What Time Is It?

12:38 am Saturday, HUH!    OK.  Time to nail down these three things a prediction and then black out.  But first, lets listen to the white stripes, because the next time the state of Ohio produces a musical group as good as this this you can call me kitten: anything to avoid advertisements. BUY THEIR MUSIC

1: Whats that you say?  Number one looks familiar?  That's because it is.. Yes, the offensive line. It boils down to this, can MSU protect Kirk long enough for him to throw the ball, with none of those back foot passes.  However, what will be more important for this game is if the offensive line can get to that second level.  Obviously we will need the offensive line to stop the front four.  It is the back three I am worried about.  We need to be able to stop a line backer to spring a running back.   Look for that if MSU is to win. 

2:  Oh, the offensive line is important?  Well so is the running game.   MSU needs to have a successful running game to win this game..  What does a successful run game give you?  Simply, it gives you clock control.  Clock control is going to be extremely important.  Keep the OSU defense on the field - get them tired.  Set up the play action pass and expoit it.  No one on OSUs defense can guard BJ Cunningham - along with that, no one can guard Dion Sims either.    Get the run game going or this will be a long day.

3:  Ok, so the last time I mentioned this, the opposite happened, which makes me an oracle of sort.  MSU needs to keep the crowd out of it.  I expect a rowdy crowd, way louder and larger than what was at Notre Dame.  MSU will need to score a touchdown early and rattle young Braxton Miller.  Get the crowd out of this game, and demoralize OSU early, that wil go a long way towards winning.

Prediction:  Defense is the strength of each time.   I will say first to 20 wins.  Also, this is the best chance MSU has had to beat OSU in the last decade.  Lets make it 24-21. MSU.  Michigan State gets a lead on a touchdown and OSU makes it interesting while State plays "bend, don't break" and ultimately gives up a field goal.   GO GREEN!!

(P.S. the Tigers game really put a damper on my evening.  Well not really, I still managed to drink Pats weight in red wine and am feeling good.  Whats worse is the Tigers game might start while MSU is ending.  I think pat and I can agree on this, Go Tigers!)

Spartan Warrior

This will be the first non football related post on the blog.  However, it is worth mentioning. Delvon Roe is retiring due to increased complications with his knee.  I will link Lansing State Journal sports columnist, Joe Rexrode.  Very good quotes from both Tom Izzo and Delvon Roe in there.  Roe will be missed, he was gritty and never complained.  He was everything a Tom Izzo basketball player should  be.

Click here for Joe Rexrode article

3 Things (Attending Game Edition)

I've made par on this hole, I promise.

1) Phase I: 8 til Noon - The Tailgate

I know the football game doesn't begin until noon, but the real sporting begins when I wake at about 6am.  A quick Meijer run to secure the tailgating essentials and then round up the rest of the crew at the hotel. (how lame is it that I'm now on old person who must stay in a hotel?) We will head down the UM golf course, pay our $30 fee and begin consumption.  Is there anything more glorious than a college football tailgate?  Ahhhh, I'm tingly.

2) Phase II:  Noon til 3 - Gametime

Oh yeah, there's a football game going on.  I'll be watching to see if Michigan's passing game can get on track, if the defense can shut down Minny's run game and whether or not we get to see some young guys (Devin Gardner puhlease) early in the 2nd half.  Also, it has been far too long since I've experienced the best wave in the world.  This game should provide ample opportunity for waveage.

Prediction: 33-16 Michigan


3) Phase III: 3 til Snooze - The Bar

With only one weekend in Ann Arbor, where is my time best spent?  This is going to be a major decision that will influence my entire experience.  In the afternoon I will need to be somewhere that will allow for more football to be watched on television and as night comes it's going to be about staying up and staying inebriated.  I'll be reminiscing on my lost college days and trying to recreate them with the powers of booze.  Dominick's will surely find it's way into the mix somewhere on this timeline, as will some spectacular Ann Arbor eats. 


Glory awaits me this weekend, for now I'm off to coach my 2-1 freshman squad to victory. 

