Michigan Tuesday: Ring That Bell Again!

Ronnie Bell has been a very good WR for Michigan.  His career started out a bit rough as he continued to make his switch from basketball to football.  He dropped a TD on a 4th down in Happy Valley during a Michigan come back and the fan base wasn't really happy.   That is all water under the bridge as Ronnie has become a 2-time captain and a leader of the Big Ten Champions.  

Ronnie looked like an All American WR against WMU last August before he tore his ACL and worked all season and all summer to be ready for the start of 2022 season.   Ronnie is back and has 35 catches for 429 yards and 1 TD this season.  

As all Michigan Captains should, Ronnie is active in recruiting and hosted a 2023 3-star athtlete from KC this past weekend.  His name is Kendrick Bell and the newest Wolverine commit.  You might recognize the last name. 

Kedrick plays QB in high school but probably won't in Ann Arbor, he is 6'3 and 180 pounds right now.  Just like his brother, he is under the radar and will need Michgian's S&C team right away before he sees the field at a new position.  His only other offers are from Don Brown at UMass and Northern Iowa.  

I could care less what his ranking is or who has offered, I just love that this is the right thing to do and Harbaugh and staff did it.  Welcome to your new home Kendrick!  I wonder if your brother will stick around another year and welcome you?

• The MSU game as expected will be a night game on ABC.  That weekend has some really bad match-ups and ABC went with a game that they know will bring the Michigan fans to watch.  

• Once the game was announced MSU Football twitter, showed a graphic with MSU playing an upside down M.  Fans started to thank them for giving Michigan the W so early and they took the tweet down in a matter of minutes.  

• Michigan Basketball is ranked #22 to start the season, which seems like a fair ranking.

• Ohio State is favored by 29 over Iowa this weekend.  Iowa still has a good defense, right?

• PSU is hosting Minnesota on ABC Primetime and is a 4.5 favorite

Colorado State Preview

Cam the Ram YouTube

Time: Noon 

Location: Big House

Weather: 83 Sunny

TV: ABC (Mark Jones & RG3)

Line: Michigan -30.5

The Rock Band Journy released a song in July of 1981 called "Who's crying now".  The first part of the lyrics go as follows:

It's been a mystery 

And still they try to see

Why something good can hurt so bad

There isn't much mystery with Michigan Football this year.  The offense and special teams are stacked with playmakers and All Americans.   Michigan not only has 1 good QB, they have 2.   There are some questions marks at DE and LB after loses to the NFL but Michigan just plucked a former 5 star out of the portal weeks ago.  Michigan has all the signs of a very good football team that should be able to compete at the highest levels. 

Colorado State is just the opposite with 59 new players and a completely new coaching staff.  Jay Norvell came over from Nevada and brought in some of his former players and pulled guys out of the portal to run his Air Raid Offense.  Clay Millen was the back-up QB at Nevada last year as a true freshman and transferred to CSU with Norvell.  He is a red-shirt freshman now and will make his first start in the Big House.  Norvell also brought with him 2 WR's from Nevada in Horton and Stovall.  So the offense might not have as many growing pains as we thought, they are just running the Norvell's system at Nevada.

Dear Jimmy, 

It's been about 9 months since my last letter.  I thought about stopping these but let's face it, they worked last year.   You have your best team that you've had at Michigan.   You have depth, talent, and speed.  It seems speed is something that has been lacking in Ann Arbor for many years and this team has it.   You've done a nice job in the portal and this team is primed to be contender again for another Big Ten Championship.    Managing the expectations might be a bit of a problem, but I assume you continue to let this team know that they haven't accomplished anything yet.   That starts on Saturday at noon.

You know I like stories and I will remind you of the last time a Michigan team entered the season within the top 10 and came away with a crushing loss.  I know you weren't the Michigan coach and that was another time, but the lesson is still valid.  Never underestimate your opponent and always be ready to play.   CSU is a mystery wrapped in a riddle with a high-powered offense.  You have no idea what to expect and the new defense personnel will be tested and tested often.  I expect to see a ton of Will Johnson on the field against the Air Raid.   You will also need to pressure the daylights out of the freshman QB. 

You have a great punter but I don't expect to see him at any point during the game.  Score TD's, rush the passer, and defend the pass and you'll be in good shape.  Play Michigan Football and make sure the team is prepared physically and mentally to win.  If you do those things, you will have the outcome you want.   Go Blue and welcome back to the Big House as Big Ten Champions.   

