Michigan Recruiting and Press Conference News and Notes

Recruiting:

• California DB Sean Parker is planning a Michigan visit: "They're playing USC so it should be a great game and I'm looking forward to seeing what the atmosphere is like. I don't have any other visits set after Cal. I know I want to take all five and I'm going to set one with Michigan, but that's the only other one I know of so far."
• Dior Mathis DB from Cass Tech still considers his final list Oregon, Michigan, Michigan State, Miami and Illinois. (he is 5"9 166, I'm just saying)
• Casey Prather like expected picked Florida Basketball over Michigan Basketball today.
• Look for a bunch of recruits to be in Ann Arbor for the Penn State and Ohio State games. (FYI Florida guys - it's usually 65 and sunny in November in Ann Arbor)
• Michigan commit to 2010 WR D.J. Williamson had surgery on his ankle this month.

RR's Press Conference today:

• Tate's shoulder is sore and will practice again today.
• Safety Mike Williams is practicing and will be ready for Saturday.
• Brandon Minor sat out Monday and Tuesday but practiced today.
• Boubacar and JT Floyd continue to battle for the starting CB spot. JT Turner is still a ways off but may still see some playing time this year. (you know they want to redshirt him if possible)
• RR doesn't believe the Michigan players have ever said anything dis-respectful to the Spartans. He also said the players use more of the "bulletin board" material then the coaches do for motivation.
• They have worked on snaps which seem better and heading up to East Lansing on Friday.

Wolverine Wednesday: Michigan State is focusing on the wrong things

Mark Dantonio is a good football coach, I think. He coached under "the Vest at Ohio State and was the head football coach at Cincinnati before taking over the Spartans.

The reason, I hesitate whether he is a good coach or not is how he approaches the Michigan game. It's too obvious to anyone that has eyes, ears, or can read that Mark hates Michigan. Maybe he lived in the state of Ohio too long or maybe Mike Hart's "Little Brother" crack got to him but either way he has failed when it comes to the Michigan game and being a head coach.

College head football coaches are supposed to be leaders of men, motivators, tacticians, pubic relations experts, psychologist, and basically the CEO of the program. It's a mistake for Dantonio to use the "we don't like them" card when it comes to Michigan, it's wrong for him to get so upset the weeks prior to and the week after a loss to U of M. He should respect his opponent no mater who it is, prepare his team for a difficult football game and not put so much pressure on his own players.

These kids don't hate each other. They have grown up playing against each other in high school football in Michigan, Ohio and in other states. They most likely are friends off the field. Sure, they want to win this game, but they want to win every game. After it's over no matter who wins and who loses, they go on texting and tweeting each other. That's how sports are someone wins and someone loses.

My guess is Dantonio has put so much emphasis on this game, his team over looked CMU and wasn't fully prepared for Wisconsin last week. Comments like the following helped me come to that conclusion:

"This game is personal, and we need to win it," sophomore quarterback Kirk Cousins said. "And we better win it."

"Before the game last year, Coach D told us that if you haven't played Michigan, within 30 seconds you'll realize why we don't like them," defensive end Trevor Anderson said. "After about 15 seconds, I realized why I didn't like them. Just the total lack of respect that they have for our school in general. Not just the program, but the general lack of respect they have for us."

"The lack of respect they have, period," defensive end Trevor Anderson responded when asked about his dislike for Michigan. "It's sickening."

And from left tackle Rocco Cironi, an Ohio native, when asked if he grew up with a hatred for U-M: "Yeah, I think everybody has a hatred for Michigan."

"It would be a huge deal," junior linebacker Greg Jones said about beating U-M this year. "Forty-two years is a long time." (it's been 42 years since State beat Michigan in back to back seasons)

"I know this is a very important game," Dantonio said. "I try and deal with the present right now. It's a critical game for us. It always will be, regardless of our record."

"As I said last week, you're either going to walk the streets or walk the alleys," Dantonio said. "It's a year-to-year thing. It'll always be like that. ... It's a game that we'll focus on -- and always focus on here -- and make it extremely important."


And this is what they are saying to the media, you can only guess what is said behind the closed doors in East Lansing. You can be the judge if Mark Dantoino is a good coach or not but his hatred for Michigan is putting a ton of pressure on his 1-3 Spartans against the Wolverines this Saturday. It's more then a football game this weekend and that is where he fails.

If Michigan State wants respect they need to earn it and not by putting the weight of the entire season on this football game on Saturday. I guess that is why this game is on the Big Ten Network and not on ESPN or ABC like the Indiana game was last week.

ESPN on Michigan

I like the positive attitude, but I just don't think this team is ready to compete for a Big Ten Championship yet. The defense just isn't ready for that level of play.


Tate Update: Many students have run into Tate the last two days on campus and reporting his arm is still in a sling. (Meaning don't use it). They have asked him how his arm is and the reply is "I'm good". Are you going to play this Saturday? followed by a "Hell Yes!" answer.

This from the Detroit News

I like my Chad Penne with marinara sauce and a nice Shiraz.

Nice find from the Wolverine Blog!

Michigan Football Tuesday: Closed Practice

photo courtesy of Freep:

Anyone up for some Basketball News?

• The top recruit in the 2011 class Michael Gilchrist visited Ann Arbor this weekend and got to catch the IU game. Over heard at the game: and this is where the new basketball practice facility is going to be. There have been discussions about naming it the Michael Gichrist Practice Facility! I'm just kidding, your not taping this are you?


• Casey Prather a 2010 recruit is going to announce his decision tomorrow. It's between Michigan and Florida. He visited U of F last weekend and the insider scoop is that he will choose the Gators.

Back to the Grid Iron:

• Donavon Warren interception won the game for the Wolverines. He also had a great quote about the pick: “We both actually had our hands on it. It was a tugging match from the get-go. We were both wrestling for it and I just Mike Barwised him.”


• Michigan is #22 in both polls


• Guess who Miami's new starting QB is? Chad Henne. With Jake Long already there, the Dolphins now need to trade for Mario Manningham and sign Mike Hart off Indy's practice squad.


• The Iowa night game will be decided after this Saturday's games whether it's an ABC or ESPN. 2 wins = ABC, 1 or 2 losses = ESPN. Iowa has Arkansas State, so it comes down if Michigan beats State on Saturday.


• Michigan closes practice to reporters this week. My first thought is the Michigan coaches don't want them seeing if Tate is throwing or not. My guess is he is still pretty hurt and won't throw most of the week. I have a feeling that RR's statement yesterday, might have been a ploy for MSU's prep this week. As you see from the photo above, Tate was not using his right arm after the game at all.


• Wermers talks again, well sort of: If you remember, he left Michigan and blasted RR and staff while heading out the door. Of course, he flunked out of school before he left. Wermers essentially confirmed an ESPN.com report that he would've been academically ineligible to play for the Wolverines had he stayed there, anyway.
  
  "I screwed up at Michigan," he said. "I'm going to give it everything I have here."
  
  Wermers refused to talk about the allegations that the Michigan program is under now, saying that he wasn't "at liberty to discuss them."
  

Now Some Recruiting News:

• Joshua Shaw, a 4 star CB (#3 ranked CB in the country per Rivals) from California is planning an official visit to Ann Arbor in November. You guess it, during the Ohio State weekend.


• Troy Gloster a 3 star outside LB from Maryland may make his decision this week. It's reportedly down to Michigan and West Virgina.

Buckeye Monday: Illinois Post Game

Buckeyes “Running in the Rain” to victory over Illinois

I guess that when you can grind out yards on the ground the way Ohio State did on Saturday, you don’t have to ask Terrelle Pryor to make any unnecessary throws to win a game. In what had to be some of the wettest conditions I’ve seen at Ohio Stadium in quite a few years, the Buckeyes used a combination of a solid running game and a suddenly dominant defense to blank Juice Williams and the Illini 30-0. That’s eight straight quarters of shutout defense against two of the more respected offenses in the country. That doesn’t bode well for the rest of the conference.

I hadn’t had a chance to watch a full game since the opener against Navy. I was really eager to see what units were starting to show improvement. I can honestly say that every part of the team played better in week four than they did in week one. Every part of the team that is….accept the quarterback. I keep reading the Pryor is a work in progress, that Buckeye fans need to be patient and that the offense is still trying to find its identity. All that may be true but I watched our “work in progress” making the same mistakes in the fundamentals of the position that he’s made since taking over as the starter fourteen games ago. I’m tired of putting the blame on Tressell, Bollman, the O-line and Pryor. This week I’m going to call out Pryor’s new position coach……Nick Siciliano. Who is this guy? What are his credentials? The answers are easy enough to find. Long story short….I think putting the future of Terrelle Pryor in his hands may be a mistake. I hadn’t really thought of this angle before sitting down to write this article. I’ll have to do some additional analysis before future pieces.

