duty fell to JT Floyd. It wasn't a job he could do alone, but that's what Michigan asked him to do.

Like the Western Michigan game a week earlier, Greg Mattison sent every conceivable blitz he could muster at Irish Quarterback Tommy Rees. The difference was, Notre Dame's veteran offensive line was ready for them. Michigan did get pressure, but it never got there soon enough. And on the final drive, it cost them. Lined up one on one at the bottom left of the formation, JT matched up in bump and run coverage with Michael. It didn't go well. Michael swatted JT's hands down, defeating the press and took off down the sidelines with JT desperately trying to keep the big receiver close. And when it didn't work, he did the only thing he could. He grabbed jersey and held on for dear life. Frankly, it was the smartest thing he could've possibly done. Still, the flags flew and Notre Dame had 15 yards and a fresh set of downs in Michigan territory.

After a broken route harmlessly glanced off the back of the endzone, the unthinkable happened. With three receivers to bottom left of the formation in a spread look, Michigan lined up with Troy Woolfolk and Thomas Gordon on the outside, and Michael Floyd lined up in the slot with Brandin Hawthorne pseudo covering him. Everyone was at the line of scrimmage. No safety help was out there as the Wolverines showed blitz. At the snap safety Marvin Johnson dropped into coverage to give some help, but it didn't matter because Gordon immediately left his man who was between Floyd and the outside receiver, to cover the outside receiver, leaving Theo Riddick wide open for an easy pitch and catch touchdown. All of a sudden, Michigan was down three with :30 on the clock.

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Usually I don't shill. Wait. Yes. Yes, usually I do. But this is extra special. Desmond Howard and Lloyd Carr are working with SI, the Heisman Committee, and Nissan to promote all three. They'll be appearing, talking and signing autographs tomorrow September 10, 2011 before the Michigan Notre Dame Game. Figured you guys would want to know about it. Here are the details - Dave

"SPORTS ILLUSTRATED HEISMAN TOUR PRESENTED BY NISSAN"

Meet UM football legends on game day!

• Michigan’s 1991 Heisman Trophy winner Desmond Howard, who will be honored for his 2010 induction into the College Football Hall of Fame during halftime of that night’s game, will appear from 2:00-3:30 p.m., participating in both an "SI Chalk Talk" session from 2:00-2:30 p.m. and an autograph session from 2:30-3:30 p.m.
• 2011 College Football Hall of Fame inductee Lloyd Carr, who led Michigan to the 1997 National Championship during his coaching regime, will participate in an "SI Chalk Talk" session with from 4:30-5:00 p.m., followed by an autograph session from 5:00-6:00 p.m.

WHEN: SATURDAY, September 10, 2011 – noon until 8:00 p.m.

WHERE:        Located across from Michigan Stadium, at the intersection of E. Stadium Blvd. and S. Main Street. Look for the big Nissan/Sports Illustrated helium blimp flying overhead!

I've heard people call the First Saturday of the college football season Christmas. I've been present when grown men and women explain how the Last Friday of the off-season is like Christmas Eve. In the past I've said both. But, they, and I, are wrong. This isn't Christmas. It isn't Christmas Eve. It isn't any holiday I can think of. They're not even close to today.

Maybe, just maybe, if you could take all those holidays, the gifts, the meals, the fireworks, the jolly fat man, the family, the dude in a Rabbit suit, Batman costumes, Pilgrims and Indians, the song, the dance, the arguments, the pageantry, the celebration... and roll them all into a tight little ball and somehow managed to cram them into the tight parameters of a 24 hour day... maybe then.... you'd be close to what tomorrow represents. And that brings us to today. The day before all of this goes down. This isn't Christmas Eve anticipation.

This is the type of anticipation God felt the day before he created the Universe.

Why this is so doesn't really make any sense. When the 101st has landed, the flag is raised, the Star Spangled Banner is sung, and the fly-over complete it is, after all, just a game played by large children. Days like tomorrow shouldn't be this important in the grand scheme of things. But they are. And they are crucial to who we are as a people.

Tomorrow is sacred. It is a day when we put our lives in stasis so that we can cheer on 115 kids as they play a child's game. It is an escape. A day of freedom from the shackles of our everyday existence, no matter how pleasant or unpleasant that existence may be. We are no longer individuals on that day. We a part of something bigger, older and larger than ourselves. From individual droplets we become a roiling, churning sea of humanity with a single goal and purpose. It's no longer talking with Bob or Fred about something they can only nod their heads at and then change the subject to pro-ball. We're no longer alone. We're immersed in the life giving water that has forsaken us sense January. 8 full months of desert now end. The last dune before the ocean is today and tomorrow we can swim and drink to our hearts' content as we rejuvenate and celebrate together, this wonderful game and this wonderful school.

