Miscellaneous Minutiae, 10/10/2013

One of these days it's going to start feeling like fall. For now, links will have to do:

• I know people in the blogosphere like to make fun of the journalism one-sentence paragraph, but "Then they will try to destroy each other" sounds like a line, if slightly altered, meant for Ivan Drago. On a side note, it's too bad Michigan never showed interest in Allen Robinson during his recruitment; hindsight is 20/20, obviously, but it would be nice to have a guy like that in your receiving corps (and that is quite an understatement). 

• Bucky's 5th Quarter previews the Big Ten hockey season. Michigan opens against Boston College tonight at Yost; Michigan is without forward Alex Guptill, and the blue line will be full of youngsters. In that vein, Michigan and BC are the youngest teams in the country, so I'd expect some generally skittish, sloppy play tonight. Elsewhere at the top of the new-look B1G hockey conference, Minnesota opens against Mercyhurst on Friday. The Badgers open against Northern Michigan. 

• Also from Bucky's 5th quarter, a mid-season diagnosis hopes for improvement in the pass rush and wide receiving departments. 

• Urban Meyer says the "pass defense is very alarming right now." The Buckeyes are off this weekend before heading back to the Horseshoe to take on Iowa on Oct. 19. 

• "Population to the ball" might be Pat Fitzgerald's version of "hearing football." 

• Like Michigan, the Nittany Lions are hoping for improvement from the offensive line as they look to attack Michigan's "stout" run defense. 

• The youth movement is alive and well at the quarterback position in the Big Ten. 

• Wisconsin defensive coordinator Dave Aranda is counting on outside linebackers Brendan Kelly and Vince Biegel to bring the pass rush against Northwestern. 

• Sippin' On Purple's Rodger Sherman on why to hate Wisconsin. Although Michigan has not fared well against the Badgers post-2005, I can't find it within myself to hate or even dislike them; actually, I'm somewhat of a fan. Criticize their offensive style on the gridiron on the hardwood all you want, but I enjoy watching them play, and Madison is one of the best college towns around. 

• Michigan prepares for the Beaver Stadium crowd noise by whispering (insert "but they're not playing in the Big House!" jokes here). 

Graham Glasgow, "Walk-on"

Brendan Quinn has a piece on Graham Glasgow's role as a former walk-on turned starter that I found interesting for a couple of reasons.

For some reason, a stigma still exists vis-a-vis the notion of the walk-on and such a player's ability to contribute at the BCS level, let alone start. Often, such concerns are in fact valid. If you are Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Alabama, and so on, if a walk-on is playing, it is generally preceded by a string of negative events, namely injuries or under-performing scholarship players.

However, slowly but surely Michigan has built up a bit of a reputation as place where walk-ons can thrive. Some places, like Nebraska in its heyday, made a living from this; Michigan is not quite there yet.

With that said, after former walk-ons like Will Heininger and, of course Jordan Kovacs became useful players (in the former's case) or invaluable (in Kovacs's case), it might be time to dial down the level of concern the next time a walk-on receives hype during spring and fall ball.

Now, with Glasgow having five starts under his belt, we can add one more point to this body of data that slowly approaches confirmation of the idea that walk-ons do not imply disaster.

This process of gradual acceptance is not unlike the slow journey Glasgow described regarding his quest to see the field:

“One good performance isn’t going to change a perspective or a view of you, so you just day-in and day-out perform and maybe, like, impress the strength coaches at first and have them in the ear of the offensive line coach,” he said.

And then the line coach tells the offensive coordinator, who tells the head coach.

“It just accumulates and accumulates to the point where you can finally make a jump or get a chance,” said Glasgow, whose accumulation occurred toward the end of last year, when his play at center impressed line coach Darrell Funk.

Also, I found Taylor Lewan's quote interesting, even if he might just be saying it to lend further credence to Glasgow's move to center:

“Graham's always, since spring ball, been a lot better at center than at guard,” said left tackle Taylor Lewan. 