Michigan 51 CSU 17

Wolverine Wednesday: 2 Good and 1 Bad

Let's start with the bad, as the Wolverines lost to Seton Hall last night on bad defense and poor outside shooting.   First off, lets not over react because this is a young team and still trying to jell.   If you remember, Michigan had a head scratcher against Oakland last season.  

With that said, this team has more to over come and needs to find some offense when Hunter is off the floor.   

Houstan is a true freshman and will have nights like last night.   He needs to work on his defense. 

Jones so far is a disappointment to me, I expected a player with high basketball IQ, playmaking, and a scorer that could get 20 if the team needed it.   I'm starting to believe Michigan should go to Zeb (when healthy) and Kobe instead.  Play the young guys.  

Johns is back to playing without any confidence and making too many mistakes.  He needs to be coming off the bench.  

Brooks has to be Livers and needs to score more.  He shot more last night which was a positive.  

Hunter is an All American and right now is Michigan's only offensive option. 

So lots of the above is fixable, the problem is the only shooters in the bunch are Brooks and Houstan.   Where is Michigan going to find outside shooting?  Zeb?  Its a real problem.  Good thing Juwan and team have plenty of time to figure it out. 

Ok, lets turn the page to the good! 

• Juwan signed a 5 year extension and should be Michigan's coach for a long time!    

• Michigan Football gets a 4 star LB in Jimmy Rolder from Chicago! 

Jimmy is the classic late rising senior LB that was under recruited because of COVID.   He didn't get his first offer until September and then they started rolling in from the likes of:  Michigan, OSU, Wisconsin, LSU, Florida, Purdue, Iowa, Minnesota, and more.   That is quite the land slide of offers as Jimmy climbed the rankings.  Right now on 24/7 composite he is the 35th LB in the country. 

Jimmy visited Ann Arbor for the Northwestern game and came away impressed and committed last night.   

“It was a fantastic experience,” his father told The Michigan Insider's Brice Marich coming out of the visit. “It is within three or three and a half hours of our home. We got up there and got to meet with Jim Harbaugh, Coach Mike Macdonald and Coach George Helow before the game and after the game, which was pretty special. They took us on a nice campus tour, saw the facilities and some of Jimmy’s friends go to school up there, so we were able to visit with them and we got a win over Northwestern, which was just great. I think Jimmy was impressed with all the things he was looking for in meeting the coaching staff and players. The facilities are top notch. He really likes the way they play defense and we got a chance to review Michigan film with Coach Macdonald and Coach Helow and he loved it. He’s going around visiting schools and this all came on in a fury. He just got another offer from Wisconsin, so his head is spinning right now."

Michigan needed a LB and are really high on Rolder who is 6'2 and 222 already.   This is not a late throw in type of offer, this is a guy Michigan would of been recruiting for a year if they would have known about him.  

• Michigan still #6 in the CFP rankings

• Nearly 6 Million people watched the Michigan - PSU game, which is the highest afternoon rated game on ABC this season. 

Michigan Tuesday: Aidan Hutchinson is The BIG10 Defensive Player of The Week

Aidan Hutchinson's performance on Saturday earned him the BIG10 defensive player of the week award.  He had 6 tackles (2.5 TFL's), 1 Sack, 1 Forced Fumble and his unit gave up 1 rushing yard.   Don Brown also said on the radio, he has/had an upper body injury last week, which didn't slow him down a bit.  The biggest oversight was by me not including Aidan in Sunday's "Cheers" section.  I'm sure he was crushed and will take it out on Illinois this weekend.  :)

Will Aidan get to chase his former room-mate on Saturday Brandon Peters?  We still don't know, as Brandon left during the first half of last Saturday's game with a concussion.  My guess is that Brandon doesn't play on Saturday, but that is purely just my speculation.

• Jimmy didn't have an update on the status on McCaffrey or Paye's injuries. 

• I wouldn't be surprised if Dylan is 100% healthy on Saturday that he gets the start.  Again, speculation. 

• Have you been wondering which former Wolverines are in the XFL Draft?  Nope, me either but here it is anyways:  Stribling, Isaac, Edwards, and Logan Tulley-Tillman.   Good luck to them! 

• ABC has confirmed the PSU 7:30 kick

Big Ten Weekend Preview

We now get into a full Big Ten schedule for the first time this season with 5 Big Ten games and 10 Big ten teams.  It should be some interesting games with maybe the best match-up in the country with the ABC primetime game. 