Tomorrow all the disagreement, discontent, and pettiness disappears. There are no more distractions. No more arguments about who should've been what and who could've done that. Tomorrow we are all in agreement. Tomorrow whatever fractional elements or splintered sides rejoin the whole. Tomorrow is the greatest glue humanity has ever produced. Tomorrow it's like everything was right from the beginning. Tomorrow is hope, forgiveness, and celebration all at once.

And we need it. Michigan is no stranger to trying off-seasons. Prior to the 2010-2011 off-season, Michigan has endured a coaching change and two losing seasons for the first time since the invention of the automobile. But this off season, this one, took the cake. First there were the losses to close the season. The blowout loss in the Gator Bowl. Rodriguez' firing. The flight tracking. The innuendo. The supposition. Hoke's hiring and its immediate reaction. The recruiting class that was caught in the middle of the transition. Would Denard stay or go. Then there was Borges. And Mattison. And Hoke somehow transforming himself from WAC sideline walker into a Red Bull'd up Urban Meyer on the recruiting trial. Then all hell broke loose at Oregon, Auburn, Ohio State, LSU, and UNC. Then there was Miami, and yes, that situation warrants its own sentence. There was spring ball. Summer workouts. And more time than we knew what to do with.

We guessed. We fought. We argued over the future and the past. We wondered what would happen next and whether the fanbase would eat itself alive before the first snap of the spring game. Then a sort of delirium set in. We wondered aloud whether the magic was back. Whether this new coach was somehow channeling Bo and Yost and Crisler.

Now, a day before kick off all the questions are moot. The answers we've sought for eight months seem hours from delivery. We don't care that the answers we'll receive on this First Saturday are only partial answers, and we care even less that they'll be only partial answers to questions we haven't asked. They'll be answers. And they'll be ours.

Answers.... at last.

Why?

Seriously.

Why?

This makes as much sense as returning to the back stage dressing room where the actor playing Mr. Mistoffelees touched you inappropriately twenty years ago, just to see if the room's still there. It's still there. It happened. Oh God, the memories. Why in God's name did you go back there again?

No? Just me? Moving on.

In life there are bad things that happen to you, you deal with them, you move on, you try to bury them deep inside the innermost parts of your soul and pretend they didn't happen. The time you had your shorts pulled down during the middle school talent show. Crushed with your mind vice. The time you had to go to the bathroom so bad that you didn't even look at the sign and were already half out of your pants before you realized it was a women's restroom and now you're on the sex offender list. Buried deep. The time you lost to Appalachian State? It never happened. Denial. Yeah.... I'm doing just fine.... nothing wrong with me.... Oh God the pain....

Maybe 2014 will be our vengeance year. We'll schedule nothing but schools we've lost to in horrifying, soul crushing fashion. I can see it now... App State, Oregon, Toledo, Mississippi State as a non-conference slate. Maybe we can right all those wrongs. Yeah. If we beat them then the losses never happened. Yeah. That's how it works. VENGEANCE!

No.

Wait.

The pain....

Play App State again? Sure. Really. This is a great idea....

I'm going to go put my head in the oven.

That was my goal coming in as a rookie and my goal throughout my career: being the best they ever had.

- Michael Irving 

Talent is only the starting point.

- Irving Berlin

Show class, have pride, and display character. If you do, winning takes care of itself.

- Paul "Bear" Bryant

The 2011 Michigan Football season is less than three weeks away, so it's time for our Maize n Preview series to start getting serious. So far, the 2011 Maize n Preview series has a detailed preview of the Michigan Defensive Line, a detailed preview of Michigan's Linebackers, a detailed preview of the Michigan Secondary, and a detailed preview of Michigan's Quarterbacks. In terms of what we're doing, we're looking at what happened, who's back, who's new, and what to expect from each of Michigan Football's offensive position groups going in to the 2011 Football Season. Today it's the Running Back's turn under the microscope.

