Maize n Brew

Tuesday Happy Hour Sweeps MSU, Gets Tazed, and Leaves the Basketball Program Alone (unlike the papers)

2010-03-16T16:53:43Z

Maize n Brew gives you your daily (or semi-daily) rundown of all the Michigan Football, Michigan Basketball, College Football, and College Basketball news you need to get through the tedium of your boring desk job. For good measure we'll throw in a little irreverent information, comedy and commentary to help you salt away the time until the clock strikes 5pm. Want it in 140 characters or less, follow us on Twitter! Or you can find us on Facebook! We're on a Facebook and Twitter drive, so be our friend or follow us, dammit!

If you're having any trouble posting comments, fanpost, fanshots, or even just logging in, please email me at maizenbrewdave@gmail.com. I think we've cleared this issue up, but just in case, please let me know if you have any problems. Alright, on the the Happy Hour!

Stuff You Should Read Right Now

Michigan football team's spring game will begin at 1 p.m. on April 17 - Thank God. Football to talk about.

How Bad Is It to be a Georgia Bulldogs Fan Right Now? - Our buddy Kyle over at Dawg Sports isn't too happy with the way things are going in Athens. To this I say, dude, I can get much, much worse. Stil, Dawg Sports wants to know just how bad it is to be a Georgia fan at this moment, and they've got a poll for you to vote on!

LSU wide receiver Terrance Toliver was tasered twice during a disturbance early Sunday morning - See. That's why LSU keeps winning for Miles. Those players simply won't give up!

Wonderlic QB Scores: Bradford 36, Tebow 22 - Former Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford scored a 36 on the Wonderlic test at the NFL combine. Former Florida quarterback Tim Tebow scored a 22. Awesome.

Random, Yet Awesome

Fett and Jennifer Aniston? - Boba'd hit that.

All-black penguin discovered - Will soon dominate penguin athletics.

Michigan Hockey

The Blog That Yost Built: On to the Joe! - Word.

That they came to bury Michigan, all dressed in maize and blue
The words were said, the prayers were read and everybody cried
But when they closed the coffin there was someone else inside
Oh they came to bury Michigan, but Michigan wasn't dead
And when the game was over it was someone else instead
Twenty Michigan Wolverines put on the skates of black
And as the students sang The Victors
To the Joe, we're headed back!

Sweet justice according to MGoBlog - Brian holds grudges. Some of them valid. His grudge against Corey Tropp is righteous, and this piece is awesome.

Mark Burns: My sincere apologies to Louie Caporusso - The Michigan Daily's Mark Burns writes a public letter of apology to Louie Caporusso for calling him a "ghost" early in the season. Capo hadn't necessarily been a ghost, but he hadn't lived up to his potential. It's amazing the difference in his play since Michigan's back went up against the wall. Keep it up, Capo.

Michigan Keeps NCAA Hopes Alive With Sweep of MSU - The hockey writing over at the Wolverine is pretty good, and I'm a big fan of their Original 6 +1 break down.

Hunwick, Caporusso jockey for top weekend effort - The Wolverine's got a great take on Michigan's CCHA Playoff sweep of LSSU.

Having a Seat Over There: Matia Marcantuoni and Some Goalies - The Blog That Yost Built has your hockey recruiting update. Apparently Matia Marcantuoni, the potential #1 draft pick in the OHL is eyeballing Michigan. Unfortunately, he hasn't mad up his mind on whether he's going to school or pro. Keep your fingers crossed.

More Michigan Basketball, Football and other Michigan related nonsense after the jump.....

Michigan Basketball

Michigan's John Beilein, Manny Harris need each other - According to Wojo: "Beilein desperately needs a boost, something to convince us he's more than just a smart, gentlemanly leader of an up-and-down, underachieving program. Harris needs to round out his game and show he can be the focal point of an offense."