Big Ten Game of the Week

OSU at Northwestern:  OSU will be playing 8:00 game 3 out of 4 weeks and just came off a nice win over Wisconsin at the shoe last week.   Northwestern has played well so far this season and gets to host the Buckeyes in Primetime.   Northwestern has some playmakers but the key will be can their defense stop Ohio State's offense with Braxton Miller back playing well.   I believe this is a shoot-out waiting to happen as both defenses will struggle to stop the other team from scoring.   Ohio State is a TD favorite in this one.   Urban Meyer has to lose at some point but will it be this week?  After this game, the Buckeyes have pretty much a cake walk until they hit A2.   OSU 42 Northwestern 31


The rest of the games:

Penn State at Indiana:  Penn State is 16-0 against IU.   The last time the Nittnay Lions were due to play in Bloomington, Indiana sold the game to JFK (do they still call it that?) in Washington D.C. so they could make a few extra dollars on the Penn State fans close by.    I think Penn State is a solid football team with limited talent and depth.   I expect they will give the Wolverines fits next weekend.   PSU is only a 3.5 favorite in this one.  I guess we will see how explosive IU's offense really is, Penn State did struggle with Central Florida a few weeks ago.    Penn State 28 IU 17

Iowa at Michigan State:  This should be a pretty good game.  Iowa looks like they are finally on the way back of being a respectable Big Ten team again and MSU still doesn't have many answers on offense but has one of the nations best defenses.   I'm not sure if either team can score in this one. 
This game is close to a "pick em" as MSU is a -1.     Michigan State 10 Iowa 7


Illinois at Nebraska:  This is another interesting one for you.  I'm not sure what either one of these teams are yet.   They both have losses to PAC 12 teams that made each team look pretty bad.    Illinois is on their way back, but really hasn't beaten a good team yet.  Which makes them either Iowa or Minnesota.   Nebraska has been struggling on defense and Bo Pelini has been struggling on and off the field.  If Nebraska starts to nose dive, look for Bo Pelini to get the Lane Kiffin treatment.   The line is higher then I expected with Nebraska a -8.5 favorite.   Which mean Vegas thinks Illinois just played a poor schedule and isn't quite back yet.  I think this game will be a bit closer then 8.5.   Nebraska 28 Illinois 23


Wisconsin and Purdue are off.   As you know, The battle for the Little Brown Jug will be previewed Friday morning.

Big Ten Weekend Preview

Your first reaction, might be what the heck is going on this weekend?  How can there be 4 games with Big Ten games in it?  Why is Illinois and Purdue still playing non-conference games?

There is two reasons for a ton of byes this week.  First and foremost this is the reaction to a number of years ago when it was clear the other conferences were still playing and the Big Ten was home watching and everyone was forgetting about the league.    So the Big Ten made sure they are still playing after Thanksgiving which equals a late September bye.    In the future, this will probably be the spot for the 9th Big Ten game.


Big Ten Game of the Week

Wisconsin at Ohio State:  It's really hard to tell what either of these teams are.   They both have played a bunch of "body bag" games and they both traveled to average to poor PAC 12 teams.   Wisconsin lost when the PAC 12 referees started their 3 Stooges performance.  OSU just rolled CAL and didn't look back.  Both programs have new coaches, Urban was with Ohio State last year but didn't get to play past the Michigan game because "they were bad".   I'm sorry but I couldn't pick the Wisconsin coach out of a line up. 

Ohio State can't decided with QB to play and might play two.  One guy rolled all the dead bodies and the other is a bit banged up but has big game experience.   Doesn't seem like there is a bad choice here.  Both teams will want to run to win and we know Urban will take some deep shots.   Playing is the Shoe is the big difference as the Buckeyes are a 7 point favorite.  This game score will look closer then it really is and OSU will control the game.  OSU 24  Wisconsin 14 (ABC 8:00)


Iowa at Minnesota:  Talk about not knowing either team?  Minnesota continues to be concerned with their head coaches health but continues to win.  Iowa on the other hand, starts the year with a loss to a good Northern Illinois team at home and then scores 59 points against Western Michigan last weekend.   Minnesota's hallmark win so far this year is over UNLV.  So who knows?  Hopefully, the Michigan coaches will be watching this game closely because they have Minnesota next week and travel to Iowa later in the year.  This game barley has a line with Iowa -1.   Iowa 20 Minnesota 17 (ABC/ESPN2 3:30)


Miami, Ohio at Illinois:  This is a strange game as it feels we should all be playing Big Ten football now.  Illinois is coming off the loss to UCLA and is a 25 favorite.   Illinois 41 Miami, OH 10 (Noon BTN)

Northern Illinois at Purdue:  Remember that good team I spoke about beating Iowa?  Well, they get a chance to get another win against a Big Ten team this weekend.  They are even favored on the road!  Yes, a MAC Team is favored at a Big Ten school, Northern Illinois is -3.5.  Purdue played well against ND but it looks like ND might be headed to a 3 or 4 loss season..   I would assume the Boilermakers are getting better and will make this a game.  Northern Illinois 28 Purdue 21 (Noon BTN)

Michigan Tuesday: News and Notes

Since we are on a bye week, not much of any news is being generated on the Wolverines.   So today, I will give you a potpourri of topics:

• Game time is set for the Michigan - Minnesota game in two weeks:  3:30pm on ABC or ESPN2.  The Golden Gophers have Iowa this week at home. 