The atmosphere won't quite be as awesome as the night game, but I'm pumped to head back to Michigan Stadium nonetheless.  Here's a little piece of what it was like just a few weeks ago.  Take it away Jack White.

Heading into Big Ten Play

4-0

He seems rather happy about 4-0.

For the third consecutive season Michigan sweeps their non-conference schedule. We've seen this storyline before, exciting victory over Notre Dame and wins over lesser competition get Michigan into the top 25 in September.  The last two seasons the starts have been followed by collapse in B1G play.  Will this year be any different?

Well, maybe.

3 Reasons 2011 Michigan is different than 2010 and 2009.

1) Defensive stops

Yeah I know.  This is a new phenomena after the recent history at Michigan.  There are some reasons for concern (ND still racked up yards, competition level hasn't been great) but also some reasons for optimism (young guys stepping up, the secondary doesn't look like a sieve, Greg Mattison has coherent scheme)

There are still plenty of question marks with this unit heading into Big Ten play, and they are unlikely to be world beaters, but if they can just get stops they will give Denard and the offense a shot to win every game.  So far, they have done enough.  Can they keep it up?


2) Turnovers

When you don't get them, you usually bring up statistics to show how turnover numbers from year to year usually regress to the mean.  Now that Michigan IS forcing turnovers, I would like to believe that the improvement is real and due to coaching, improvement, rather than simple regression to the mean.  Again, we will find out soon in Big Ten games.  If the defense is able to continue creating turnovers, this could be a special season.


3) Special Teams

1-2 on FG's doesn't seem spectacular, but the kicking game and the return game have both been good.  I'm actually not that concerned about FG's.  This phase of the game has gone from a glaring weakness to something of a strength.  That feels awfully weird to type, in a good way.

Happy?  Yeah, but still gotta coach em up.

You can't have one without the other....

3 Reasons for Concern as Big Ten Play Begins

1) Can Denard throw?

He's a top 10 Heisman candidate, so when he's your top concern you have some good things going on, but can Denard throw the football in this offense?  He's had some accuracy issues and the offense seems to have some problems getting into a rhythm in the passing game, but they are running so effectively that the concern is lessened.  If they want to win more than half their Big Ten games, Denard needs to pick it up in the passing game.


2) Linebacker play

The defensive line is developing a rotation, making plays and improving each game.  They aren't going to be dominant but they have been and can be solid.  The secondary has played well and looks like the most improved unit on the defense.  The linebackers, however, still make too many mistakes.  The outside backers give up contain and Demens in the middle has some problems when he's not making plays downhill.  They aren't going to be a massive problem like in years past, but I'm a little worried about their mistakes being magnified by better competition.  This unit needs to play well to limit opposition running game which is essential to B1G success.


3) Depth on the Oline

It hasn't yet hurt Michigan in the way that MSU has gotten stung by injuries to a thin unit, but the threat is there.  After the SDSU game, two of Michigan's starting lineman were limping/banged up.  The depth is so thin with this unit that two injuries would result in a big drop-off on the field.  This is a wait and see situation, all we can do is hope for health.

Central - MAC Recap.

Well Michigan State won, and won convincingly.  I have had a few discussions with Pat about this, mostly that it is hard to take away anything from a blow out win.  What can I say?

First, Micajah Reynolds and Fou Fonoti both looked good at their tackle positions.  Also, Travis Jackson looked good and earned praise from both the coaching staff and players.   This is where it is hard to draw any conclusions.  CMU is not a very good team.  So I would hope that these players looked good.

Le'veon Bell looked "good".  Why the parenthesis you ask?  I will tell you why!  He just does not impress me.  His largest run of the day he literally tripped and that managed to fool the defender.  For the amount of praise he gets from other blogs and bloggers (i am looking at you TOC community)  I expect some sort of Heisman candidate talk.  Yes he ran really well against CMU.  Get back to me after next week...

Dion Sims.  Hes a man.  A real man.  Throw him the damn ball.

I  cannot lie, winning by a large margin is nice.  This blog will likely never throw numbers at you to try to turn football into some sort of moneyballesque sight. (again I am looking at you TOC).  In all cases one team is better than the other, and sometimes a team gets lucky.  On Saturday, we were plainly a better team.