The offensive line has been far from perfect, but even those most cynical about the concept of a former walk-on starting at guard/center for Michigan would do well to remember that Glasgow is just a redshirt sophomore who only appeared in five games last season.

Glasgow is not David Molk yet, and he may never be. Then again, who would've thought Jordan Kovacs would turn out to be the best Michigan safety in many years after his performance against Indiana in 2009?

As unsatisfying as it may be to hear for the average fan, progress is a slow-moving thing. The same thing applies for Michigan at the guard spots, where the Brobdingnagian Chris Bryant and Kyle Kalis continue to learn the way.

The Michigan offensive line's improvement, more than any other part of this Michigan team, will determine whether or not the Wolverines can win eight games this season or 10+. Upon Glasgow's move to center, however, early returns are encouraging.

Miscellaneous Minutiae, 10/8/13

Who would've thought the Atlanta Falcons would be 1-4 and the New York Jets would be 3-2 at this point in the season? I'll admit I had my doubts about Geno Smith after the way in which West Virginia tanked in the second half of last season*, but he looked like an NFL quarterback last night (albeit against a struggling Atlanta team).

*Of course, a majority of the blame for that falls on the WVU defense; you can't score 40+ points every week.

Anyway, enough about the NFL and on to the college links:

• From Bucky's 5th Quarter, Gary Andersen talks a little bit about preparing for Northwestern's 2-QB offense. Also, the Badgers should be getting a few players back who missed the Ohio State game due to injury, including tight end Jacob Pedersen and center Dallas Lewallen (ESPN Wisconsin). 

• Rodger Sherman talks about Northwestern's unique situation heading into Madison this week, facing an unranked squad as an underdog. Given what happened in Tempe, the Badgers really shouldn't be unranked, and the line reflects that; the Badgers are 10-point favorites against the ranked Wildcats. 

• This is yesterday's news, but I haven't mentioned it in this space: Jake Ryan might play this Saturday at Penn State. Of course, I'd imagine his snap count will be closely monitored. It will probably take two or three games before he gets back into the swing of things. Luckily for Michigan, the schedule is fairly accomodating (on paper, at least). 

• Do you like bowl games? Are you a fan of a non-BCS conference team? Would you like to make a trip to the Bahamas? Should I continue to write this bullet as a series of questions? No, no I should not. Anyway, if you answered yes to any of those first three questions, this might be of interest to you. 

• Lake The Posts is frustrated about the amount of scarlet in the Ryan Field stands this past Saturday. Given Northwestern's record, College GameDay's presence and the amount of marketing that went on for this game in Evanston, I have to admit I was somewhat shocked to see that much scarlet in the crowd. Michigan fans are known for making Ryan Field home, but I'm not sure I've seen Michigan fans dominate Ryan Field like Ohio State did on Saturday. With that said, there's that whole "not everyone wants to wear maize" thing, which perhaps distorts my perception of Michigan crowds at Ryan Field over the years. 

• I'm not sure Minnesota was "in the game" until the 4th quarter--I'd say it was basically over when Michigan scored to start the second half--but I do agree that Mitch Leidner showed promise for the Gophers (Star Tribune). 

• Also re: Leidner, the Leidner-Maxx Williams connection might be Minnesota's best shot at any sort of passing game going forward, especially in the red zone (St. Paul Pioneer Press). 

• Despite Urban Meyer's well-earned reputation as a brilliant offensive mind, it was the relatively straightforward running game that powered the Buckeyes to victory in Evanston. 

• Josh Slagter of MLive looks at Penn State by the numbers. I still have to give the slightest of edges to Jared Abbrederis over Allen Robinson as far as the best receiver in the conference goes, but Blake Countess et al will have their hands full trying to slow down the Hackenberg-Robinson connection on Saturday. 

