Michigan 86, Michigan State 57: When it all comes together

Michigan has had two chances to avenge earlier conference road losses so far this season. First, they did it against Illinois in the motion picture "Back in Blue," the biting, redemptive sequel to "The White Collar Boys." 

They also did it tonight against Michigan State, handing the Spartans their worst loss against Michigan in 21 years. 

If you needed any indication which iteration of Michigan had showed up, the Wolverines forced four MSU shot-clock violations by the game's second TV timeout. 

Michigan's outside shooting soon followed its defensive energy, reprising the lights-out performance against Indiana. That 30-point win against the Hoosiers was Michigan's most lopsided victory against Indiana since 1998. With a 86-57 victory tonight, Michigan notched its most lopsided win against the Spartans since Feb. 27, 1996 (also a 29-point victory, 75-46) and broke a five-game skid in the rivalry series. 

The Wolverines shot 75 percent from the first half (8-for-11 from three), staking claim to a 55-29 lead, Michigan's most prolific first half of the season. On top of that, they forced 12 first-half turnovers, many directly yielding points.

The in-state rivals last met not long ago, Jan. 29 in East Lansing, a 70-62 loss for the Wolverines in which Derrick Walton seemed to be the only guy ready to play. Making matters worse, a flu-ridden Zak Irvin scored as many points as the Atlanta Falcons made smart offensive playcalls late in the Super Bowl on the doorstep of the New England red zone (that would be zero). 

This time, Irvin made his mark on the scoresheet early with a triple (although he was again quiet in this game overall, not scoring again after that triple). The three was the first of many for Michigan, which raced out to a 32-19 lead on 6-for-8 shooting from beyond the arc. 

The Wolverines rode a balanced attack in the half, getting contributions from just about everyone, including Xavier Simpson, who put in some of his best minutes of the season spelling Walton. In the first half, Walton had 12, Moritz Wagner had 13, Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman had 10, and Simpson and Duncan Robinson chipped in five apiece (including a Robinson buzzer-beating three to close the half).  

Naturally, the game got chippy. DJ Wilson picked up a technical foul after dunking on Kenny Goins. Not long after, Nick Ward picked up a tech of his own by tripping Wagner while the teams headed to their respective benches for a timeout. 

But, when you're up by 26 at the half, an unnecessary technical will probably be allowed to slide. 

As for Michigan State, things were going so poorly that Tom Izzo was forced to call a timeout 1:09 into the second half after a Wilson dunk (assisted by Wagner). 

Speaking of Wagner (19 points, six rebounds, two assists, two steals), he continued to do work in the second half. Unlike the first matchup, in which Wagner was hamstrung by foul trouble, he had no such trouble tonight, using his athleticism to get easy buckets on smart cuts and simply by taking the ball to the rim with strength. 

Aside from Miles Bridges (15 points, five rebounds) and his spectacular dunk, MSU had no answers on either end of the floor, and never cut the deficit to fewer than 22 points. 

Michigan's home loss to the Buckeyes could come back to haunt it later. But if there's a palate cleanser better than a 29-point victory against Michigan State, I don't know what that is. 

Bullets

• You might roll your eyes when players talk about negative chatter and how they'll be motivated to prove the doubters wrong -- Derrick Walton has been saying such things of late. In this case, though, he's followed through on his words. Walton is in the midst of his most inspired stretch of basketball in a while. He finished with 20 points, eight assists and five rebounds. 
• Xavier Simpson had his best game to date. Defense will always be an issue for him, based on his size (or lack thereof) alone, but he flashed some playmaking ability and simply looked more comfortable with the ball in his hands. Simpson tallied seven points on 3-for-4 shooting with two assists to one turnover. 
• Michigan lost to a bad Ohio State team at home and followed that up with a blowout of Michigan State. Attempting to find any reason or use any kind of predictive model to assess this team is futile. 
• Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman put up a season-high with 16 points. He started conference play scoring zero points in eight minutes at Iowa. He's quietly put together very strong games in three of his last four outings. If Michigan can get peak MAAR down the stretch, that would be a huge boost. 

Michigan 62, Michigan State 70: A tale of two seniors

Michigan's offense hummed Thursday night against Indiana, zooming like a brand-new sports car.

On Sunday in East Lansing, the car hit pothole after pothole and broke down, a helpless wreck sending tendrils of smoke snaking to the rafters.

After a stretch during which Michigan defeated Michigan State in six of eight tries, the Wolverines came into today's matchup having lost the last four meetings. That losing streak became five straight on Sunday afternoon, as the Wolverines fell, 70-62, despite a motivated effort from senior Derrick Walton (24 points, nine rebounds, five assists).

Zak Irvin, however, finished 0-for-8 from the field, with zero points and three turnovers, his worst outing of the season and worst since a 1-for-8 performance against Texas on Dec. 6.

Meanwhile, Walton did his usual work on the glass, while also attacking the rim -- he didn't always finish, but went to the line more often than not.

Despite some rough first-half offense from the Wolverines -- seniors Irvin and Walton combined to shoot 2-for-13 for five points, all from Walton -- they found themselves down just 32-28 at the half.

The Wolverines shot 32.4 percent from the field, while the Spartans managed to shoot 50 percent. On top of that, Michigan was well off its torrid points-per-possession pace from the Indiana game, putting up just 0.88 points per possession in the first half today.

A team can survive that for a half, but two? The Wolverines would need to find the offensive rhythm they had Thursday against the Hoosiers in Ann Arbor if they were going to come away with a key conference road win.

Things started auspiciously enough in the second half when Walton buried Irvin-assisted triples on consecutive possessions. The good vibes didn't last long, though, as the Spartans were able to enter the bonus with more than 11 minutes remaining in the half and build a 51-42 lead.

Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman stemmed the tide with a triple for a scuffling Michigan, but MSU's Matt McQuaid buried his third trey in three tries to put the home team's lead back at nine with 10 minutes to play.

Unfortunately for Michigan, that second-half offensive renaissance never came. With around seven minutes to play, Michigan had more second-half turnovers than second-half made field goals.

Michigan was within striking distance late, but in the sort of way that a football game is a two-score game when a team is down 16. Walton didn't have a great day from the field himself (4-for-12), but he was the only one who proved determined enough to make something happen.

While Irvin will get most of the flak, DJ Wilson was also just 4-for-12 from the field (0-for-3 from beyond the arc), Moritz Wagner scored 10 but was limited at times by the usual foul trouble and Michigan's bench was mostly irrelevant.

A win against a Michigan State team that had lost three straight would not have been an upset or a huge surprise, like it might have been in the past. The Wolverines, however, just didn't have the answers for Michigan State's defense, the latest chapter in a season's worth of shapeshifting. Unstoppable one moment, eminently stoppable the next.

Which Michigan will turn up down the stretch? Your guess is as good as mine.

UPDATE: Per Beilein, Irvin has been battling the flu, which would certainly explain today's performance.

John Beilein says Zak Irvin missed practice on Thursday and Friday with the flu.