Now….what worked on Saturday?

Obviously the entire defense stands out. Having lived through the brilliant performance of Juice Williams the last time he came to Columbus and the recent success that Illinois has enjoyed against Ohio State in the Shoe I was honestly nervous about this game. In retrospect, there was nothing to be nervous about at all. #1 Juice Williams isn’t half the quarterback he was a few years ago. I think he’s actually regressing as a player. He reminds me of Drew Tate at Iowa a few years ago. As a sophomore, Tate lit up the Buckeyes and the rest of the Big-10. His last two years were terribly disappointing. Juice’s career seems to be on the same trajectory. #2 The defense is playing with lots of confidence, attitude and speed. I like that combination. Thad Gibson, Lawrence Wilson, Brian Rolle and Kurt Coleman all had big games.

The ability to run was the difference in the game. We ran almost at will. Illinois could not. Boom Herron ran for 75 yards and two scores. Brandon Saine ran for about the same but didn’t get into the end zone. Jordon Hall saw action in the fourth quarter and showed quick feet and pretty good vision. Pryor even made some nice runs for the second week in a row. One of the major questions heading into the season was who would step up to replace Beanie Wells. I think the answer is that a “committee” of runners will step into the void. For what it’s worth…..I’ve been most impressed with how hard Saine has been running. Keep it up young man.

Aaron Pettrey can really kick the ball. The conditions were terrible on Saturday but Pettrey nailed his second 50+ yard field goal of the year. He also made two other field goals and three extra points. He appears to be next in the long line of solid place kickers at Ohio State.

What still needs work?

The O-line has shown improvement week to week. Both Mike Adams and JB Shuggarts are now starting. I think they are incredible talents but both need more seasoning before the big games at the end of the season. Additionally, it appears that the running game struggles between the tackles. Perhaps if we threw the ball down the field more often we could prevent the safeties from playing the run so hard.

As mentioned before….Terrelle Pryor still needs a lot of work. Granted the weather and the success of the running game dictated the play calling on Saturday. He threw two passes in the first half for god’s sake so it would have been hard for him to get into any sort of rhythm. He still tries to make more out of busted plays than he needs to do. Run north-south instead of east-west. His penchant for doing that caused him to turn several six yard gains into two yard losses. Also, please move the ball to your outside hand when running around the corners. See any other post on this blog for a detailed list of what’s wrong with his throwing….weather on the run or in the pocket. Again, I need to do more research on his progress vis-à-vis his new position coach. I may be on to something there.

What’s next? We go on the road to play Indiana. This game gives Ohio State an early chance to see how they can perform on the road. The Hoosiers played Michigan tough in the Big House on Saturday so we’ll also get a chance to compare our results to that game. As pointed out by Big House Bob, the Michigan defense is still finding its direction under Robinson. Ohio State already has their direction. The shut out streak ends in the second quarter. Ohio State continues to dominate on the ground and on defense. I have it 31-14.

Go Bucks!!!!

Buckeye John

Breaking News: Tate's Status Per RR's Press Conference

Per Rich Rodriguez: Tate's shoulder is sore, will be limited in practice today (little to no throws), will have a regular practice on Tuesday.

He said that the training staff feels comfortable he will be fine and ready for Michigan State.

Other topics:

• Will work a lot on snaps this week
• Lost 77 yards in bad snaps - some were catch-able not all were Mossman's fault.
• The changes in offensive line went well and they didn't grade perfect but didn't grade terrible as well
• The cornerback position opposite of Warren is wide open. JT Turner is young but in the mix
• Molk injury is coming along well, Molk feels like he could be back in three weeks. He is using some type of bone stimulator on his foot to promote healing

Tate's Banged Up Shoulder

How many of you are worried that Tate's shoulder is worse then a bruise? (RR said he bruised his shoulder after the game)

I'm assuming everyone is raising their hand.

I would agree. The way he reacted below would make you believe it's something worse then a deep bruise.






This reader on Mgoblog believes it's a sprain: …he said he has a AC joint sprain and a big bruise. He said he injured himself like this before in high school and he couldn't throw until Friday of that week.

He was in obvious pain and wouldn't shake anyones hand with his right arm. We'll see, but its a little more serious than just a "bruise". That being said, he looked fine throwing the ball on that last TD pass to Odoms.

We should learn more about his condition at today's press conference but if I had to guess on what the situation is: he won't throw most of the week and is questionable for Michigan State. If it's a sprain it's about rest and pain threshold. We will see.

Vegas agrees he is questionable and right now there isn't a line.

Will "Hang Time" Hagerup Goes Blue

One of yesterday's visitors to the Big House was Will Hagerup one of the best (if not the best) high school punters in the nation. Will had been visiting schools around the nation and decided he had seen enough after getting home on Saturday.

Will verbally committed to Coach Rod and the Wolverines to the Class of 2010. "It was a great visit, I felt extremely comfortable with all the coaches and people,"

Will is Michigan's 19th commitment to the 2010 class and will replace Zoltan as Michigan's punter next year. He is rated a 3 star (most top kickers/punters are 3 stars) prospect by both Scouts and Rivals.

Will's brother punts for Indiana.

Michigan - IU Post Game: Too Close of a Shave

photo courtesy of the Detroit News


I'm a electric razor guy but sometimes I like to use a regular razor to get a closer shave. Well, my skin isn't used to the regular razor and I get small cuts on my face and neck.

The Michigan Football team used a regular razor today which gave us another reminder that this is the start of the journey and not the middle of it. This team last year lost these type of games. Today, Michigan won and the difference was a true freshman named Tate Forcier who is a real "gamer". He threw balls to Indiana's defensive lineman and also hit a Odoms on a beautiful post route for the winning touchdown. On this day he looked like a freshman and veteran but the most important thing was, he never gave up and continued to run for first down and touchdowns even when his shoulder was banged up. Tate might be the toughest 188 pounder in college football.

We also learned on Saturday the Michigan defense has a lot of problems. Indiana had a great game plan and gained at total of 467 yards to Michigan's 372. IU seemed to march down the field at will but could only muster field goals instead to touchdowns. Which was the difference in the game. Boubacar got benched early for JT Floyd who has also looked shaky this year. (Is it time to burn Justin Turners redshirt?). The Michigan D gave up big runs and intermediate pass routes, but when the game was on the line, Warren wrestled away a pick to seal/steal the game.

A win is a win and since Michigan only had 3 last year. We will take this one (#4).

Now to the Cheers and Jeers:

Cheers:

• Tate's toughness


• Carlos "Santana" Brown's screen pass and running ability


• Odoms catching the deep touchdown pass


• Warren's pick to save the game (which I thought was a bad call btw)


• Zoltan averaging 48 yards per punt


• Stonum had 218 yards on kick off returns


• The gum toss by IU's head coach Bill Lynch was a classic!

Jeers:

• Where was the defense?


• Michigan has a problem at corner back opposite of Warren


• Linebackers? Hello? Where are you?


• Pass Rush - One sack during the game


• I was afraid of bad snaps with the loss of Molk. Moosman and the QB's needs to work on the shotgun all week. Those bad snaps must of cost Michigan 60-80 yards.


• The run game? I think Michigan tried to force the pass game when they were getting 5-7 yards each time Brown or Minor touched the ball. Too many QB run plays when Tate was in there.


• Turnovers

Michigan is going to have to win games like this all year. They are going to have to out score opponents because the defense is going to give up a ton of points. Give credit to IU, they were a much better team then most of us thought.

Note for next week: Beware of the 1-3 Spartans. They are desperate and next week will be the FedEx Duo's (Tate and Denard) first taste at a hostile environment. Not to mention the extent of Tate's injuries and how that will effect his playing time next Saturday.

Michigan - Indiana Preview

Time: 12:00
Location: Michigan Stadium
TV: ESPN 2
Line: Michigan - 20
Weather: Rain in the morning 66 degrees and cloudy at noon

Michigan is playing it's 4th home game in a row and have raced out to a 3-0 start. The young Wolverines are loving the "home cooking" and won't see a hostile environment until they hit the road for back to back games in East Lansing and Iowa City after this Saturday.

Both Michigan and IU enter Saturday's game with a 3-0 record where 4 out of the 6 wins have come against the MAC including wins for both teams against Western Michigan. Michigan is averaging 38 points a game and has scored an impressive 114 points in 3 games. (it took the 2008 Wolverines 6 games to score 113)

IU on the other hand is all about defense so far in 2009 and has the 15th ranked rushing defense in the nation. Of course, that came against the likes of Eastern Kentucky, Western Michigan, and Akron. Michigan has the 3rd ranked rushing offense in the country but that comes against the likes of Western, ND, and Eastern.