Beilein, players defend coaching decision in final seconds - There's no right answer on this one. Personally, I would've pressured Turner more. with one guy throwing the length of the court it's still 5 on four. When you've got numbers, you've got the advantage on the inbounds. But all that aside, Turner's shot doesn't fall the other 999 times he tries that. Sometimes you're just unlucky.

Michigan basketball players dissect what went wrong in a season of struggles - There's no easy way to say "everything."

U-M coach John Beilein faces questions in wake of disappointing season - Hey look. Someone's suffering! Let's go over and kick them!

The 2010 Big Ten Basketball Season in Groovy Chart Form - The Only Colors analyzes the offensive and defensive performances of each Big Ten team during the 2010 Big Ten basketball season using trendline graphs. Read Michigan's and weep.

The Pride of Chesterton: Michigan sophomore Zack Novak a celebrity in his hometown - On Novak's hometown:

A singing deer is mounted on the wall and a bear’s head hangs above the bar in the Village Tavern. There’s a jukebox in the corner and wood paneling lines the walls.

Thank you Mike Rothstein. It's everything I thought it would be.

Scout.com: Is Grand Ledge big man Jon Horford on Verge of UM Offer? - yes plz. More on Michigan's basketball recruiting in UM Hoops.com Recruiting Roundup.

College Hoops

Mayo Speaks Out: "I never got paid" - via Conquest Chronicles - I know this isn't Michigan related, but I've followed the USC basketball "scandal" from the get go and I've never been impressed with the level of reporting or investigation that's occurred. Maybe something bad happened. Maybe it didn't. But no one other than a convicted felon came forward with any type of statement, self serving or otherwise. Some friends of mine have disagreed with my stance on this, but it never seemed to add up. It's not like Mayo's own self serving statements now change anything. Admittedly, there are deeper levels than a NBA guard saying he was clean in college, but this whole situation speaks more to the dirtiness of the people around high school and college athletes than the kids themselves. And it's not a problem limited to southern california, it's a problem everywhere.

What a weekend! - From the Barn revels in the Gopher's tournament bid.

Transfer Bug Resurfaces for Iowa Basketball - Jesus, and you thought Rodriguez' had a transfer problem. The Iowa head coach can't even keep his son around!

Todd Lickliter And Gary Barta Meeting This Morning. Oh Boy - Iowa athletic director Gary Barta and basketball coach Todd Lickliter are set to meet this morning to discuss Lickliter's future with the basketball team. The long and short, Lickliter was removed as Iowa's head coach.

More on Notre Dame and the Big 11 Ten

Big Ten expansion may force Notre Dame to consider giving up football independence - The other shoe drops

Golden Opportunity - Has Expansion Always Been About Notre Dame? - By carefully staging press releases, offering open-ended answers, and misdirecting attention to decoy programs (Missouri, Pitt, Syracuse, Rutgers, Texas), Jim Delany's slight of hand might accomplish in eight months what 20 years of traditional diplomacy could not: Notre Dame to the Big Ten.

The Wiz of Odds: Move to Big Ten Makes (Dollars and) Sense for Irish - more on the ND to BT rumors, now with Money!

AD: Expansion could stifle Notre Dame's independent streak - More on Notre Dame potentially joining the Conference.

Michigan Football

Detroit News' Top 15 high school football players in Michigan

Michigan Wolverines AD reiterates Rich Rodriguez's job as football coach is safe - Michigan athletic director David Brandon says there's nothing in the NCAA allegations hovering over the football team that has put coach Rich Rodriguez job status in question.

Ryan Kartje: Rodriguez, right or wrong, stands to suffer most from NCAA violations - The Daily on Rodriguez

Experts question Warren's decision to leave early - Warren's combine numbers apparently weren't too good. Looks like he may have dropped from the second round to the later rounds. Not good news for a good kid.

College Football

Take a ride on the coaching carousel - The OS put together a list of all the coaching changes in D1A. This is pretty spectacular when you think about it.

Oregon QB formally charged with burglary - Dude. Seriously? Maybe getting the tar beat out of him repeatedly by OSU was enough to giggle a brain cell or two loose. But, man, get your head out of your ass.

