very disconcerting...

To go from a close to dominant position to getting blown out in s very short amount of time is very disconcerting.
Why is Roundtree so slow? He looked like he was pulling a wagon. Technically I think he was down well in side the 1 yard line. If they get a better mark, Brown (given the same run) scores on first down. Those inside runs just aren't Browns specialty. They needed minor in before 4th down. The plays they ran seemed to have too much lateral running and not enough North-South. On 2nd down I thought he could just run right upfield for 6, but he kept running right. Getting no points was very disappointing.
Of course that is no excuse for the defense forgetting how to stop the read option. 378 yards rushing? Mike Williams seemed out of place or making the wrong read on every score. How can there be no better safeties on the roster than Williams and a walk-on?
Next week is another "Biggest Game in RRs career at Michigan". I can't see M having much of a chance @ Wisconsin or against the Buckeyes. As sad as it is to say 6-6 and bid to the Pizza Pizza Bowl is much different than 5-7.
I'm sure they'll be tickets available, want me to pick you up one?

Should RR Be Fired

When last season started, M played worse than everyone expected. By the end of the season, M was not playing any better than at the beginning of the season.

When this season started, M appeared to be playing better than everyone expected. Now, however, they are playing much worse than early in the season.

It is very concerning that RR's teams don't improve. I thought having a roster with a lot of young players, which he has had both last year and this, meant improvement throughout the year. We haven't seen that. I am laying that squarely on RR.

Besides that, though, I am not sure what to blame directly on RR and what to blame on other things. I don't think Forcier is completely healthy, for instance. And I don't think the talent base was very high when he got here, etc. etc. etc. I just don't know.

I guess the way I look at it is that I am not confident in RR doing anything much different next year than he has done last year and this year. The talent level really doesn't appear to be improving much (best two players on D leaving next year, the WRs just aren't getting better, etc.) and I don't see anything in the innovation area that gives M the advantage that you would think M should have. So, looking at it like that, I guess I would say just dump him and get somebody better.

Which brings me to the problem with that. Is there anyone better? Is there anyone out there that would take the job that would actually be better than RR? And did RR become a bad coach all of a sudden after being successful in every other place he's coached? I just don't know if I believe there is anyone out there that IS better, and I don't don't know if I believe RR is a bad coach.

But, the past 21 games have been the worst 21 game span since a span starting toward the end of the season in 1961 and ending the last game of 1963 (7-12-2). That is 46 years. RR was born between the 62 and 63 seasons. Is RR just not the right coach for Michigan? Is there any coach that is the right coach for Michigan?

So, now what? Really. With no hope for the rest of this season, and little expectation of major improvement next season, I don't know what should be done. I almost hope they find something in the NCAA investigation so the decision to fire him is easy.

Not really.

IL Prediction

M 28
IL 25

Stimpy

The best dog in the world is making her final trip to the vet today. Please try to put her in your thoughts later this afternoon.


Many people who aren't "dog people" have told us they'd get a dog if they knew she'd be like Stimpy. Unfortunately for them, but fortunately for us, this humane society special was one-of-a-kind.

When I met Stimpy she was still young enough to play and chase. She loved "Stimpy Runs the Bases Night" after our crappy softball games when she would chase me around the bases to help me shake off the funk of another double-header loss.


She wasn't sure what to think of Hobbes at first. I think she begrudgingly realized he was part of the family. They had their share of territorial battles of each others food dishes, but I think they ultimately got along pretty well. When Hobbes passed and we added Wendell to the family, she once again realized her status as the #1 child was being cut. Wendell is always looking for a bit of warmth and occasionally Stimpy was patient (or tired) enough to put up with him as the picture shows.


I don't know that we'll add another dog into our family. How could they live up to Stimpy, the perfect dog?

I'll miss you Stimpy!

M vs. Illinois Prediction

Although I still think there is a chance that Illinois figures out some of their problems this week. I think M plays it as a MUST win.

I'll go with M 31, Illinois 17

Other guesses:

Tate takes >85% of the snaps
M rushes for close to 200 yards with at least one back breaking 100.
M wins the turnover battle

Ryan Ermanni on WDFN

As I have stated before, a sports radio host using "verse" when they mean "versus" is a MAJOR pet peeve of mine. Today WDFN mid-day host Ryan Ermanni was the culprit.

I sent him the following e-mail:

From: Mike Altese
To: ryane@clearchannel.com
Sent: Wed, October 28, 2009 10:53:19 AM
Subject: versus is not the plural of verse


C'mon Ryan, you work in sports for a living. When two teams play each other, please say "versus" not "verse". It is a real pet peeve of mine. I can't believe how many sports radio personalities make this mistake.

He read my e-mail on the air and said something along the lines of "Get a life, I'll say a lot worse things this is no big deal."

So I replied with:

From: Mike Altese
To: ryane@clearchannel.com
Sent: Wed, October 28, 2009 11:08:35 AM
Subject: Re: versus is not the plural of verse


thanks, you're right - radio off, now. Life gotten...

So I guess I'll either be listening to podcasts, Colin Blowhard or trying to listen to the ticket on the internet.
Edit - just got a response from my first e-mail - maybe I'll give him another chance...

sorry mike, when your talking for two straight hours there are a lot of mistakes that i make... if that's the worst one i had a good day


Ryan Ermanni
Host: Ermanni Middays
27675 Halsted
Farmington Hills, MI 48331
ryanermanni@clearchannel.com

Since I'm talking about sports radio, Stoney will be guest hosting for Sam Webb on WTKA the next two mornings, I wonder what that will be like without Wojo to offset some of his Stoneyisms...

ESPN Bowl Predictions Vol 9

M has a new bowl option, for the first time they've been picked for the Insight Bowl against Kansas. Feldman still has M facing off with Clemson in the Champs. With the way M looked on Saturday, I think they'd be happy to accept either bowl right now.

Week	Schlabach	Feldman
Pre	Champs	PapaJohns.com
1	Alamo	Alamo
2	Outback	Outback
3	Cap One	Outback
4	Outback	Outback
5	Champs	Champs
6	Alamo	Champs
7	Champs	Champs
8	Insight	Champs

Not too much changed in the overall Big1T1en predictions. just a couple changes at the bottom of the conference. Schlabach did drop PSU from the BCS bowl ranks - apparently beating M 35-10 on the road wasn't as impressive as TCU's win in his opinion.

Place	Schlabach	Change	Feldman	Change
1	Iowa	0	Iowa	0
2	PSU	0	PSU	0
3	OSU	0	OSU	0
4	MSU	+1	Wisconsin	0
5	Wisconsin	-1	MSU	0
6	Michigan	0	Michigan	0
7	Northwestern	+1	Minnesota	0
8			Northwestern	+1
9			Indiana	-1

Both have Texas in the BCS Championship game Schlabach has them facing Bama, Feldman has Florida.

PSU Comments

It didn't look like much fun. I kindof thought from early on it wasn't going well, but M was, more or less, staying with it until the last few minutes of the first half. I was hoping there would be some sort of momentum change in the second and it actually was just more (and worse) of the what happened in the first.

As for the people using my seats, you gave a pretty big age range there. I don't really care if I sell my tickets to the opponent. His money spends just like your sister's does.

I don't know what to make of Forcier. In some cases I think the opposing Ds have figured out what to do (preventing him from leaving the pocket, for instance), in some cases I think the receivers are just not getting open (against Iowa most of his passes had to be perfect for the defender not to knock them down, and he actually made some of those), in some cases I think he is still hurt (he did get up holding his arm once) and in some cases I think his early performances may have been a fluke. In any case, he is still the best option for M and we have seen him do good things in the past. I think we can expect (read hope) he will do that again sometime this year. And if he does it against IL and PU, then M should end up 7-5.

Speaking of records, I have wavered little from my 6-6 prediction. I'm sure there were times I thought 7-5 was more likely, but that loss to MSU put me back to favoring 6-6. I still think M has the ability to play with anyone on the schedule, but after the PSU game, I am less likely to think it is going to happen against WIS and OSU. You have to concerned about the IL putting things together for one game (and the D giving up big plays to IL's big play people), and you can't take PU for granted. I don't expect M to lose the remaining 4, but I'm not so confident that I would put money on a bet like that.