Around the Big Ten: Week 6

With only half of the conference playing football last week, the Week 6 Big Ten slate was a bit more action-packed. Five conference games took place this past weekend, including big wins for Michigan State and Ohio State on the road and Nebraska and Indiana at home. Michigan's 42-13 win doesn't qualify as "big" so much as it was one small step toward a righted ship. In any case, on to the games:

Michigan 42, Minnesota 13. There's not much use saying too much here (see the previously linked Maize n Brew recap). The game was close for a little while due to the molasses-esque pace, and then it very quickly became not so close. Fin.

Penn State 24, Indiana 44. Penn State is not exactly the Penn State of old, but that doesn't make this score any less strange to look at. The Nittany Lions entered the fourth quarter down just 21-17. Penn State missed an opportunity to get on the board early when its first drive stalled at the Indiana 26 on 4th & 5. Christian Hackenberg later hit Allen Robinson for a 46-yard touchdown to tie it at 7-all in the second quarter. Indiana added two more field goals before the half to take a 13-7 lead into the break. All in all, holding Indiana to just 13 points is a solid accomplishment, and Penn State would need a few more big strikes to Robinson to come away with a victory.

Of course, that last sentence was all theory, as it did not play out that way. Hackenberg did hit Robinson again, this time for a 26-yard score, but the Hoosiers answered back via a Tevin Coleman 44-yard run. Penn State added a field goal in the third, but, once again, the Nittany Lion defense gave again, this time on an 11-play, 75-yard IU touchdown drive.

Thus, on PSU's next offensive drive, Bill O'Brien elected to go for it on 4th & 2 from PSU's own 33. The Hackenberg attempt fell incomplete, and the Hoosiers summarily scored on its second play from there. To make matters worse, Penn State's Eugene Lewis fumbled the ensuing kickoff, allowing the Hoosiers to start from PSU's 9-yard line. Another touchdown score made it 42-17 (the Hoosiers later added a safety).

The Nittany Lions got decent production from tailback Zach Zwinak (17 carries, 72 yards), but getting into a passing contest with a freshman quarterback against Indiana is not ideal. Hackenberg threw a whopping 55 times under the circumstances, completing 30 for 340 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions. Had the defense (and later the special teams) not thoroughly failed Penn State, people might be talking about Hackenberg's excellent performance on the road and Allen Robinson's monster day (12 receptions, 173 yards, two touchdowns).

Indiana is not a good football team overall, but they can score against most Big Ten defenses. I'm not sure Michigan can duplicate that sort of offensive production against the Nittany Lions, who will almost certainly put up a better defensive performance this Saturday at home. On the other hand, Michigan will have to be ready to check Allen Robinson and prevent Zwinak and company from chipping away at the now Pipkins-less front seven.

Once again, it's a sign of the times that I'm worried about a game against a team that just lost to Indiana by 20.

Jump for the rest of the Big Ten slate. 

Shameless Self-Promotion Time: Minnesota

My recap of Michigan's 42-13 rout of Minnesota went up this morning at Maize n Brew. In retrospect, I think I allowed the first half to disproportionately affect my thinking; even when the game was "close," it really wasn't. Michigan wasn't completely horrid in any aspect of the game save for third down defense on Minnesota's touchdown drive. Zero turnovers was the biggest positive takeaway from this past weekend.

In any case, as unimpressive as Michigan has looked at times, 5-0 is 5-0, and two more very winnable games are coming up before Michigan's second open week. After that, the tough part of the schedule begins, when Michigan faces Michigan State, Nebraska, Northwestern, Iowa and Ohio State. Assuming Michigan wins the next two, a 3-2 record or better in the final quintet of games would make for a decent season. I'm not sure if a 6-2 conference record wins Michigan the division, but they've got as good of a shot as the other three contenders, especially if at least two of those wins come against teams from the Northwestern-Nebraska-Michigan State group.

Breaking Points: Little Brown Jug/Homecoming Edition

After spending the bye week focusing on the rest of the Big Ten (and simultaneously trying not to think about the Akron and UConn games), Michigan will returns to the Big House this Saturday for its Big Ten opener (and Homecoming).