Whatever happened to baby Jags? - Joining Division 1 football ain't easy. The year old South Alabama Jaguars don't even have enough players to field a spring game.

Big Ten 2010 // Indiana Spring Field Guide - From now through the end of May, The Rivalry will be dedicating a week to individual programs, and providing daily team insight and analysis.

The NCAA Tournament Ain't Got Nothin' on Us! Bring on the 2010 Bitter Bowl Bracket!

2010-03-15T21:32:14Z

That's right folks, it's time for the real March Madness. The tournament to end all tournaments. None of this wrestling nonsense, because no one cares about wrestling that doesn't involve scantily clad women holding placards or hitting one another. This is a true, no holds barred tournament. Not of champions, but of anti-champions, to determine what BCS school possesses the bitterest fanbase in America.

So without further ado, Maize n Brew proudly unveils this year's field of twelve!

The Rules:

Yeah. That's right. We've got rules the same way you've got billables you'll have to make up as you read this, lawya. But you don't need a law degree to figure this out. It's simple really. Only BCS teams qualify, regardless of regular season or post season performance. Why only BCS teams? Because unless you're in a real conference, you have no right to hope or expectation. You're just along for the ride. Complain all you want, when was the last mid major or mini-conference to win a national championship? Know why? Because we keep it that way. So if you qualify, the second step is showing that your sports following lives as a fans of the Universities in this field suck. Suck hard. We're talking Mega Maid level of suck.

Unimaginable pain is now imaginable, and pretty much common place. High expectations must be met with heart breaking anguish, miserable failure and/or complete team collapse at the moment of truth. If you've got a proud athletic tradition that is now a punch line, bonus points in the seedings. That's how we roll.

Twelve Teams is Perfect

None of this Tournament expansion crap here. Besides, 12 teams is about all I have jokes for. Deal with it.

The Seedings

Four byes, four play in games. You're always going to have a No. 1 and everyone else. That's how it is here. So here's who we got.

No. 1 Seed - Washington St. Cougars

There aren't enough tears in the combined ocular glands of the Chinese population to cry the river Cougar fans deserve. Since Ryan Leaf left town back in 1998, Cougar football has been a complete non-entity in the PAC 10 and national scene. Their basketball team, Pullman's only real source of hope, crashed and burned this season. Despite reaching the Sweet 16 back in 2007-2008 and the NIT in 2008-2009, it looks like the Cougars are going backward. WSU missed on every golden opportunity it had to make the NCAA's and instead will tip off in the NIT. This further proves that false hope is the worst curse any man can be given. That or saying "Woo! I'm going to WSU!" when you received your ~~postcard~~letter of acceptance. But who am I kidding? Year in year out, there's no hope. So WSU get's the overall No. 1.

No. 2 Seed- University of Michigan Wolverines

A close No. 2 seed, but a two seed anyway. The Wolverines posted their first back to back losing football seasons at the conclusion of the 2009 season, including dropping rivalry games to MSU and OSU in ugly fashion. The Men's basketball team, despite being ranked #15 in the pre-season polls, finished the year under .500 and lost to OSU on a last second half court three pointer by the national player of the year. Did I mention he took the shot unmolested? The hockey team that hasn't missed the NCAA tournament in 16 years has to win the CCHA tournament just to qualify after a dismal year. Standing in their way? USCHO No. 2 Miami that throttled the Wolverines 5-1 early this season, at Yost. Then there's the pending NCAA football investigation, losing to Appalachian State, the whole Ed Martin thing, watching your rivals suceed at your expense, and so many other fun topics. If not for the sheer hopelessness of WSU, Michigan would've grabbed the top spot. Beat out again.