And I am really looking forward to playing Ohio State which I feel is a very winnable game against a solid defense and a disconnected offense.  This game will show a lot more of what the Spartans are made of.  

3-1.  Ohio State next week in a non-division league game. 

(See what i did in the title there?)

Michigan State Aggies

Texas A&M is officially heading to the SEC.  Ivan Maisel writes a cute little article and Tbone's Spartans come up in a very interesting way....

But the dispute over the ESPN-operated Longhorn Network served as the last bruise to Aggie Pride. And the Aggies without their pride aren't much more than Michigan State on the Brazos.  Texas A&M, like Michigan State, lives in the shadow of a sister public institution with a richer football tradition. Texas A&M, like Michigan State, has won one national championship (1939) and won it so long ago that no one remembers the players

Relevant to this site?

Sure to incite a reaction from Tbone?

Pure comedy for Wolverines?

Three Things Spartan Edition

Well, we are at that time again. It is Friday and it is time for the the three things.  The first one will be a familiar one once again. 

1.  How will the offensive line hold up?  This is something to keep an eye on the rest of the season.  Blake Treadwell is only anticipated to miss this game, however, Jared McGaha is expected to miss all games up to the Michigan game.  Travis Jackson is in at center and was the starter all pre-season until an ankle injure pushed Blake in there. Perhaps Travis will represent... A New Hope......  If we suffer another injury, it could be the season. Look for the offensive line to show up.  Or at least hope they do.  A lot of the break down against ND seemed to be from lack of reps, lack of experience, this needs to stop immediately. 

2. Establishing the run?  Dan Roushar said hes going to stick with what MSU is for the rest of the year.  No more unnecessary flea flickers, no more unnecessary wild cat, no more having one guard on one side of the center and the rest of the line on the other.  If anything an offensive lineup like that would hurt such a young line.  Keep it simple.  Lets run the ball up the middle, have some bumps to the outside as well a pitch outside and get some screen passes going.  We should out match CMU all over the place.  Lets get in and win.

3.  Can we win the turnover battle?  This is something we excelled at when we won the Big Ten Title.  Last week we had some costly fumbles and failed to score when getting the ball off a turnover.  Let's pressure the QB, and get some interceptions and then punch it in.  Look for MSU to do that.

CMU was just dominated by WMU and everything that I have read about CMU is that this is not their strongest team, certainly not the level of team that beat us two years ago.  (i hate typing that)

Prediction:  34-10 MSU.   I do not see this being close at any point.  Except before the game starts. 

Three Things

Michigan beat Eastern last week and it's difficult to take a lot from the game.  I know it was close after the first quarter, but after that it was never in question.  The big story from the game was that Denard ran the ball so many times.

This guy is good.

On we move to San Diego State.  There are plenty of story lines here as Hoke faces his old team.  Two of the top three offensive players in this game play for SDSU.  Their quarterback Hindley is an NFL level talent as a big armed statue type.  At running back, Hillman is probably the best back UM will face all season.  After a monster year last season he's off to a great start and is 2nd in the nation in rushing through three games.  Beyond those two, I dont' think the Aztecs stack up across the board to the talent level of the Wolverines.

Three things to watch:

1)  Is Denard capable of throwing accurately?

He looked like a precision passer early in the year last year, had some hiccups with decision making during Big Ten play but still graded out as an accurate guy in almost every game last year.  This season Robinson's decision making has seemed OK but his accuracy has been far from good.  Some of his passes have appeared to be nerves, where he simply overthrew open receivers, but what could be shrugged off as an anomoly is now looking like a disturbing trend.  If Denard completes over 70% of his passes, Michigan will win this game easily.

2) Hillman's yards per carry. 

After watching the first three weeks of the season, it would be crazy to expect Michigan to shut down Ronnie Hillman.  He is currently averaging 6.5 YPC through 3 games.  Expect him to run for over 100 yards, probably close to 150.  The big question is whether those yards come with a bunch of big gainers, gashing the Wolverines defense or whether he has to work for those yards on a ton of carries.  If he's over 5 YPC it is going to be a long day for Hoke & Co, under 4 YPC and it will be a very good performance by the Michigan defense.