• This is an odd week for Big Ten schools it seems there are only 4 Big Ten games with 6 Big Ten teams playing.

• Ohio State gets to host Wisconsin at 8:00 on ABC on Saturday, next week they will be at Northwestern again on ABC at 8:00.  We will see what OSU has the next two weeks.

• Michigan has dropped from #2 to #4 in ESPN's Big Ten Power Rankings.

• Mitch McGary was named on the first team USA Today Pre-Season All American Team.

• Denard averaged 27 yards on his two kick off returns last week.  He fumbled one wildcat carry and was hit for -2 in his other carry.   He has had a total of 4 carries for a total of -1 yard in 3 games.  Since they are 0-3 you might want to give him a few more shots. 

Game Day Deep Thoughts

 

Tec clearly has the size advantage over the Huskies this week! 

 

 

 

Memo to the Wolverines:  Do what you did 2 weeks ago not last week. 

 

 

Other things to watch tonight:

• Good Devin vs. Evil Devin
• Is Fitz following his FB?
• Hello Dileo and Jehu are you open?
• Can Michigan pressure the QB without Wreck it Ryan?
• Who is playing on the Dline?
• Are our safeties still playing 40 yards off the ball?
• Can Michigan play well on the road?  (Penn State trip is not that far off)
• When is Peppers getting here?  Will he be at the game? Who is going to be our #2 or #3 CB?
• Will the sold out crowd and UConn's biggest game of the year effect the young Wolverines?
• Jake Butt will get a TD
• Gallon loves the bright lights of a night game and it's the 21st of September (which has to be a good sign).

UConn Preview

Time: 8:00 PM
Location: Rentschler Field
Weather: Mid-high 60's 10% rain
TV: ABC Regional
Line:  Michigan -17.5


This has seemed like a very long week after that debacle last weekend.  Michigan can make everyone forget the Akron game with a good turnover free outing in Connecticut on Saturday night.  Being on semi-national TV, coming off the Akron letdown and a night game should wake up the Wolverines and get them to play some decent football.  

A couple unique facts for this game:  UConn expects over 42,000 fans which would be a record for the University.  That is like three sections at the Big House.   Michigan hasn't played in a stadium this small since they visited BC in 2007.    UConn's AD Warde Manuel played DB at Michigan in the 80's.  (Warde this is a better basketball game then a football game - give us a call for a home and home with the B-Ball Team, that was fun a few years ago and we are better now)


Tale of the Tape:

UConn's Running Game vs. Michigan's Dline = Michigan (UConn averages 57 yards rushing a game)
Devin Gardner ND vs. Devin Gardner Akron =  A Smarter Devin
Michigan Road Team vs. Michigan Home Team = Advantage UConn
Michigan's running game vs. UConn's DLine & LB = UConn
Night Game vs. Day Game = Push
Need a Win = Push

UConn has a decent DLine and LB Yawin Smallwood is leading the nation in tackles per game.   Michigan should still be able to run if they learned anything from last week.  If they didn't, UConn will try to steal the game by stopping Fitz. 

Both teams need a win as Michigan is coming off an embarrassing win against Akron and UConn is 0-2 on the season and their coach Paul Pasqualoni who is failing at UConn and failed at Syracuse is squarely on the hot seat.   Michigan doesn't play well on the road and UConn has nothing to lose, which could equal a closer game then expected.  

The only issue is that Michigan might of had their letdown game last week and traveling for the first time and now understanding the thin line between winning and losing should have them focused for the Huskies.

Sing Hail to the Victors if...............................

• Devin protects the ball at all times
• Fitz finds that 100 yard Mendoza line
• Gallon has another big night game
• Avery is back and playing well at CB
• The defense has 3 sacks and gives up 1 TD

UCan't Stop the Huskies if...................

• If they wear Akron's jerseys
• They throw everything at the Wolverines and their not prepared
• Michigan starts turning the ball over again and again
• Michigan can't run the ball
• The defense is bending and breaking

I expect some changes this week in the starting lineup.  I expect we will see more Willy Henry, Q Washington/Pewee on the D-line.  My gut tells me they don't mess too much with the offensive line unless there are some very bad breakdowns.  GMat has to figure out Michigan's defensive backfield.  Jarrod Wilson has been playing well but the "other CB" is getting killed when The Count moves to Nickel.  Avery could fill that role if he is healthy. 