Do you realize that the last 3 home games I didn't attend were blowouts. M is 1-2 in those games. PU is the next home game I don't attend.

I read the first paragraph of Pat Caputo's column this morning's Sunday Oakland Pres and he mentioned that M's improvement we thought we saw in the beginning of the season was a mirage. I didn't read the rest because I think that is absolutely incorrect. Even if Forcier is only a good QB, he is an improvement, and I think the OLine is much better. And I think much of the defence (pronouned di-FENTS) is better, with some big holes. Overall, the team is significantly better. And unless M doesn't make a bowl game, I consider it a successful season. Big steps taken. Next year will be important for RR to keep the fans on his side and his job.

Speaking of which, I haven't heard it yet, but I expect a lot of calls to fire RR.

I agree that there were way too many drops. I think there were 4 by the TEs alone.

I noticed Shaw positioned in the wideout slot for a couple key plays. I didn't realize he was the best receiving RB. Or maybe they were giving the other two a rest and didn't want to give the opponent a clue on formation, so they didn't put another slot receiver in.

The Drob experiment should be over. Putting him for a drive to give the team a spark is the equivalent to running a drive of trick plays to give the team a spark. If it doesn't work, it kills you. A coulple plays here and there is what he is capable of. Don't put him in the situation to have to throw the ball more than once on a drive. Because of that, I say Fire RR. (just kidding)

Pass D. Most of the game I listened to the WTKA broadcast while watching the CC on TV. Beck and Brand talked a lot about Stevie Brown covering a WR man-to-man. That resulted in two of the TDs. I don't know how M could fix that.

And the 15 yard cushion by Warren so evident. It almost looked on the replay that there was some sag-type zone coverage on the WR. Warren wouldn't even be in the picure at the beginning of the WR isolation shot. I don't know.

It was mentioned that Cissoko came in on a key 3rd down near the goal line, moving Woolfolk to safety and taking out Williams. PSU ended up throwing at Warren's man and he had good coverage. I didn't hear about that the rest of the game. I thought I noticed someone playing a WR tight later and I assumed it was Cissoko, but I couldn't see his number. Did he play much?

Kovacs is a good tackler. Most of the time.

During the broadcast, the M announcers said PSU shouldn't have gone for 2 when they took the 15 point lead. They went on and on that after missing it M could score two TDs and two 2-pt conversions and win the game. I think they are idiots. If PSU had made the 2-pt conversion, it would have then been a 3 score game. With it being a 15 point game, if M would have scored a TD, that would make it 9. M would HAVE TO go for 1 to prevent it from continuing to be a 2 score game and give M a chance to tie with another TD and then the 2 point conversion. Really, are they that stupid?
Of course, the reasons none of that mattered are:
-it was early in the second half and PSU had easily moved the ball and you had to expect it was going to happen again
-a FG by either team would have messed up any theories in the 2 point conversion debate

Penn State game

That was not very much fun. The people in your seats were a 40-50 year old man and his 10-15 year old daughter. They were Penn State fans. The girl had a little pom-pom on a stick that kept dowsing us with water every time she shook it - which unfortunately was often. Nice job selling your tickets to he enemy...

Now to the game. Other than the last few minutes against MSU, Forcier has not played well since his last drive against Indiana. I don't know how much is the tougher opposition and how much is just not playing as well. Maybe he should have played more last week just to get some more reps.

There were way too many drops from the receivers today. The passes were not perfect, for the most part but they were catchable. Kelvin Grady dropped another third down conversion pass early in the game that would have been nice to have.

I don't think DRob should be a "this drive is yours" guy at this point. I think it would be better if he came in and Forcier moved out to WR etc. He's just too limited to have the full offense rely on him.

Defensively, there is so much help needed. Brandon Graham deserves better. He can be dominant at times. I think the rest of the DLine is promising. RVB, Roh and Martin have made some plays this season. Mouton and Ezeh have regressed. They make bad reads, miss tackles and can't run with RBs.

Moving Kovacs to the deep safety took him out of his strength - crashing down on runs. Williams missed a few tackles that Kovacs seemed to make in the past. Neither seem to be very good in coverage, so lets get Kovacs back into the run stopper safety and at least get that back.

How many times did M give up the quick pass because the corners (particularly Warren) were 15 yards off? If he is supposed to be such a lockdown corner, why does he need that cushion?

At this point if someone promised me M would finish 7-5, I'd take it. They look beaten.

test

Another S and S Poll question

What word best describes the quality of play in the Big Ten?
Parity
Crap

I am not going to answer that one because it is obviously Sharp's way to promote his anti-Big Ten-ism which is somewhat justified, but also overblown. My only comment is that a couple weeks ago he mentioned that the Big Ten is overrated. I think he believes, or wants to believe, that there are people who think the Big Ten is one of the best 2 or 3 conferences. Only an idiot would believe it. I think the Big Ten is probably a below the SEC, Big 12 and Pac 10 right now. They are probably slightly ahead of or maybe even with the ACC/Big East (they will always be the same thing to me). In other words, the Big Ten is a below average major conference. A couple good bowl years would change that perception.

As far as the question itself (no, I'm not going to answer it), I don't think the two possible answers are even related. Parity means the teams are at the same level AS EACH OTHER and Crap implies the league is worse than OTHER LEAGUES.

As far as Sharp and his general negativity about most things M and Big Ten, I've come to realize that his opinions are made to create controversy, make people hate him, etc. Generally, he is the sportwriter that cares about one thing....Championships. If M wins a MNC or a team in the Big Ten wins a MNC, then his opinion would change. He cares about nothing else. He all but said the Wings had a bad season last year. He said the M-MSU game meant nothing this season. etc etc. He only cares about winning it all. It is a horrible way to look at things when you are a sports writer. And it is a horrible way to keep emotional fans (like all of us) interested. If M goes 7-5 this year, anyone who says it was an unsuccessful season will not have much credibility, because I know better.

Shep and Sharp's Poll Question 102209

Who has a better chance at winning Saturday?
Michigan
Michigan State

I think that is a great question. I think M has a better chance at keeping the game close. I think the likely goes something like this...

PSU beats M in a close one
IA beats MSU (close or even a blowout)
MSU beats IA in a close one
M beats PSU in a close one

As you can see, I think the M-PSU game is going to be close. I think MSU could get blown out, or could win or lose in a close one. Really, I guess that means I have no idea about either game.

My answer to the poll question: M

Update to the All-time college football mythical traveling trophy

As discussed here we have been trying to track the ownership of the mythical all-time traveling trophy in college football going back to the original Rutgers-Princeton match-up in 1869.

I sent for help to Greg from MVictors he gave me some good ideas to continue searching including finding a WV Wesleyan game we had missed. A 3-0 loss to Lehigh in 1925. There is still work to be done. I've posted the updated chain below.

The major areas of discomfort are the WV Wesleyan area in 1925. If this holds up the next problem might be in 1931-32 when the cup passes into the hands of Olympia Club. I was able to find a relatively quick loss for them, but over what would be a full season I can only find 3-4 games for them. Since I'm not sure what the Olympia Club was, it is certainly possible that I've missed some of their games.