3) Will a RB please stand up?

Vincent Smith has played well and earned the start versus the Aztecs, but it's unlikely he can be a mail carrier throughout the season.  Thomas Rawls is making some noise in practice and will likely get some carries this week.  I still think Fitzgerald Toussaint is the guy, but his health issues seem never ending.  I'm hoping Toussaint or Rawls can step up and have a big game Saturday and begin to the ease the load put on Denard in the running game.


Prediction:

Hindley and Hillman keep it close through three quarters.  Michigan gives up yards and points on defense but has a good day in both the passing and running game offensively.

42-28 Michigan

News Roundup

Well here we are on Thursday and we have so much to catch up on that I will not have enough space!

First: Skylar Burkland is out for the season with a broken leg. This means Fou Fonoti is in at right tackle. To throw salt in the wound, Blake Treadwell  has a MCL and will miss this week, Travis Jackson is in at center, which might be a good thing. Jared McGaha, out with a MCL sprain as well, hell be until the UM game at least...Offensive line is looking thin boys, hold on to your butt cheeks!















Second: The ACC is expanding.  I don't really care about this except all the side stories.  My lady friend seems to think that Penn State is going to jump ship to the ACC soon as well.  I call bologna.  Everyone seems to think Notre Dame is going to jump ship to the ACC as well.  Also, Bologna.  (please discuss in the comments).  The Pac-12 is staying the same, I like this story after listening to the Pac-12 commissioner on ESPN yesterday.  He basically said they wanted to add Texas right now but the longhorn network prevents that since Texas will not share revenue on that, did I mention the longhorn network i s brought to you by ESPN?  So there was a certain level of snark in that interview. 

Third:  Dan Roushar took all the blame for MSU's loss to ND.  I can agree with that.  We were pulling some weird stuff, flea flickers, wild cat, off centered offensive lines.  As Joe O noted in the previous post.  Stick to what you know, throwing to BJ Cunningham and running.  Though I will state that with the offensive line injuries, I am not sure what will happen to the running game.  Were gonna need to shore up some mistakes quickly and keep things simple with this line.

Fourth: Who the hell does UM play?  Where is Pat?  I feel like i am playing one on one basketball only against my shadow.  No for real, who does UM play?  That is how little I care.  BOOM RIVALRY!!!!!!!!!!!!  O that's right it is San Diego State.  Nervous, Pat? 

(P.S.  I am about ready for MSU to get another football recruit and it better not be some three star. We need to get over the hump when it comes to ranked talent)

Uhhh Worst Nightmare

Well I guess this is obvious, but my three things were three things we needed and didnt get.  To start, we didnt control the crowd.  Notre Dame scored on their first possession and we did little to quiet them after that.  Our offensive line looked every bit the worry that every blogger wrote about before the season started.  After this game, I am very worried about the rest of the season.  Our defensive line looked good.  I wish we got more contact on the quarterback.  Gholston needs to show up the rest of the season.  We need a defensive end.  Worthy a top ten pick?  Mel Kiper smokes crack. 

I am not sure why MSU didnt attack deep more often.  This is something UM did, and it paid off.  On top of that Denard is 1/4th the passer that Kirk is.  This was a HUGE mistake by the coaching staff.  HUGE.  Along those lines, I understand trying to establish the run, but when you have a player that they cannot stop (BJ Cunningham) you give him the ball more - and that means more passing. 

Fake field goal?  I understand going for it.  In face I thought we should go for it.  However, if you are going o go for it, line up the offense.  We needed two yards.  If you cant get two yards with such players as Dion Sims, BJ Cunningham and Edwin Baker, you do not deserve to win.  A fake field goal was obvious.  Just go for it next time, with a full offense. 

We looked like a 7 win team max in that game.  Our offensive line needs to show up even more with the season ending injure to Skylar Burkland.    Michigan is now ranked higher than us in the polls, though no part of me that thinks they are a better team, this happens when you win.  (and when you look like a pizza pizza bowl bound team in your loss)

2-1

My Teeth are Green - Notre Dame Style

Not from the Spartan spirit but from NyQuil.  Yup. Big N, little y, GIANT F'n Q.   Ole tbone here has quit the head cold and it could not have come at a more inopportune time.   But this is life, and we move on from it.  So whats going on this week?  O yea, the Notre Dame game.