No. 3 Seed - UCLA Bruins

Up until this past year, bowl games for UCLA really weren't causes for celebration. They were reasons to throw things at your head coach. Personally I think Tennesse fans took their inspiration in nearly burning Lane Kiffin at the stake from the Bruins faithful. The Bruins constant underachievement on the football field can be creditted to Karl Dorrell and his inept coaching staff, which left UCLA's fan base with little hair to pull out. Until this years "triumph" over Temple in the Whogivesacrap Bowl (repeat the first part, "over Temple"), UCLA's last Bowl win was over Northwestern in the Sun Bowl (repeat that again, too). Then look on the harwood. Despite being a national power in men's basketball, UCLA ineplicably deteriorated into a 14-18 team. 14-18! This desptie receiving votes in this season's pre-season polls. Since John Wooden took over in 1948, UCLA had two losing basketball seasons (Steve Lavin's last year and Ben Howland's first). Basically, they were Michigan on the hardwood. After this season, they still are.

No. 4 West - Indiana Hoosiers

NCAA basketball royalty turned endentured servant. Jeeezus have the wheels flown off since Bob Knight was fired. Mike Davis. Run out of town Fail. Kelvin Sampson. Sanctions Super Fail. Tom Crean. Incomplete Fail. Tom is just 16-45 in two seasons at Indiana trying to deal with internal sanctions handed down because of Sampson's misdeeds. Six wins and Ten wins in two seasons. Ouch. Sadly, you'll probably never say that last sentence about the football team. The Hoosiers have been roadkill in the Big Ten joining the conference. Despite some promise, IU isn't anywhere near challenging for a bowl on a consistent basis and lost their heard coach to cancer in 2007. Seriously, cancer? Bitterness is almost as much a guarantee as losing.

We'll take a look at the first round match ups after the jump....

Game 1: Arkansas Razorbacks v. Mississippi Rebels (Ole Miss Akbars)

Our southern spectacular. When you think of Arkansas you think of post war football National Championships and Nolan Richardson's forty minutes of hell. Now they've got a basketball team under .500 and the only thing the football team is carrying around is Ryan Mallett's foot (and no, this will never get old).

It ain't pretty in Fayetteville. Lining up against them will be Ole Miss, who now holds the dubious distinction of being the NIT's No. 2 seed. Woo. That's like being the second prettiest girl in the facial deformities ward. Despite a run in the late 90's and early aughts Ole Miss has only six NCAA tournament appearances to speak of, and a football program that was ranked 4th before ending up in the Cotton Bowl after getting thumped by Mississippi State! Besides that, after generations embracing Col. Reb as their mascot they can't anymore. They have no mascot. It's so bad that their students actually tried to have Admiral Akbar installed as their new mascot. That all by itself indicates a level of bitterness that demands inclusion in this field.

Game 2: University of Georgia Bulldogs v. Boston College Eagles

Georgia was the last team in to the field, but they've got plenty of good reasons to be here. The usually successful baseball team is in the toilet, the members of the football team can't stay out of jail, the basketball team.... eck... the basketball team is awful. They even had to break in a new UGA over the past few year. It's been rough in Athens. On the other side of the equation is Boston College, a team that's football coaching carousel defies explanation but whose current mustache makes Magnum PI jealous. Like Georgia, the Eagles found their way into a bowl game this season. Unlike the Dawgs, the Eagles ran up against a vastly more talented but inept USC team which beat them in the fourth quarter. Rubbing salt in the wound BC fumbled away a loss to Notre Dame, a team they've owned over the last few years allowing Notre Dame to claim Jesus is on their side, if just for a year. On the Hardwood, the Eagles sputtered after a promising start to a sub-.500 finish. No matter what happens, unless the eagles bring home the NCAA ice hockey trophy they're going to have to listen to another year of gloating from BU fans. Now THAT will make you bitter.