— Brendan F. Quinn (@BFQuinn) January 29, 2017

Bullets

• Xavier Simpson had a nice dish in the first half, wheeling around the right side before dropping a nifty pass to Mark Donnal in the paint. 
• Moritz Wagner continues to be plagued by foul issues, picking up an early one that saw him yanked for Mark Donnal. This goes without saying, but Michigan's best lineup includes both Wagner and DJ Wilson on the floor. 
• Speaking of Wilson, his first-half block from behind was a thing of beauty. 
• Zak Irvin finished scoreless for the first time all season. While Wagner and Wilson are/should be the heart of this offense, Michigan can't beat anyone when Irvin is playing like that. 
• MSU's Miles Bridges is quite good (15 points, 13 rebounds). Sometimes, there's just not much you can do when a future NBA player is feeling it, as he was in the second half. 
• Cassius Winston flashed creativity and speed toward the basket, scoring a Spartans team-high 16 points, mostly from the line, where he went 10-for-11. 

Week 1: The princess is in another castle

Week 1

The first week of a college football season is almost always anticlimactic, failing to deliver on an offseason's worth of pent-up excitement. 

The opening slate typically features an array of snoozers, like a pedestrian hotel continental breakfast. You'll get just enough, but not what you really want, like a omeleteer serving up whatever egg-based dish you like at 7 in the morning. No, you'll take the toast and wake up to the season with a generic roast and USA Today. 

Take, for example, Michigan versus Hawaii: a classic Week 1 no-doubter. The game was over before you could say "Colt Brennan." Michigan rolled, 63-3, and it was fun until it wasn't, the point where every fan of a brand-name team wonders if there is even a point to this particular contest and if it should even be played at all. When one starts to truly feel bad for the other team is the exact moment in which that realization of the game's lack of utility takes root. 

Michigan, a team of four- and five-stars, experienced and talented, versus jetlagged Hawaii, which had already given up 51 points in a game before even coming to Ann Arbor: Welcome to opening weekend. 

The Wolverines won, but like wins scored by so many other teams dotting the top 25, the win means little. I't's Level 1, a step, the initial foray into the great unknown. 

The princess is in another castle. 

***

Then there's Alabama. 

Alabama, winners of last season's national title, lost its usual bevy of talent to the NFL, reigniting another round of The Process. 

The Crimson Tide opened with USC, a matchup of name brands. Coke and Pepsi, Rolls Royce and Bentley, Apple and Microsoft -- you get the idea. 

Alabama even had the courtesy to let the Trojans hang around for about a quarter. USC struck first with a field goal, but they would never lead again. Alabama started the game with Blake Barnett at quarterback, but finished it with Jalen Hurts, who offers a scary thing: an Alabama quarterback who is an active playmaker for the offense, as opposed to the parade of game-managing types of recent years. 

Hurts fumbled early, but proceeded to dissect the Trojans defense like a film class recitation one might take on the USC campus. Hurts started things with a 39-yard strike to ArDarius Stewart, then Alabama added a field goal and a pick-six to enter the half up 17-3. Against anyone not named Cam Newton, that means the game is over. 

And it was. The Tide rolled to a 52-6 win. Maybe USC isn't that good, but even the most cynical observer of the Trojans program probably doesn't think they're 52-6 bad.  

Once again, everyone is chasing the team from Tuscaloosa. 

And yet, despite the Tide's aura of invincibility, they have been prone to the occasional slip-up. In recent years, that has been at the hands of Ole Miss, who the Tide face in Week 3 in Oxford. The Rebels are fresh off of a crushing collapse against Florida State in Orlando -- maybe they'll be eager to prove that was a fluke? 

Or, maybe, Alabama will see them coming this time, particularly after losses to the Rebels in 2014 and 2015. If there's one thing you don't want, it's an Alabama that sees you. 

---

Speaking of, Florida State seemed destined to both get blown out and get its quarterback, freshman Deondre Francois, injured Monday night against Ole Miss. 

The Rebels raced out to an early 7-0 lead, scoring in under two minutes. They eventually led 28-6 after a 10-play, 80-yard touchdown drive. Jimbo Fisher and everyone else on the FSU sideline looked bereft of answers or words, like someone who has just missed a flight. 

Francois and Co. couldn't get much of anything going, much of it the fault of an offensive line that played like five large pieces of rice paper. Even star tailback Dalvin Cook (23 carries, 91 yards), with a free run to the end zone, simply dropped the ball out of bounds at the 3-yard line (FSU would eventually have to settle for a field goal). 

Nothing was working for the Seminoles -- another top-10 team appeared ready to topple. 

Then, having enough of it, Francois started firing in the face of heavy pressure. I'm not sure what happened or what unseen switch was flipped, but the redshirt freshman started making throws even fifth-year seniors can never hope to make. 

Less than six minutes into the third quarter, FSU led, 29-28. Blink and everything can change in an instant. In the span of less than a quarter's worth of NBA action, the Seminoles turned a 22-point deficit into a one-point lead. 

Questions now abound about Ole Miss, which looked unstoppable to start and completely flustered to finish. Whatever the Ole Miss season becomes, this was a hello to the college football world from Francois (whose debut compares favorably to the guy who recently won FSU a national championship). 

A tricky trip to Louisville on Sept. 17 beckons for the 'Noles, not to mention a home game against UNC followed by a trip to Miami. Then, of course, there's Clemson on Oct. 29. 

Can they run the table? Maybe, if Francois' brilliance on Monday night is any indication. But the offensive line will need to protect him and get Cook going, or they might not even get a chance to set up a matchup of potential undefeateds against Clemson. 

And as we all know, freshman quarterbacks usually mean a slip-up is just around the corner. 

---

Clemson went down to Auburn's Jordan-Hare Stadium, riding as high as one could on the heels of a national championship game defeat. After that loss to Alabama, everyone acknowledged Deshaun Watson and Co. as legitimate, an anointment that can these days only come after going head-to-head with Alabama and nearly winning on the biggest stage. This is "little ole Clemson" no longer. "Clemsoning" was once a word with meaning, but has sharply disappeared from the college football lexicon, lost in the gradually roiling seas of language transformation. "Clemsoning" is Middle English of yore -- in the dictionary, it's marked "archaic." 

Now, some might be down on the Tigers after a less-than-impressive 19-13 win. Watson went 19-of-24 for 248 yards (1 TD, 1 INT). Wayne Gallman carried it 30 times for 123 yards. Mike Williams caught nine balls for 174 yards, dismissing the Auburn secondary as if it wasn't there. Hunter Renfrow, hero of the national title game, fittingly reeled in a key touchdown grab. 

The score is not impressive, but the result and the individual performances are worthy of praise. Clemson didn't start with Hawaii or Furman or Wofford or Tumbleweed State -- they started with an SEC foe on the road. 

Now, say what you will about Auburn, a team with no offense led by an offense-first head coach, but Clemson doesn't need style points like, say, Houston does. The win is enough. 

There were hairy moments, moments when Clemson appeared destined to fall into one of Bowser's many lava pits or run into a whirling dungeon fire bar. 

But time expired, and Clemson found itself at the end, meeting Toad. The princess is in another castle, he says. 