Last week, ND came out on a tear and looked like it was going to cruise to victory.  Then the second half happened.  The offense sputtered, there defense faltered and suddenly they were locked up in a tight one.   Going ahead on a TD with about a minute left wasn't enough as the secondary fell apart and eventually gave up the game winning drive.  So whats going to happen to ND this week?  Some people believe this will be a deflating game for ND and the the Spartans couldn't have asked for a better outcome of that game.  Others feel that ND will come out storming and this is bad for the Spartans.  I am part of that camp. 

The crowd at ND stadium is going to be going bonkers.  They want a win and they want it bad.  Can ND go 0-3?  I hope so. Which leads me to my first of three things:

1. Controlling the crowd:  I think it is very important for MSU to come out strong, they do not need to score on the first possession but they need to stop ND from scoring on their first possession.  Quiet the crowd a bit and then get some points on the board.

(these next two will sound familiar)
2. Defensive line play:  MSU needs to come out firing on all cylinders defensively.  This will be the key to the game.  ND holds the best passing offensive we will see all year and that still is a weak point for us, especially the way ND passes.  Worthy, Gholston and other lineman need to get to the QB - rattle him a bit.

3. Offensive line play:  Our young offensive lineman will show their worth in this game.  Expect Mante Teo to blitz a lot,  can we pick that up and protect Kirk?  Can our blockers get to the second level and spring some runs?  If Kirk can stay on his feet expect him to find a lot of receivers and gain a lot of yards.

as a 3b choice: I would say Kirk needs redemption for this game (from two years ago) and he knows it.  A solid showing here will go a long way to a win.

Prediction:  31-28 ND.  I see them winning this one in spite of our recent success down in South Bend.  ND has too much to prove to themselves.  I feel it will be close throughout but ND's defense gets it done this time as time expires.  (I hate writing that)

Tomato Can

My esteemed blogging buddy is making movie references, blowing minds and altogether establishing himself as a blogging legend.

I, on the other hand, lament the passing of the annual "Michigan crushes Irish dreams" week. 

We move on to to play Eastern Michigan.  Losing to EMU would be the worst loss in Michigan history.  I know the weight of that statement.  I am fully aware of that Michigan lost to these guys just a few years ago.  Obligatory video follows.



You know you like that sax.  You were swaying to the beat, I caught you.

Anyway, here's 3 things:

1) Don't get hurt Denard
2) Shut down EMU's running game (or I'll be looking at predicting a loss next week versus SDSU)
3) Play reserves, get those banged up guys some rest

There isn't a whole lot else to look at when you play a tomato can.  Sorry Eastern fans, you're really bad.

33-6

Momma Tomato a Pappa Tomato and a Baby Tomato*

Sorry folks, I have a new job and it has been bananas!  Good thing I have a partner in crime to pick me up.  Were like Cabrera and Martinez.  (Im Cabrera, duh).  On the the new Uni's  I like them.  Let me go back, I dont hate them.  ESPN may have summed it up best, they look like a good uni for Baylor.  The gold is supposed to be bronze, like a shield.  I imagine they had to make it lighter to oppose the black a little better.  Maybe it will be more bonzey on TV.  I LOVE the gloves, the shoes are tight and the writing on the collar says "Molon Labe" which roughly means "come and get them" - King Leonidas roared this to the Persians.  Apparently we were a late entry into the Pro Combat Uni and it appears were kind of a copy of Oregon's from last year.  My biggest problem with that is that instead of incorporating our colors wholly, like other schools get, ours our changed.  To that, I think NIKE did that on purpose, as a F-U to the alumni for shooting down their new helmet idea.  