Game 3: North Carolina Tar Heels v. Arizona Wildcats

We'll call this match up the Karma Bowl. Every now and then the most popular kid in class gets busted cheating on exams and dealing meth. This year it happened twice! Two perennial basketball powers, two horrible seasons. No one expected the world out of Arizona, but they were supposed to make the field in a weak PAC 10. On the other hand, UNC was ranked 6th at the start of the season. They lost to College of Charleston on the road, lost to Duke by 32 points, and lost to Virginia by 15 AT HOME. 'Zona wasn't quite the mess that UNC was, but a 17 point loss to San Diego State combined with a mediocre conference performance doomed the 'Cats this season. Frankly the way both teams played this season was shocking. Then you look at two football programs everyone perceived as on the rise, which took dumps in their bowl games.

But let's face it, the reason they're here is because... well... they're here. Missing the NCAA's for two traditional powers like UNC and Arizona is bad news for the fanbase's collective mood. Think about it. UNC had only missed the tournament twice since 1975 before this year. You've got to go back to the bleak days of Matt Doherty to find a season like this. Then there was Arizona's streak of 25 consecutive years making the tournament that went by the wayside this season. Just bring those facts up to either fan base and watch them cry. There's enough bitterness here to make for a great match up.

Game 4: Illinois Fighting Illini v. Washington Huskies

Win over USC or not, Huskie fans are still groping for answers to 'splain their football program's fall from grace. Ever since Slick Rick Neuheisel was booted out of town for filling out a tournament bracket the Huskies walk in football irrelevance has driven many fans insane. Elite recruits from Washington routinely leave the state. They hried Tyrone Willingham. Hell, they even had a winless season in 2008. The Huskies lose some seeding points because their team made the NCAA tournament this year after winning a diluted PAC10 tournament, the only team in the Bitter Bracket to make the NCAAs. That's something their first round match up can't say. The Illini coughed up a NCAA tournament invite when they lost in double overtime to Ohio State. Speaking of post seasons, the Illini haven't seen to many of them on the gridiron recently. After a "lightning in a bottle" run to the Rose Bowl, the Illini are quickly gliding back to the football irrelevance they have claimed for generations. Somehow Ron Zook's ineptitude has not convinced the Illinois AD's office that he should no longer be coaching. That all by itself will make any college fan bitter. Throw in a blown NCAA tourney bid, and you've got a gloriously bitter first round match up.

So That's The Line Up?

You got it. So I'll leave it to you. How's it play out?

Michigan Sweeps MSU, Moves on to CCHA Semifinals at the Joe!

2010-03-14T15:35:09Z

Michigan Sweeps MSU, Moves on to CCHA Semifinals at the Joe!

Michigan completed a two game sweep of Michigan State in the CCHA quarterfinals at Munn. Coming back from being down 3-2, Michigan dominated the game launching 16 shots to State's 1 shot in the second period alone. Michigan faces the winner of the OSU v. #2 Miami (OH) series, which is presently knotted at one a piece. Ohio State tied the series up last night with an OT winner, keeping their season alive. Great job by Red and the kids to skate out of Munn with a sweep!

Bring Me a Bucket of Kittens

2010-03-12T19:05:00Z

I hate life.

[Update]

one for each loss this year and a dozen for that shot....

Big Ten Tournament Live Blog! Michigan Wolverines v. Ohio State Buckeyes

2010-03-12T17:01:42Z

It's on like Donkey Kong! Go Blue!

• Live Audio | Live Stats | Live Blog
• TV: ESPN

Michigan Basketball and the Big Ten Tournament: I'm Not Dead! I Feel Happy!

2010-03-12T16:54:20Z

You can try to explain Michigan's inexplicably close win over Iowa, or you can accept that it was just standard operating procedure for this particular team. Now we move on.

Michigan faces first seeded Ohio State in today's 11 CST tip off. Basically it comes down to stopping Evan Turner, DeShawn Sims and Manny Harris have to have huge games, and every bounce has to go our way.

So you're saying it's POSSIBLE.

Oh yes. It's possible. But hey, anything's possible as long as you're not dead. See you in ten for the liveblog.

Never Too Early For A Michigan Football Game Preview: Connecticut at Michigan, September 4, 2010

2010-03-12T06:32:23Z

UConn Cornelius: "Our football helmets have a giant letter "C" on them....this big!