So what does this tell us? Not too much. IU hasn’t beaten a top 25 team on the road since 2003 and hasn’t beaten the Wolverines since 1987.

Michigan would like to continue to run the ball but also needs a better day throwing it. Michigan also has some concerns on the offensive line with it's center Molk out, a bunch of position changes and guys coming back from injuries.

Did I mentioned it's supposed to rain? Yikes!


Take some Advil if:

• Michigan still can't play in the rain


• If the Moose can't get the ball to Tate and Denard in the shotgun


• Michigan has trouble protecting Tate in the passing game


• Denard completes passes to the other team


• Michigan looks ahead to MSU and a night game against Iowa


• The Michigan defense needs half time adjustments again

Sing "Hail to the Victors" if:

• Shaw and Brown go over 100 yards each


• Tate throws for 200 yards with no picks


• We don't notice there are backups on the O line


• IU remembers it's IU


• Denard gets loose for a TD on the ground and in the air.


• The MASH unit doesn't get any new members

Michigan is clearly the better team favored by all most 3 touchdowns. Let's hope they play 4 full quarters and don't look ahead to the Spartans. I'm looking for an improved performance from the defense and a better passing game (completions and protection). Michigan 31 IU 13

GO BLUE!

Michigan MASH Report Week 4

OUT
Center David Molk, foot

DOUBTFUL
Safety Mike Williams, ankle

PROBABLE
Center David Moosman, shoulder
Guard Tim McAvoy, knee

Look for walk on Jordan Kovacs to get the start for Williams who I not expecting to play.

Game Captains this week include: LB Stevie Brown, quarterback David Cone, wide receiver Greg Mathews and punter Zoltan Mesko.

Week 4 Big Ten Preview and Predictions

First week of conference play and I'm sure happy not to have to predict 11 different games between Akron vs (write in your favorite Big Ten here).

This is an interesting opening week in the Big Ten. There are two games where the teams have recorded recent upsets along with a couple of even match ups.

Now on to the show..................

Big Ten Game of the Week: Meltdown Bowl? Desperation Bowl?

MSU at Wisconsin: Michigan State has lost two back to back heart breakers. It reminds "Sparty" fans of the wonderful John L. Smith days, when the Spartans would regularly melt down mid season. This years meltdown could be coming much earlier. Wisconsin on the other hand, had a meltdown of it's own last season after Michigan's last second win in Ann Arbor and games games against OSU and PSU. Wisconsin is off to a 3-0 start with a nice win over Fresno State. Kirk Cousins is the better QB in this match up and played pretty well last week until his last two throws. The Spartans are desperate for a win with in-state rival Michigan heading to East Lansing a week from Saturday. Wisconsin is favored by 3 points. I agree this game will be tight and very close until the end. Wisconsin 24 Sparty needing whisky 21 (can MSU really be 1-3?)

Rest of the League:

Illinois at Ohio State: Illinois isn't anything special this year. With Juice and Benn many thought they would compete for a Big Ten Championship but they haven't showed us anything special this year.. Ohio State was thought to compete for a National Championship but the only thing really good in Columbus these days is the defense. Illinois has this weird thing recently in Columbus were they win more then they lose. Ohio State is a two touchdown favorite in this one and should be. Illinois can't find the magic this year: OSU 28 Illinois 10

Iowa at Penn State: Many might argue this is the Big Ten game of the week, with Penn State going for revenge against an Iowa team that kept them out of the National Championship game last year. Let's all take a minute to thank Iowa for not letting the Big Ten get embarrassed in the NC game again last year. Well done Captain, Well Done!

So can Iowa do it again? Here's the deal, I'm still not sold on the Hawkeyes. I know they are 3-0 but that whole Northern Iowa game makes he wonder if they really are playing all phases of the game. They did beat a decent Arizona team last week at home but can they really win in Happy Valley? The flip side is Penn State has only been tested in practice this year. Their schedule the first three weeks has been terrible and they haven't seen a real opponent since the Rose Bowl. Penn State is favored by 10. PSU 21 Iowa 20

ND at Purdue: There are a ton of caveats in this game. Will Jimmy play? Who is Purdue? Will there be Big Ten officials? Will it come down to less then a minute with Purdue going in to score from the 10 yard line? Will good time charlie's belt hold?

Those are still big question marks. Purdue surprised me in week one by blowing out Toledo and then staying close with Oregon on the road in week 2. Week 3 they surprised me again by losing to Northern Illinois as soon as I started to believe they were not as bad as I thought. Purdue as gone to the power running game which ND will have a difficult time stopping. Jimmy is the key, if he plays ND wins. ND is favored by a touchdown. ND 31 Purdue 21 (Is ND in the Big Ten yet?)

Minnesota at Northwestern: Are these two teams the same or what? Both played Syracuse; Minnesota won in overtime and Northwestern lost to Paulus and gang. Both are 2-1 coming off losses last weekend. Both give up a ton of points on defense and like to score a bunch of points. The total in this game could be over a 100 points. The line is NW - 1.5 which is basically nothing. The home team gets the edge. Northwestern 51.5 Minnesota 50

As always the Michigan - IU game will be previewed here on Friday.

BTW: The #4 team in the nation plays tonight on ESPN.

Michigan Thursday: Keep Your Purse at Home

Big House Bag Restriction: With the terror threat higher this week, no bags will allowed at all at Michigan stadium this week for the Homecoming/IU game. So keep the purses and bags of snacks, drinks, and other "spirits" at the tailgate.

• Moose will be back on Saturday: David Moosman will be back on Saturday and will play center replacing the injured David Molk. A decision hasn't been made who will start at right guard Moose's regular position. Last week John Ferrara played there, but Mark Huyge might move there from tackle and if that happened Perry Dorrestein would fill at tackle.
  



• Concern for Minor: Brandon Minor continues to have problems with his injured ankle. He is again a game time decision and will not get the start on Saturday. This continues to be a concern and I hope Michigan has it's best running back for MSU next week.
  
  
  
• Flu Alert: A couple freshman have the Flu and have been separated from the rest of the team. The training staff doesn't expect it to be the Swine Flu but they are taking proper precautions.
  



• Don't expect Bobby Swigert Ohio WR/Safety recruit to become a Wolverine. Bobby wants to play WR in college and Michigan wants him as a safety.

Check back this afternoon for the BHB Big Ten Predictions.

The Top 5 Most Impressive Things About The New Michigan Wolverines

1. The Quarterback Play: I call the duo of Tate Forcier and Denard Robinson: FedEx. Because one can deliver through the air the other on the ground. These two true freshman have been outstanding in Michigan 3 wins this season. Tate was un-flabable in the high pressure ND game and Denard has looked un-stoppable running the ball at times against Western and Eastern Michigan. We know they are both still freshman and will make "freshman mistakes" but this is a huge upgrade from last year. Huge!


2. The Half Time Adjustments: One of my biggest complaints against the Carr era was they never seemed to make any decent half time adjustments on either side of the ball. It was always about out executing your opponent and not making the proper adjustments to the game plan. Michigan's best examples of half time adjustments came against ND and EMU. The ND defense had a weakness against the run, Michigan played power football to get back in to the game in the third quarter. Also in the ND game, the Michigan D was not getting enough pressure on "Jimmy". After the half they blitzed and forced "Jimmy" into some bad throws. EMU was within 7 points of Michigan at half time due to a power running game against the Michigan defense (it looked like the Michigan D had a game plan to go against a spread team). Michigan secured up the D and shut out the Eagles in the second half.


3. The Youth: Everywhere you look on the Michigan roster you see freshman and sophomores. When these guys become junior and seniors. Look out!


4. The Running Backs: Many have wondered what Michigan was going to do at running back after seniors Minor and Brown leave after the season. How does this sound? Mike Shaw, Vincent Smith, Mike Cox, will be redshirt freshman Fitzgerald Toussaint, and true freshman in 2010 Austin White. Michigan looks to be in good shape. Brown = Shaw and Minor = Cox.


5. The Team: This team is all on the same page and playing like a close knit unit. Insert your "overworked" joke here, but say what you will, during the off season this team worked hard and came together. I know RR and staff believe Michigan will play better in the second half of games because they have the better conditioned athletes. BTW: The Big House has been rocking this year. Whether it's the new luxury boxes keeping the sound in, the new music, or the new tradition of the players going to the student section after the game there is nothing but excitement and fun at the Big House these days.