Things lighten up for the Tigers the next few weeks; that is, until Lamar Jackson and Louisville roll into town Oct. 1. 

---

The madness continued Sunday night in Austin, when Texas took down Notre Dame with an 18-wheeler and a freshman gunslinger. 

Both teams used two quarterbacks, but the Longhorns were far more effective in their deployment, buoyed by freshman Shane Buechele's 280 passing yards and Tyrone Swoopes' three rushing touchdowns. Meanwhile, Malik Zaire got the start for Notre Dame, and even got the first series of the second half, but proved ineffective. Deshone Kizer took over down the stretch, finishing 15-of-24 for 215 yards and five touchdown passes. Kizer, a Toledo native, makes one wonder: What if he now wore the winged helmet instead? 

After 6-7 and 5-7 seasons to kick off the Charlie Strong era, this was one he, and Texas, badly needed. It's one thing to ambush a much better Oklahoma team in a rivalry game like they did last season -- it's another to beat a team like Notre Dame in a nonconference tilt. 

Like many of the other teams discussed here, Notre Dame's fate is yet to be determined. Texas could turn out to be good, and this loss would just mark an unfortunate loss concurrent with the rise of the Longhorns. 

Notre Dame will have a chance to collect itself and get back on track with a contest against Michigan State on Sept. 17. A loss there, and the outlook for Notre Dame takes on a blue-gray hue that's more gray than blue. 

---

The opening weekend was full of the usual array of upsets, pseudo-upsets and near-upsets. Northwestern won 10 games last year but couldn't do enough to stem the tide that was the Western Michigan Broncos, who rowed their boats onto the shores of Lake Michigan and claimed the City of Evanston for Kalamazoo County. 

Mike Leach's Washington State Cougars proceeded to plunder the good will of a nine-win 2015 season by losing to Eastern Washington, at home. 

Oklahoma fell against Houston, much to no one's surprise. That's not to say that many would have thought a Houston win a certainty, but its possibility was seen a mile away in the pensive hours of the long, long offseason. Houston will both take its long shot at a playoff shot, plus the more likely possibility of a conference upgrade. 

Indiana led FIU 12-10 at the half. Michigan State beat Furman 28-13. Tennessee just barely avoided casting themselves in "Appalachian State: The Sequel." No. 16 UCLA crawled back from a 24-9 deficit at Texas A&M only to lose in overtime. The Aggies appear to have a quarterback, but check back later, as folks thought the same thing for the last two seasons with Kenny Hill and Kyle Allen, who both now play at different Texas schools. 

Week 1 is also about noise, much of it meaningless. Is Tennessee that bad? Probably not. Is Texas A&M "back"? Texas? Who knows. Michigan State? Well, they beat Western Michigan by 13 in 2013 and again by 13 last season, and they went 13-1 and 12-2 in those seasons, both ending with conference championship. 

At this point, you simply shrug and move on. That's all you can do. 

---

College football is a constantly unfolding story, with climactic moments not woven in but thrown in seemingly at random. Rather, it's a collection of short stories, anchored by a central theme but by no means wholly tethered to it. 

Results are like the stars -- sometimes you try to connect the dots, but you'll often have to take someone else's word that the Big Dipper or Orion are in fact up there. 

They are, but you have to wait .Wait for them to come into focus -- and don't get distracted by that fleeing comet, or you might lose the picture, as the sky reverts to a sea of bright lights, apart and alone. 

HTR's Weekly 25: Week 1

For a while here, I dabbled in writing a little about Chicago sports (which, as I then had the time, was fun, even if it went unread), I've written traditional game recaps of various Big Ten games (football and basketball) and various other little things along the way.

But, when I started this thing five years ago, it was with football, particularly Michigan football, in mind.

So, while my work as a regular journalist keeps me busy, I'm going to try to create some regularity here. I've tried in the past, with some success during the football and basketball seasons, before dropping back once summer hits.

Well, I'll worry about the summer once it returns next year: for now, the easiest way to stay engaged in the college football scene is by, what else, compiling a weekly set of by and large meaningless rankings.

Does my opinion mean anything? No, not really -- but the older I get, the less justifiable watching hours of football becomes without doing something meaningful with it ("meaning," here, is a generous term).

So, with that, here's my personal top 25 after the first week's worth of action:

1. Ohio State. Talk about a no-brainer. The Buckeyes marched into Blacksburg, missing their best defender in Joey Bosa and several other players, and still dominated despite turning it over a couple of times. Braxton Miller as utility playmaking type is a terrifying concept. Who would've thought that he would one day be a Heisman candidate...as a wide receiver? That spin move will probably feature prominently in college football promo commercials for OSU games the rest of the season, and for good reason. Ohio State appears to be on track to cruise to another playoff appearance.

2. Alabama. The Crimson Tide simply beat up a Badgers team that, for the first time in recent memory, is somewhat shaky on the offensive line. Even so, the Badgers' normally prolific rushing attack was non-existent, with UW tailback Corey Clement carrying it just 8 times for 16 yards before sitting the rest of the game out with an injury. While Joel Stave had a nice game, UW had no answer for Alabama's own rushing attack. It should be no surprise that, like conference mate Georgia, Alabama has multiple tailbacks who can get the job done. Quarterback Jake Coker's (15-of-21, 213 yards, 1 TD) longest completion of the day, in fact, was a 33-yarder to tailback Kenyan Drake. Once again, Alabama appears to be the football equivalent of the trash compactor from "Star Wars."

3. TCU. Okay, you can say the score of their season-opening win at Minnesota didn't inspire confidence. But I give credit for road wins, and the Gophers aren't a pushover. Minnesota lacks offensive punch, but they're still a tough out, and the Horned Frogs got the job done on a hot evening in Minnesota (yes, hot, Minnesota).

4. Auburn. Similarly, it's hard to say the Tigers had an exceptional Week 1, but again, I give credit for beating a real opponent. More importantly for Auburn fans, the defense looked okay, forcing two turnovers and holding Louisville quarterbacks Lamar Jackson and Reggie Bonnafon to a combined 5.06 yards per attempt. Sure, new Auburn quarterback Jeremy Johnson struggled, but I think you'd rather have the defense do okay and the young quarterback struggle than the other way around...at least at this stage of the season.

5. Michigan State. Again, file this under the "not impressive box score but still good" category. Also, props are in order for traveling to Kalamazoo. Of course, this week's tilt against Oregon is the nonconference game of note for the Spartans.

6. Baylor. Maybe I'm giving excessive weight to the halftime score against SMU (28-21, Baylor). But, again, this was a road game, and it's a long season. As long as they continue to win, that first 30 minutes will be nothing but a minor footnote.

7. Notre Dame. Okay, beating Texas -- let alone dismantling them -- doesn't mean much now, but the Longhorns were at least expected to be able to play some defense. The Fighting Irish disproved that assumption, racking up 527 yards of offense and holding the Longhorns to just 20:50 in possession (yes, I know, a meaningless stat in and of itself, but still an indicator of how the game went).