On to FAU.  We dominated them, they are not a very strong team however.  To compare, we one upped Florida's defense against FAU.  That has to be a good thing?  Maybe The Owls were still licking wounds from Florida. We held them to 48 yards of offense.  They were outmatched in every aspect of the game.  This is how I saw the Youngstown game going.  It is hard to really take anything from this game, obviously our defense can dominate - and if we are to win, the defensive line needs to dominate all future opponents.  Kirk Cousins looked great, Maxwell looked good, and BJ Cunningham made an impressive grab to become MSU's all time leader in receptions.  BJ might be the best receiver in the B1G. 

We will get a good test this coming week to see where we are as a team.....or will we?.... preview to come Friday!

*(if you dont get the title of the post, go rent Pulp Fiction)

Go Green! Go....Gold?

I didn't love or hate Michigan's "throwback" Addidas uniforms...but these Nike Pro Combat uniforms the Spartans just unveiled feature gold helmets.  The uniforms look more like Colorado State or South Florida.  I'm not sure they are ugly as much as they are just confused.   I do like the gloves at least.

Judge for yourself...

Here's the link.

By Joy or Beer, I was Drunk

And I mean drunk.

That was fun.  I've only watched the game in one delirious viewing so I have no idea what it means for the season or if Michigan and Notre Dame are any good or if the defense has improved at all or if this offense will properly utilize Denard.  I only know one thing; I love football. 

You know that song "Don't you wish your girlfriend was hot like me?"  Is that what it feels like for fans of opposing teams to watch Denard? 

Some not Michigan related things:

MSU's defense put on a show.  I watched none of that game so Tbone will have to fill us in on the details.

PSU got beat by the Crimson Tide in about the fashion I expected.  They are going to compete in the Leaders division and could still even win it.  What take away from that game?  Alabama is good. 

Trent Dilfer is the best color guy on television and it's not even close.  (He did the 2nd game of the Monday night doubleheader on ESPN)

Lights, Dude

Let there be...

What a novel idea, playing sports at night. Even the Cubs gave in to pressure long ago and began playing night games.  Finally, Michigan will do the same.

Notre Dame comes off a turnover filled loss to South Florida and Michigan comes in feeling good about their blowout win over Western.  So you would think a 1-0 Michigan would be a solid favorite at home over an 0-1 Notre Dame...but Vegas has ND -3.5.

It's going to be a wild one in Ann Arbor Saturday night.  Here are:

3 Things to Watch

1. Will the pressure get home? 

Michigan's secondary looks like it's improved.  Michigan's secondary does not appear to be improved tremendously.  Michael Floyd plays for ND.  This is bad.  Floyd will have a massive game unless Michigan can get regular pressure on ND's quarterbacks.  Floyd is probably going to have a big game regardless, but a couple of hurried mistakes by Rees or sacks to stop drives would be just what the doctor ordered.  Michigan didn't get home with their front four in the Western game, they may have to against Notre Dame.  It will be interesting to see if Mattison can dial up blitz packages that get home two weeks in a row. If Rees has all day in the pocket, the Irish will win this game.

2. Is Notre Dame's defense overrated?

Denard Robinson torched those guys last year.  And then everyone kept saying how improved ND's defense was throughout the season and how great Monte Te'o plays at MLB.  After lopsided yardage numbers in game one, the Irish defense is still being talked about as a dominant unit.  I think maybe ND's D is a bit overrated.  If Michigan gets stuffed in the running game, I'll being to believe the hype.


3. Unleashing of Drob

In what should be a very competitive game throughout, it will be very interesting to watch how often Borges turns to Robinson in key situations.  He's going to run more than he did against Western, but how much is the big question. 


Prediction

I've been waffling here all week.  I really think Michigan is going to struggle defensively in this game.  I also have a sneaking suspicion the offense might explode and have a huge day as well.  I'd be surprised if this isn't a shootout.  Call me Simpson, I'm going with:

Michigan 38-28

I Know What Season It Is

A basketball hype video?  It's nice to be good enough to warrant one of these...and even nicer when someone puts together such an amazing video.  The clips of the old melded into the new are really awesome.  Some guy must have spent countless hours on this.  In my own humble opinion, this may be the best hype video I've seen.

Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa, Mea Maxima Culpa

So I hate writing this.  I just hate it and there is nothing I can do about it.  I will be out of town all weekend starting Thursday and ending Sunday.  Out of town you say?  Yes, at a wedding, on Saturday!  Who gets married on Saturday in the fall?  Whose the guy that lets his wife set that date?  Well I know who he is, he IS AN IDIOT.  UGH.  Obviously, this guy is not my friend, but is the fiance of my girl friends friend.  Still following?  O well, I have to go.

There will be little to no coverage on my end, I wont see the game, however I will DVR it and try to get a re cap up later in the week for it.  Right now I am gonna jump right into three things. 

The first two for me are easy for this game.  After last week - and seeing what happened to other ranked teams I feel pretty good.

1:  Offensive and Defensive Line Play. 
How are our offensive and defensive line going to play this game?  They were both underwhelming against the Penguins and will need to pick it up against the Owls.  Since FAU has played a game, MSU has something to quantify itself against.  FAU was held to one yard per carry last week - I would like to be around there .  Or at least get some QB sacks.  There are some changes.  Dan France OR Fou Fonoti are in at LT.  I think this is a good thing.  I have been big on Fou since the transfer, I think he will work out there in spite of getting most of reps at RT.

2: Line backer play.
 This will be quick,  Denicos Allen is the starter.  I have been raving about him.  Watch out!  Hes fast, he hits hard, and he was the only player last week to use his arms to wrap people up while tackling.  YAY.

3: Penalties. 
On one possession we had three penalties in a row.  That's unacceptable.  Mitchell White had a couple pass interference penalties and over all, penalties are bountiful.  MSU needs to stop that, we are a good team, but we need to stop unnecessary penalties.  Time to shore up everything before we travel to ND in week 3.

Those are my three things, two of them are from last week, but that's ok, considering how those two units were under performing in my opinion.  

Prediction: 38-10 MSU.  This one will not feel as close as the YSU game.  Late TD for FAU is how I feel.

(I hope I didn't get anything completely wrong, I wrote this pretty quickly.  O and also, go blue?  I hate ND. But every year this game is like uhhh can they tie?)

Around the Country

Around the rest of the country:

(tbone will be in italics)

Auburn is bad.  I know they won, but they are going to lose a lot of games.  They'll be lucky to make a bowl game.
(auburn did not look good.  but if they were in the big east they might go undefeated.)


Minnesota put up a valiant effort against USC.  Would have been a huge win for Jerry Kill.  I'm now a bit curious if this says more about Minny's improvement or USC's lack thereof.   If USC has less than 8 wins this season is Kiffin on the hot seat?
(it looks like minnesota wont be a doormat team this year, they had few mis cues and shoulda beat USC at USC. How awesome would that have been?  Even their back up QB looked good.  I dont know if USC is that bad, we will see how the pac12 plays out, but man id be happy if my UCLA Bruins beat them)

LSU's defense is really fast, like usual.  Oregon still moved the ball but mistakes cost them.
(and this is why you want 4 stars and up in your recruiting class, try telling that to the folk over at theonlycolors.com  LSU looked like the team to beat in the SEC.  maybe Oregon was overrated?)


Boise is poised to make a run at the title game.  Keep an eye on where they are ranked when the initial BCS rankings come out.  This could be the year.  Defeated an SEC team in a hostile environment will get Boise credit with the voters.  (Agree 100% here, also its good MSU gets them next year without Kellen Moore.  And MSU should be nervous.  last year they beat VTech in Washington DC i think?  THis year they beat Georgie at Georgia.  Obviously they're not intimidated. 

Looks like Indiana is the worst team in the Big Ten. (yup.)

Kudos to Northwestern, the biggest win for the Big Ten on opening weekend.  Boston College is a solid team and that win I think will look better and better as the season moves on.  I'm not sure how good BC's offense is, but Northwestern virtually shut them down.  That bodes extremely well for the Wildcats this season.  If they can stop people, they are going to make some noise in the Legends division.

(agree 100%)

And finally, Notre Dame.  A week before they take on the Wolverines, the Irish gift wrap a game to Skip Holts with 5 turnovers, 3 in the red zone.  If they don't turn it over I think they win that game easily.  It's going to be interesting to see how Brian Kelly's squad plays the next two weeks.  All the preseason optimism would be long gone if the Irish were to actually start 0-3, now an actual possibility. 

