Oregon Preview

Phil Knight as a Freshman 

Time: 3:30 

Location: Autzen Stadium 

Weather: 53 Light Rain 

TV: FS1 

Line: Oregon -10.5

Want to know how important this game is? Just look at the Network covering it.  FS1 will tell you all about this game before it even kicks off.  Ducks started the year in the top 5 but stumbled, got back up and won some good games.  Michigan started in the top 20 and has played like a drunk sailor the entire year on offense.  Oregon went into Columbus last week and gave the Buckeyes their last rights, lets hope they do the same to Coach Whittingham this weekend. 

Dear Michigan Fan Base, 

Yes, clearly Coach Whitt doesn't read this blog or do much of anything actually.  So I'm done writing to him.  He clearly doesn't want to understand Michigan Tradition or anything else related to Big Ten Football, in fact I'm not sure he understands he lives in Ann Arbor now and not in Utah. 

The Ducks have talent as they have unlimited NIL funds from Grandpa Phil Knight, the word on the street is the University was struggling all up and had to close dorms, etc.  Then the Nike man sent over a $1B check.  Kick save and a beauty! 

The Ducks lost their Michigan 5-star QB to a concussion early in the Big Ten season and he is done for the year (rightfully so, that was a dirty hit).  Then they were able to go to former Nebraska 5 star QB Dylan Raiola who flamed out there but has been waiting for his turn in Eugene.  He started well, played terrible, got benched, went back in and did a nice job.  So basically he is still Dylan Raiola.   

Michigan has one shot of winning this game and its on defense.  They have to pick Dylan off like 3 times and return two of them for TD's if Michigan is going to stay in the game and maybe win it.  

I have zero faith that the OC change will do any good, its too late in the season and should've been done like 4-6 weeks ago.  The other 5-star QB from Michigan will either be watching or taking a few snaps for the Wolverines.  I'm now leaning he probably should finish the year under center, as the off season is setting up to be a disaster if a quick move is not made with the current head coach. 

I guess Oregon has an outside shot still at the playoffs but don't know how the committee would justify the Illinois loss.  They are playing better and on an upswing.   They also have injuries and have played very inconsistent this year.  If we get the inconsistent Ducks and Dylan starts throwing the ball to the white jerseys, Michigan has a chance.  

The Michigan Defense is all we got left.  

Oregon 17 Michigan 3

Michigan Thursday: That is Better!

Michigan Basketball has played 3 games this season, but with the trip to Europe and the exhibition season, it seems like we have seen them play a ton of games.   None of them have been impressive so far until last night.  Marquette was not good last year but Shaka Smart knows how to coach basketball and has rebuilt this basketball team, even though he has flamed out at a number of places.  

Michigan finally used their bigs and mixed in good 3 point shooting to put the Big East team away.  This type of balanced scoring will win the Wolverines a lot of games this season:

Estrella 18

Cadeau 17

McKenney 15

Costello 15

Thiam 9 

Gayle 7 

Michigan did better on defense and rebounding in this game.  They also stopped the dumb fouls.  Still they seem to struggle to get open shots in the half court offense and will need to work the pick and roll to Thiam better as it was still pretty shaky.  Michigan got up comfortably in the 2nd half by 20 points then gave half of it away before turning it on again and knocking out Marquette.  

I still haven't got a 30 minute performance from McKenny where his offense is consistent. Costello is a knock down shooter and I'm excited to see how his game develops.   If Michigan can get there and Gayle stops dribbling off his knee, they are going to be tough to beat and should be in every game.  

Michigan won the match-up between Jordan schools with similar colorways 84-70.

Please see the post below for the Big Ten Weekend Match-ups if your so inclined. 

Big Ten Weekend Preview Week 11

This has been a very strange year for the Big Ten, currently it only has two ranked teams in the top 10 and its #9 Indiana and #4 UCLA.   Neither team has looked unstoppable this year.   This week there are no match-ups to get excited. 

Friday Night:

Illinois @ UCLA (-10):  The Bruins who have one good win over Oregon and a lot of Purdue type wins, will face another non-descript Big Ten.   The game will be close for a half and then UCLA will pull away.  UCLA 28 Illinois 14 

Saturday:

Northwestern @ OSU (-14):  There was some hope that the Wildcats might have something this year and then they didn't.  Ohio State is not going to lose 3 games in a row.  OSU 31 NW 20 

Wisconsin (-8.5) @ Maryland:  I would like to give you a reason to watch this game.  But I got nothing.  Wisconsin 24 Maryland 10 

Nebraska (-14.5) @ Rutgers:  Will Nebraska make a Bowl Game?  Wow, what an accomplishment!  I don't know how the Cornhusker fans live with this type of football.  I'm out of my mind as a Michigan fan this year.  Nebraska 20 Rutgers 17 

USC @ IU (-10):  This is an interesting game, as Lincoln Riley fights for his career in LA and IU continues to sneak into the playoffs.  USC traditionally does not travel East well but has shown sparks this year.  IU 21 USC 20 

Washington (-3.5) @ MSU:  Sparty has had a good week.  They won their Super Bowl over the down Wolverines on Saturday and this week the Basketball team beat Duke.  Time for a let down.  Wash 31 MSU 21 

Minnesota @ Penn State (-9.5):  The Golden Gophers almost row the boat every year but it always has holes in it and sinks.  Penn State is Iowa State.  Both teams 5-4.  Penn State 13 Minnesota 10 

Purdue @ Iowa (-17.5):  This is the NBC Night Game.  What a joke.  Iowa 31 Purdue 17 

Wolverine Wednesday: It Doesn't Seem Like Its Getting Any Better

Since today is Veterans Day, I want to thank all the BHB readers that served our country.  My father and my grandfather served, its the greatest of all honors and Thank You for your service! 

Kyle Whittingham was hired to bring stability and quiet excellence to Ann Arbor.  The Wolverine program has seen great heights in recent times but that came with an assortment of off the field issues.  Michigan fired Sherrone Moore very late in the off season coaching search cycle and there weren't many options for the Wolverines to choose from.  

Kyle won the off season but very little after that.  His offense is the worst in the country and he looks completely disconnected from his team and staff during game days.  Most of the time his mic on his headset is pointed towards the sky.   He looks like a coaching zombie roaming the sidelines.  

Kyle fired his OC on Sunday and now the news continues to get worse as Nate Marshall has been suspended from the team.  Is Kyle now losing the locker room?  There is also some concern with Jim Harding and the Sprague situation.  

Michigan on Saturday faces a hot Oregon team that also went through issues this season, but has seemingly come out the other side.  Many Big 10 teams struggle when making such a long trip West and even though Michigan has a solid defense, they are not really expected to score against the Ducks and currently a 11.5 dog. 

So the road filled with gold and roses into retirement continues to look more like a long walk on a short bridge.  The game has based him bye and Utah knew it and Michigan will pay millions to come to that same conclusion. 

Thank goodness basketball season is here!  They take on Marquette at Crisler at 7:00.

• So Sparty is having a good week. Wolverines go down on Saturday and Duke on Tuesday. 

• Rutgers who can't afford any type of buyout will continue on with Greg Schiano next season.  Lucky them!