It really comes down to which Devin Gardner shows up a 8:00 PM.   He has the ability to win or lose a game by himself.   If he stays clean with turnovers, Michigan should win by a nice margin.  If Fitz has trouble finding holes and Devin makes poor decision, this game could go down to the wire.  

Here are some hints if Gallon is double teamed:

• Throw it to Dileo!
• Throw it to a TE!
• Nobody ever covers Fitz out of the backfield on passing downs
• Run!

Lewan, Fitz and Gardner understand what happened last week and won't let it happen again.   Michigan has a bye next week and they don't want to think about a loss after a bad game for the next two weeks.   The Wolverines are focused and will play well.  Starters need work and will play the entire game.

Michigan 31 UConn 13


GO BLUE!

ABC Viewing Map for the Michigan Game

If you live in the aqua section, I guess it's the Watch ESPN app for you this weekend.

The Game Preview

Time: Noon
Location: Horseshoe
Weather:  36 partly cloudy
TV: ABC
Line: Michigan +3.5
On the line:  Respect

Michigan has found a new offense under Devin Gardner after Denard Robinson went down in the Nebraska game.   Last week both QB's were under center and tore through Iowa's defense like a knife through hot butter.   Denard is reportedly "healthy" which means he will play but we still don't know if he can throw or not.   Iowa and Nebraska play in a few hours to decide if Michigan has a second chance to get into the title game with a win in C-Bus.  Michigan fans are not holding their breathe on that one.

Ohio State's year has been "unique" to say the least.  They started the season knowing they were playing for pride because their former coached lied to the NCAA and kept ineligible players on the field.   They have played a weak schedule and sometimes looked really good and other times pretty bad in going undefeated to-date.  OSU's offense is Braxton Miller and a battering ram in Carlos Hyde.   Michigan had trouble with Braxton last year and he is a better QB now with another year experience and playing under Urban Meyer.    OSU's defense has been a bit banged up as they have recently moved their starting FB (Boren) to LB but this unit has played well as a whole and kept OSU in games when their offense has sputtered.  OSU's President and AD were lucky enough that Jim Tressel didn't fire them, so they decided to play in a meaningless bowl game last year and missed out on a chance to play in the BCS NC game against ND this year.

This is the first match-up between Brady Hoke and Urban Meyer for many years to come, unless Urban jumps to another job in 3 or 4 years. 

Tale of the Tape

Michigan D vs. Braxton Miller = BM

Devin and Denard vs. OSU LB's & DB's = Double D

OSU's O Line vs. Michigan's D line = Push

Michigan's Oline vs. OSU Dline = Big Edge Ohio

Michigan's #1 Pass D vs. Braxton Millers Arm = a Ton of Play Action


Which team can stop the other's QB from running?  That might be the difference in the game.  If the game isn't too big for Devin and he can continue to throw accurate passes, he could be a big factor.


Tek Fear Factor = 5 out of 5 Bones 

Ready for a lunch time snack!

It's a shame that there isn't a championship on the line when these two teams meet, but there is still plenty to play for.  Michigan with a win could have an outside shot at back to back BCS Bowls and OSU would like to go 12-0 in Urban's first season.  OSU fans pretty much don't care about the 11 games before this one, they just want a win against the Maize and Blue.

photo

Sing Hail to the Victors if..............

• Mattison has a way to stop a mobile QB
• Big Al continues his creativity vision quest into his brain
• D&D at QB confuses the Ohio State defense
• Michigan scores a lot of points on offense
• Wins the turnover battle

Say this Urban re-development just sucks if.......................

• Braxton Miller is considered a Heisman front runner after the game
• The stage/spotlight is too bright for a number of the Wolverines
• Michigan's defense struggles like they did against Air Force and Northwestern
• OSU plays over their head like they do against Michigan every year
• Michigan clearly misses Fitz on offense

This is one of those head and heart games for me.   I have watched both teams enough to make a pretty good educated decision and I hate my conclusion.   Here is my frame of reference:  Michigan does not play well on the road against good teams,  Big Al has not come up with a good game plan to beat a solid defense in his 2 years at Michigan, the game is in C-Bus and Greg Mattison's unit has struggled against two very good mobile QB's this year.   Braxton Miller is the best one they have seen (outside of practice).