Here's the updated trail of the cup:

Date won	date lost	Holder	Games	W	L	T
11/6/1869	11/13/1869	Rutgers	2	1	1	0
11/13/1869	11/30/1876	Princeton	11	10	1	0
11/30/1876	11/28/1878	Yale	11	9	1	1
11/28/1878	11/18/1882	Princeton	26	21	1	4
11/18/1882	11/25/1882	Harvard	1	0	1	0
11/25/1882	11/21/1885	Yale	27	25	1	1
11/21/1885	11/12/1887	Princeton	17	15	1	1
11/12/1887	11/24/1887	Harvard	2	1	1	0
11/24/1887	11/28/1889	Yale	30	29	1	0
11/28/1889	11/27/1890	Princeton	14	12	1	1
11/27/1890	11/30/1893	Yale	37	36	1	0
11/30/1893	11/10/1894	Princeton	8	7	1	0
11/10/1894	10/24/1896	Penn	26	25	1	0
10/24/1896	10/23/1897	Lafayette	13	11	1	1
10/23/1897	11/5/1898	Penn	16	15	1	0
11/5/1898	11/24/1900	Harvard	24	22	1	1
11/24/1900	11/23/1901	Yale	13	11	1	1
11/23/1901	11/22/1902	Harvard	13	11	1	1
11/22/1902	11/14/1903	Yale	12	11	1	0
11/14/1903	10/15/1904	Princeton	6	5	1	0
10/15/1904	10/29/1904	Navy	3	1	1	1
10/29/1904	10/7/1905	Swarthmore	3	2	1	0
10/7/1905	10/13/1906	Penn	15	12	1	2
10/13/1906	11/10/1906	Swarthmore	4	3	1	0
11/10/1906	10/19/1907	Navy	9	7	1	1
10/19/1907	11/9/2007	Harvard	3	2	1	0
11/9/2007	11/7/1908	Carlisle	10	8	1	1
11/7/1908	11/20/1909	Harvard	11	10	1	0
11/20/1909	10/15/1910	Yale	5	4	1	0
10/15/1910	10/29/1910	Army	2	1	1
10/29/1910	11/4/1911	Harvard	9	7	1	1
11/4/1911	11/2/1912	Princeton	9	8	1	0
11/2/1912	10/23/1915	Harvard	26	23	1	2
10/23/1915	10/28/1916	Cornell	8	7	1	0
10/28/1916	11/18/1916	Harvard	3	2	1
11/18/1916	11/25/1916	Brown	1	0	1
11/25/1916	10/27/1917	Colgate	3	2	1
10/27/1917	11/3/1917	Brown	1	0	1
11/3/1917	11/16/1918	Syracuse	8	7	1
11/16/1918	10/25/1919	MICHIGAN	5	4	1
10/25/1919	11/22/1919	OSU	3	2	1
11/22/1919	11/13/1920	Illinois	6	5	1
11/13/1920	11/19/1921	Wisconsin	8	6	1	1
11/19/1921	10/28/1922	Chicago	4	3	1
10/28/1922	10/20/1923	Princeton	6	5	1
10/20/1923	11/10/1923	Notre Dame	3	2	1
11/10/1923	11/24/1923	Nebraska	2	1	1
11/24/1923	11/8/1924	Syracuse	7	5	1	1
11/8/1924	10/17/1925	West Virginia Wesleyan	2	1	1
10/17/1925	10/31/1925	Lehigh	2	1	1
10/31/1925	11/26/1925	Mulenberg (PA)	3	2	1
11/26/1925	9/25/1926	Villanova	1	0	1
9/25/1926	10/2/1926	Lebanon Valley (PA)	1	0	1
10/2/1926	10/16/1926	Penn State	2	1	1
10/16/1926	11/27/1926	Notre Dame	6	5	1
11/27/1926	10/15/1927	Carnegie Tech	4	3	1
10/15/1927	10/13/1928	Washington & Jefferson	8	5	1	2
10/13/1928	10/27/1928	Duquesne	2	1	1
10/27/1928	?	Geneva (PA)	1	0	1
?	11/17/1928	Grove City	2	0	1	1
11/17/1928	11/9/1929	Villanova	8	6	1	1
11/9/1929	11/23/1929	Bucknell	2	1	1
11/23/1929	11/15/1930	Fordham	8	7	1
11/15/1930	11/7/1931	St. Mary's	8	7	1
11/7/1931	9/17/1932	Olympic Club	1	0	1
9/17/1932	10/22/1932	Stanford	5	4	1
10/22/1932	11/11/1933	USC	13	11	1	1
11/11/1933	1/1/1934	Stanford	3	2	1
1/1/1934	10/20/1934	Columbia	3	2	1
10/20/1934	11/17/1934	Navy	4	3	1
11/17/1934	10/19/1935	Pittsburgh	5	4	1
10/19/1935	11/19/1935	Notre Dame	3	2	1
11/19/1935	11/21/1936	Northwestern	10	8	1	1
11/21/1936	10/16/1937	Notre Dame	4	1	1	2
10/16/1937	10/23/1937	Carnegie Tech	1	0	1
10/23/1937	11/6/1937	Temple	2	0	1	1
11/6/1937	1/1/1938	Michigan St	2	1	1
1/1/1938	10/8/1938	Auburn	3	1	1	1
10/8/1938	1/1/1940	Tennessee	19	18	1
1/1/1940	10/26/1940	USC	5	2	1	2
10/26/1940	10/11/1941	Stanford	8	7	1
10/11/1941	10/25/1941	Oregon State	1	0	1
10/25/1941	12/6/1941	Washington St	5	4	1
12/6/1941	1/1/1942	Texas A&M	1	0	1
1/1/1942	10/31/1942	Alabama	6	5	1
10/31/1942	11/21/1942	Georgia	3	2	1
11/21/1942	10/14/1944	Auburn	4	3	1
10/14/1944	11/4/1944	Georgia Tech	3	2	1
11/4/1944	10/6/1945	Duke	7	6	1
10/6/1945	12/1/1945	Navy	7	5	1	1
12/1/1945	10/25/1947	Army	15	12	1	2
10/25/1947	10/2/1948	Columbia	6	5	1
10/2/1948	10/9/1948	Harvard	1	0	1
10/9/1948	10/23/1948	Cornell	2	1	1
10/23/1948	12/2/1950	Army	22	20	1	1
12/2/1950	10/6/1951	Navy	2	0	1	1
10/6/1951	10/11/1952	Princeton	10	9	1
10/11/1952	11/1/1952	Penn	3	1	1	1
11/1/1952	11/8/1952	Penn State	1	0	1
11/8/1952	1/1/1953	Syracuse	3	2	1
1/1/1953	9/18/1953	Alabama	1	0	1
9/18/1953	10/31/1953	So. Mississippi	5	4	1
10/31/1953	11/7/1953	Memphis	1	0	1
11/7/1953	10/2/1954	Arkansas St	6	4	1	1
10/2/1954	10/15/1954	Mississippi St	2	1	1
10/15/1954	11/6/1954	Miami (FL)	3	2	1
11/6/1954	10/29/1955	Auburn	10	8	1	1
10/29/1955	11/12/1955	Tulane	2	1	1
11/12/1955	11/26/1955	Vanderbilt	2	1	1
11/26/1955	1/1/1957	Tennessee	11	10	1
1/1/1957	10/5/1957	Baylor	3	2	1
10/5/1957	10/11/1957	Miami (FL)	1	0	1
10/11/1957	10/19/1957	North Carolina	1	0	1
10/19/1957	10/26/1957	Maryland	1	0	1
10/26/1957	11/16/1957	Tennessee	2	1	1
11/16/1957	11/1/1958	Mississippi	9	7	1	1
11/1/1958	11/7/1959	LSU	12	11	1
11/7/1959	11/14/1959	Tennessee	1	0	1
11/14/1959	11/4/1961	Mississippi	20	18	1	1
11/4/1961	11/3/1962	LSU	11	9	1	1
11/3/1962	1/1/1964	Mississippi	14	11	1	2
1/1/1964	1/1/1965	Alabama	11	10	1
1/1/1965	10/16/1965	Texas	5	4	1
10/16/1965	1/1/1966	Arkansas	6	5	1
1/1/1966	9/24/1966	LSU	2	1	1
9/24/1966	10/1/1966	Rice	1	0	1
10/1/1966	10/8/1966	Tennessee	1	0	1
10/8/1966	11/26/1966	Georgia Tech	6	5	1