And the "C" is outlined in SILVAAAARRRR!"

Michigan's 2010 season opener against Connecticut on September 4 in Ann Arbor will serve as dedication game to a newly renovated Michigan Stadium. The "Big House", originally constructed in 1927 with 72,000 seats, will now have 83 new luxury boxes and 3,200 additional club seats, raising total capacity to over 108,000 fans per game. This season opener is also important to Michigan's football team, coaches and fans as they try to place the disappointing 3-9 and 5-7 football seasons firmly in the past. The recent NCAA's allegations that Michigan violated practice rules will be covered extensively by local and national media all the way up to kickoff, clouding what would normally be a festive occasion for the university and football program.

UConn Football Team to Invade New Michigan Stadium, September 4th 2010

Michigan's fortune in selecting an opponent for this dedication football game may end up being consistent with their recent luck in other areas. Recent adventures against teams like Appalachian State, Oregon, Utah and Toledo haven't exactly gone according to plan. For the 2010 New Big House ceremony game, Michigan chose the Connecticut Huskies from the Big East conference. Connecticut hasn't been on the Division 1 football scene that long, but they should by no means be taken lightly. The Huskies may not look very impressive on paper either, but there may not be another team in the country heading into the 2010 college football season quite as confident and closely galvanized as this one is. Here's why:

Bound with Sorrow and Resolve

Following a 38-25 home win over Louisville last October, the 2009 Connecticut football season looked very promising indeed given their 4-2 start. Hours after that victory, however, head coach Randy Edsall and the Husky football team were devastated by the tragic stabbing death of Husky cornerback Jaspar Howard. The Husky football team vowed to respond and dedicate the rest of the football season to Howard's memory. With the team's emotions overflowing onto the field of play, Connecticut proceeded to lose its next three games against conference foes West Virginia, Rutgers and Cincinnati by close margins of 4, 4 and 2 points respectively. With their record now at 4-5, team moral could have easily spiraled out of control. Instead the Husky players bounced back by winning their last 4 games and finishing the season 8-5 including a stunning 20-7 win over Steve Spurrier's South Carolina Gamecocks in the Papajohns.com Bowl. UConn finished tied for 3^rd place in the Big East at 3-4 in conference play, From a sorrowful beginning, 2009 was arguably one of the more glorious and heart-rending finishes in college football history.

Despite an opening game on the road in front of 108,000 plus Wolverine partisans, the 2010 campaign looks to be a very promising one for Randy Edsall's Connecticut team.

OFFENSE

UConn returns 9 starters on an offense that finished 23^rd in the country in scoring (32 ppg) and 47^th in total offense (398 ypg). UConn ran multiple offensive sets, including some zone read, I formation and shotgun with 4 and 5 wide sets. Their pretty balanced too, but a slightly more pass-centric team (2703 yards passing vs. 2,073 yards rushing). This could be a blessing or a curse for Michigan depending heavily on turnovers, special teams play, linebacker play, and the performance of last season's secondary.

UConn QB Zach Frazer handing off to tailback Jordan Todman

QUARTERBACK

It must be nice to have Connecticut's quarterback situation. Starting senior quarterback Zach Frazer, a transfer from Notre Dame, returns in 2010, as does capable backup QB Cody Endres. Frazer connected on only 53% of his throws for a rather low 1,461 yards, 10 TDs and 9 INTs. Endres was more accurate throwing as he connected on 64% of his throws for a similar sum of 1,354 yards, 6 TDs and 4 INTs. Endres is apparently less mobile than Frazer, however, as he showed either great difficulty, or very bad luck, escaping sacks last year (14).

As for Michigan's signal callers, they would be wise to take a long look at the exploits of quarterbacks that the UConn defense failed to control last fall, like Pitt's Bill Stull (268 yards, 67% completions, 2 TD passes, Cincy's Zach Collaros (480 yards passing, 78% completions, 75 yards rushing, 2 rushing TDs), South Florida's BJ Daniels (88 yards rushing, 3 rushing TDs). It's a lot of run and gun stuff that appears to align pretty well with the skills of Michigan's Tate Forcier and Denard Robinson.

