Michigan – Ohio State Preview

Time: Noon
Location: Big House
TV: ABC
Weather: Hitting Weather
Line: OSU – 12.5

I have had a lot of time to think about what I was going to write about tomorrow’s game. I feel the same way the Big House Blog readers do. About half of them think it’s going to be a blow out and the other half feel it could be a close game or even a Michigan upset.

The half of my brain that has Michigan playing well; remembers the Cooper years when Ohio State clearly had the better team and left Ann Arbor with a loss. Ohio State has clinched the Big Ten Championship and a ticket to the Rose Bowl. The only thing they have to play for is bragging rights. There is also the Justin Boren and Terelle Pryor situations, both in different ways turned their backs on the Michigan program and surely will hear it from the fans and few select Wolverines on Saturday. It's been 40 years since the big upset in 1969. Michigan will take a little Karma and History on their side on Saturday.

The other half of my brain thinks the “Upset half” is crazy. OSU could throw one pass on Saturday and still beat the Wolverines. The threat of Pryor in the shot gun and watching him sail through Michigan safeties could cause this game to be over by half time. We also know as soon as OSU commits 100% to the run, there will be a Dan “Salamander” wide open down the middle for a touchdown. With that said, I haven’t even mentioned the Ohio State Defense, which is clearly the best in the Big Ten. How is Tate going to be able to move the ball on this talented defense without Brandon Minor at running back? Will he even have time to step back and throw? Will Denard get in a turn the ball over? Just way too many question marks on both sides of the ball for a Michigan win.

So which is it? A hungry Michigan team that has everything to play for? A bowl game and one last chance for the seniors to beat Ohio State. Or a talented Ohio State team that just grinds out the young Wolverines.

I think we will see a little bit of both on Saturday. I expect Michigan to start quickly and maybe even force a mistake by Pryor. But the bottom line in this game is: no matter how good Brandon Graham is the Michigan defense just can’t stop Ohio State offense for 4 quarters. It’s close at half time but gets away from the Wolverines in the second half. Michigan 20 OSU 42

Special note to the Michigan Seniors: You have had one hell of a ride at Michigan the last 4 years. You have seen the misery of App. State and the high of beating Florida in Florida. You have seen retirements, a new head coach and 3 defensive coordinators in 3 years. You gentlemen are loyal teammates, wonderful players, and Real Michigan Men. I know it might be hard to enjoy Saturday, but try to relish in the tradition of Tom Harmon, Desmond Howard, Tom Brady, Charles Woodson and all the great Wolverines before you while you put on the winged helmet one last time. Saturday is your day. Win or lose, you are true champions for staying and playing hard for the Michigan Wolverines. Today and for the rest of your life you are true Michigan Men. Good Luck on Saturday and Go Blue!

The Big House Blog Takes a Moment of Silence for Chris Spielman's Family

I am sorry to learn about the passing of Chris's wife Stefanie Spielman on Thursday. Stefanie had been battling breast cancer. She was 42.

Having a loss like this is tragic and my thoughts and prayers go out to Chris's family.

I know Saturday's game is Chris's favorite and he even told his dad that he was going to Michigan when he was a high school senior. His dad stopped him and said, no your not! Your going to Ohio State! The rest is history.

____________________________

On a totally separate issue, I am also sad for Brandon Minor who is officially out for Saturday's game. Brandon has battled injuries all year and this latest shoulder injury has gotten the best of him and he will sit out his last chance to play in the Big House. I don't know Brandon but I pretty sure having to sit out on Saturday will be one of the hardest things he has ever had to do.

Big Ten Picks and Predictions Week 12

Well, this is it folks, the last week of the Big Ten Football season. It just seemed like a few weeks ago we started the 2009 season and now it's over before Thanksgiving.

The big hopes we had of a Michigan turnaround, Illinois re-gaining it's form, MSU playing Big Ten spoiler and Penn State dominance didn't really come to pass. Ohio State again is the Big Ten Champion with steady play and a dominating defense. Iowa stepped up for awhile but we all sort of knew it wouldn't last. The good thing is the Big Ten won't be in the National Championship game this year.

The good news is The Big Ten probably has the best basketball conference this year. Sorry ACC it's true!

Now on to the Picks.................