11/26/1966	10/14/1967	Georgia	5	4	1
10/14/1967	11/18/1967	Mississippi	4	2	1	1
11/18/1967	1/1/1968	Tennessee	3	2	1
1/1/1968	9/21/1968	Oklahoma	1	0	1
9/21/1968	9/28/1968	Notre Dame	1	0	1
9/28/1968	10/12/1968	Purdue	2	1	1
10/12/1968	11/22/1969	OSU	16	15	1
11/22/1969	1/1/1970	MICHIGAN	1	0	1
1/1/1970	10/10/1970	USC	5	3	1	1
10/10/1970	11/14/1970	Stanford	5	4	1
11/14/1970	11/21/1970	Air Force	1	0	1
11/21/1970	12/12/1970	Colorado	1	0	1
12/12/1970	9/18/1971	Tulane	2	1	1
9/18/1971	11/13/1971	Georgia	8	7	1
11/13/1971	11/27/1971	Auburn	1	0	1
11/27/1971	1/1/1972	Alabama	1	0	1
1/1/1972	9/9/1972	Nebraska	1	0	1
9/9/1972	9/23/1972	UCLA	2	1	1
9/23/1972	11/25/1972	MICHIGAN	9	8	1
11/25/1972	1/1/1973	OSU	1	0	1
1/1/1973	10/27/1973	USC	7	5	1	1
10/27/1973	9/28/1974	Notre Dame	8	7	1
9/28/1974	10/5/1974	Purdue	1	0	1
10/5/1974	10/19/1974	Duke	2	1	1
10/19/1974	10/26/1974	Clemson	1	0	1
10/26/1974	9/20/1975	Tennessee	7	5	1	1
9/20/1975	10/4/1975	UCLA	2	0	1	1
10/4/1975	1/1/1976	OSU	8	7	1
1/1/1976	11/20/1976	UCLA	11	9	1	1
11/20/1976	10/8/1977	USC	7	6	1
10/8/1977	9/23/1978	Alabama	10	9	1
9/23/1978	10/14/1978	USC	2	1	1
10/14/1978	10/28/1978	Arizona St	1	0	1
10/28/1978	11/11/1978	Washington	2	1	1
11/11/1978	11/15/1980	USC	25	22	1	2
11/15/1980	1/1/1981	Washington	2	1	1
1/1/1981	9/12/1981	MICHIGAN	1	0	1
9/12/1981	9/19/1981	Wisconsin	1	0	1
9/19/1981	9/26/1981	UCLA	1	0	1
9/26/1981	10/24/1981	Iowa	4	3	1
10/24/1981	10/31/1981	Minnesota	1	0	1
10/31/1981	11/21/1981	MICHIGAN	3	2	1
11/21/1981	9/25/1982	OSU	4	3	1
9/25/1982	10/9/1982	Stanford	2	1	1
10/9/1982	11/13/1982	Arizona St	4	3	1
11/13/1982	11/20/1982	Washington	1	0	1
11/20/1982	9/10/1983	Washington St	2	1	1
9/10/1983	9/17/1983	MICHIGAN	1	0	1
9/17/1983	9/24/1983	Washington	1	0	1
9/24/1983	10/1/1983	LSU	1	0	1
10/1/1983	10/29/1983	Florida	3	2	1
10/29/1983	8/27/1984	Auburn	5	4	1
8/27/1984	9/8/1984	Miami (FL)	2	1	1
9/8/1984	9/15/1984	MICHIGAN	1	0	1
9/15/1984	11/10/1984	Washington	8	7	1
11/10/1984	11/17/1984	USC	1	0	1
11/17/1984	9/28/1985	UCLA	5	3	1	1
9/28/1985	10/19/1985	Washington	3	2	1
10/19/1985	11/2/1985	Oregon State	1	0	1
11/2/1985	11/9/1985	Arizona	1	0	1
11/9/1985	11/23/1985	UCLA	2	1	1
11/23/1985	12/28/1985	USC	2	1	1
12/28/1985	10/25/1986	Alabama	8	7	1
10/25/1986	9/12/1987	Penn State	7	6	1
9/12/1987	9/19/1987	Alabama	1	0	1
9/19/1987	10/3/1987	Florida	2	1	1
10/3/1987	11/7/1987	LSU	4	3	1
11/7/1987	11/14/1987	Alabama	1	0	1
11/14/1987	11/21/1987	Notre Dame	1	0	1
11/21/1987	1/1/1988	Penn State	1	0	1
1/1/1988	9/17/1988	Clemson	3	2	1
9/17/1988	9/2/1989	Florida St	10	9	1
9/2/1989	9/9/1989	So. Mississippi	1	0	1
9/9/1989	9/23/1989	Mississippi St	1	0	1
9/23/1989	9/30/1989	Georgia	1	0	1
9/30/1989	10/28/1989	South Carolina	3	2	1
10/28/1989	11/4/1989	NC State	1	0	1
11/4/1989	1/1/1990	Virginia	3	2	1
1/1/1990	9/8/1990	Illinois	1	0	1
9/8/1990	9/29/1990	Arizona	3	2	1
9/29/1990	10/27/1990	California	4	3	1
10/27/1990	11/10/1990	Washington	2	1	1
11/10/1990	11/17/1990	UCLA	1	0	1
11/17/1990	11/24/1990	USC	1	0	1
11/24/1990	1/1/1991	Notre Dame	1	0	1
1/1/1991	9/14/1991	Colorado	2	1	1
9/14/1991	10/12/1991	Baylor	4	3	1
10/12/1991	10/19/1991	Rice	1	0	1
10/19/1991	10/26/1991	TCU	1	0	1
10/26/1991	11/16/1991	Baylor	2	1	1
11/16/1991	9/3/1992	Texas Tech	2	1	1
9/3/1992	9/19/1992	Oklahoma	2	1	1
9/19/1992	10/3/1992	USC	1	0	1
10/3/1992	11/7/1992	Washington	5	4	1
11/7/1992	11/14/1992	Arizona	1	0	1
11/14/1992	11/21/1992	USC	1	0	1
11/21/1992	9/4/1993	UCLA	1	0	1
9/4/1993	10/9/1993	California	5	4	1
10/9/1993	10/16/1993	Washington	1	0	1
10/16/1993	11/13/1993	UCLA	4	3	1
11/13/1993	11/26/1993	Arizona St	1	0	1
11/26/1993	10/8/1994	Arizona	6	5	1
10/8/1994	10/22/1994	Colorado St	2	1	1
10/22/1994	11/5/1994	Utah	2	1	1
11/5/1994	11/12/1994	New Mexico	1	0	1
11/12/1994	9/9/1995	Wyoming	2	1	1
9/9/1995	9/16/1995	Air Force	1	0	1
9/16/1995	9/30/1995	Colorado St	1	0	1
9/30/1995	10/14/1995	BYU	1	0	1
10/14/1995	11/24/1995	Arizona St	4	3	1
11/24/1995	9/7/1996	Arizona	2	1	1
9/7/1996	9/21/1996	Iowa	2	1	1
9/21/1996	10/19/1996	Tulsa	3	2	1
10/19/1996	9/6/1997	BYU	8	7	1
9/6/1997	9/20/1997	Washington	2	1	1
9/20/1997	10/10/1998	Nebraska	16	15	1
10/10/1998	11/27/1998	Texas A&M	6	5	1
11/27/1998	8/28/1999	Texas	1	1	0
8/28/1999	9/18/1999	NC State	3	2	1
9/18/1999	10/7/2000	Florida St	15	14	1
10/7/2000	1/3/2003	Miami (FL)	32	31	1
1/3/2003	10/11/2003	OSU	6	5	1
10/11/2003	10/18/2003	Wisconsin	1	0	1
10/18/2003	10/25/2003	Purdue	1	0	1
10/25/2003	1/1/2004	MICHIGAN	4	3	1
1/1/2004	1/4/2006	USC	26	25	1
1/4/2006	9/9/2006	Texas	2	1	1
9/9/2006	1/8/2007	OSU	11	10	1
1/8/2007	9/29/2007	Florida	5	4	1
9/29/2007	10/20/2007	Auburn	3	2	1
10/20/2007	11/23/2007	LSU	4	3	1
11/23/2007	1/1/2008	Arkansas	1	0	1
1/1/2008	10/11/2008	Missouri	6	5	1
10/11/2008	10/25/2008	Oklahoma St	2	1	1
10/25/2008	11/1/2008	Texas	1	0	1
11/1/2008	11/22/2008	Texas Tech	2	1	1
11/22/2008	1/8/2009	Oklahoma	3	2	1
1/8/2009	12/5/2009	Florida	12	12	1