Other News and Notes:

• Sad news for the EMU Eagles: Senior quarterback and offensive captain Andy Schmitt (St. Johns, Mich.-St. Johns) will be lost for the remainder of the 2009 season with a knee injury that will require surgery.

• The Michigan staff is expecting 5-6 players from the 2010 class to enroll early.

• PITT changes from Nike to Adidas

Wolverine Wednesday: Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

• Kelvin Grady made the right decision to play football. He went from the Michigan Basketball Team to working the third shift at Amway in Grand Rapids to Michigan's starting slot receiver. "I'm easily encouraged now to fight through (things)," Grady said. "I know I've been to the bottom of the bottom, and it's like I'm back. I love it here at Michigan. This is where I'm supposed to be." Seems he made the right decision.

• One of the top punters in the nation continues his tour of schools. Last week, Will Hangerup was in Florida for the Tennessee game. On 9/5 he will visit Wisconsin and on 9/26 his tour will end with a trip to Ann Arbor. After his stop in A2, he will make he decision. Let's hope he goes Blue!

• The rumor mill is saying 2010 Notre Dame DE commit Chris Martin might be changing his decision and taking some other visits.

• Michigan is recruiting Minnesota DT Beau Allen who likes to play tackle or nose guard: "I feel like I can play both d-tackle and nose guard, but I prefer to play nose guard," Allen commented. “I feel like I can make a big impact when I am in the middle of the line." He has visited Wisconsin, and will visit ND, Minnesota, and Stanford. Michigan hopes Allen makes a decision to visit Ann Arbor for his 5th and final official visit.
  

Michigan Tuesday: Devin Gardner is Solid with Michigan

Some that follow recruiting and Michigan's early success this year have wondered if the top QB in the country Devin Gardner who has committed to the Wolverines would be re-thinking his options after he has watched Tate Forcier accurately throw the ball down field and Denard gas defenses as he runs by them for touchdowns. Well, Devin remains firm with the Wolverines and actually has good things to say about the Wolverines QB's:

“Tate is a real good quarterback,” Gardner said this week. “He’s calm, cool and collected. Everything is going crazy and even when he makes mistakes, like everyone does, he comes back and makes big plays.”

Devin is putting in his work in the gym, with the team, and in the classroom so he can enroll at Michigan in January.

“I’m doing my best and working hard now on everything that has to do with being a quarterback, so when that time comes they are going to have to say, ‘We can’t redshirt him,’ ” Gardner commented. “If (a redshirt) comes, it comes, but I’m trying my best to avoid that.”

Here is another excerpt from the Freep article: Many recruiting experts have compared Gardner to Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor. The two have similarities, like size and running style. Gardner is more polished as a passer than Pryor at similar stages of their careers, however, while Pryor is a more dynamic runner. So Pryor was the #1 recruit/player in the nation and as we all know now has/had flaws in this throwing motion. Gardner is similar in stature, stats, and has better mechanics but is only rated in the top 100 and not even a 5 star. Seems a little strange to me.

• Juwan Howard, Jr. commits to play basketball at Western Michigan. Wow, Big Nookie has a son that is old enough to be a high school senior? Yikes! I hope he has that sweet short range turn around jump shot like his father.

• Two way recruit Dietrich Riley from California has this to say about this recruitment: "There are a lot of schools I'm still looking at including Florida State, Cal, Michigan, Oklahoma and a few others. I for sure will take all five visits before I make my decision. I'm looking for where I'll fit in best, both from a football standpoint and how comfortable I am with the area and the players and coaches on the team." Michigan would be looking at him as a safety.
  


• 4 star LB and recent Michigan - ND game visitor Aramide Olaniyan de-committed from Duke this week. He will take some other visits including an official one back to Ann Arbor (last visit was paid by him) in December with his family.

• Playing Time Update: Big Will Campbell got in for a couple of snaps against Eastern most notably during a goal line formation. Justin Turner did not get in to the EMU game and RR has hinted during press conferences that they might like to redshirt him. Maybe the week and half of camp he missed is hurting his chances of playing this year. Of course, Michigan still may need to use him this year. Personally, I would like to see Turner, Campbell and Vlad Emilien get more time against the MAC and the Delaware State's of the world. Right now Vlad is behind maybe two walk on's. I guess the best players play.

• Zoltan the Punting Destroyer: was named to the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team: acknowledging him for his efforts on and off the field. He was one of 4 big ten players named to the team.

Michigan Center Molk Out 4-6 weeks with a Broken Foot

What we had hoped wasn't a break, was and Molk will undergo surgery this afternoon.

"That's a tough blow," coach Rich Rodriguez said Monday. "Not only does he play center, the leader of the line, but David is not just one of our best linemen, he is one of our best football players, period. So we'll have to adjust a little bit."

David Moosman is expected to take Molk's spot at center.

Starting Safety Mike Williams is also banged up with a sprained ankle and was in a walking cast after the game. He is listed as day to day.

Minor is expected to play against IU this weekend.

Want to know what a 1-2 start means for Sparty and the rest of America? It means the Michigan - MSU game will be a noon start on The Big Ten Network.

Michigan Monday: I love the Smell of a Win in the Morning

• No Buckeye Report today: Buckeye John didn't catch the Toledo beat down. Let me break it down for you here: TP had a good day but still threw 2 picks, USC lost to a team that didn't have a win last year, Illinois is up next and even though they haven't played well this year they always play well against the Buckeyes. Buckeye nation continues to be sad at the USC loss and nervous about the Fighting illini and believe the OSU defense will be the difference.

• Carlos "Santana" Brown is the Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the week! with Northwestern QB Mike Kafka.

• Michigan is now #23 in the AP and #22 in the Coaches

• Michigan only had 2 penalties for 20 yards against EMU. The pass interference call on Boubacar was BS.

• David Molk suffered a serious foot injury and it could be broken, which is not good for the offense line. Moosman and Khoury are the back ups.

• RR was not happy at the timing of the Mouton suspension. He said they didn't find out until after practice on Thursday and didn't have time to have the back up participate with the first team.

• Basketball Alert: 2011 point guard from Southfield, MI Carlton Brundidge has verbally committed to the Wolverines.

• Tate has bruised ribs - nothing serious. He will be ready for this week against IU.

• ESPN 2 will have the Michigan game this week at noon. Michigan is favored by 18 points.

Michigan - EMU Recap: A Teachable Game

After last year Michigan will take all the wins they can get, in fact being 3-0 this year equals the total number of wins in 2008.

Michigan won 45-17 on Saturday but there is a lot of work still to be done with the young Wolverines. Rich Rod after the game said there were a number of teachable moments in the game and I have to agree. Michigan looked "out" of it for most of the first half. Their only saving grace was that the Michigan offensive line dominated the Eagles D line which created huge holes and memorable runs like Carlos "Santana" Brown's 90 yard TD scamper which was the third longest run in the history of Michigan football.

Still the half time score was 24-17 and Michigan has plenty of areas they will need to focus on as the Big Ten season starts next week. Here are some of the areas I believe Michigan needs to work on:

• The defense needs to be able to stop the run. They gave up 179 yards on the ground and most of that was in the first half. The left side of the D line and linebackers was the focus of the Eagles rushing attack.



• The passing offense looked rusty and there were a number of drops. Michigan passed for a total of 68 yards. Yes, 68.



• Michigan did look like they letdown a bit after the ND game last week.

Don't get me wrong, I am very excited that Michigan is 3-0 and beat the Eagles on Saturday, I just saw a few things that concerned me. There was also some good on Saturday. Now on to the much anticipated Cheers and Jeers.............

Cheers:

• 380 Rushing Yards! This is the best the Michigan offensive line has played in years.


• Carlos "Santana" Brown went for 187 of those 380 and had a career game with 14.4 yards per carry.


• Denard Robinson is an amazing runner. He went for two more touchdowns on the ground.


• Half Time adjustments: again the Michigan coaches made great adjustments at half time to stop the Eagles run attack on defense and shutting the Eagles out in the second half.


• Michael Shaw looks like he has found his speed again after an off season surgery.


• Many young players did get into the game late.


• Craig Roh had a nice pick off a tipped pass.


• Warren is a really becoming a great cover corner.

Jeers:

• Odoms, catch the ball! a drop cost Michigan a drive in the first half.


• The Michigan defense in the first half gave up 17 points.


• Tate struggled in the first half with the pass rush and fumbled once.


• I'm worried about Minor's ankle. He only played a few plays and Coach Rod said it was sore and they sat him out.
  
• Starting center David Molk went out with a foot injury in the EMU game.


• Denard's two picks don't concern me. He needs to throw the ball more and yesterday was just phase one.