The Big Ten Game of the Week (will be previewed on Friday)


Minnesota at Iowa: Iowa played very well last week in the Shoe but came up a couple of plays short it overtime. Minnesota is a team that plays well at home put not so good on the road. Iowa is a little mad since they were on the doorsteps of the Rose Bowl and will now find themselves in Orlando for the Capital One. They are going to take their frustrations out on the Gophers. Iowa is favored by 10. Iowa 31 Minn 13

Wisconsin at Northwestern: Both teams are playing well right now and both teams will be enjoying a bowl game this year. I think Wisconsin is just too physical for the Wildcats. If Tolizen continues to find open tight ends they are going to be tough to beat. Wisconsin is favored by just over a touchdown 7.5. Wisconsin 28 Northwestern 17

Penn State at Michigan State: I just don't get Penn State this year. At times they look like a top 10 team. At other times, they look below average. This has been a very strange year for JoPa who had Pasadena plans. State on the other hand has also under preformed this year. One of the pre-season picks to make some noise in the Big Ten really hasn't ever got on track and just qualified for a bowl game last week. JoPa is favored by 3 in this one. It won't be that close. Penn State 32 MSU 21

Purdue at Indiana: Neither team is going to a bowl game and both teams are stuck with 4-7 records this year. So this is their Bowl Game, let's call it: The Drive for 5! wins that is. Both teams have looked good and terrible this year. One team lost to Michigan in a close game and one team beat Michigan in a close game. Purdue is favored by 3. This game is for the State of Indiana bragging rights. IU 21 Purdue 20.

Poor Illinois has the week off, so they can face Cincinnati next week.

OSU Week News and Notes Day 4

• One person I left off the visitors list for OSU is "Big Tex" Jatashun Beachum. He is nearly 300 pounds and plays Defensive Tackle and QB. The word on the street is, he is interested in Michigan because RR said they would allow him to play to QB on short yardage situations. He has offers from just about every major program but decided to give his verbal to Arkansas. Which didn't last long when the Wolverines came calling and now he says he is deciding between Michigan and the Razorbacks.

• Very Bad News for the Michigan Offense: Brandon Minor is doubtful for Saturday's Ohio State game. His ankle is healed but his shoulder is giving him a lot of problems. He has not practiced this week.

• Mgoblog is now reporting the 2008 work out logs due exist and were found after the audit and have been turned into the University investigators and the NCAA. RR also said yesterday that as soon as he learned about the problem it was fixed right away.

• Per the Detroit News and RR's agent: "I do know that Rich and Mary Sue spoke on Monday and Mary Sue said, 'Hey, I'm behind you 100 percent,'" said Rodriguez's agent, Mike Brown said. Brown said Rodriguez and Coleman met to discuss a university audit that showed the football program did not submit required logs that reveal how much time players spent involved with the sport last season. Brown also said Rodriguez and his wife, Rita, are very happy in Ann Arbor. "They plan on being (at Michigan) a long, long time," Brown said.

• A Michigan Judge has "stalled" the Sale of the Silverdome. A developer in Bloomfield Hills said it had a deal with Pontiac is 2008 for $17 Million for the Silverdome. Quick Question? Why the hell are you blocking a deal where you over paid by $16.5 Million? If you want the place offer $1M and it's yours!
  

1 Ticket For Sale for The Ohio State Game this Weekend

I have one ticket for sale for the Ohio State game this weekend. I will take the best offer.

The ticket face is $65 and I will pay the overnight charges if the highest bid is at face or above.

Please email at thebighouseblog@hotmail.com before Noon on Thursday if your interested in the ticket.

It's in Section 9 Row 28


Thanks,
Bob

The Battle Off The Field Might Be More Important To Michigan's Future on Saturday

We all know what is at stake on Saturday for the Wolverines. An upset victory would mean a

• Win over Michigan's biggest rival
• A non-losing record for the year
• A Bowl Game

Those are all important things but we all know this Rivalry won't be truly back until Michigan puts a better product on the football field. The Wolverines took steps this year on the offense side of the football and will need to take major steps on defense in 2010 and beyond.

So Saturday's battle off the field is Michigan's biggest recruiting day of the year. A number of top recruits will be in the Big House to witness what it would be like to put on the famous winged helmet, a blue jersey, maize pants and play in the biggest rivalry game in the country.

Michigan needs to cement interest with the guys that have Michigan #1 on their lists, they need to convince players who have Michigan in their top 5 that Ann Arbor in the best place for them , and they need to even pull out a little "snake oil" and try to convince players committed elsewhere that being a Wolverine is a very special thing. (they also need the continue to lay the ground work for players in the class of 2011 as well). Saturday is a day where the Wolverine coaches will make thier money. They need to spend time with recruits, sell them on the Michigan program, and at the same time prepare to play it's biggest rival.

We all know Michigan has 20 players committed so far for the 2010 class. Which leaves 5 remaining spots or should I say 5 defensive spots. Michigan will still take a highly rated offensive player in that 5 but don't be surprised if all 5 go on Greg Robinson's side of the ball. Michigan expects 12 or more visitors for the Ohio State game this weekend.