About Last Year

2010 was another injury plagued, sub-par year for Michigan's tailbacks. For the third consecutive year Michigan was without a feature back, suffered all kinds of injuries, and coughed the ball up with regularity in its running game. On top of that, Michigan failed to produce a 1,000 running back and didn't have a single back above 150 carries. Granted, when you've got a runner like Denard Robinson in the backfield, carries are going to be hard to come by. That said Denard wasn't the main reason Michigan's tailbacks didn't get the ball. The main reason was lack of production. Vincent Smith led the way in 2010 with 601 yards on 136 carries for a 4.4 ypc average. Michael Shaw had a 5.4 ypc average, but injuries limited him to just 75 carries and 402 yards. Freshman bulldozer Stephen Hopkins chipped in 4 touchdowns and 157 yards on 37 carries, but fumbles and inexperience kept him on the sidelines for good portions of the season.

It's really, really hard to fairly evaluate this group looking back at last season. Michigan's tailbacks were basically lead blockers for Denard Robinson all season long. And if judged on that basis, they did pretty well. But when Michigan needed its tailbacks to gain critical yards... well... they couldn't. There's no sugar coating it. When Michigan needed yards, the ball was in Robinson's hands and not the running backs'. Let's also be clear, none of Michigan's top options at tailback were healthy. Shaw and Smith were either injured or getting over injuries. Fitzgerald Toussaint was coming off an injury and clearly wasn't at full speed in 2010. Michael Cox was simply the odd man out in Rodriguez's offense. And Hopkins was really just a freshman, no matter how strong and big he was.

This was and is a group full of talent, but given their inability to stay healthy (Shaw, Smith, Toussaint), their inexperience, and their lack of production you have to grade last season out as a disappointment for Michigan's running backs.

Outgoing

For the first time in a long time, nobody.

Returning Options

Normally I'd say something like "Returning Starters" and then break down the backups, but going into this season there's no clear cut favorite or starter who will take the bulk of Michigan's carries. So, instead, I'll list them in the order I think they'll probably be on the depth chart.

First on that list is Michael Shaw. The Senior speedster is still looking for that first, full, healthy year. Ever since showing up on campus four years ago as a high school track star shoehorned into a bulldozer's body he's had Michigan fans all atwitter about his potential. And he's flashed big runs to get us all excited about it too. Sadly, Shaw hasn't done much more than whet our appetite. Injury after injury after injury has kept him off the field for prolonged stretches of his first three seasons and limited his ability to deliver on all that talent. But as a senior leader, a guy who's played in every system and has the size and speed to be a difference maker, he's the odds on favorite to be Michigan's starting and premier tailback when the season starts in September. Shaw led the backs in touchdowns last season with (9) and was one of the few running backs who's yards per carry stayed above 4.3 when faced with above .500 BCS competition. If there's a reason to be skeptical about Shaw's production last season, it's that 3 of his 9 TDs and 126 of his 402 yards came against UMass. In terms of strengths, Shaw is a straight ahead, power runner. He really struggled in Rodriguez's spread/pick your gap offense and was incredibly tentative. When his lane is picked out for him, well, then he's dangerous. His raw speedy and power (re: ability to break tackles) make him incredibly dangerous out of the backfield and he's also proven he can catch the ball in space. If Shaw is healthy, he's the fastest and most dangerous back in Michigan's backfield. And that's a big IF.

Now if I'm describing Shaw as a bulldozer, then sophomore Stephen Hopkins must be described as a M1 Abrams Tank. At almost 230 pounds Hopkins is Michigan's most powerful option at running back, and likely the one that most fits the system that Hoke and Al Borges want to run. Hopkins is a big kid with surprisingly good wheels for someone his size. In a way, he reminds me of a smaller version of Anthony Thomas. At least that's what I want him to remind me of. I'm a big fan of Hopkins game and potential, but he suffered from a bout of the fumbles last season that makes me a bit nervous. Hopkins doesn't have the wheels that Shaw possesses (and if either are healthy, he doesn't run as fast as Smith or Toussaint), but he seems to have intangibles that make you want to see him out there. Maybe he just reminds us a bit of how Michigan's tailbacks used to be, and that's why we favor him. I think there might be some of that, but I also think he's a hell of a football player and could be one of those diamonds in the rough that Rodriguez was so well known for unearthing. I think he'll be the lead blocking back on a number of the two back sets, but I also think he could very well earn the starting job by mid season if Shaw doesn't produce.

SO MUCH MOAR AFTR JUMP.....

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It’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get back up.

- Vince Lombardi

Rick Stewart/Getty Images Sport

"I love to win.  Love it.  Football is just too hard and too tough if you’re not successful.  This isn’t just recreation, and the sport isn’t for everybody.  I just don’t want to expend all this time and effort and come up short."