Bottom line is Michigan was the better team and proved it on Saturday. The effort for the road ahead will have to be better.

Thoughts around the league on Saturday:

• USC loses to the 2008 0-12 Washington Huskies: Great win for Washington. Terrible loss for USC. I'm glad this was the game the former coordinator won and not the Michigan game. It also shows that OSU lost a great opportunity to beat the Trojans last week in Columbus.
  
  
• MSU loses to ND: Michigan State showed character against ND but they also showed stupidly with a number of lost of opportunities to win or tie the game. The last minute pick was a huge mistake only down three points. So was the missed wide open pass the play before. State is now 1-2 with Wisconsin and Michigan up next. Yikes!

Jonas Mouton Suspended by Big Ten

Michigan linebacker Jonas Mouton was suspended by the Big Ten on Friday night for Saturday's game against Eastern Michigan.

Mouton was suspended for a punch he threw at Eric Olsen in the second quarter.

Here is the punch:



What is unique about this situation is, Mouton was never flagged for the punch and The Big Ten suspended him anyway. I agree he should be punished.

Big Ten commissioner Jim Delaney called it "unacceptable". Rich Rodriguez said he never saw the punch and that it wasn't flagged.

Michigan vs Eastern Michigan Eagles

Time: 12:00

TV: Big Ten Network

Location: Michigan Stadium

Line: Michigan - 24

Weather: 69 and partly cloudy


Does Michigan play any road games? Nope all 12 are at home this year. Bill Martin did a tremendous job with the schedule after the opening day schedule mistakes/losses the last two years.

Actually, Michigan does go on the road but not until October 3rd and they won't have to go far with a less then an hour trip to East Lansing. Before MSU, Michigan has the luxury of playing two more home games against Eastern Michigan on Saturday and Indiana next weekend.

Eastern is coached by Ron English who guided Michigan's defense for a couple of years before Lloyd Carr retired. He coached Louisville's defense for one year before taking the EMU head coaching job where LC played a hand at recommending him.

Ron is a friend of the program and participated at Michigan camps this summer but this Saturday he will be on the other side of the field watching most of the defensive players he recruited play against his Eagles.

The Eagles are 0-2 with a home loss to Army and a near miss against Northwestern last week in Chicago. Ron's team is improving each week but do they have enough to stop the train that's Tate Forcier and the Michigan offense? The answer is no.

Every match up you can think of favors the Wolverines. The only thing negative you can think of for the Wolverines is whether or not this is a trap game? The answer is yes it is but Michigan should still dominate. These young Wolverines love playing football and those on the team last year will remember a poor performance against Miami of Ohio and the loss to Toledo. Michigan will not let down or let up on the Eagles this week.


Start Panicking if:

• There is a major injury to one of the Wolverines


• Michigan forgets there is a game to play


• The Michigan players know this game is on the Big Ten Network (App. State and Toledo both were on BTN)


• Michigan continues to miss field goals
  
• The calendar reads 2008

Sing "Hail to the Victors" if:

• If Tate again forgets he is a freshman
  
• Denard throws the ball and runs like the wind


• A bunch of freshman at CB, DT, and the offensive line get some snaps


• Michigan's secondary rebounds after last week


• Michigan's front 7 stops the run


• Michigan does not let off the gas on the offense

I think this team is still too young and dumb to go "Oklahoma State" and start reading their press clippings. I think they again will be ready to play and beat EMU easily. Ron will turn the Eagles into a MAC power in the next 2-3 years but not on Saturday. Michigan 38 EMU 7



cartoon by Joel A. Morgan


GO BLUE!

Michigan Mash Report

Moosman is out and John Ferrara will start in his place on the offensive line. Tim McAvoy is also out.

WR Junior Hemingway is probable.

EMU Game Captains: Defensive end Brandon Graham, receiver Jon Conover, kicker Jason Olesnavage and receiver LaTerryal Savoy.

• Tate Forcier was named the AT&T Player of the Week voted on by the fans at ESPN.com

Big Ten Picks and Predictions Week 3

Let's get to the picks..........

Big Ten Big Games of the week

We have 2 of them:

California at Minnesota: Both teams are 2-0 and California makes the long trip to the brand new "Bank". Did everyone get a toaster that entered the stadium last Saturday? The Golden Gophers are getting 14 points at home. That seems a lot mostly if Cal has jet lag. Cal is can be an elite team, Minnesota just isn't at this point. CAL 28 Minn 20

MSU at ND: This is the "oops" bowl. MSU lost to a fired up CMU "Chips" team on Saturday and ND left the Big House scratching their heads on what happened and blaming the Refs. Yes, the Big Ten Refs read the Internet and watch ESPN too. So "good time" Charlie might not like a few more calls this week. ND is the better team but MSU has some weird mojo over the Fighting Irish and mostly in South Bend. ND is -10 at home and is the better team. Charlie likes his job and Zingerman's in Ann Arbor: ND 32 MSU 24

The rest of the conference........................

Temple at PSU: PSU -30 Enough said. JoPa 42 Temple 6 (nice non-conference schedule)

Wofford at Wisconsin: WOW, Wonderful, WWI, WWII, Wreally? What no Wline? Wisc 31 Wofford 3 : Wisconsin gets the W.

OSU at Toledo in Cleveland: Don't sleep on the Rockets! I watched that Friday night game last week where they ran all over Colorado. OSU could still be asleep at the wheel from last weeks loss to USC. I hesitate to call an upset here but I really could see one happening. Listen to me closely, The Buckeyes will not want to get behind during this game. Don't get behind! Toledo is getting 20.5 (take the points!). Pryor 24 Toledo 17

IU at Akron: Is that correct? IU is on the road at a MAC team? Strange times. Anyway IU won last week when I thought they were over matched by WMU. Now they are on the road and are a 4.5 point dog. I sold IU down the river last week, I think they can win this one. IU 10 Akron 6

Northwestern at Syracuse: Did Syracuse get into the Big 10 when I wasn't looking? I know Greg Paulus all most did. Syracuse is due a win and I think it will come this week. Vegas does as well and made them a 3 point favorite in this one. Syracuse 20 NW 17

Northern Ill. at Purdue: Purdue has gone to more of a heavy run attack now that Tiller is gone. They have played pretty well this year and are a favored by all most (13) 2 TD's in this one. Purdue 34 North Ill 10

Arizona at Iowa: I'm just not sold on Iowa, after that Northern Iowa blocked field goal thing. They beat Iowa State last week and now host the University of Arizona (which I didn't know was in the state of Iowa?). Arizona plays defense and is a 5 point favorite. I don't expect there to be a ton of points scored in this one. AZ 17 Iowa 9

Juice and Zook have a much needed week off.

The Michigan preview will of course be on Friday.

Enjoy a good ACC battle tonight on ESPN!

Also 3 posts today, so make sure you scroll down....................

Wolverine Wide Recievers: How many are there?

One of the BHB readers asked me to run down the number of Michigan wide receivers on the roster and rank their probably of playing. Michigan currently has 12 wide receivers on the roster.

Hemingway, Stonum, Odoms, Stokes, La Savoy, Matthews have all played the WR spot this year.

Michigan also has a position called Slot Receiver (SR) which Michigan has 8 of those as well. Yes, Odoms is listed as a WR not a slot on the roster. Go figure.

The players that have seen action at SR are: Kelvin Grady and Odoms.

My opinion on grade and depth chart: Wide Receivers:

1. Junior Hemingway is Michigan's top WR. He is a deep threat with good hands. Needs to stay out of the trainers room, has a history of bad luck injuries. Grade: A-


2. Greg Matthews, he made the winning touchdown catch against ND and has good hands. Not a burner but can use his 6"3 frame to out jump smaller DB's. He is a senior and needs to have a big year. Grade A-


3. Darryl Stonum is a second year sophomore that didn't really live up to the hype last year as one of the top WR's in the country out of high school. Darryl enrolled early and saw a lot of playing time. He had a DUI and really didn't do anything explosive until the ND kickoff return. Darryl has a lot to prove and is off to a decent start in 2009. Still need more productivity from him at the WR position. Grade: B


4. LaTerryal Savoy is a 5th year senior that I thought would be on the bubble to be asked back for his 5th year. He is back and made a couple of nice plays before the big drop in the end zone. LaTerryal has been getting some good practice press which has lead to some playing time this year. Could be a sleeper pick for a decent year. Grade: B-


5. Je'Ron Stokes is a 4 star freshman that has only been on campus for a few weeks. He was a signing day commit to the Wolverines and has a nice up side. Look for him to get some more playing time in the coming weeks. Jury still out on Je'Ron has he learns the offense. Grade: B-


