Shameless Self-Promotion Time (Notre Dame)

With the upcoming bye week, it is a good time to take a timeout on the season in order to reassess some things, to maybe: talk to your family, go "outside", read a book, watch The Program and secretly wish that Tim Waymen was currently on Michigan's roster (then smack yourself in the face for thinking this), etc. (HT: Mike DeSimone)

Michigan is 2-2, and man this season has not been that much fun so far. In any case, here's this week's helping of self-promotion:

• Over at Maize n Brew I talked about Saturday's game/thing/whatever-you-even-want-to-call-that against Notre Dame. I think the bye week will be good for all of us, players, coaches, and fans alike. It isn't all doom and gloom. Michigan might not be "playing Michigan football" on offense, as Hoke will say whenever Michigan doesn't play well, but the defense was pretty good, and that is not something that should be discounted after several straight seasons of bumbling defensive incompetence. Unfortunately, with Michigan starting 2-2, the seemingly unanimous preseason prediction of 9-3, give or take a game, is looking like it will fall on the lower end (i.e. 8-4). Michigan has next week off, which is good for guys like Brennen Beyer and Stephen Hopkins, and will give Devin Gardner a chance to heal after his run in with that metal photographer's stand (that is, assuming that his injury is of the short-ish term variety, which it very well might not be if Internet rumblings are to be believed).