8. Oregon. I know, it's only Week 1, but the Ducks gave up a whopping 42 points and 549 total yards against Eastern Washington. That won't work out too well against conference competition.

9. Georgia. A ho-hum blowout, a college football Week 1 tradition. Todd Gurley is plying his trade in St. Louis, but Nick Chubb and Keith Marshall will do just fine for UGA (that's an understatement).

10. UCLA. Virginia isn't a powerhouse by any stretch of the imagination, but the Bruins looked strong against major conference competition, and quarterback Josh Rosen was tremendous (28-of-35, 351 yards, 3 TDs).

The wild back 15:

11. USC
12. Florida State
13. Clemson
14. Texas A&M
15. Georgia Tech
16. LSU
17. Arkansas
18. Ole Miss
19. Boise State
20. Oklahoma
21. Missouri
22. Tennessee
23. Arizona
24. Mississippi State
25. Utah

Spartans survive Buckeye comeback bid, hand OSU first loss of the season

No. 3 Ohio State 68, No. 5 Michigan State 72

While the temperatures in the Midwest continue to plummet, the mercury rose when the undefeated No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes headed to East Lansing tonight. The opening salvos? A thunderous dunk by Ohio State, then answered by two straight Spartan threes. 

Although the Buckeyes came in unbeaten, they had not been tested by an especially strenuous schedule to date; a trip to the Breslin Center would change that the minute the ball went up to open the game. 

Neither squad shot particularly well early, but four Buckeye turnovers helped the Spartans jump out to an 11-5 lead about seven minutes into the game. 

The pace picked up, and the Buckeyes rode a 7-0 run to a 1-point lead. Through about 10 minutes, neither team got much going in the halfcourt game; that is, when either of them took the opportunity to pull up and and run some offense. More often than not, the half progressed at breakneck speed, resulting in stretches of sloppy play. 

However, a 7-0 Spartan run at the end of the opening frame sent OSU into the half down 28-21. The Buckeyes shot just 33.3 percent and turned it over 10 times in the first half. 

OSU's leading scorer, LaQuinton Ross, managed just three first-half points, albeit on only two field goal attempts. The Buckeyes would have to find a way to get him involved in the second half if they were going to avoid the sort of the fate they doled out to Marquette back in November. 

Miscellaneous Minutiae, 10/29/13

Well, here we are: Michigan State week. Hopefully the Wolverines got their rest and ate their Wheaties during the open week, because a win this weekend will take nothing less than their best effort:

• This is old news as if this posting, but tight end A.J. Williams has been suspended for this Saturday's game. Legal ramifications aside, I'm honestly not too sure how big of a loss this is for the Michigan offense. As a blocking tight end, Williams hasn't exactly been a great blocker, and not having Williams at Borges's disposal might curb the desire to run power into the teeth of the Spartan front seven. In any case, Williams's absence means you'll see a lot more Jake Butt and Jordan Paskorz. 

• Minnesota's 35-24 victory over Nebraska this past Saturday was as big of a win as the program has seen in some time. With that said, the Gophers head to Bloomington this weekend, where they'll have to contend with a truly fearsome Hoosier offense. Defense and David Cobb have been enough to carry Minnesota to victory the past two weeks; they'll likely need to make a few more plays through the air if they're going to keep up with Kevin Wilson's offense. 

• Speaking of the Hoosiers, Indiana defensive coordinator Doug Mallory (brother of Michigan secondary coach Curt Mallory) is tuning out the criticism re: his defense's performance. Also at the same link, Tre Roberson might get the start this weekend over Nate Sudfeld. 

• The Only Colors on the Spartan offense potentially approaching "average." 

• The Badgers will need some help if they're going to grab a BCS berth this season, even if they win out. 

• Michigan basketball opens up its exhibition season against Concordia tonight (7 ET). Perhaps it is a sign of the times that I am looking forward to watching this and am even devoting an iota of attention to it during a week leading up to Michigan-Michigan State on the gridiron. Regardless, the only thing worth paying much attention to is the various lineups John Beilein will trot out. If you get the chance to watch, Beilein hopes that you'll get to see a lot of the freshmen out there tonight. 

• Also on the basketball front, as expected, Mitch McGary is out for tonight's exhibition tilt. 

Miscellaneous Minutiae, 9/19/13

Another dreary, sun-less day here in Chicago...in other words, it's fall. Some hopefully not so dreary links:

• Beau Allen, the nose guard in Wisconsin's new look 3-4 defense, enjoys Trolli Eggs. 

• Brad Edwards briefly previews Michigan-UConn (and KSU-Texas). 

• Bruce Feldman goes behind the scenes in College Station to see how the Aggies prepared for Alabama. 
• Bret Bielema has the fifth highest salary in the Southeastern Conference. With bonuses, he'll be making just over a cool $1 million more than he made last season in Madison. 

• Hoke is pulling for the Spartans this weekend (and takes a light jab at the refs from the Wisconsin-Arizona State game).

• Penn State and West Virginia will renew a series that hasn't been played since 1992, with a home-and-home between the two schools set for 2023 and 2024. 

• The Only Colors has a Q&A with Notre Dame blog One Foot Down. 

• This is a few weeks old, but Sam Marshall at SB Nation's "The UConn Blog" wrote about his trip to the Big House in 2010. It's always funny reading the awed impressions of outsiders (including the recent write up by a USF fan) when so many Michigan fans find the Big House environment lacking. 

Shameless Self-Promotion Time: Offseason B1G Preview

Hello there. It's been a little while. We are only 40 days from Michigan football, so it's probably a good time to at least attempt to revive this thing after a long, depressing spring/summer of White Sox baseball.

Anyway, I haven't been writing much but I do have a few previews to share from over at Maize n Brew:

• Today, I took a look at the Nebraska Cornhuskers. The verdict is fairly reductive: the schedule sets up nicely (no Wisconsin or Ohio State), but the front seven absolutely must get better. 

• On July 8, I talked about my grad school team of choice, the Northwestern Fightin' Warrior Poets. Yes, fan of a big name team, Northwestern is a contender for the division this season. This is always a team to watch, but it's usually more fun when they're not playing your team...that is, unless your team decides to engage in some late game heroics. 

• With a new coach coming into Madison, I took a look at the squad tucked between Lakes Mendota and Monona. The secondary, offensive line depth and the need to settle on a single quarterback are the primary points of concern for the 2013 iteration of the Wisconsin Badgers. 

• And finally, I talked a bit about the Michigan State Spartans on June 24, a squad with a fairly considerable range of potential outcomes. The defense will once again be strong, but will it be strong enough to carry an offense now without star back Le'Veon Bell for another season? The Spartans' average margin of defeat in 2012 was slight, so improvement upon last season's 6-6 regular season mark is likely. However, if the Spartans are to win the division, it goes without saying that Andrew Maxwell (or Connor Cook) must provide better play from under center. 

So, there you go. Ohio State is up next week to close out MnB's offseason preview series. After that, we'll all take the highway exit into It's-Almost-Football-Time-Land. 