The Gophers, on the other hand, ran through their weak nonconference schedule with ease, only to drop its own conference opener against Iowa last week in disappointing fashion. In the 23-7 loss at TCF Bank Stadium, the Gophers rushed for just 30 yards on 27 carries (40 yards on 18 if you remove QB Philip Nelson's numbers). For a Minnesota squad without much serious receiving talent, if you shut down the ground game, you're in business. After the Gophers ran a pass-heavy spread-type offense for some time, a return to this sort of ground-based football seems appropriate to me.

So, what will be the key matchups heading into this one, as the Wolverines look to cover what seems to be a generous 19-point spread? Once again, the same things will likely continue to pop up all season:

Chris Bryant vs. jumping into the starting lineup. This will be Bryant's first meaningful game action, which would be encouraging under ordinary circumstances. As it stands, Bryant is getting the start out of necessity, what with Jack Miller struggling at center, forcing a Graham Glasgow move to that spot so Bryant can slide in at left guard. How Glasgow adapts to the center position is another story entirely, but, at minimum, Bryant should bring quite a bit more run-blocking oomph at the guard spot (and it's not as if Glasgow was particularly bad at LG anyway). Assuming Bryant is truly healthy and ready to play, if he can give Michigan a boost this week, perhaps the Michigan ground game will start to trend upward at just the right time.

Michigan front seven vs. Minnesota ground game. Simply put, whether it's Philip Nelson or Mitch Leidner in the game, this will be a classic Big Ten "stop the run" game, written without a hint of snark. It's difficult to get a feel for what Leidner can really do in the passing game, given that he's only played against Western Illinois and San Jose State (12-for-20, 176 yards, 60%, 0 TDs, 0 INTs). Nelson, on the other hand, has struggled, completing just 50.8% of his passes and throwing four interceptions to just two touchdowns. For all of the consternation about the UConn game, the Wolverine defense actually held the Huskies passing game in check (Chandler Whitmer passed for just 5.0 yards per attempt); Greg Mattison's side of the ball will need another performance like that if the Wolverines plan on its first comfortable victory since the Central Michigan game.

At tailback, Donnell Kirkwood has been limited by an ankle injury since the opener, and carried the ball just three times for six yards against Iowa. Kirkwood had a decent 2012 season; if healthy, he could be a challenge, but not unless the quarterbacks offer any sort of relief. If Kirkwood can't go, Rodrick Williams Jr. (5.8 YPC) and David Cobb (5.8 YPC) will carry the mail. Cobb is 5'11 225, whereas Williams Jr. is 5'11 235. In short, expect several Desmond Morgan thumpacolypses.

Lastly, whether Nelson or Leidner (or both) enter the game, both will carry the ball quite a bit themselves. In five games, the two signal carries have carried it 42 and 46 times, respectively.

Devin Gardner vs. mistakes. This will continue to be a point of concern for the rest of the season. Without entering the discourse of what his confidence level must be like after Akron and UConn (and even the Notre Dame pick six if you'd like to include that), Gardner must have a clean, relatively mistake-free game. Despite having explosive DT Ra'Shede Hageman, the Gophers are just 108th in sacks, with six in five games. Gardner will have time, but time has often been Gardner's enemy. As spectacular as Gardner's touchdown strike to Drew Dileo was last season against Minnesota, I'll take some conservative dinking and dunking before any wild, desultory scrambling. At the same time, that is who Gardner is as a quarterback, and asking him not to improvise is like trying to bottle up the wind.

Iowa's Jake Rudock went 15-for-25 for 218 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Quite honestly, this would be an encouraging line for Gardner, especially if he connects on a big play or two like Rudock did.