Must Win's:

• Cullen Christian a top 100 player and 4 star CB out of Pittsburgh: who is attending the game and will make his announcement next Tuesday.
• Josh Furman a LB out of Maryland,(think Dhani Jones). Josh is a 3 star linebacker with a number of high profile offers including Oklahoma, Pitt, Virgina Tech, WVU and many others. (not planning an OSU game visit)
• Tony Grimes, a 3 star CB out of Florida. Tony maybe rated 3 stars but he has an offer sheet like a 4 or 5 star CB: Ohio State, Miami, Oklahoma State, Georgia, South Carolina, and so on. Tony will be in town on Saturday.

Really Need:

• Tony Jefferson, is a 4 star LB out of California and ranked in the top 50 of all players in the US. He has verballed to UCLA but has continued to take trips to Oklahoma and Arizona and will be in Ann Arbor on Saturday.
• Rashad Knight, a 4 star CB from Florida: could easily be put in the must win category. Has offers from mostly Big Ten, ACC, and Big East schools and will be in A2 this weekend.
• Dior Mathis, is a 4 star CB out of Cass Tech in Detroit. Dior has a final 4 of Michigan, MSU, Miami, and Oregon. He has been to a number of Michigan games this year already and comes from a school that usually sends it's top players to U of M. He is very similar in size and stature to Boubacar. He is 5"9 166 lbs. (rumor mill has Dior at State this weekend for the PSU game)

Nice to Have:

• Christian Jones, 4 star LB out of Florida huge offer list: Florida, ND, LSU and so on.
• Kenny Stills, a 4 star WR out of California
• Richard Ash, a 4 star DT out of Pahokee, Florida with a huge offer sheet including USC, LSU, and many other schools.
• Dillon Baxter, 4 star RB out of California and friend of Tate Forcier. A surprise visitor this weekend and has already committed to USC. Let's hope he has something to celebrate with his friend on Saturday night.
• Clarence Murphy, a DE and teammate of Tony Grimes. Could be one of RR's teammate specials. He is rated as a 3 star prospect and has offers from South Florida, Wisconsin, and Maryland.
• Kenny Shaw, a 4 star WR out of Florida. Played with Ricardo Miller last year.

Here is to Michigan finding a way to get two wins on Saturday! Go Blue!

Michigan Rivalry Week: Day Two

• Another log on the fire: Michigan didn't keep work out logs for a period of time in 2008. Some of the mis-information floating around is that these were mandatory, which is un-true. These logs are one way that Michigan tracks compliance internally. It is not an NCAA mandate. The logs have been put back in place and are now done on a regular basis. Mgoblog has the best re-cap of this story if your interested. I think the bottom line is, if Michigan had these logs the entire "Work Out Gate" would have been avoided but now Michigan needs to show more proof they didn't overwork their players.

• Two former Michigan recruits are thrown off Tennessee's Football Team: Unless you have been living under a rock you know by now that wide receiver Nu'Keese Richardson, 18, and defensive back Mike Edwards, 18 were arrested this week after an armed robbery charge outside a gas station near Tennessee's campus. Both players were recruited by Michigan last year and showed only minor interest. As it worked out, I'm glad they didn't come to Ann Arbor.

• Pardon The Interruption but Michael Wilpon has his facts wrong. Michael went on the radio yesterday saying he had sources saying that Charlie Weis and Rich Rodriguez were going to be fired. I can't speak for ND, but the only chance RR is going to get fired is if the NCAA comes back with Major Grade A violations. They just paid to get him out of his WVU contract and firing him would cost another $4 Million. Even Dan Syder thinks that's a lot of money. It's not going to happen. BTW: His source was a former Rich Rod player that was willing to bet money or make it rain. :)

• The Silverdome isn't worth it's weight in Silver! So you want to buy a former NFL Stadium that has hosted events like WrestleMania: Hulk Hogan vs Andre the Giant, The Monsters of Rock, and The Super Bowl? It cost 55.7 Million in 1975 but needs some work. What do you think? 10 Mill? 20 Mill? How about $583,000! Yes, just over half a Million to a Canadian Real Estate firm. Now that is a deal! Now how much for the U.P.? Just kidding U-ppers.

• The Michigan Players had a closed door "Players Meeting" on Monday before practice.

• Next year Michigan will have a bye week. The new 2010 schedule has been posted on the left tool bar.

• Saturday's game will be the most important recruiting day of the year with a number of top prospects taking their official visits to Ann Arbor.