With Denard not 100% (I know what they said this week, he is not 100%) this could be a long day without a potential game breaker like Fitz in the backfield.   Biakabutuka won't be in uniform on Saturday.  I hope there is some Michigan Magic on Saturday.  It has been a long time since we have had an upset in this series. 

Wolverines to Watch: Big Games are for Big Time Players!

Offense: Denard "Running" Robinson and Devin "Air Raid" Gardner.  Does Rountree have another big game in him?  The answer is Yes!

Defense:  The Ohio Boys:  Kovacs and Ryan. 

Michigan 14 Ohio 27 


GO BLUE!

Big Ten Weekend Preview

So we have three decent games this weekend and one includes Indiana!  I know, that's crazy. 

Let's get to it.

Big Ten Game of the Week

Wisconsin at Indiana (Wisc. -7):  So Michigan - NW is a better match up (so is PSU/Neb) but we all know that will be previewed here on Friday morning.   We are going to preview the Leaders Division championship game (not really, I don't expect IU to win anymore games this year - maybe Purdue?).

When can you say IU has played a game with Big Ten Championship implications in November?  Ever?  Anytime in the last 20 years?  I doubt it.   They do on Saturday against Wisconsin in Bloomington.   Well, let's all take a break.  IU is not going to win this game and will come back to earth.  Wisconsin has a new QB but they will run and run some more.   Wisconsin 28  IU 17

Minnesota at Illinois (Minn -3.5):  Please don't watch this game if enjoy good football.  Enough said.  Minnesota 21 Illinois 14

Purdue at Iowa: (Iowa -5) This game looked like a good match-up before the Big Ten season started.  Now not so much.  Purdue continues to lose (Danny) Hope.   Iowa 20 Purdue 10

Penn State at Nebraska (Neb -7.5):  This is a better game then Wisconsin at IU but since Penn State is only playing for pride, I gave the other game the HUGE honor of the Big 10 Game of the Week.   It's a big deal!  Penn State is also playing for about a million Michigan fans.  Michigan needs a Nebraska loss or a couple losses from here on out to make the championship game in Indy.  Nebraska has been playing the luck of "Denard" because Denard Robinson went out with a injury during their game and was replaced by a kid that had more picks then completions.  Then last week down 10 points in the 4th quarter to MSU there was a terrible pass interference call against Darqueze Dennard that allowed Nebraska to get the game winning touchdown.   If PSU doesn't have any Denard's they might win this game (they don't).   To be honest, I'm not sold on either team.  I can't get past that OSU put over 60 on Nebraska and that Penn State lost to Ohio.  Nebraska has confidence at home and that will be the difference.  Nebraska 31 PSU 21


OSU and MSU are both off


Big Ten games you should watch:

Noon:  NW at Michigan  ESPN
3:30: Penn State at Nebraska ABC

Big Ten Weekend Preview

For the second week in a row the Wolverines are playing in the best Big Ten game of the week.   As you know, that game will be previewed on Friday morning.

Let's take a look at the rest of the games:

Indiana at Illinois (Ill. -2):  Neither of these teams are any good but Indiana has been playing better of late.  IU pulls the upset:  IU 41 Ill. 28


Iowa at Northwestern (NW -6):    Northwestern has two Big Ten loses and Iowa has one after getting blown out by Penn State at home last week.   Northwestern plays pretty well at home. 
NW 28 Iowa 21

Purdue at Minnesota (Pur -3.5):  I haven't seen Minnesota play at all this year.  Purdue took OSU to OT in Columbus last week.  If they have the same effort this week, they should win easy.  Purdue 24 Minn 14

MSU at Wisconsin (Wisc -6):  How about State's Big Ten schedule: OSU, IU, Iowa, Michigan, Wisc, Nebraska, NW and Minnesota.   State has either lost or was close to losing all these Big Ten games so far.   Now they travel to Madison and have Nebraska in East Lansing next week.   State just doesn't have enough offense.  Side note: Is there 2 more wins for MSU to get to a Bowl game? Wisconsin 18 MSU 13

Ohio State at Penn State (No line):  The NCAA Probation Bowl.  Neither team is allowed to play in the post season and both teams are un-defeated in league play.    These are two very strange teams.   OSU was taken to OT by a very poor Purdue team last week in Columbus and Penn State has lost to another Ohio (Ohio U) team already in Happy Valley, but they blew out Iowa last week.    Ohio State has not played good football for a couple weeks now, Penn State is getting better week by week.   Penn State 24 OSU 21


Games to Watch:

3:30:  MSU at Wisconsin  ABC
5:30: OSU at Penn State ESPN
8:00:  Michigan at Nebraska  ESPN2

How about a good Noon game Big Ten?