Shameless Self-Promotion Time: Michigan State

So, I won't lie, I've been a little disappointed that I haven't had much time to post much of anything here in 2013. With a break coming up in a couple of weeks, I will have a decent chunk of free time to get this thing going again.

Also of note: thanks to being a Big Ten student again (YEAH #B1GCATS), I am planning on being at every session of the Big Ten tournament here in Chicago. I'll do my best to provide some real, actual coverage of this, doing some journalisty things like video, pictures (probably take from the 300 level of the United Center) and general updates, Michigan and non-Michigan alike. Either way, it should be a fun time, assuming the Wolverines bring yesterday's defensive intensity to the Windy City.

Speaking of, I recapped yesterday's rematch against the Spartans over at Maize n Brew, as usual. Michigan is now 8-5 in its last 13 games, so to say that things have been just a little up and down this past month would be somewhat of an understatement when juxtaposed with that 16-0 start.

Regardless, whether you're beating Northwestern by 28 on Jan. 3 or Michigan State by one on Feb. 3, a win is a win. The share of the regular season title is out of reach unless Indiana gets upset by Ohio State on Tuesday, but a pair of wins to end the season would do wonders for Michigan heading into postseason play.

Even on the heels of a tremendous victory such as this one, it's hard not to look back and think about what could have been (see: @Wisconsin, @Penn State). Luckily, there's still a great deal for which to play.

Shameless Self-Promotion Time: Michigan State

I've been a little negligent of late when it comes to linking my Maize n Brew stuff here, which is probably for the better given the recent stretch. Even Mr. Kurtz is all "man, that stunk," and he was the guy who said "the horror, the horror." So, you know things have gotten pretty real.

Oh well. Anyway, here's my post from yesterday, in which I talk about the Michigan State game and what it means (if anything) going forward:

No, all is not lost. These sorts of things happen, especially when you've been confronted with the schedule that Michigan has in the last 10 days. The good news is that the most difficult portion of the schedule is behind Michigan now. The recently completed 4-game stretch, without looking into this further, has to have been the toughest such stretch in the country thus far. To recap, Michigan: 1) lost a tough one at Indiana despite getting ambushed at the start 2) gritted out an OT victory against Ohio State at Crisler, aided largely by Tim Hardaway Jr.'s sharpshooting 3) lost in OT at the Kohl Center after a ridiculous Ben Brust shot to tie it and 4) got blown out at the Breslin Center to cap this mini-campaign through the Sahara-esque portion of the greater journey.

The only fun thing about writing that post was the title, which I'm still patting myself on the back for. Good job, me. On the bright side, Michigan should have an opportunity for a nice, cathartic blowout victory on Sunday, back in the friendly confines of the Crisler Center. If everything goes according to plan, it will be like a like nostalgic trip to the early portion of the conference schedule, when everything was great and Michigan was invincible and clearly never going to lose a game ever.

Who Are You and Why Do We Care?: Michigan State Spartans

Is there a rivalry here?

Unlike Michigan's rivalries with Ohio State and Notre Dame, which are based on football, the rivalry between Michigan and Michigan State is about much more. Michiganders (Michiganians?) are forced to choose allegiances at a young age. The two schools compete over everything from fan base to recruits to the front pages of the News and Free Press.  To narrow this rivalry down to football we can see that Michigan holds a 67-32-5 record against the in-state in-conference foe. The teams play for the Paul Bunyan Trophy, which Michigan has won 34 times to State's 23.

For most of the 2000s, Michigan made this seem like less of a rivalry by posting the longest winning streak since the 1970s. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, coaches like Nick Saban, Bobby Williams, and John L. Smith could not compete with Lloyd Carr's Wolverines. Once Carr retired, and John L. Smith was fired, things started to move in Michigan State's direction. Rich Rodriguez and Mark Dantonio took control of the rivalry, and Michigan State got the competitive advantage. Rodriguez never beat Michigan State. Brady Hoke also lost in his first attempt to defeat the in-state rival, and State has their first four game win streak against Michigan since the Spartans won four straight from 1959-1962. 

What happened last year?

The game, in East Lansing, started very well for the Wolverines. Denard Robinson and Vincent Smith marched the Wolverines down the field ending with an incredible 15 yard Robinson touchdown. 

That would be the last time Michigan fans were celebrating for a while. State's following possession resulted in a one yard Edwin Baker touchdown. The rest of the first half included Will Hagerup and Mike Sadler punting the ball a lot of times. When Michigan State got the ball after halftime, Kirk Cousins completed a pass to Keshawn Martin in the endzone to put the Spartans in the lead 14-7. On State's next possession, Edwin Baker fumbled, but the Wolverines couldn't respond, going three and out. When the Spartans got the ball back, Cousins connected with Martin for another touchdown. Midway through the fourth quarter Michigan got the ball on the Spartan 34 yard line. One play later, Roy Roundtree received a pass from Denard, broke a tackle, scored a touchdown. Michigan would have an opportunity to tie the game two plays later when Keshawn Martin fumbled, and JT Floyd recovered. Michigan had a 4th down opportunity on the Michigan State 9 yard line. The Wolverines went for it and  Johnny Adams sacked Denard for a ten yard loss. Michigan State went three and out , and Michigan got another chance. On the next play, Denard threw a pass, which was intercepted by Isaiah Lewis and returned for a touchdown. The game would end with a final score of Michigan State 28- Michigan 14 . 

When did we last win?
In 2007, Michigan's Senior Class, lead by Mike Hart, Chad Henne, and Jake Long, swept Michigan State. Michigan owned the beginning and end of the game, while Michigan State controlled the middle. Mid-way through the fourth quarter, Jehuu Caulcrick took a one yard run in for a touchdown to put MSU up 24-14. Chad Henne would not allow his team to be beaten by little brother, and threw touchdown passes of 14 and 31 yards to Greg Mathews and Mario Manningham. Henne ended the game 18/33 for 211 and 4 TDs, Mike Hart ran for 110 on 15 carries, and Mario Manningham caught 8 passes for 129 yards and two touchdowns.

(Fun to watch if you like seeing good things happen!)

What do they look like?

Well this is actually a kind of funny question. Other than keeping to their colors of Green and White, MSU has never had a true identity on the field. Since 1993, the Spartans have changed their uniforms 8 (!!!!!) times. So lets break down their uniform combinations since 2000, because 8 changes is just ridiculous.  

• 1999-2000: These jerseys had enormous letters on the front spelling out Michigan State. But otherwise made a lot of sense. The stripes on the helmet matched the stripes on the pants. Spartan head on the helmet. 
• 2001: They stuck with the enormous lettering, but changed their striping patterns on the helmet. The helmet switched to one solid white stripe. S on the helmet. 
• 2002: These were just terrible. Weird stripes were added across the shoulders and the Michigan State word mark was replaced by State. S on the helmet. 
• 2003-2006: Enormous Michigan State wordmark returned, in addition the stupid shoulder stripes were removed. They added green pants on the road. Spartan head on the helmet. 
• 2007-2009: Changed the font on the Michigan State wordmark to be more reminiscent to their championship teams of the 1960s. No more green pants on the road. Added helmet stickers. Spartan head on helmet.
• 2010-Present: Lots of changes here as MSU tried to create their brand by updating all of their teams at once. First change again was the wordmark and numbering, which are now in a weird font and outlined in bronze. They have two home jerseys, one with very little white, and one with a white yoke. The away jersey has a green yoke. They added terribly stupid striping patterns to both sets of pants. Their helmet stripe starts very thick in the front, and ends up very thin in the back. Spartan head on the helmet (and the palms of their gloves). Its important to remember how terrible Nike's Pro Combat Uniforms were last year. 

