One More Time

If you had not heard by now, tucked away in a bubble impervious to news: Michigan will take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish this Saturday in the Big House for the last time in some time.

I highly doubt it will be the last time ever, but given the nature of this series, it is probably unwise to assume a resumption of the series (after it officially ends next season in South Bend, of course) in the near future.

Brian Kelly and Brady Hoke have traded "barbs" (or what amounts to that in the stultifying coachspeakverse of 2013) over the last week with respect to the status of the rivalry. Michigan vs. Notre Dame: is it all it's cracked up to be? I don't know if Kelly (or Notre Dame fans) believes what he said, but I'm not sure it matters. As always, words obfuscate, distort and distract; they are a flock of birds fleeing a loud crash in unison. You look and see the birds, forgetting about the sound at all. It is as if it never happened.

The 2007 game, during my freshman year at Michigan, was my first live, in-person experience of the rivalry. The day was a grim, forgettable one. Michigan was Henne-less, but Notre Dame was overmatched, even against a Michigan team that had just lost two games in a row, extinguishing the expectant fire of its preseason ranking like a weakly flickering candle's flame. The Wolverines romped, 38-0, but that one, like the 2003 game of the same score, was an aberration in this series.

The 2009 game was a strange one, simply because it existed in the post-2008 universe but the pre-collapse universe. In other words, it was September. Notre Dame erased an 11-point 4th quarter deficit but with the chance to seal the deal late, Charlie Weis chose to pass on both second and third downs. Tate Forcier, before all the other stuff happened, was not someone you wanted to give one final chance to on that day in Ann Arbor.

On first and goal, Michigan's LaTerryal Savoy dropped a pass in the end zone. On the next play, Forcier went back to the same side, only this time Greg Mathews reeled the pass in for the touchdown, running back through the end zone toward the Michigan sideline, a run only interrupted by his frantic delivery of the football to the referee.

In 2011, my first game after graduating, the Big House was thrown into a void where nothing made sense. Up became down, down became up, and the simple became difficult. After a long build-up that Saturday, I should've realized that my chance run-in with Lloyd Carr before the game was a sign that this was not a den bound by reality.

Nonetheless, Michigan stumbled through three quarters, as if entrenched in a bad dream. But, eventually the lights against the night sky awoke the Wolverines, and Roy Roundtree caught his first pass of the day with just two seconds left to play.

Even when things haven't gone Michigan's way, something extraordinary has happened. In 2002, Carlyle Holiday fumbled at the goal line. In 2005, Chad Henne appeared to be in the end zone, but fumbled it away (or so they said). In 2010, then safety Cam Gordon gave up a touchdown that, at the moment, seemed to be a death knell. In 2012, Michigan turned the ball over six times, on six straight possessions. I don't know how often that happens in rivalry games, but I'm willing to bet that if it were to happen between any two teams, it would be Michigan and Notre Dame, whether in Ann Arbor or South Bend.

Michigan and Notre Dame won't so much be losing a rivalry; Michigan still has Michigan State and Ohio State, and, in truth, that is probably enough to keep most people occupied. But for anyone who grew up in the Midwest, the loss of Michigan-Notre Dame is not just the loss of another rivalry among a coterie of rivalries.

When these teams take the field, more often that not something very strange happens. Sometimes it benefits Michigan, other times Notre Dame. The football bounces in way it should not, and the better team often loses. Bad calls are made, by both coaches and referees, and young players wilt under the heat (or the cool night) of the early September sun, or South Bend's blue-gray sky.

This isn't a rivalry, an ongoing series of games played one here and one there into perpetuity. No, that would be too simple and quite frankly, a little boring.

What's being lost is this: two Midwestern giants on the stage, as Fate slings arrows indiscriminately at the actors from afar. Michigan-Notre Dame is not just another game: it is theater. Chaotic, anarchic theater. And when the two teams leave the field around midnight this Saturday, the lights will shine somberly. Exeunt. 