Sources include the James Howell database of scores, the College Football Data Warehouse, various media guides from small colleges in Pennsylvania and as mentioned above some help from Greg from MVictors.

MVictors post on Bob Bland times

Check out this post from MVictors about the Delaware St. game. Among many great ideas, I particularly like that he timed Bob Bland's trips out to pick up the tee. Very nice!

White Unis

I thought the Iowa game was supposed to feature White Pants. Am I mistaken or was that just a rumour.

Penn State pick based on historical data

M is 159-40-1 in all games I have attended (all data is based on games I have attended unless specifically mentioned)
M is 133-28-1 in games played at Michigan Stadium
M is 8-1 against Penn State
M is 8-2 when facing a team for the 10th time
M is 111-28-1 against conference opponents
M is 39-11 against "state name" State Universities
M is 6-0 when unranked facing a ranked opponent
M is 21-8 when unranked
M is 2-2 against the 13th ranked team
M is 29-10-1 against teams with adjectives commonly used in their nicknames
M is 28-4 against teams with feline nicknames

It is simple when you add it all up:

M 21
PSU 20

ESPN Bowl Predictions Vol 8

Latest ESPN bowl predictions here
M falls to the Champs sports bowl on both predictions:

Week	Schlabach	Feldman
Pre	Champs	PapaJohns.com
1	Alamo	Alamo
2	Outback	Outback
3	Cap One	Outback
4	Outback	Outback
5	Champs	Champs
6	Alamo	Champs
7	Champs	Champs

Both have M facing off with Clemson.

The overall predicted standings are:

Place	Schlabach	Change	Feldman	Change
1	Iowa	0	Iowa	0
2	Penn St	+1	Penn St	+2
3	OSU	-1	OSU	-1
4	Wisconsin	0	Wisconsin	-1
5	MSU	+2	MSU	+2
6	Michigan	-1	Michigan	-1
7	Minnesota	-1	Minnesota	-1
8	Northwestern	0	Indiana	+1?
9			Northwestern	-1

In this case both have PSU making it to a BCS bowl. Hopefully M can put an end to that idea Saturday afternoon...

Who will be the next AD

Who will be the next U of M AD
	David Brandon
	Brad Bates
	Lloyd Carr
	David Chaffin
	Bob DeCarolis
	Jeff Long
	Warde Manuel
	Brian Movalson
	Fritz Seyferth
pollcode.com free polls

Death on the run

So I met my high school classmate Todd Pepin at the start of the Freepress/Flagstar half marathon Sunday morning. I lost track of him in Windsor when I had to take a bio-break. He ended up finishing about 8 minutes ahead of me. I think that means he was lucky enough not to see a runner dying on on the road. As I turned from Bagley onto Rosa Parks an emergency vehicle went flying past. Shortly after that the race officials started squeezing the route from the full width of the road down to just a lane or two.
Then I saw why. There were several EMT types and vehicles concentrated in a tight area. As I got to within a few feet of the grouping I saw they were giving CPR to a man on the ground. The race is so large that there was still quite a grouping of us running past a full 2 hours into the race. Plus there was a relay exchange point right near this area. Everyone, from the EMTs to the runners passing by were yelling for the guy to keep fighting.
It was a very sickening feeling. I realized I've lived a very lucky life. Death has not hit too close to my family. Even as a health care profession this is the first time I'd witnessed people urgently working to save someones life.
There doesn't seem to be an easy answer to this runner's death or the 2 others. From what I've read these were relatively experienced runners in good shape. It appears to be a horrible coincidence. If I were forced to say what I think could have caused this the only thing I could even think to pin it on was the contrast in temperatures.
It was a beautiful day to run, clear and cool. It was probably in the 30s most of the morning. One spot where it wasn't so nice was the tunnel back to the US. It is hot in there, and there is a feeling that there is no fresh air in there. Then you come back out into the cold air.
That's at around the 8 mile mark so these runners still made it another 3-5 miles. Plus they've been running this route for quite a few years - it seems like there would have been more than one death in the previous races. I just don't know.
I don't feel like this will stop me from running long distances going forward. But I will certainly take the training regimens more seriously.

Something to do on Sundays

I'm not sure if you told me this, or if you just mentioned him, but did you know that Ron Cameron has a show on WDFN on Sundays? I'm interested in catching it.

3rd Quarter

M has still not allowed a TD in the 3rd Quarter. Total points allowed in the 3rd is 9.

What is interesting, though, is that M has only scored 28 in the third Qtr. No, that's not interesting. What is interesting is that M has not scored a FG in the 3rd Qtr this year.

PSU hasn't allowed a TD in the 3rd QTR since the first game when they were outscored by Akron 7-0 in that QTr.

So, the 3rd Qtr this week will likely have M outscoring PSU 7-3. Or less.

Shep and Sharp's Poll Question

Now, I won't be doing every poll question on every station, but only the ones I see and have any interest in. College football poll questions for sure, other M stuff and maybe the occasional other sport. I'm assuming there will be a non-sport question and, if I care about it, I will mention it.

Today, S and S have the question

Who Will Win the Big Ten?
1) Iowa
2) MSU
3) OSU
4) PSU
5) M

I think Iowa will go all the way to the OSU game without a loss and will probably lose at OSU. That will give OSU the head-to-head. Then, the only other Q will be whether Wis loses to someone on the way. Though I think Wis is probably better than everyone left on the schedule, they will lose (hopefully to M). That will give OSU the head-to-head tiebreaker and the trip to the Rose Bowl.

PSU prediction

Because that last post was such a teaser, I thought I would due my in depth analysis to come up with my prediction. So, here it is.

PSU 26, M 22

We're still a year away from pulling these kind of games out. I still think M will finish 6-6 and lose to CMU in the Motor City Bowl.

Poll Question

I've decided to add this new feature to the blog. No, I'm not going to make up poll questions for all of the readers to vote on. I'm just going to make comments on various radio stations' poll questions.

The first one is a doozy from WTKA.

Who is going to win the game?
a) Penn State
b) Michigan

Unfortunately, I have not yet made my official prediction, so I won't answer at this time. I will say this, however. M will need to play better than they did against Iowa if they expect to win. I know Iowa was on the road, PSU at home, etc. blah blah. Iowa probably looks at that game as one of their worst.

That's all I got.

Big Ten Tree after an upset

As might be expected, the PU upset of OSU really readjusted the Big Ten tree. Most significantly to all of the authors here is that M falls below the giant circle that was created. Here it is:

IA
PSU
OSU-WI-MN-MSU-NU-PU
MI
IN
IL

Using this to predict the remaining games, M would finish 6-6, beating only IL.

Next week's games are IL-PU, IN-NU, MN-OSU, PSU-MI, IA-MSU. If IL, IN or M win, it will bring M into the big circle. If MSU beats IA and IL beats PU, then all 11 teams are in the circle. At that point, I think all teams are officially 0-0 and the season starts anew.

NBA rule "change"

The NBA has made it official. They've changed the travelling rule to allow 2 steps. I admire their honesty, but say goodbye to fundamentals...

cfrc

With 114 rankings reporting, M is up to #34. That would mean going to VTU in the first round of a 36 team playoff.

The B10 is #6, but they are closer to #3 than they are to #7 (FBS Independents). B10 is much closer to #1 than to #8 Mountain West. The BCS conferences, at least in this system, are head and shoulders above the non-BCS conferences. I don't know if that is good or bad for college football.

Coaching Decisions

I think nearly everyone has commented on RR's decision to play DRob over Tate. So, I won't do that.

But, I wonder whether M should have tried the onside kick. If they hadn't, and everything from there happening the same way up to M getting the ball back, M would have ended up with the ball at the 30-ish and Denard may not have felt he had to go downfield.

Or not.

Rick Leach

I'm listening to the Rick Leach interv-, er monologue from this morning and I have to say this in no uncertain terms:

RICK LEACH IS AN IDIOT

That's all I've got.

DRob

I really don't know what went on with RR and Tate against Iowa, but last week's drive by DRob, the multiple injuries of Forcier and the low talent level of the opponent this week makes it a perfect situation for DRob to get some playing time. And, he will likely have some success. I fully expect it to be a happy day for the Laceheads (I made up that term).

M vs Delaware St based on historical data

This Saturday will be my 200th M football game!

M is 158-40-1 in all games I have attended (all data is based on games I have attended unless specifically mentioned)
M is 132-28-1 in games played at Michigan Stadium
M is 47-12 in non conference games
M is 0-1 against FCS opponents
M is 38-11 against "state name" State Universities (Delaware will be he 9th state in this category)
M is 20-8 when unranked
M is 13-8 when unranked playing an unranked opponent

1st game -10/30/1976 - M 45 Minnesota 0
50th game - 11/25/1989 - M 28 OSU 18
100th game - 11/1/1997 - M 24 Minnesota 3
150th game - 11/22/2003 - M 35 OSU 21

It's easy when you put it all together...