Do they have good coaches?

Unfortunately, yes. Mark Dantonio played his college ball at South Carolina, but all of his coaching is based in the Mid-West. He worked on Jim Tressel's staff at both Youngstown State and Ohio State and worked on Nick Saban's staff at MSU in the 1990s. He was the head coach at Cincinnati from 2004-2006, and has been Michigan State's head coach since 2007. He is 37-20 since taking the State job. Before Dantonio, John L. Smith roamed the side lines of Spartan Stadium.  He was not so good at football coaching, but at least he had a funny voice and was prone to mental breakdowns...

Have they won a National or Big Ten Championship?

Well last year they shared the Big Ten Championship for the first time since 1990. They have seven Big Ten Championships in total. They also have 6 National Championships, all happened in the 1950s and 1960s. Not a Championship note, but MSU has not won a bowl game in their last 5 tries, with their last win coming in 2001 against Fresno State beat Georgia last year in the Outback Bowl. 

Where do they play football?

Spartan Stadium was built in 1923 and was original called College Field. They added luxury boxes to the stadium in 2004. Here is what the field looks like. Until the Notre Dame game this year, Michigan State had a fifteen game home winning streak. Now, they have a three game home losing streak. 

Do they have any interesting traditions?

• Cheers from 300: Pretty much if there was something yelled in 300, it is also yelled in Spartan Stadium. 
• Zeke the Wonder Dog: A dog that catches frisbees during halftime.
• Thunderstruck: Similar to Michigan playing "In The Big House" before the team ran onto the field last year, Michigan State comes out after "Thunderstruck" plays. 
• Go Green/Go White: You've all heard this one before. No explanation necessary. 

Did anyone famous play there?

• Plaxico Burress - Current member of the New York Jets and former member of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the New York Giants, and the Oneida Correctional Facility. 
• Drew Stanton - Detroit Lions third-string QB. 
• Brian Hoyer - Back up to Tom Brady, and soon to also back up Ryan Mallet on the New England Patriots. 
• Charles Rogers - Former Detroit Lions WR and professional marijuana smoker. 
• James Caan - Sonny Corleone and Ed Deline amongst other famous roles. 
• Wayne Fontes - Former Detroit Lions head coach. 
• Kirk Gibson - Former Detroit Tigers great, currently the Arizona Diamondback's head coach. 
• Tyrone Willingham - Former head coach of Stanford, Notre Dame, and Washington. 

Do they have a goofy mascot (other than John L. Smith)?

Sparty is a big deal on Michigan State's campus, and in my opinion is much less goofy than many of the other mascots. He has been around in his current form since the 1989 season. They also have a bronze statute of Sparty on campus in East Lansing. During the week of the Michigan game they guard it so this doesn't happen. 

Prediction based on everything but football: Michigan 28 - Michigan State 16

Shameless Self-Promotion Time (Illinois)

(HT: Mike DeSimone) 

This week:

• I talked about the Illinois game over at Maize n Brew. Notes: Denard is awesome, Jake Ryan is awesome, the notion of "having a good defense" is awesome. Everything is about as awesome as it can be for a Michigan team currently sitting at 4-2. The B1G competition thus far hasn't exactly been fierce, and Michigan State doesn't appear to be quite as formidable as many expected them to be. Still, there are demons to be exorcised on Saturday; as such, I'm sure this will be the longest week ever. 

The Double A-Gap Blitz Explained In Painful Detail

Despite the title of this post, this piece over at MSU's SB Nation blog, The Only Colors, is as awesome as something that's fairly depressing can be. I haven't been reading TOC for that long, but for as long as I have been reading it, it has easily been one of the best non-Michigan places for thoughtful, meticulous analysis backed by advanced stats and a thorough knowledge of the game. It's so good that it deserves a link here in its own post (HT to Zach for linking to it).

Heck Dorland breaks down the so called "Double A-Gap" blitz, one that has tormented Michigan in its last two meetings against the Spartans. Even if you know absolutely nothing about the Xs and Os of football, odds are you have at least heard of this play. You know, at minimum, that it is a thing that exists and has produced much pain for the Michigan offense.

Like Brian, who Heck Dorland cites a few times throughout the post, I admit to viewing this seemingly simple play in a reductive, not very nuanced manner. The nature of the play on an instantaneously visceral level sort of lends itself to that. In the aftermath of its successful deployment, I wouldn't criticize you for being all "WHY DON'T YOU TROW DAT SLANT OR DA BUBBLE TO DA SLOT GUY OR SOMETHING AL???"*

*I am a Bears fan.

As Heck explains, the play is surprising complex. A lot more than simply sending two backers crashing into the center of the line goes into the play. The defensive line and secondary also figure in prominently into the basic calculus of the play, as each will align differently and assume different responsibilities based on the particular wrinkle being used. Dorland breaks it down in the "picture page" style that MGoBlog, Burgeoning Wolverine Star, and other places have perfected within the Michigan blogosphere. It's prettyyy prettyyy prettyyy good.

In any case, since I have been bellyaching for weeks about how there's nothing to talk about that isn't either annoying or boring, I encourage you to go read this post and get your knowledge on. Dorland even offers some advice as to to how to combat this devilish play, so you'll want to read through to the end (it is pretty long, FYI). I know that the world outside of the Michigan Internets/blogosphere can be a scary, unforgiving place, but I promise you that this is worth your time. If you are a fan of college football in general and/or are someone looking to improve your Xs and Os knowledge, you, like I, will get a lot out of this.

Miscellaneous Minutiae, 8/21/2012

11 days!

Alvin Wistert in the 1950 Michiganensian

 Staples on the B1G. So remember yesterday when I joked about eventually getting to that season preview where I say something about how "Michigan will be better in 2012 but have a worse record yada yada yada?" Well, Andy Staples beat me to it. Down in the "Five Key Questions" section: 

Can Michigan be better in 2012 but finish with a worse record than in 2011? Absolutely. That's the risk Michigan took by scheduling Alabama to open the season. No matter the result in Arlington, Texas, the future looks bright in Ann Arbor. The most important thing for Michigan is the Legends Division, because winning that gives the Wolverines a shot to return to the Rose Bowl. The key stretch for Michigan will come in late October, when they face Michigan State at the Big House a week before traveling to Lincoln to face Nebraska. The Wolverines need to break Michigan State's four-year stranglehold on that rivalry, but if they do, they can't relax. If they can go 2-0 in that stretch, they might reach Pasadena by way of Indianapolis. 