6. James Rodgers is a junior that really hasn't done much or seen any decent field time since becoming a Wolverine. He is in the mix but barley. Grade: C-


7. Cameron Gordon is a true freshman out of Detroit. He is 6"2 208 and the Michigan coaches wanted him at LB instead of WR, but he came to Michigan as a WR. Guess what the latest rumor is? That he is moving to LB. No official word on the change yet. Grade: TBD


8. Zac Baker, Jon Conover, Joe Reynolds and Patrick Collins are just column fodder at this point.

Now on to the Slot:

1. Kelvin Grady: has taken over the slot position after playing on Michigan's basketball team for the last two years. He has shown flashes but nothing great yet, he has shown a nice pair of hands in catching some high throws. Jury is still out of him: Grade B


2. Martavious Odoms: was Michigan's leading WR last year as a freshman. He plays the slot position so I have him listed here instead of above. I keep waiting for Odoms to break the bubble screen to the house, which just hasn't happened. He lost his punt return job because he fumbled and dropped too many balls. He has done a decent job on kick off returns this year. I'm still waiting for his breakout game. Grade: B-


3. Terrance Robinson: is a redshirt freshman where injuries limited his practice time last year. There have been rumors that TRob is having trouble catching the ball and a potential transfer. TRob hasn't done anything yet and maybe it's still too soon. But it can't feel too good to lose your spot to the point guard off the basketball team. Grade: D


4. Roy Roundtree: is a redshirt fresman that I had high hopes for this year. He lite up the spring game and many thought was Tate's favorite target. I sort of expected him more in the WR role but is still in the slot. Not much action so far this year, but expect him to get some time now that he can see the ball with his new contacts. Grade: TBD


5. Jeremy Gallon: is a true freshman and has only been on campus for a few weeks. He needs time to learn the offense and maybe the return game. Grade: TBD


6. Column fodder: Doug Rogan, Nick Koenigsknecht, Jordan Owens, Ricky Reyes

The Big Ten Week 3 Preview and Predictions coming this afternoon. Stay tuned.

News and Notes from RR's Wednesday Press Conference

• Junior Hemingway is practicing in a non-contact jersey which is a good sign for him to play on Saturday.

• There won't be any punishment for Jonas Mouton "punch" during the ND game. RR didn't see it and there wasn't a penalty called, but: "Let me make it perfectly clear. No personal fouls will go unpunished (by the coaches)." It's emotional, and sometimes emotional things happen. Play between the whistles and play fair. Penalties can be due to lack of discipline, but the team is doing OK in that respect so far. Saturday didn't seem to be much chippier or physical than most games."

• A good story on walk on back up safety Jordan Kovacs. He tried out and told the trainers he had knee surgery but it still hurt. He went back and had it fixed and made this years team and is now the back up safety behind Mike Williams.

• RR is looking to play more young players this week.

• The starting offensive line will depend if David Moosman can play or not.

Wolverine Wednesday: A Mix of Everything

Mailbag:

Jason from Augusta writes: Why hasn't Big Will gotten more snaps?

BHB: The Michigan coaches have been critical about about Big Will's (William Campbell) technique at defensive tackle. When these kids are in high school they are much bigger and stronger then everyone else. They just barrel their way through the offensive line and hit the running back in the backfield. In college, the competition is much better and you need a strong technique to be effective. Mike Martin was able to play last year as a true freshman and I hope/expect to see Big Will to get more snaps in the next two weeks and against Delaware State. He did look impressive in the two snaps he got against WMU, one was a tackle for a loss against the Western RB.


Bill from Boston writes: Which other true freshmen do you expect to see on the field the next two weeks if Michigan blows out Eastern and IU?

BHB: Michigan has serious depth issues at cornerback and safety. Michael Williams left the ND with cramps and Jordan Kovacs (a walk on redshirt freshman) came in and played well. Look for Vladimir Emilien to see some snaps at safety along with Justin Turner and Teric Jones at CB.


Depending on the injuries to Hemingway and Stounum, look for Je'ron Stokes and Roy Roundtree (redshirt freshman) to see action as well.

On a personal note, I would like to see Michael Cox and Michael Shaw get more snaps at running back as well.

Denard has to throw when he gets in the game the next two weeks. In fact he should throw more then he runs.


Recruiting:

• Michigan welcomed two out of state visitors for the ND game (one official = Michigan paid for it) and one un-official (meaning the recruit and their family paid for the trip themselves). The un-official visit was from Woodberry Forest (Va.) outside linebacker Aramide Olaniyan. Who had an amazing time at Michigan. Aramide is a current Duke commit and a 4 star rated LB from Rivals. The official visitor was Millersville (Md.) Old Mill's Josh Furman who Michigan would also like at LB in a Dhani Jones type of role/player. "The atmosphere, when I was going down to the game and fans everywhere, this is what you live for," Furman said. "Just looking at how the fans reacted and how the players reacted after a win like that, it's something I want to play for.”


• A top 2010 Michigan recruit Cullen Christian at cornerback visited OSU last weekend. "I'm pretty much open to anyone, but I wasn't really giving Ohio State a hard look because they haven't given me an offer," Christian said. Plenty of others have offered Christian a scholarship. His list stands at close to 20 and includes Michigan, UCLA and West Virginia, which are his top three choices. "Those are the three I'm mainly looking at," Christian said. "Michigan is my favorite. I grew up a Michigan fan. They show the most interest."


• Defensive lineman Beau Allen from Minnesota: "My top four are still Wisconsin, Minnesota, Notre Dame and Stanford," Allen said. "Michigan recently offered me. I think I'll give them a look. It's Michigan, Michigan State and UCLA for the last visit."


• DB Tony Grimes (Hollywood Hills, Fla.) is still planning a visit to Ann Arbor.

News and Notes:

• Tate and Michigan get the corner spot of the cover of SI this week. That doesn't qualify for the SI jinx right?


• As a BHB reader points out: Tate is now on the Heisman watch list on ESPN now and also is up for one of the college plays of the week. Check out ESPN and vote for him.


• Troy Woolfolk is no longer the "other" Woolfolk at Michigan. His dad is proud of him and didn't twist his arm in going to Michigan.
  

Something to think about this week: Ron English recruited most of the defensive players on the field for Michigan on Saturday. He knows their strengths and weakness. Can he put together a game plan that exposes their weakness?

Michigan Touchdown Tuesday: Rival Meltdown Saturday

Question for you: When do you think the last time all of Michigan's football rivals lost on the same day, while Michigan enjoyed a victory?

Answer: It would have had to happened what maybe once a year? Once every two years? Nope, the crack research staff at Mgoblog and reader Jamiemac comes up with the answer: 10/2/2004: Michigan beat IU, MSU lost to Iowa, ND lost to Purdue, and OSU lost to Northwestern.

I knew this weekend felt pretty good for some reason! (BTW: If you just came back from a real life episode of "Lost" - Michigan beat ND, MSU lost to CMU and OSU lost to USC this weekend)

• David Moosman is out a couple of weeks with a dislocated shoulder which "popped out" during the game.

• Tate Forcier was named the Davey O'Brien Award Foundation's national Quarterback of the Week on Monday.

• The debate on The Big House's piped in music continues. We all know the Big House is louder but does Michigan need the music over the speakers? My vote is keep it, the players and the student section seem to enjoy it. I saw a number of Michigan players dancing during time outs. It's a great way to keep them relaxed and not thinking about how tired they are.

• If you didn't know, Eastern Michigan (this week's Michigan opponent) is coached by former Michigan DC Ron English who interviewed for the head coaching job at Michigan. We wish Ron all the luck in the world, just not this week.

• High School report: Pioneer played Saline this past weekend and won 38-17. Ricardo Miller had 3 catches for 48 yards and a touchdown. Saline's QB and soon to be MSU Spartan Joe Boisture got benched in the game.

It's Ok Charlie things will get better............

At least you didn't blow out your ACL like last year! So you got that going for you.

Poor Charlie Weis is a little upset at the world this week. His Notre Dame offense played well but with some questionable play calling at the end of the game and a new California QB playing for the Maize and Blue, his (BCS ready) Fighting Irish lost on Saturday.

I thought I would collect some of his whine-ness and share them with the world:

"Armando was really distraught at the end of the game, because he felt that he got called for a 15-yard penalty for going 'shhhh' when he got to the end zone," Weis said. "Now I guess, technically, that's taunting, but he felt really bad about that and I told him we're all part of this loss and don't put it all on your shoulders."

"I have to be careful when I say this, I have Big Ten officials coming in this week again [for the Michigan State game]," "That game left a lot to be desired,"

I guess this isn't holding.............