Big Ten Preview and Picks Week 7

This week there are 2 Big Ten Teams with a bye (Penn State and Northwestern) and another one playing an out of conference game.   A pretty strange week for the Big Ten that does have some headline games.


Big Ten Game of the Week

#1 Ohio State at #18 Wisconsin:  In my pre-season prediction I picked Wisconsin in this match up, they dominated the game in Columbus last year but gave up 3 non-traditional touchdowns on pick 6 and 2 touchdowns on special teams.  (Can you really dominate a game that you were blown out in?  Probably not).  The Wisconsin crowd will be "jumping all around" and we be ready for a 7:00 EST kick off.  Pryor struggled the last time he was in Madison but did lead a last minute drive for the win.  Like, I mentioned before I liked Wisconsin before their trip to East Lansing.   OSU did struggle on the road against a all of a sudden not terrible Illinois team.    The Buckeyes are a 3.5 favorite on the road.  This is a coin flip game for me and one that "the Vest" doesn't seem to lose.  OSU 24  Wisc 21


The Rest of the Big 10...............

Arkansas State at Indiana:  IU got brought back to earth last Saturday with their trip to C-BUS.  IU's quick start now as 2 loses in a row.  Well time to relax, sit back and watch IU beat Arkansas State on Saturday.   Well, Arkansas State can play a little bit of football and played Louisville with in 10 points a couple of weeks ago.  IU is only a 11.5 favorite.  Still IU will throw and throw often:  IU 32  Ark State 17

Minnesota at Purdue:  Somehow Purdue won last week when their official mascot got changed from a Train or a Big Drum to Perry. 

I guess Perry can play some football and Purdue beat a decent Northwestern team last week.  I didn't see the game and not sure how that happened.  Minnesota comes to town with the title of the worst team in the Big Ten with an overall record of 1-5.  If Perry comes to play, I think Purdue can win this game.  If Perry is out with a second ACL, Tim Brewster and crew can finally get a Big Ten win.   Purdue is favored by 5.5 this week (what is with all the 1/2 points this week?).   Purdue 21 Minnesota 20


Illinois at Michigan State:  Who are these teams?  The Spartans are talking Rose Bowl after wins over Wisconsin and Michigan.  Illinois is talking Pizza Bowl after playing well against Ohio State and beating Penn State on the road.  To quote Lombardi, "What the hell is going on out there?"  The Spartans are projected to be #10 in the BCS ranking when they come out on Sunday.   So 2 of Michigan rivals could be in the top 10 of the BCS rankings.  Sorry, I need to use the rest room for a second.  My breakfast bagel isn't sitting well after writing that.  How about Purdue's new Mascot - Perry?

Sorry, where were we?  Got ya, thanks.  Michigan State historically has had a let down after playing Michigan.  Usually it's against Northwestern.  I have a weird feeling about this game (maybe it's the breakfast bagel?) that maybe Illinois could pretend they are in the Big House and upset the Spartans.  MSU is only favored by a touchdown so Vegas isn't sold that the Spartans will run away with this game either.  Are these the new Spartans?  MSU 27 Illinois 17



Thought for the day:  You could make a case for either team in all the "conference" games this week.  All the lines in the head to head Big Ten match ups are under a touchdown.  Could be an interesting weekend. 


I will of course preview the Michigan - Iowa game on Friday.

Big Ten Fans Need a Couple TV's

Jim Delany, The Commissioner of the Big Ten has been the mad scientist lately.  His Big Ten Network turned out to be a huge success, he is bringing in Nebraska next year, he un-veiled the Big Ten Divisions without any fan base getting their nose bent out of shape, and will introduce a Big Ten Championship game in December 2011. 

Ohio State is playing well, Iowa will compete with them for a Big Ten Championship, Wisconsin is tough, and Michigan might be on the road back from two years in the graveyard.

Things are pretty close to perfect, right?  Wrong. 

Somehow this weekend, the Big Ten and the TV networks messed up and will split the national viewers for the Big Ten's 2 of 3 premier games this weekend. 

Michigan vs ND at 3:30 Eastern on NBC
Miami vs Ohio State at 3:30 on ESPN.

The third premier Big Ten game: Penn State vs Alabama will start at 7:00 following the Ohio State game.  To top it off the Florida State vs Oklahoma game is also at 3:30. 

How did Jim Delany let this happen?  If you had to, make the Miami/OSU game at 12:00.  So Big Ten fans could watch all 3 games.  I know TV/Money always get the last and final vote, but it seems to me 3:30 on Saturday is a Big Loss for Big Ten fans. 