Hageman vs. non-Lewan offensive linemen. Hageman is a defensive tackle but is a type who will probably do some moving around on the line. With that said, I wouldn't be surprised to see him lined up on the edges, although I'd bet not against Lewan. So, whether it's Schofield, Kalis, Glasgow or Bryant, if Michigan is going to avoid another parade of 2-yard losses, they must account for Hageman's quickness. He hasn't had an especially dominant season to date, with only one sack to his name, but he is tied for the team lead in tackles for loss (5.5). Given the smack talk that has gone on this week, Hageman will be looking to prove himself and up his stock against a name brand like Michigan (if you're into that line of thinking). I usually dismiss that sort of thing, but, after all, these players are people, not automatons derived from meticulous calculus.

Jehu Chesson vs. incorporation into the offense. There is a minor undercard of a story for this week, but Chesson's incremental incorporation into the swing of things should hopefully take another step forward this Saturday. With all due respect to Jeremy Jackson and Joe Reynolds, Michigan is much better served with Chesson on the field. He took a leap forward in that department against UConn, but wasn't quite able to make those plays downfield. The Gophers gave up a couple of big plays against Iowa, including a 74-yarder to Damond Powell. This Saturday will be another opportunity to build up some trust with the coaches--he's already proven himself as a surprisingly effective blocker--as the Wolverines start to approach the challenging part of the schedule.

---
Other than that, Michigan is a better football team, and the Iowa game last week shed light on the weaknesses of this Minnesota squad. If Philip Nelson is tearing Michigan up through the air--and I feel like I've said this thirty times this season already--then run for cover.

Minnesota's only somewhat productive receiver is the 6'2'' 187-pound senior Derrick Engel, and even he has just 12 grabs thus far (160 yards, 1 touchdown). Assuming Michigan locks down on him like they should, I don't know where the receiving production will come from for Minnesota.

Roll your eyes if you must, but if Michigan runs the ball with any success and stops the run, then they do have a pretty good chance to cover that spread. On the heels of the Gophers' 16-point loss at home against Iowa, maybe I'm being a bit pessimistic, but I need to see Michigan put it together for a whole game against an overmatched opponent before I can start to breathe easy again.

It's a bit strange to think that Gardner's debut came against Minnesota last season, and that a year later against that same team, there are more questions than answers regarding his play. Saturday will provide the first of many opportunities to beat back the ghosts of Akron and UConn.

I think Michigan looks much better than it did against either of those teams, but isn't quite what it was against Notre Dame. Score: Michigan 31, Minnesota 13. 

Don't Know What You've Got

Source: Dave Hogg

For Michigan fans, the Minnesota series has been one of spoiled comfort marked by occasional hardship, hardship in the sense that a loss stands out like a flamingo among a waddle of penguins. In the grand scheme of things, Michigan's three losses against the Gophers since 1967 are kind of like getting comfortable on the couch to watch something on Netflix, only to realize your computer is about to die; you'll have to get up and plug it in. Sometimes you don't make it, as Jason Giannini has kicked your power cord out the window.

In my 24 years, the Wolverines have lost the Little Brown Jug just once, in 2005. Despite coming off of a big victory in East Lansing against the then No. 11 Spartans, the Wolverines were just 3-2 heading into the Minnesota game. Even so, the Wolverines still had a shot at winning a Big Ten title, despite stubbing their toe in Madison two weeks prior.

The year before, Henne and Hart's freshman season, the Minnesota game once again went down to the wire. Chad Henne struggled, tossing two interceptions in the third quarter. If I remember correctly, backup QB Clayton Richard even came into the game for a series, although the box score says he didn't throw a pass, and my vague memories of that day nine years ago shakily confirms that fact.

The Gophers collapsed down the stretch that season, but headed into the Big House with a shiny 5-0 record (Michigan was 4-1, its lone loss coming in South Bend before Mike Hart was Mike Hart).

Eventually, Henne led one of many comeback drives to come in his Michigan career. With 3:04 to go, Henne marched the Wolverines 67 yards to a score, capped by a 31-yard strike to pre-pitch-the-ball Tyler Ecker. As a sophomore in high school making my first trip to the Big House as a person old enough to remember and acknowledge the significance such a thing (I hadn't been since I was a little kid), the victory was the greatest sporting event I had seen live at that point. Then again, I was a Chicago sports fan growing up in a post-MJ world.