M 47 DSU 10

DATE	MICH	OPPONENT	OPP	W	L	T
30-Oct-76	45	Minnesota	0	1	0	0
29-Oct-77	23	Iowa	6	2	0	0
28-Oct-78	42	Minnesota	10	3	0	0
27-Oct-79	27	Indiana	21	4	0	0
25-Oct-80	45	Illinois	14	5	0	0
24-Oct-81	38	Northwestern	0	6	0	0
30-Oct-82	52	Minnesota	14	7	0	0
22-Oct-83	16	Iowa	13	8	0	0
13-Oct-84	31	Northwestern	0	9	0	0
14-Sep-85	20	Notre Dame	12	10	0	0
28-Sep-85	20	Maryland	0	11	0	0
5-Oct-85	33	Wisconsin	6	12	0	0
12-Oct-85	31	Michigan St	0	13	0	0
19-Oct-85	10	Iowa	12	13	1	0
26-Oct-85	42	Indiana	15	14	1	0
9-Nov-85	47	Purdue	0	15	1	0
23-Nov-85	27	Ohio St	17	16	1	0
20-Sep-86	31	Oregon St	12	17	1	0
27-Sep-86	20	Florida St	18	18	1	0
11-Oct-86	27	Michigan St	6	19	1	0
18-Oct-86	20	Iowa	17	20	1	0
1-Nov-86	69	Illinois	13	21	1	0
15-Nov-86	17	Minnesota	20	21	2	0
1-Jan-87	15	Arizona St	22	21	3	0
19-Sep-87	44	Washington St	18	22	3	0
26-Sep-87	49	Long Beach St	0	23	3	0
3-Oct-87	49	Wisconsin	0	24	3	0
10-Oct-87	11	Michigan St	17	24	4	0
17-Oct-87	37	Iowa	10	25	4	0
31-Oct-87	29	Northwestern	6	26	4	0
21-Nov-87	20	Ohio St	23	26	5	0
10-Sep-88	17	Notre Dame	19	26	6	0
17-Sep-88	30	Miami (FL)	31	26	7	0
24-Sep-88	19	Wake Forest	9	27	7	0
1-Oct-88	62	Wisconsin	14	28	7	0
8-Oct-88	17	Michigan St	3	29	7	0
22-Oct-88	31	Indiana	6	30	7	0
29-Oct-88	52	Northwestern	7	31	7	0
5-Nov-88	22	Minnesota	7	32	7	0
12-Nov-88	38	Illinois	9	33	7	0
2-Jan-89	22	USC	14	34	7	0
16-Sep-89	19	Notre Dame	24	34	8	0
30-Sep-89	41	Maryland	21	35	8	0
7-Oct-89	24	Wisconsin	0	36	8	0
14-Oct-89	10	Michigan St	7	37	8	0
21-Oct-89	26	Iowa	12	38	8	0
28-Oct-89	38	Indiana	10	39	8	0
4-Nov-89	42	Purdue	27	40	8	0
11-Nov-89	24	Illinois	10	41	8	0
25-Nov-89	28	Ohio St	18	42	8	0
22-Sep-90	38	UCLA	15	43	8	0
29-Sep-90	45	Maryland	17	44	8	0
13-Oct-90	27	Michigan St	28	44	9	0
20-Oct-90	23	Iowa	24	44	10	0
10-Nov-90	22	Illinois	17	45	10	0
17-Nov-90	35	Minnesota	18	46	10	0
14-Sep-91	24	Notre Dame	14	47	10	0
28-Sep-91	31	Florida St	51	47	11	0
12-Oct-91	45	Michigan St	28	48	11	0
19-Oct-91	24	Indiana	16	49	11	0
2-Nov-91	42	Purdue	0	50	11	0
9-Nov-91	59	Northwestern	14	51	11	0
23-Nov-91	31	Ohio St	3	52	11	0
19-Sep-92	35	Oklahoma St	3	53	11	0
26-Sep-92	61	Houston	7	54	11	0
3-Oct-92	52	Iowa	28	55	11	0
24-Oct-92	63	Minnesota	13	56	11	0
7-Nov-92	40	Northwestern	7	57	11	0
14-Nov-92	22	Illinois	22	57	11	1
4-Sep-93	41	Washington St	14	58	11	1
11-Sep-93	23	Notre Dame	27	58	12	1
25-Sep-93	42	Houston	21	59	12	1
2-Oct-93	24	Iowa	7	60	12	1
16-Oct-93	21	Penn St	13	61	12	1
23-Oct-93	21	Illinois	24	61	13	1
6-Nov-93	25	Purdue	10	62	13	1
20-Nov-93	28	Ohio St	0	63	13	1
3-Sep-94	34	Boston College	26	64	13	1
24-Sep-94	26	Colorado	27	64	14	1
8-Oct-94	40	Michigan St	20	65	14	1
29-Oct-94	19	Wisconsin	31	65	15	1
12-Nov-94	38	Minnesota	22	66	15	1
26-Aug-95	18	Virginia	17	67	15	1
9-Sep-95	24	Memphis	7	68	15	1
30-Sep-95	38	Miami (OH)	19	69	15	1
7-Oct-95	13	Northwestern	19	69	16	1
28-Oct-95	52	Minnesota	17	70	16	1
11-Nov-95	5	Purdue	0	71	16	1
25-Nov-95	31	Ohio St	23	72	16	1
31-Aug-96	20	Illinois	8	73	16	1
21-Sep-96	20	Boston College	14	74	16	1
28-Sep-96	38	UCLA	9	75	16	1
19-Oct-96	27	Indiana	20	76	16	1
2-Nov-96	45	Michigan St	29	77	16	1
16-Nov-96	17	Penn St	29	77	17	1
20-Sep-97	38	Baylor	3	78	17	1
27-Sep-97	21	Notre Dame	14	79	17	1
11-Oct-97	23	Northwestern	6	80	17	1
18-Oct-97	28	Iowa	24	81	17	1
1-Nov-97	24	Minnesota	3	82	17	1
22-Nov-97	20	Ohio St	14	83	17	1
1-Jan-98	21	Washington St	16	84	17	1
12-Sep-98	28	Syracuse	38	84	18	1
26-Sep-98	29	Michigan St	17	85	18	1
24-Oct-98	21	Indiana	10	86	18	1
7-Nov-98	27	Penn St	0	87	18	1
21-Nov-98	16	Ohio St	31	87	19	1
1-Jan-99	45	Arkansas	31	88	19	1
4-Sep-99	26	Notre Dame	22	89	19	1
11-Sep-99	37	Rice	3	90	19	1
25-Sep-99	21	Wisconsin	16	91	19	1
2-Oct-99	38	Purdue	12	92	19	1
23-Oct-99	29	Illinois	35	92	20	1
30-Oct-99	34	Indiana	31	93	20	1
6-Nov-99	37	Northwestern	3	94	20	1
13-Nov-99	31	Penn St	27	95	20	1
20-Nov-99	24	Ohio St	17	96	20	1
1-Jan-00	35	Alabama	34	97	20	1
2-Sep-00	42	Bowling Green	7	98	20	1
9-Sep-00	38	Rice	7	99	20	1
23-Sep-00	35	Illinois	31	100	20	1
30-Sep-00	13	Wisconsin	10	101	20	1
7-Oct-00	31	Purdue	32	101	21	1
14-Oct-00	58	Indiana	0	102	21	1
21-Oct-00	14	Michigan St	0	103	21	1
4-Nov-00	51	Northwestern	54	103	22	1
11-Nov-00	33	Penn St	11	104	22	1
1-Jan-01	31	Auburn	28	105	22	1
1-Sep-01	31	Miami (OH)	13	106	22	1
22-Sep-01	38	WMU	21	107	22	1
6-Oct-01	20	Penn St	0	108	22	1
13-Oct-01	24	Purdue	10	109	22	1
10-Nov-01	31	Minnesota	10	110	22	1
24-Nov-01	20	Ohio St	26	110	23	1
31-Aug-02	31	Washington	29	111	23	1
7-Sep-02	35	WMU	12	112	23	1
21-Sep-02	10	Utah	7	113	23	1
12-Oct-02	26	Penn St	23	114	23	1
26-Oct-02	9	Iowa	34	114	24	1
2-Nov-02	49	Michigan St	3	115	24	1
16-Nov-02	21	Wisconsin	14	116	24	1
1-Jan-03	38	Florida	30	117	24	1
30-Aug-03	45	CMU	7	118	24	1
6-Sep-03	50	Houston	3	119	24	1
13-Sep-03	38	Notre Dame	0	120	24	1
27-Sep-03	31	Indiana	17	121	24	1
18-Oct-03	56	Illinois	14	122	24	1
25-Oct-03	31	Purdue	3	123	24	1
1-Nov-03	27	Michigan St	20	124	24	1
22-Nov-03	35	Ohio St	21	125	24	1
1-Jan-04	14	USC	28	125	25	1
4-Sep-04	43	Miami (OH)	10	126	25	1
18-Sep-04	24	San Diego St	21	127	25	1
25-Sep-04	30	Iowa	17	128	25	1
9-Oct-04	27	Minnesota	24	129	25	1
30-Oct-04	45	Michigan St	37	130	25	1
13-Nov-04	42	Northwestern	20	131	25	1
1-Jan-05	37	Texas	38	131	26	1
3-Sep-05	33	NIU	17	132	26	1
10-Sep-05	10	Notre Dame	17	132	27	1
17-Sep-05	55	EMU	0	133	27	1
1-Oct-05	34	Michigan St	31	134	27	1
8-Oct-05	20	Minnesota	23	134	28	1
15-Oct-05	27	Penn St	25	135	28	1
29-Oct-05	33	Northwestern	17	136	28	1
12-Nov-05	41	Indiana	14	137	28	1
19-Nov-05	21	Ohio St	25	137	29	1
2-Sep-06	27	Vanderbilt	7	138	29	1
9-Sep-06	41	CMU	17	139	29	1
16-Sep-06	47	Notre Dame	21	140	29	1
23-Sep-06	27	Wisconsin	13	141	29	1
7-Oct-06	31	Michigan St	13	142	29	1
21-Oct-06	20	Iowa	6	143	29	1
28-Oct-06	17	Northwestern	3	144	29	1
4-Nov-06	34	Ball St	26	145	29	1
1-Jan-07	18	USC	32	145	30	1
1-Sep-07	32	Appalachian St	34	145	31	1
8-Sep-07	7	Oregon	39	145	32	1
15-Sep-07	38	Notre Dame	0	146	32	1
22-Sep-07	14	Penn St	9	147	32	1
29-Sep-07	28	Northwestern	16	148	32	1
6-Oct-07	33	EMU	22	149	32	1
13-Oct-07	48	Purdue	21	150	32	1
27-Oct-07	34	Minnesota	10	151	32	1
3-Nov-07	28	Michigan St	24	152	32	1
17-Nov-07	3	Ohio St	14	152	33	1
30-Aug-08	23	Utah	25	152	34	1
6-Sep-08	16	Miami (OH)	6	153	34	1
27-Sep-08	27	Wisconsin	25	154	34	1
4-Oct-08	20	Illinois	45	154	35	1
11-Oct-08	10	Toledo	13	154	36	1
25-Oct-08	21	Michigan St	35	154	37	1
1-Nov-08	42	Purdue	48	154	38	1
15-Nov-08	14	Northwestern	21	154	39	1
5-Sep-09	31	WMU	7	155	39	1
12-Sep-09	38	Notre Dame	34	156	39	1
19-Sep-09	45	EMU	17	157	39	1
26-Sep-09	36	Indiana	33	158	39	1
3-Oct-09	20	Michigan St	26	158	40	1