"I still haven't heard anyone tell me there's any evidence of Armando stepping out of bounds," Weis said. "The way I thought the rule is supposed to be, it's supposed to be conclusive evidence. I'm perturbed at that call."

Well you do now!

"First it went from 11 to 10," he said. "Then I complained it went to 9. It went from 11 to 10 to 11 to 9. Maybe I shouldn't have said anything. Maybe we'd have one more second, throw a Hail Mary. Their answer to me was they thought that Theo [Riddick] tipped the ball in the field of play on the kick which would then start the clock. If he did, which I couldn't really tell whether he did or he didn't, so I'm going to take their word for it that that happened."

Sportscenter clearly showed Riddick touched the ball. They were lucky with 9 seconds.

Last but not least Charlie went on his radio show yesterday defending his play calling:

Armando Allen tweaked his ankle on the first down play and the Irish went three-and-out after that. Weis said with Allen out, it changed the dynamic of the game. Michigan's defense adjusted, ND got a half a yard on first down and Weis felt he had to throw deep to one of his best receivers, Golden Tate.

Your right Charlie that was the right call, if your a Michigan fan!

Buckeye Monday: The Loss to USC

Buckeyes lose another close one in the Shoe……

I really don’t have an idea about where to start this article. First, a personal commitment made over a year ago prevented me from watching the first half of the game. By all accounts, I didn’t miss much. Second, the inevitability of the Trojan’s last scoring drive is still really bothering me. Third, and lastly, it’s just not much fun to trying to come up with meaningful content about a game like that……for a Michigan football blog. But I promised Big House Bob I would do it so here goes…..

Watching the second half of the game left me with three distinct thoughts.

#1 Terrelle Pryor is nowhere close to being able to run the offense as effectively as I thought he was after week one. As much as I hate to admit it, Tate Forcier looks far more comfortable running the UM offense after two games than Pryor does after twelve. Granted the USC defense was better than Navy’s but plays were there to be made that he simply did not make. His throwing mechanics and footwork in the pocket are terrible, he still can’t read defenses properly (he had to be the only person in the stadium that didn’t see the corner blitz coming on the first play of the last drive), and he still hasn’t become the vocal leader of the offense. Imagine what things would have been like if the O-line had not played pretty solidly in the first two games. There are no excuses for his lack of progress in these areas. The solutions are obvious. He’s still the best option we have at QB. The potential is still there. I’m not typing another thought on this matter for the rest of the year.

#2 The defense has reloaded….again. As hard as it was to watch them give up late scoring drives to Texas last year and again on Saturday, there can be no denying that Coach Heacock is piecing together another dominant defense. Starting Jermale Hines over Anderson Russell was a great move and helped to keep the USC offense in check for most of the night. Kudos to Brian Rolle (again) and Nathan Williams. Both made several nice plays in the second half. I want to see more Etienne Sabino instead of Ross Homan and Austin Spittler. Not many defenses can run with Joe McKnight but the image of him juking Homan out of his shoes on the 2nd and nineteen play early in the last drive is still fresh in my mind. I’m excited about watching this unit becoming more dominant as the year progresses.

#3 Once again, the coaching staff did not put the team in the best position to win the game. How many times can Tressel and the rest of the coaches make the same mistakes in big games? I was blind to this fact in reviewing the Florida and LSU games. We were outplayed and outcoached in both of those games and deserved to lose. Same thing for the USC game last year. However, the teams were evenly matched in close losses to Penn State, Texas and on Saturday night. Great coaching (hell…even decent coaching) should have made the difference in those games. Big House Bob suggested last week that Ohio State and Jim Tressel are starting to play/coach like Michigan at the end of the Lloyd Carr era. I’m not quite there yet…….but I see the point he makes and I’m starting to drift in the general direction of that logic. Man….that’s pretty depressing to write. I’m sure there will be more opportunities for this point to be discussed in more detail. I hope I’m wrong.

What’s next?
The Buckeyes travel to Cleveland to play an intrastate game against Toledo. Not even the results of the Toledo – UM game last year gave me reason to worry about this game. However, Toledo is off to a very fast start putting up huge offensive numbers in its first two games. OSU has rebounded with decent games after other in-season losses. Nothing changes this weekend. We still don’t like the offense, the defense plays great…..Buckeyes win 38 – 17.

Buckeye John

Michigan Monday: Feels Like the First Time

Photo per Detnews

It feels good to have a Monday after a big win. Many of us Michigan fans haven't felt this way since the upset of Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow and Florida in Lloyd Carr last win. Some can point to the Wisconsin win but the losses last year sort of fade that memory.

Hopefully, Michigan doesn't start reading their headlines and go Oklahoma State the next two weeks and enter East Lansing with a 4-0 record. They shouldn't because they have plenty of things to work on this week. Here are my top things Michigan needs to improve on:

1. The Secondary: Warren played well but I'm concerned that the next 10 opponents are going to target Boubacar all year just due to his height. Michigan also seemed to lose their starting safety Michael Williams (who was carted off the field) and now has a walk on in that role. Michigan will need to get fellow freshman Justin Turner at CB and Vladimir Emilien at Safety some time the next two weeks. News from RR's press conference is that Williams was suffering from cramps on Saturday.


2. The Penalties: Too many holding and pass interference calls. Sure the refs were iffy during the game but those penalties are going to cost us a few big plays if they don't decline.


3. The Power Running Game: I liked that Brandon Minor played more in the second half and got over 100 yards, but I'm not seeing enough from Brown. Michigan needs some touches from Shaw and maybe Cox in the next two week (Shaw is the speed back, Cox more of the power back). My thought is for the spread you need a guy to be able to break tackles to cut back or hit the middle. Brown seems to be having trouble with that.


4. Field Goals: I'm still spooked about field goals. Missing that short one all most cost Michigan the game.


5. Denard: Is too good not to be on the field. So is Tate. Michigan needs a back up QB and Denard is the guy. So the big question is: how do you get him on the field at a different position when he needs to learn to be a QB in this system? If he plays QB, he needs to throw to keep the D honest.


6. WR depth - Michigan has a bunch of wide receivers which is good because we seem to be losing one a game. Let's hope Stonum and Hemingway will be back this week.


7. QB Pressure - there wasn't any in the first half and Jimmy picked the Wolverines apart. This should probably be ranked higher in priorities, but Brandon Graham can't do it alone.
   
8. Stop the Run: The Michigan defensive line and linebackers need to stop the run. ND averaged over 5 yards per carry
9. More Cowbells in the stands!
   

More news and notes of interest:

• Was Allen out on the long TD screen pass that was over turned and cost ND 4 points?(the number they lost by) The answer is Yes! Good time Charlie on over turned call: "I still haven't heard anyone tell me there's any evidence of Armando stepping out of bounds," Weis said. "The way I thought the rule is supposed to be, it's supposed to be conclusive evidence. I'm perturbed at that call." Are you telling me Charlie doesn't read this blog? Well he should! :)

• Tate Forcier and Darryl Stonum were named Big 10 Players of the Week: Tate for offense, Darryl for special teams.
  


• Recruit and ND game visitor Aramide Olaniyan was impressed at what he saw at the Big House on Saturday: "This was way more amazing than I thought it would be. The fans were crazy, I couldn't believe it. This was the first place I've been that fans recognized me." - "I've never seen anything like that before. I went to a couple games last year, and this was crazy." - "I love Michigan, and that definitely exceeded my expectations."- "There's definitely some things I need to consider now. I don't want to say too much, but I need to sit down and discuss some things with my parents. I'm taking an official visit in December, and my parents will be there with me, so I want them to see what I just saw." per MgoBlog.

Michigan Football: Any Questions?

In a day where all of Michigan's rivals lost, it was nice to have the sun shining on the Wolverines for a change.

There were a number of questions answered on Saturday. I will give you my impression below:

• Tate Forcier is Michigan's QB


• Brandon Minor is Michigan's RB


• Michigan should have run the ball more in the first half


• Jimmy Clausen is a good QB but has trouble when he is rushed


• ND's Offensive Line is much improved


• Michigan State when Michigan State on Saturday


• Western Michigan is not as good as we thought


• Terrelle Pryor still needs to work leadership and other QB skills


• Ohio State's defense is really good again


• With the MSU loss, the Big Ten could of had a very bad day, but did it's part and won the games they should have.

What was nice to see during the game:

• Michigan's depth at WR


• Greg Robinson and RR both making the proper adjustments at halftime


• JT Floyd (who gave up the only TD last week) made the last tackle of the game


• The Noise is the Big House! It was jumping!