I didn't really understand what the Michigan fans of 1986 and and 1977 felt when the Wolverines lost the Jug, but I would find out the next season.

So, back to 2005. Steve Breaston returned a kickoff 95 yards for a score early in the second half to put Michigan up 20-13. However, a 13-play, 61-yard Minnesota drive tied things up with six minutes to play in the third quarter.

In the 4th, Garrett Rivas missed a 34-yarder that would've given Michigan the lead with about eight minutes to go. The miss would prove costly, not that you need reminding.

With Minnesota seemingly content to just run the ball and kill the remaining couple of minutes of clock, Gary Russell busted a 61-yarder as the Michigan defense seemed to collapse like a slowly deflating bouncy castle. I often wonder what was going through Russell's mind when he saw all that space before him. Is this real? Is this happening? What is the meaning of life? If a Michigan safety falls down in the forest and no one is around, does he make a sound? 

Only five seconds remained. Unlike Rivas, Minnesota PK Jason Giannini booted his 30-yarder through the uprights. On the ensuing kickoff, Steve Breaston was not able to duplicate his third quarter magic. The Wolverines lost ownership of the Jug for the first time since Jim Harbaugh wore the winged helmet.

In an altogether disappointing season--one that still ended with a shot at the Big Ten title when Ohio State came to town, mind you--that loss still sticks in my mind more than a relatively inconsequential loss should. The Notre Dame game was simply bad football against what turned out to be a solid Fighting Irish squad. The Wisconsin game can easily be chalked up to playing at a venue like Camp Randall during Barry Alvarez' swan song in Madison. The Ohio State game was crushing for the simple fact that it was Ohio State, and Michigan had the game in its hands late.

With all of that said, there's something about losing the Jug in the way that they lost it, my sarcastic hardship analogy notwithstanding. It was nonsensical, avoidable, and truly unbelievable, and not in the colloquial sense of something happening that could be believed if you think about it for just a little bit.

As painful as it is to lose the Jug, every event has its equal and opposite reaction; in no place is this more tidily accurate than in sports.

Think of how the Gophers felt in 2005, or in 1986 when they upset the undefeated, No. 2 Wolverines in the Big House. If you cannot muster the energy to care for the Jug from Michigan's vantage, think of what it means for the other side.

Back in 2004, when I didn't quite understand the meaning of the Jug, and how this could be considered a "rivalry" game at all, what I did understand was that Ecker's touchdown score was a great thing, something I'd seen and experienced live. I remember him catching the Henne bullet, shrugging two tacklers and rumbling down the left sideline--right from my perspective in the end zone--and into the end zone. The crowd roared for perhaps the first time all game. For a 14-year-old, waking up at 6 a.m. is never part of the plan; at certain points in the first half, I felt as if I might fall asleep.

I also wondered why no one was standing, but that is a gripe for another day.

As with all things, once you have it, you must keep it, lest you find out what it is to go without. Despite having won 16 in a row coming into the 2005 game, one less sent the Jug back to the Twin Cities.

The Jug is truly a supernatural thing, for with it comes the power to roll up 16 seasons into one, to negate a long steady march in one fell swoop.

Although Michigan's contests against the Gophers since 2003-05 haven't been particularly competitive, that doesn't mean that the game hasn't accrued value over time. Michigan enters this game a 19-point favorite, and Wolverine fans hope that is a reasonable assessment.

But, the Jug knows nothing of point spreads or favorites and underdogs or AP polls or relative numbers of All-Americans.

All the Jug knows, in the darkness within its painted exterior, is that it must be awarded, to one or the other. It isn't the Lombardi Trophy or the Stanley Cup, nor does it pretend to be. On Saturday, both of those crowning achievements of their respective sports will mean very little to me, because I want the Jug to stay in Ann Arbor, almost as much as I don't want it go.

In case you need one more external reason to care, remember Glen Mason in 2003:

"I'd just like to see the thing before I die."