 On a serious note, there's not a whole lot in Staple's B1G preview that I disagree with. I think Michigan settles in at 9-3 this season, which, in my humble opinion, would be a very solid second year all things considered. As for Michigan State, I've been feeling some major cognitive dissonance. On the one hand, I think that losing an experienced player like Cousins is a big deal, and then I look at that defense and just think "eh, Maxwell should be okay." With that said, 11-1 for MSU might be asking a lot after losing every notable receiver, Cousins, and Jerel Worthy (and Trenton Robinson). The Spartans will be good and I'm leaning towards picking them to win the division right now but 11-1 might be a little too lofty of a prediction.

Illusion, Michael. I was reading this article about the persistence of the belief in magic through the ages:

Perhaps this explains why a belief in sympathetic magic—irrational, superstitious, glorious—continues unabated in our hyperrationalist age. If anything, the ascendancy of science has clarified these beliefs, and the degree to which we’re willing to cling to them despite a cognitive awareness of the fallacious nature of magic.

Leave your FEI numbers, completion percentages, and proper mechanics at the door: this is the comforting, irrational, often fantastically irreproducible age of magic.

HT: Mike DeSimone

Talkin' defense, man. There's nothing silly about practice defense, man. Zach Travis over at Maize n Brew talks about Greg Mattison after I talked about Al Borges last week. On Mattison's M.O.:

The Okie package is one of pure havoc. Mattison likes bringing the heat (again from Brown's piece in HTTV: "Mattison frequently stated that on third down he believes in one thing: pressure"), and one of his favorite ways to do it is with mass confusion. The Okie package is a perfect example of that, as it is the kind of hellish, quarterback-nightmare inducing formation that can bring pressure from any of seven different defenders.

Every DC in the history of football when hired will pay lip service to the following things: playing aggressively, playing fast, wanting to bring pressure, harass the quarterback, etc. The 2011 season was proof that Mattison wasn't messing around about all of that. I mean, if the end of the Ohio State game wasn't proof enough--what with Chris Spielman being all exasperated about why Mattison was bringing so much pressure on OSU's final drive--then I don't what is. 

Anyway, go read the whole post. Be thankful for having nice things like "coordinators that know what they're doing" because before you know it you're rolling around on the floor crying while Greg Robinson leads your defense into battle with a stuffed animal. 

Stories about the speed of special teams gunners...are appearing on the Internet. Apparently, Nick Saban wants his gunners to be big and fast. "Oversigning" "cheating" "ESSS EEE CEEE SPEED" "PAWWLLL"<-----there, I have provided you with all the ingredients for a nice joke stew. Doesn't really matter what order you throw 'em in there, the joke always comes out the same way. 

It is August 21st. I don't know how many days it's been since we landed here on Offseason Island, but I pray that they come for us soon. I can only read previews of Conference USA teams for so much longer. 

"University of Michigan ranked as having a packed stadium, good libraries and a great hometown." That is the headline of this annarbor.com article. I wonder: did they only begin collecting the data for this survey of student packed-ness after the end of the first quarter of every game? (Because they only show up after that point, you see.)

Back to the headline, though. I like it. It sounds like something a really confused person trying to be nice would say. "Orlando is ranked as having long amusement park lines, good weather, and a great place to live if you want to live in a place called Orlando." 

That said, Ann Arbor is awesome and deserving of such lofty praise. From its tremendous libraries to its student apathy vis-a-vis athletics, Ann Arbor just the type of place that makes you want to scale a mountain and yell about it. Man, I miss Ann Arbor. 

More? Looking forward to Michael Cox running for 20 yards on one play and in the completely wrong direction on the next one. Dan Greene of SI.com provides you with yet another preview of Team 133 to read. Something I learned: Craig Roh can breathe through his nose now. That is a good thing to be able to do. On a serious note, um...I honestly had no idea that Roh was even thinking about transferring/quitting at one point.

Boise State comes in at #13 on Pre-Snap Read's countdown...Boise, Utah, and Kansas State all come in ranked ahead of Michigan. Now, I don't think Michigan is top 10 material or anything, but I don't know about those teams being ahead of the Wolverines, PAWL Myerberg. 

Shameless Self-Promotion Time

First of all, before I get to the self-promotion...Carl Grapentine himself commenting on my post from last week means that I should probably just shut this thing down right? I mean, that's probably as good as it will ever get. Shut it down, let's go home.

I won't, but nothing cooler than that will probably appear in this space. Oh well. Self-promotion:

• I wrote some nice words last week about my favorite Louisianan Wolverine (hint: he's the only one), Drew Dileo. I'm sure he will have some relatives at the Cowboys Classic, seeing as how--oh wait nevermind, Baton Rouge is 7.5 hours away from Arlington. Well, that's still road trip-able, I guess. 

• Also last week, but I wrote a little thing about Michigan State, a thing which you've probably read before but bears revisiting: MSU is going to be good again, and will probably be pretty good for as long as Dantonio is in EL. 

• I wrote approximately 1,500 words about Michigan's top 2 fullbacks, Stephen Hopkins and Joe Kerridge. Yes, fullbacks. It's an important position, dangit. 

• I put in some words on Wisconsin football, including a brief discussion of the dark pre-Alvarez years, as well what Maryland transfer and Russell Wilson heir apparent Danny O'Brien and new OC Matt Canada might mean for the UW offense going forward. 

Miscellaneous Minutiae, 7/10/2012

Yes...this was a thing. 

Mediocrity and bygone memories. At this point in time, the Orange Bowl has lost its luster. It's MJ playing with the Wizards, and that is a very unfortunate thing indeed. Scanning the list of Orange Bowl games in recent years is a grotesque exercise. Even the 2006 Penn State-Florida State matchup--one which you'd think would be a firecracker of a game based on name brand cachet alone--featured a 4-loss Seminole team. To be fair, it did go to OT, and was a fairly exciting game. If anything, that game further confirmed that the difference between 1/2 (Texas and USC) and the next team, #3 PSU, was pretty significant. 2005: The Year That The BCS Accidentally Worked.

To make a long story short, the ACC courting perpetual free agent Notre Dame for an Orange Bowl tie-in, in one enormous melting pot of mediocrity. The ACC/the Orange Bowl game are kind of like the Cheesecake Factory: mindlessly uniform (everybody has 7 wins, everybody has the same mediocre, overstretched menu). Like the city of Charlotte--where the ACC title game has been held the the last two years after an embarrassing 2008 turnout in Tampa--ACC would rather be doing something else (i.e. playing basketball, while Charlotteans watch NASCAR).

On a related note, this isn't exactly a new thought, but: I wonder how long ND can continue to find itself being treated with kid gloves before the college football world just stops caring about them. I get the feeling that that might never happen, because after nearly two decades of mostly awful football, ND is still in discussions such as this one with the ACC. ND's privileged drifter status truly is one of the weirdest arrangements in sports. As Hinton notes, for any of this to even come into play, ND will need to win enough games:

Yes, that assurance could come at the expense of a mid-major outfit that can't promise a sellout or a huge TV rating, but old Notre Dame will never be handed a golden ticket based on echoes alone. Its current arrangement with BCSguarantees the Irish access to one of the big-money bowls if they finish with either a top-ten ranking in the BCS standings or nine wins in the regular season, hurdles they've managed to clear just three times in the Series' 14-year existence. Any deal with the Orange Bowl (or any other major bowl) is likely to come with criteria in the same vein, based on the selection committee poll that will replace the BCS standings.