- Bo Schembechler

The 2011 Michigan Football season is less than three weeks away, so it's time for our Maize n Preview series to start getting serious. As you probably know, we've already previewed the defense, so over the next three weeks we'll be looking at the offense, the coaches and taking a good look at Michigan's upcoming opponents. So far, the 2011 Maize n Preview series has a detailed preview of the Michigan Defensive Line, a detailed preview of Michigan's Linebackers, and a detailed preview of the Michigan Secondary.

Now it's time for the offense. We'll be looking at what happened, who's back, who's new, and what to expect from each of Michigan Football's offensive position groups going in to the 2011 Football Season. We're also breaking it down a little bit more and getting specific about each position. Why? Because there are only so many 4,500 word previews we can write without wanting to kill ourselves. This way it's not information overload on you and waaaay too much work for us. So, without further delay, let's preview the most important position on the field, Michigan's quarterbacks.

About Last Year

In terms of total yardage you'll be hard pressed to find a quarterback in the country, or in the history of college football, that did as much as Denard Robinson did for Michigan. The talented then sophomore lead the Big Ten in rushing with 1702 yards in 2010, eclipsing the Big Ten's record for rushing quarterbacks by almost 400 yards. On top of that he threw for 2570 yards and 18 touchdowns. Denard also became the first college quarterback to rush for more than 1500 yards and throw for more than 2500 yards in a single season. The result was a 62.5% completion percentage and an 18/11 TD to INT ratio. This unheard of production placed the first year starter 6th in the Heisman voting and helped lead Michigan back to a bowl game after a two year absence.

But it wasn't all roses. Robinson carried the ball more than any other player in the Big Ten (256) save Mikel Leshoure (281). Only Dan Heron at OSU came close to Robinson in terms of touches, and he got the ball FORTY fewer times. All those carries started to wear on Robinson. Fumbles. Interceptions. Bad decisions. Injuries. His production dropped like a stone in his last five games. Despite averaging above 8 yards a carry for the first 8 games of the season, Robinson's yards per rush dropped down to 4.5 yards per carry in his last five. On top of that, Robinson missed chunks of time due to hits and bumps and bruises in just about every game after Notre Dame.

On the back-up end, Michigan fans got the chance to see flashes from Tate Forcier and Devin Gardner at QB, but not many. There really wasn't much to talk about other than Forcier's OT win over Illinois (courtesy of Junior Hemingway snagging an awful touchdown out of a midair deflection). Gardner looked like a freshman who wasn't really ready for the speed of the college game. Forcier looked like Forcier, a riverboat gambling quarterback reminiscent of Brett Favre in so many ways except without the over-arching talent and arm strength.

When the dust settled in 2010, statistically, it was an amazing year. In reality though, it was definitely a year where Michigan was starting a true sophomore in Big Ten play and had two equally unprepared underclassmen backing him up. Fumbles, interceptions and mental mistakes added up as the season wore on. It was an amazing ride, but if we're taking a 10,000 foot view of the season it was good, but not great. Even so, 2010 laid the groundwork for what is expected to be one of the more prolific offenses in the Big Ten in 2011 and the experience Michigan's quarterbacks gained in 2010 will pay huge dividends in 2011.

Outgoing

Happy Trails Tate Forcier. Michigan's star crossed California bred quarterback was the break out star of the early 2009 season. But after the Notre Dame game where ABC's announcers slobbered all over themselves declaring "A STAR IS BORN!" things started to go downhill. Forcier started to look every bit the freshman he was and Rodriguez' QB-run-heavy offense got Tate's bell rung on more than one occasion. Then the 2010 off-season hit and it was apparent he wasn't putting in the time to be Michigan's quarterback and leader. So much so that senior cornerback Troy Woolfolk called him out on it at the 2010 Big Ten Media days.

It really didn't matter though, Denard Robinson seized the starting role and never gave it back. Forcier spent his time threatening to transfer, retracting his statements, getting in trouble, not going to class and getting himself sent home from the Gator Bowl. Finally, after transferring to Miami Hawaii Purdue San Jose State, Forcier appears to have found a home. Good luck Tate. We'll always have Notre Dame.

Returning Starter

Denard Robinson. You may have heard of him.

The rising Junior was last year's Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, Football Writers Association of America All-American at running back, winner of the Chicago Tribune Silver Football as the Big Ten's Most Valuable Player, Michigan's Bo Schembechler Award for the team's Most Valuable Player, All-Big Ten first team (media) and All-Big Ten honorable mention (coaches). Not bad for a first year starter. 

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