Some might wonder why Miami vs Ohio State is not the ABC Saturday Night Game of the Week?  Becuase they are showing Nascar instead. 

Wolverine Wednesday: Time to Get Back to Football

Remember when I mentioned if you had a day to read the Michigan information dump yesterday on the investigation?  Well, Brian from mgoblog the gold standard in Michigan Blogs did.   His findings were amazing. 

To summarize them:

• Michigan's tracking process as been broken for a long time.  Even before Rodriguez got hired.
• There was clearly two athletic department personnel responsible for the bottleneck.   They both were clearly asleep at the wheel.
• The Michigan compliance department was actually doing it's job, they just were using a feather instead of a hammer when requesting lost forms.
• Rich Rodriguez was not briefed on the process or lack of documents until very late in the process.
• The two staffers that were the bottle neck and clearly asleep at the wheel, when asked why they didn't alert RR about the forms? Were basically afraid to because they thought RR would think negatively about them. 

Guess what!  Now the whole world thinks negatively about you!  I would imagine these two staffers will not  be long for the road under David Brandon.  Good luck delivering pizza's boys!

Take aways:

1. Problems were there before RR even started.
2. Clearly two guys not doing their job
3. The Michigan compliance office had predicted a problem before it surfaced and the only thing they did wrong was not push the "panic" button or escalate earlier.
4.  This investigation and penalty should not fall on Rich Rodriguez shoulders alone it was clearly a huge break in the process.   With that said, everything falls on the leader and RR is the leader of the Football Program.
-------------------------

• Game Times for UConn and Umass have been announced.  UConn is at 3:30 on ABC and UMass is BTN at 12:00. 

• Want to read a good article on how much the Freep report missed the mark?  Read this one.  BTW: add the guys that didn't research that story to the pizza delivery line.  

Ohio State Game Time and TV

12:00 - ABC

Michigan Tuesday: Who is Starting at QB?

• The Detroit Free Press attended Rich Rodriguez press conference yesterday and had this headline on Monday: Tate Forcier to Start on Saturday, then today they run a headline that says: Denard Robinson Might Start on Saturday. Really? Which one is it? If Tate is 100% he will start, if he isn't Denard will. That sentence really didn't need two stories did it?

• Tate's brother Jason says Tate's shoulder is worse then you think: “His shoulder is more injured than I think the public realizes. It’s the same thing (Oklahoma quarterback) Sam Bradford did. Maybe not as severe, but an AC joint is an AC joint. Once you injure it, it’s hurt for the rest of the year.”

• Sounds like there are some "fake" Michigan Football Tickets out there. Be on the look out. If there is a picture of Beanie Wells on the ticket, the odds are good it's not a real Michigan - Delaware State ticket!

• The bag ban at Michigan Stadium continues. Leave your purse and fanny pack at home. If you own a fanny pack, please check your calendar and make sure it's not stuck on 1984.

• How about that Chad Henne last night? Did you watch the game? He played very, very well and even hooked up with Ted Ginn for a long touchdown pass.

• Hollywood Hills senior defensive end Clarence Murphy is planning a Ann Arbor/U of M visit for the Ohio State game.

• The Florida - LSU game took in a 6.8 TV rating on Saturday and the Michigan - Iowa game took only a 3.0.

• GVSU had it's first conference loss in five years. Yes, 5 years!

• Delaware State is 1-3 with a win over Hampton; losses to Florida AM, Delaware, and to Bethune-Cookman.

Michigan - Penn State Start Time

Will be a 3:30 kick at the Big House. ABC will televise the game.

Michigan Maybe All White Against Iowa?

Is All White, All Right?

There is a strong rumor circulating the Blogsphere that Michigan will unveil White Jerseys with White pants on Saturday night against Iowa.

Being a Michigan fan, I'm sure you know that traditionally Michigan wears White jerseys with Maize pants on the road.

UMgoblog has sources that are telling him Michigan is going all White on Saturday Night! (photo from above is the work of UMgoblog as well)

I'm on the fence until I see them. It could be a fun spark or something stupid that really doesn't make a difference anyway.

Tune in Saturday to see for yourself if it's a rumor or fact.

From the Michigan Daily:
Against Iowa, the Wolverines may complement their white away jerseys with white pants, but an Athletic Department spokesman told The Michigan Daily last night he had “no definitive answer.” The uniform change would include everyone, even the 300-pound linemen.

“I can’t imagine,” left tackle Mark Ortmann said with a laugh. “We already have some pretty self-conscious offensive linemen. I don’t know if that will help out."

Woohoo a Big Secret - White Pants or Maize Pants!