As we have seen, this has been easier said than done, even with the 9-win clause built in for them. It's kind of irritating, but, when you think about it, the entire playoff process has revealed that it's all about the money. That thing that isn't money that you thought this was about just a little bit? Nope, it's not about that. A ND team that might not be great but provides a better turnout (i.e. a chance for a stadium to look somewhat full) than another team that is probably better but not as cash-flush...seems like a no-brainer for the ACC and the Orange Bowl. It's definitely needed, since I almost have no desire to watch the Orange Bowl these days, and I watched almost every pre-NYD bowl game this past season, so that should tell you something. Utah State-Ohio and San Diego State-Louisiana Lafayette were arguably more entertaining bowl games than every Orange Bowl game within the last five years.

PHIL STEELE IS VERY EXCITED ABOUT MICHIGAN. The Oracle that is Phil Steele has deemed Michigan one of a choice group of potential 2012 national title winners. I'm only mentioning this to highlight this part:

Steele used extensive statistical research from 24 different stat categories for all national title winners and contenders over the past 20 years to come up with his final list of 11.

His research looked at all past championship teams' wins and losses from the previous season, offensive and defensive numbers, turnover margin and schedule strength.

There's no way that Phil Steele is actually a living, breathing human being. Have any of you actually seen Phil Steele, like, walking around and stuff? No? Yup, he's a robot because Occam's Razor. Plus, if the BCS has taught me anything, a robot/computer agenda exists, and it is not to be trusted.

While I find Steele's most deployed construction of "if you'll remember that time I was right about this thing" to be amusing but kind of tiresome after having seen it for so many years, it's July; his analysis, JAM-PACKED WITH FACTS, is at least worth a scan. If anything, you have to respect that hustle.

UM-MSU rivalry fuel. A new book on an interesting part of Big Ten history is out, "Arrogance and Scheming in the Big Ten", by Dr. David J. Young (HT: Big Ten Blog). Man, I can't wait to find out who the arrogant ones in this yarn are! On a serious note, the 374-page tome details Michigan State's tumultuous entry into the conference in 1949 and our own evil, mustache-twirlingly arrogant attempts to keep them out. We're always the villains, it seems. Don't people know that calling us arrogant all the time hurts our feelings? We have them, you know.


In any case, this is a history that I am admittedly not that familiar with, so this seems like something that would definitely be worth a read. With that said, I just wanted to touch on this point:

Among many revelations, “Arrogance and Scheming” smashes the idea that the early 20th century was a time of rah-rah innocence for college football. Indeed, scandals and presumed scandals weaved their way through the Western Conference.

Do people actually believe that the early days of college football were any different than they are now? If anything, they were probably "worse," just with way less cash money coming out of the whole enterprise. If so, this thinking is obviously naive, perspective-less "the old-days-were-better" talk. That said, if the book is as well-researched and sourced as it sounds like it is--featuring extensive use of Michigan's own Bentley Library--it would appear to be required reading for the college football history buff, B1G fan or not.

Also, I didn't know this, but apparently UofM English professor Ann Curzan was selected as Michigan's faculty rep to the B1G and NCAA in February, which, as Rexrode's article notes, is fairly poetic. Curzan is the granddaughter of former MSU President John Hannah, who sparred with Michigan's own Ralph Aigler--Michigan's faculty rep at that time--throughout MSU's Big Ten admission struggle.

To all of that I say: MICHIGAN ENGLISH DEPARTMENT REPRESENT! WOOOO WE RUN THIS CAMPUS, Y'ALL. Hope you are all ready to see "Special K" ushered out in favor of Samuel L. Jackson-voiced audiobooks of Victorian literature, played line by line at key moments throughout the game.

Carl Grapentine: Maxwell's pass incomplete, intended for Sims, Thomas Gordon covering. It's third and ten. 
English Department-sponsored SLJ reading: IT WAS THE BEST OF TIMES, IT WAS THE WORST OF TIMES, MOTHERF*@#^%!

/Big House golf claps
//jingles keys

This needs to happen. Coincidentally, I'm pretty sure the opening words of A Tale of Two Cities represent the most perfect descriptor of Michigan's 3rd and long defense over the years.

Speaking of Michigan State. Bill C. has a great run-down of MSU's prospects in 2012, and to be quite honest, I have to agree with most of his assessment. Outside of Alabama and LSU, you could easily make an argument for MSU's as the next best defensive team in the country. No, I'm not talking about Michigan (although I suspect that Michigan will be very soon; 2011 was only the beginning of the defensive renaissance) here. I am no Nostradamus, and neither are you. Whether MSU's recent success is sustainable can be debated, but that's only because they've won a lot of games (22 in the last two seasons combined). You could debate the sustainability of that success for almost any program out there, including Michigan's. More importantly, it would seem that Dantonio has upped MSU's baseline significantly. If the Spartans fall off, they're probably looking at 7-9 wins and not the complete and utter collapse of years past.

If you haven't already, it' time to discard the silly "Little Brother" thing, because MSU will be very good again this year. To be honest, I have a gut feeling that Maxwell will be just fine at quarterback. Jerel Worthy is a bigger loss, IMO.

Bednarik Award watch list. This is tangentially connected to the last section, but here's the list of B1G players on the pre-season Bednarik Award watch list (the award given to the top defensive player in college football). Note that there are zero Wolverines on this list. For a program that is a favorite to win the conference and a lock to be pre-season top 10, the lack of "high end" talent sticks out like a fan being loud between the 40s in the Big House.

I can't wait until Michigan has well-coached blue chip talent on the defensive side of the ball again. That will be pretty neat. It seems ridiculous that Kovacs isn't even on this list given that Chris Borland is on it (honestly, I've never been all that impressed with him), but whatever. I'm not sure how much longer Mattison is going to be coaching, but I think it's safe to say that he'll be there long enough to see the 2011 and 2012 classes form the core of the defense.

Now, the tangentially relevant part: the Spartans have four on this list (Gholston, Adams, Allen and Bullough). A serious question: in the history of Bednark watch lists, has this ever happened (i.e. 4 Spartans and 0 Wolverines)? I would venture to guess probably not. In any case, this is one more "MSU is for real, you guys" piece of evidence.

More? UMHoops with a comprehensive look at Beilein's recruiting options for 2013 and beyond...as in, 2015 beyond. Burkhead fluff in SI. Lake The Posts on Drew Crawford and how he will need to take over in the post-Shurna era if the Wildcats are going to have a chance at getting that first tourney berth this season.

Speaking of the Bednarik watch list, Alabama has four defenders make the list: Nico Johnson, CJ Mosley, Jesse Williams, and Robert Lester. To reiterate the "MSU is for real" thing...MSU, LSU, and Alabama are the only teams with four defenders on the list.