• Tate Forcier playing beyond his years
• Michigan's balanced offense


• The return of Brandon Minor


• A TD out of specials teams


• No fumbles and Tate's pick looked like a mistake from Matthews

What worries me:

• Tate is one good hit away from Michigan not having a passing game


• Michigan's depth at WR, safety, and cornerback


• The lack of QB pressure for the Michigan D in the first half


• The Michigan D gave up too many yards
• Missed field goal and not getting a touchdown on 1st and goal from the one.

All and all this was a wonderful win for the Wolverines. Something this program really needs. They now have to take care of business the next two weeks against Eastern Michigan and Indiana. Both games Michigan will be favored but as we remember there are no easy games and they will need to have similar focus that they have had for the first two weeks of the season.

• Michigan is now ranked #25 in the AP!

Michigan MASH Report: Hemingway "Doubtful"

Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the Big House for a Big Game................

Michigan released it's first NFL Style injury report on Thursday and Coach Rod spoke on his radio show.

Here is the MASH list:

Out:

Nader Furrha (shoulder)
Tim McAvoy (knee)
Fitzgerald Toussaint (shoulder)

Questionable:

Junior Hemingway (Ankle)

Probable:

Brandon Minor (Ankle)

The news got even worse on RR's radio show:

Regarding Junior (Michigan's top WR from WMU game who caught 2 TD's and had over 100 yards receiving), RR used the word doubtful:

"He's a big big-play guy for us, so we're hoping he can come back," Rodriguez said. "I don't know if he'll be ready this game. If not, hopefully the next game."

Regarding Minor:

"I don't know if he's 100 percent," Rodriguez said. "We'll see how he is in pre-game warm-up. If he's not limping around in pre-game we're going to play him."

This is bad news for the Wolverines on Saturday. Michigan needs both players and they might only have one or even none! They need Minor to run hard and Junior to stretch the field if they are going to beat a ranked Fighting Irish team on Saturday. Hello Roy Roundtree or JeRon Stokes?

Let's hope they heal quickly.

Also, Game captains for ND include: Kevin Grady, David Moosman, Tim North, and Stevie Brown.

Michigan vs Notre Dame Preview

Game Time: 3:30

Location: Big House

Line: ND -3

TV: ABC

Weather: 73 Partly Cloudy

This seems like an "old time" Michigan - ND match up. Both teams are 1-0 with a ton of media attention around this match up. I think the attention has more to do with the two head coaches but hey that's what sells on ESPN these days.

So on to this weeks match up.

Both teams played well last week against weaker opponents. The ND defense pitched a shut out and the Michigan D gave up one big play. Both offenses scored often and early and cruised in the second half with over 30 points total. So you can rack both of those victories up as a pre-season win. (I know both are good wins and wins are wins) The real season starts on Saturday.

If you look at head to head match ups, ND is the better team and the reason why they are ranked #18. They have a experienced QB, they have explosive WR's, and a defense that played well against Hawaii in the Bowl Game and Nevada last week. It's not a big mystery what we will see from ND on Saturday. They will run in between the tackles, throw long to the WR's, and try to win the turnover battle again.

If you just look at the match up's and stats, I would say this is a 10 point victory by ND.

What's interesting in this game is the intangibles:

• A Greg Robinson lead Syracuse team beating ND in South Bend last year.


• Goodtime Charlie being 2-2 against Michigan with two Michigan blowouts.


• ND being 3-9 in road openers since 1997


• 5 upsets in the last 7 games between these two teams

Both teams are feeling really good about themselves but only one team has to travel to Ann Arbor and play in the new louder Big House. That could be the difference in this game. I would like to look at last years game but it really don't make sense with Michigan's 6 turnovers.

BHB "keys" to the game:

• Clausen vs Michigan's CB's: ND will throw the long ball can Michigan's CB's cover them tight? Look for Justin Turner to make his debut in some role as a CB, since JT Floyd struggled against WMU.


• Mike Martin and Brandon Graham vs ND OL: Can these two guys get pressure on Jimmy? If ND wants to throw long, Jimmy will need time. (Jimmy likes his chicken spicy!) :)


• Can Michigan run the ball? Nevada averaged over 5 yards per carry. Michigan will need easy first downs on the ground.

Worry if:

• Boubacar is hurt and can't play


• Jimmy's jersey stays clean


• The FedEx duo starts acting like freshman QB's and turns the ball over


• Michigan for some reason can't hang on to the ball


• Sheridan takes his baseball hat off

Sing "Hail to the Victors" if:

• Brandon Graham is a regular in ND's backfield


• Junior Hemingway goes Mario Manningham from ND memories of past


• Greg Robinson's defense has some secret sauce for ND


• If Brandon Minor plays and has a Penn State type of day


• Michigan gets over 200 yards on the ground again


• No turnovers!!!!!

This is a very hard game to predict. ND for all intense and purposes has the more experienced team but gives up a number of yards on the ground. Michigan would love to run all day and only pass when the "Forcier is with them". Buckle up for this one..............

Michigan 28 ND 24

GO BLUE! and

God Bless America on 9/11!

Week 2 Big Ten Picks

First off, let's recap how I did last week.

10-1 with the only wrong prediction being the Syracuse - Minnesota game that went into overtime. Yea, I know the PSU vs Akron game isn't the hardest game in the world to pick.

Now on to week two where the schedule gets much harder for the Big Ten:

Top Game of the week:

USC at OSU: USC is taking a true freshman QB to C-BUS that looks like he just surfed off the beach and took time out of shooting "Saved By the Bell" to play QB at USC. He has never been in front of 100,000 fans that would rather shower him with beer then beat their beloved buckeyes. What is lost in this national story is that OSU has it's own young QB trying to find his throwing rhythm after a near meltdown against Navy. If OSU was going to beat USC this would be the year. They are playing at home and the true freshman could throw 3-5 picks and the Buckeyes could be in business. Ohio State is getting a touchdown at home. (I wonder when the last time that happened?). The national media is predicting a blow out again. I really see a closer game, with the OSU faithful holding their breath that they don't get embarrassed again by a top 5 team. USC will run the ball and we will see if the OSU offensive line can stop the USC rushers.
USC 31 OSU 27


The rest of the Big Ten:

Central Michigan at MSU: Poor Chips, they have a good team but have to play Arizona and Michigan State back to back. Central will give MSU a run for their money and will test MSU's defense. I think MSU will try to wear out Central's D with a power running game. CMU is getting 14.5 points in East Lansing. I look for this one to be closer then that. MSU 21 CMU 17


Western Michigan at IU: Western lost to Michigan last week and IU comes to the Big House in a couple of weeks. IU beat a directional school last week on Friday night and gets another one at home this Saturday. WMU didn't look very good against the maize and blue last week but did start to find a few things in the second half. Western is getting 1.5 on the road. WMU 24 IU 14


Syracuse at Penn State: Sure Greg Paulus looked decent last week but playing in Happy Valley will be a different story. PSU is much better then Syracuse even though Greg will make a play or two. Syracuse is getting 28.5 points on the road. PSU 40 Syracuse 10


Fresno State at Wisconsin: This is a difficult match up for Wisconsin if the Bulldogs have their offense flowing. The Badgers also had the Flu sweep through the team this week, so hopefully they are getting enough fluids. Fresno is getting 8.5 on the road and I think they can hang with Wisconsin most of the day but fall just short off a upset. Swine Flu 24 Bulldogs 21


Iowa at Iowa State: It seems Iowa is doing it's part for the Iowa economy by playing a bunch of teams in the great state of Iowa. Last week, Northern this week State. I'm not sold on the Hawkeyes after they had to block two field goals to save the game last week at home. Iowa is still favored in this one by 6.5. Iowa State 14 Iowa 10

Illinois State at Illinois: Zook and the boys were embarrassed last week by Mizzu. This week they take it out on State. There isn't a line on this game. Zook 48 ISU 14

Purdue at Oregon: Do the Ducks have a fighting chance in this one? The answer is yes! Purdue won last week and Oregon lost but Purdue is in trouble in this one. Big Ten teams don't play well when the travel West. Purdue is getting 12 points on the road. The Ducks 31 Purdue 7

Eastern Michigan at Northwestern: Ron English will get EMU turned around but it won't happen this year. Northwestern gets another easy one. EMU is getting 20 points. NW: 28 EMU 9

Air Force at Minnesota: The Gophers are opening their new "open air" stadium which will be rocking after an overtime win at Syracuse. They should have picked a better opponent to open the new stadium. The Air Force is for real and will give the Gophers all they can handle. Minnesota is giving 3 points. This could be a bad week for the Big Ten. AF 28 Minnesota 21.

Michigan - ND will be previewed on Friday. Go Blue!