(be a very interesting game to watch next week...how does ND respond?  Can UM stop NDs defense?  Those short passes are killer....  But all in all, nothing brings me more joy than a ND loss. )

Background Change

So there was a lot of whining about the previous background.  I have decided to change it. Look like Pat and I will wager the background on who wins each match up between MSU and UM in football and basketball and maybe Hockey as well.  Nothing helps a rivalry like a wager.

So for now its neutral.

Crazy Saturday

(From the Detroit News) Look closely to find Zach Novak standing next to Mitch McGary.

I feel cheated.  I have been waiting so impatiently for the start of the football season for months on end and I don't even get to watch a full three quarters? Has anyone ever heard of a game being called like this?  I didn't even consider it a possibility until word came down that it was O-vah. 

 
So what did we learn? 

In all of five offensive possessions, Michigan scored three rushing touchdowns and punted twice on three and outs.  Western's defense is not stout, but I think the offense showed they are going to move the ball and put up points this season.

On defense, in eight Western possessions they managed a rushing touchdown, a missed field goal and a made field goal, three turnovers and two punts.  It wasn't a dominant defensive performance, but it also wasn't too bad after the first possession.  Once the pressure was dialed up Western was clearly overmatched.  It will be interesting to see if Michigan relies on blitz packages to get pressure on QB's going forward.

I liked the adjustments that were made at halftime.  I'm going to keep my eye on how Michigan performs coming out of the locker room to start the 2nd half throughout this season.

There is a lot to work on but a lot to be excited about as well.  Fitzgerald Toussaint may just be capable of being a featured back which is huge news.

I want more, can't wait for next weekend.  Go Blue!

To Re-Crap I Mean Re-Cap

I dont have much to say about this game other than I was very underwhelmed.  Maybe I just expected it to be blow out like Wiscy-UNLV style. The offensive line looked bad, the defensive line looked bad.  The linebackers looked good.  Bullough was very active.  The running game was meh. Though Baker's YPC was good, and no one was injured.

BJ Cunningham was a beast, our passing game is very good. 

The secondary looked solid.  Johnny Adams was very active.  Mitchell White had some penalties.

And penalties are the story of the game. We had a lot on both sides of the ball.  I guess that's why you play teams like YSU in the first game.  Hopefully we get it together for next week because FAU would have beat us last night.  

1-0

MSU Three Things and a Prediction

A bit slow to get this up.  Recently got a new job.  (thanks MSU degree).  However, I do have three things to watch for and a game prediction.

1.  Can our offensive line dominate the Penguins?  As was mentioned in a previous post, our offensive line is young, at least at the tackle and center position.  Thanks Pat for forgetting to mention our starting center will be a redshirt freshman.  However, this Penguins team is not very good.  Plain and simple. Watch for our offensive line to dominate the Penguins and gain confidence.  If that doesn't happen, could be a long season.

Plus, have you seen Travis Jackson?  Look at that hair!!

2. WRU, I mean MSU.  Yes, we are Wide Receiver University.  And this years class might be the best group in the country.  Add on to that Dion Sims is back on the team and there is a lot of big bodies for Kirk to throw the ball to.  If we are passing at all (I expect a lot of run plays) look for BJ Cunningham to break the career receptions record and maybe even catch some of these reported long bombs they have been working on for the last year.  Also, this is the year Keith Nichol will be remembered.  Hes a big boy and could be used a lot on short passes

yup.

3.  For my last thing.  I was thinking about saying the linebacker play, but that's too simple.  I will go with defensive line play.  Like the offensive line, I expect our defensive line to blow through the Penguins offensive line.  If Worthy is a top 10 pick, this is a game where he should dominate.  Also, Will Gholston needs to get out there, get some hits and take some hits after shoulder surgery last year.


So basically, what I want to see is line play and the receivers catch the ball on some deep passes.

Final prediction:  This Youngstown State team does not have the personnel to compete with us and we will not pull a...dare I say it?  A Michigan.  41-13 final.