The remaining games

What is interesting about the remaining 6 games is that 3 of them are 5-1 and 3 have one win (1-3, 1-4, 1-5).

Del St is an easy win.
Illinois will hopefully not get anything together the rest of the year, or at least when they play M.
But PU is interesting:
Purdue has played a lot of closed games. What is really interesting about them is that every team they have played so far is .500 or above. If Toledo beats N. Ill this week, then all of the teams they have played have a winning record. They play OSU this week.

On the 5-1 side, there is...
PSU. They have had no close games. That may be an advantage for M
Wis. After they play Iowa, I'll have an opinion about this team
OSU. Seeing that they are from down south, I'm hoping the bad Michigan weather will be difficult for them.

Midseason prediction: No upsets. We'll win the first 3 above, lost the others. 7-5

cfrc

With 111 rankings reporting, M is #35. In a 36 team playoff, M would go to Alabama in the first round.

Based on this, M will go 7-4. With home/road considered nothing would change.

Delaware St. prediction

I won't do it.

Midseason prediction review

Back in July I predicted M would finish 8-5 and would be 4-2 at this point.

WMU W
Notre Dame L
EMU W
Indiana W
@ MSU W
@ Iowa L
Delaware St W
Penn St L
@ Illinois L
Purdue W
@ Wisconsin W
OSU L
Bowl (Champs Sports or Motor City) W

I got the ND and MSU results reversed. Looking forward, I think I would switch @Illinois to a win and be less confident about the Wisconsin win. I think 8-5 is still likely, with a better chance of 9 wins then 6.

ESPN Bowl Predictions Vol 7

Latest ESPN Bowl predictions here

A new prediction for M's bowl hopes this week:

Week	Schlabach	Feldman
Pre	Champs	PapaJohns.com
1	Alamo	Alamo
2	Outback	Outback
3	Cap One	Outback
4	Outback	Outback
5	Champs	Champs
6	Alamo	Champs

I think the Alamo is a step up from the Champs so apparently Schlabach was impressed by the loss.

Overall the Big1T1en looks like this:

Place	Schlabach	Change	Feldman	Change
1	Iowa	+1	Iowa	0
2	OSU	-1	OSU	0
3	PSU	0	Wisconsin	0
4	Wisconsin	0	PSU	0
5	Michigan	0	Michigan	0
6	Minnesota	0	Minnesota	0
7	MSU	0	MSU	0
8	Northwestern	0?	Northwestern	0

Really not much change at all. Schlabach has OSU in a second BCS bowl which shifts everyone up a bowl.
Florida vs. Texas is back to the championship game for both of them.

Big Ten Tree

The current B10 tree looks like this:

IA - OSU
PSU - Wis
MN - MSU
MI - IL - NU
IN - PU

No circles yet. If PU upsets OSU, that may be the only way a circle could exist after next week.

Using the tree as a predictor, M will go 1-4 (home team wins same level games) from here. That would be 6-6 overall (assuming victory over Del St.).

Iowa Thoughts

The main concern about DRob going in when he did was WHY was he going in? I was surprised at how much RR yelled at Tate, and it almost seemed like he benched him because he was mad at him. I've never really thought RR was like that, and I hope he isn't. But if he isn't, then the question is why he didn't put Tate back in for that second drive. With such little time left, it was clear we needed someone who could successfully throw downfield. I don't know the complete stats, but I know DRob now has 3 interceptions on throws downfield. I really liked the way he handled his drive. Running for 5, making the short pass for the first down. He did a very good job. His last play wasn't a run, nor a short pass.

The game was disaapointing, and at the same time it was encouraging. You really have to believe M can play with anyone in the Big Ten now. Of course, with the number of mistakes not decreasing each game, you could probably be concerned M could lose to anyone in the Big Ten. I'm going to think of the positive on this one.

Woolfolk seemed to be good. Williams made a bad decision and isn't good enough to recover. Warren made a couple very good plays. I'm glad he is playing for M.

Other than Zoltan's punts, the special teams were terrible. Bad KOR, bad KO coverage, bad punt coverage, and a dropped punt return. I guess the PAT team was good.

I expect to hear about the youth of the team making mistakes, etc. Of course, the muffed punt and probably the most costly of the fumbles were by seniors. If the muffed punt hadn't taken place, than a senior ruffed the kicker anyhow.

The D really did a good job most of the time.

It sounded like there were almost no Michigan fans at the game.

Kinnick Stadium the best stadium in the Big Ten? They've clearly never been to Northwestern.

thoughts on M @ iowa

So Iowa was pretty much what we expected - our predictions had them scoring 30 and 31 points. Michigan did better than we predicted 28 vs the 17 and 19 we predicted. I guess that is promising.