Gettin' There, 7/29

With fall camp just a hop, skip, and a jump away, things are starting to take on a new feel. For any experienced fan, this  is something that is palpable and nigh quantifiable, and can either be exciting or terrifying depending upon what lies ahead. We're less than forty days away from the beginning of the Brady Hoke Era, and I'm not quite sure whether to be worried or not. In any case, the shot-in-the-arm of pure Hoke-speak that was yesterday has got me fired up and ready to go (as if I haven't been in that state ever since the final second ticked off the clock against the Bulldogs on New Year's Day). As lame as the concept of "getting it" is and sounds, Coach Hoke clearly does. Now, all he has to do is go out and, you know, win games and stuff.

Big Ten Media Day: As I said before, it was a pretty boring event but one that everyone watches because it's that time of the summer when fall camp is near but we're not quite there yet. A recap of the proceedings is available here.

Pretty general stuff, but the main points:

• Hoke hasn't yet made a decision on the status of Darryl Stonum. I've written before that it would be difficult for me to feel good about letting him back on the team. We'll see, but from a purely on-the-field perspective, having Darryl in the fold would be, in a word, tremendous. Anything that takes pressure off of the run game (also known as "Denard Robinson") is crucial, and Stonum certainly adds that very thing to the offense with his ability to stretch the field. 
• He touched on the rationale of moving toward the pro-style, in that development on that side of the ball simultaneously makes the defense better and tougher (of course). 
• My favorite part of these types of pressers are the names that coaches mention as guys who have done well in the spring/summer. One notable name that stuck out: Jerald Robinson. Assuming that Stonum is back for the 2011 season, we're looking at Roundtree/Hemingway/Stonum rounding out the top 3 wideouts, and after that it gets a little murky. Odoms is of course there too, but his role is something to monitor going forward. Jeremy Jackson showed some ability last season as a strictly possession receiver down the road, and Je'Ron Stokes hasn't quite put it together yet. In short, there are some reps up for grabs (and this becomes even more true if Stonum is kicked off the team, which, for the record, I don't think he will be). Robinson was a pretty non-descript recruit--although not at the same level of a DJ Williamson "track star playing football" type--but he does have some solid measureables. In any case, we are fairly stacked at wideout this year, and any contributions from the underclassmen is gravy. 
• Kellen Jones is not enrolled at the moment. While the situation here remains unclear, it would be unfortunate to lose a guy like that who many were feeling pretty good about (myself included). 
• JT Floyd, recovering from an ankle injury, appears to be ready to practice. I have perhaps unreasonably high hopes for Courtney Avery, but I would definitely prefer to see JT out there opposite Woolfolk to start the season. The motto of the defense this season should be assignment football and "solid if unspectacular," and JT fits that bill. I mean that in the least disrespectful way possible. Seriously, GEOMETRY Coach Mattison, teach it! 

EDSBS on Big Ten Media Days: As usual, EDSBS weighs in hilariously on the Big Ten's Media Day:

The best summary of a Brady Hoke speaking engagement is to imagine Lloyd Carr using a gigantic Matt Foley puppet to address the media. The similarity in cadence is eerie, right down to repeated citations of "We're Michigan" as a justification for just about any statement Hoke wanted to make. ("I should have a large pizza up here hot and fresh right now. Why? Because we're Michigan, that's why.")

Yeah, pretty much. In other news, Mark Dantonio called Jim Tressel a "tragic hero." DERP. Brandstatter says "uh, no he's not," Dantonio says "uh, who are you?" Good times.

Recruiting Blast From the Past: Former All-Awesome Names American commit Shavodrick Beaver has picked up his bags and transferred, leaving Tulsa for the beautiful confines of Midwestern State (it's real, I checked). Obviously the best of luck to him in his future endeavors, but this cannot be said enough times...we definitely did well in replacing Newsome and Beaver with Forcier and Denard (even taking into account Tate's transfer). This is basically the college football equivalent of Seward's Folly.

New Scoreboards: 

(HT: MGoBlog user TheGreatDanton)

That is amazing. No longer will you have to squint to confirm whether Armando Allen stepped out or not. It will be interesting to see how the boards will be configured when replays aren't being shown, but either way this is another tremendous addition to the Big House.

Rivals Class Rankings: Michigan comes in at #3. With Michigan looking to be fairly picky as they fill out the rest of this already superb class, it's unlikely that the Wolverines will drop too far if at all by NSD. While we've certainly seen mega-classes bust before in epic fashion (ahem, 2005), it's nice to see Michigan's recruiting brand bookended in the rankings by powerhouses like FSU and UF. It's good to be the king.