I thought Woolfolk looked like an improvement at corner over the previous options. The play of the safeties leaves a lot to be desired. How does Williams let someone get behind him on a third and 24? Kovacs looks great against the run (although he did have at least one costly missed tackle) he appears lost/very slow in coverage.

Offensively, you have to be pleased with Minor - except of course the very costly fumble.

This game was maybe more disappointing to me because I felt M was good enough to win for 60 minutes not 5-10 minutes like last week. They made too many mistakes.

I wasn't pleased with Denard coming in when he did but I can't argue with the results of his first drive. Not sure how a team supposedly as strong as Iowa defensively allows a qb who; let's be honest; does not have the pass portion of the offense in his grasp at this point, to march the team down the field as quickly as they did.

I guess I can see why RR sent him back out there, but I was hoping from Forcier. I thought 5 weeks of 4th quarter playmaking was worth giving him another chance over one drive from Denard. I was hoping Denard would prove me wrong, he didn't.

It looks like he panicked on that interception. He probably hasn't had enough game speed action to be fully prepared in that situation. I guess this week is a good chance to get him more snaps against Delaware St.

Eskymos destroy Braves

Escanaba 40 Gladstone 0 :-(

CFRC

With 96 reporting, M is #35. In a 36 team playoff, M would go to Florida in the first round. In a 72 team playoff, M would host

Projected record (no home / road adjustment) 7-5 (losses to IA, OSU, PSU, Wis). With home/road adjustment, no change. The nearest future home opponent above is PSU at #18. The nearest future road opponent below is #90 Illinois. Therefore, M is more likely to beat PSU at home than lose to IL on the road.

I don't think I believe that.

Our predictions, your rant and misc.

We both predicted 30 or more points for the Hawkeyes tomorrow night. Sam Webb just told me (on the radio) that he doesn't think Iowa can score that many points. If Iowa is going to win it will be in a low scoring game, M will win a higher scoring game.
Much to my surprise, Ira actually pointed out that M has given up 30+ points to Indiana, so why not Iowa.
Sam may be right, but the way he says things with such condescension for people who don't see things the way he does is ridiculous. Have you ever looked at his GoBlueMichigan Wolverine magazine or website? I can't imagine I would be too excited by the content.

MGoidiots and their love for "Shoelaces" are ridiculous. When he went out for that drive in the 4th quarter - I couldn't believe it. For me that was throwing away any chance for that drive. It reminded me of Carr putting the kid from OLSM in for Navarre on the 1-2 yard line against OSU in 2001. High chance for fail.

I would prefer he works on being the best option as a back-up QB then spend reps in practice working on double QB sets. We've seen Forcier get banged around a bit already. Having to rely on Sheridan or an unprepared Robinson would not be good.

I was glad to see MGoBrian agreed with me on the missed block by Minor last week. Brown had open field if Minor drops that defender and he whiffed.

Finally, Gladstone plays Esky tonight. Both teams have only one loss. Should be a good one. Go Braves!

Jim's Official Prediction

IA 30 M 19

Re Robinson: SHUT UP!!!

I am tired of hearing people say they need to get Denard Robinson involved in the offense more, etc etc. Don't they think RR would do that if he could? DRob is likely not ready to run the offense, therefore he won't.

Then, the thing I hear/read related to this is how RR should put DRob in the backfield with Forcier. Again, do you think RR hasn't thought of that? And if he has, do you think you wouldn't have done it last week, for instance, if he thought it would work? Again, DRob can't be a blocking back, we don't know if he can catch, so putting him back there is either to give him the ball or be a decoy and RR doesn't think there is much value in either.

I DO think it would be nice to find a way to get DRob the ball in open field. Of course, it would be nice if Stonum, Odoms or Carlos Brown could get the ball in the open field, too.

So, to all of you people who have a love affair with DRob (because of 3 plays and 2 shoelaces), SHUT UP!!!! (i say this here, because I don't want to say it in person and get a black eye)

M vs. Iowa pick based on historical data

M is 876-296-36 in all games
M is 718-256-35 in games I have not attended
M is 30-7-4 in games vs. Iowa that I have not attended (5-2-1 since I first saw M play Iowa)

It's simple when you go by the numbers

M 17
Iowa 31

Big Ten Tree (future, possible)

With the predictions of Ia, OSU, MSU, PU winning this week.

OSU - IA
WI - PSU
PU-NU-MN-MSU
MI-IL
IN

In this scenario, the only circle is PU/NU/MN.

Big Ten Tree

Using the tree method of evaluating the Big Ten, I come up with this currently (conference games only):

Iowa - Wis - OSU
PSU - MSU - MN
Ill - MI - NU
Ind - PU

A loss to IA really wouldn't change anything for M. MSU losing to IL would drop M, though.

If non-conference games are thrown in, then MI will move up with at least MSU. I'll try to do that later.

Cabrera, wtf

Did you hear about Miguel Cabrera's run-ins (yes plural) with the POlice this weekend. They came and kicked him out of the White Sox hotel in Birmingham where he was drinking with his buddies from the Sox. Then they were called to his home to break up a fight between he and his wife.
The fact that he went 0-11 in the series makes a little more sense now. Being hung-over and scratched up from the fight with his wife.
Hopefully he can pull himself together and play well Tuesday, otherwise he's in for a LONG offseason.

ESPN Bowl Predictions Vol 6

Link to full ESPN picks here

M's loss drops them a little in the bowl picture - but they go up against 1/2 of a BCS team this week. The "experts" have them facing BC or UNC. Any match-up with and ACC team might be the best hope for M. Note it is imperative the ACC team is not VaTech or, to a lesser extent, Miami (YTM).

Week	Schlabach	Feldman
Pre	Champs	PapaJohns.com
1	Alamo	Alamo
2	Outback	Outback
3	Capital One	Outback
4	Outback	Outback
5	Champs	Champs

I think that is quite a fall but probably more realistic.

Interpreted full BigT1e1n rankings

Place	Schlabach	Change	Feldman	Change
1	OSU	+1	Iowa	0
2	Iowa	-1	OSU	0
3	PSU	0	Wisconsin	+3
4	Wisconsin	+1	PSU	0
5	Michigan	-1	Michigan	-2
6	Minnesota	+1	Minnesota	-1
7	MSU	+2?	MSU	0
8			Northwestern	0

This makes it looks like M likely has 4 losses left on their schedule. Purdue is hard to read, they've played well at times but not enough to win. Illinois appears to be awful, but who knows if they get it together against M's defense. Hopefully Delaware St is an auto win.

Schlabach has moved Alabama ahead of Florida into the BCS championship game vs. Texas, while Feldman still has the UF-UT match-up.

Gladstone, Hillman

Gladstone has moved up in the playoff point race to #80 (out of 618 in the state). Hillman has moved up to #16 in Class D.

I'm not sure what number Tecumseh is, but they are actually about 85 spots below Hillman in overall points.

M v MSU thoughts

I thought MSU was the better team for 3.5 quarters, but I don't think they dominated. Maybe they shot themselves in the foot too often, but they got breaks from M as well.

Would you like to have the fake punt back? Just go for it or at least call it off when you see they seem to have it snuffed out. Then they don't go for it on 4th and 1 at the 35 on the next drive.

I know they want to give Denard playing time. But that series early in the 4th quarter smelled of fail at the time. And given what Tate did the rest of the game, I would like to have that series back too.

That 10 minute drive in the 1st quarter was ridiculous. Three 15 yard penalties and they still march down the field and score. M never seemed to adjust to the bubble/fake bubble sweep the other way. One good thing is Graham finally got a sack - and caused a fumble on the play to boot. It is unfortunate he took himself out on the play Heininger got de-pantsed by Nichol (I think).

Iowa's score today seemed unimpressive - maybe that's some hope.

Quick Analysis of the MSU game

With MSU dominating most of 3 1/2 quarters, and whenever they did make a mistake, M didn't really take advantage of it for most of that time, M fans should be semi-pleased coming out of there with an OT loss.

There were enough things in this game that makes me still have some hope of winning some of those road games. At least, being in them. Karsch said he thinks the D turned a corner in this game. I think the D was inconsistent as usual. I hope Karsch is right.

One bright note: M still hasn't allowed a TD in the 3rd quarter.