Key Performance Comparison: UConn QB Zach Frazer vs. UM QB Tate Forcier

Edge: Frazer. Frazer makes good decisions and plays remarkably well in big games. Plus he's got proven receivers at the ready, and a solid offensive line that has repeatedly shown that it can both run- and pass-block equally well. Forcier possesses that scary, unpredictable "mojo" factor. This "mojo"tends to reveal itself Michigan football games much like a Harvey Dent coin flip from the Batman comic series: horrific brilliance or brilliant horror. Take your pick, Michigan fans. Forcier can make very big plays with his legs or his feet on any given down, but last year he simply tried to do too much by himself. This led to repeated injuries, not to mention costly mistakes. While Forcier will likely improve his physique, playbook knowledge and abilities going into 2010, Frazer will have improved also. Unlike Michigan's quarterbacks, Frazer has the confidence that comes from a decisive bowl win over an SEC team that was ranked 15^th nationally in total defense (South Carolina).

Tailback Jordan Todman: Another UConn 1K Club Member (Photo Andy Lyons, Getty Images)

RUNNING BACK

On the one hand Michigan defensive coordinator can probably count his lucky stars that senior Husky tailback Andre Dixon has finally graduated. Dixon was an elusive, but powerful sort, racking up 1,093 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2009. But GERG really shouldn't count those supernovas before they explode in his face. The other starting tailback, Jordan Todman returns. Todman was the Huskies' leading rusher last year and also cracked the 1K rushing mark (1,188), tacking on 14 rushing touchdowns for good measure. UConn likes to rotate in backs, so next fall junior strongman Robbie Frey and 3-star true freshman Leon Kinnard will probably get significant touches this coming fall.

Key Performance Comparison: UConn TB Jordan Todman vs. UM's mystery replacement(s) for Brandon Minor and Carlos Brown at tailback

Edge: Todman. Jordan Todman doesn't get injured. He played 11 games in 2008 and all 13 games last year. He's fast, durable, delivers in big games and has a wall of gargantuan friends paving the streets for him. On the other side of the field, Michigan's best returning rusher is Michael Shaw, who, like his predecessors Brandon Minor and Carlos Brown, has been injury prone. When was the last time Michigan had a running back play in all 13 games anyway? I think it was 2006. Michigan may be faster and deeper at running back than UConn is, but one must check the Wolverines as "unproven" in the durability category. Rich Rodriguez needs at least two reliable running backs in 2010 to step forward and break the tailback injury curse. Mike Cox and Fitzgerald Toussaint appear to be ready for the challenge.

OFFENSIVE LINE

In 2009 Jordan Todman and Andre Dixon were busy doing two things: watching defenders fade away in their rear view mirrors, and busting open celebratory piñatas in opponent end zones. Like 28 piñatas over 13 games, to be exact. UConn's rushing offense was not as good as Pittsburgh's or West Virginia's, but the Huskies led the league in rushing touchdowns (30). The challenge for Michigan is that 4 out of 5 starting Husky offensive lineman return for UConn in 2010, including tackle Mike Ryan, guards Mathieu Olivier and massive Zach Hurd. Talented Moe Petrus also returns at center. Except for Petrus, this entire group is at least 6 foot 5 and 315 lbs plus. This will make interesting viewing against Michigan's comparatively smaller, leaner and younger 2010 defensive front of Mike Martin, Craig Roh, Ryan Van Bergen and William Campbell.

Key Performance Comparison: UConn OL vs. UM DL and LBs

Edge: UConn! While UConn is bigger and more experienced, Michigan is not that small anymore up front. The Wolverines will be considerably quicker and should get into the backfield more often than the Huskies would like. UConn surrendered 21 sacks and had 13 interceptions last year. Michigan's glaring weaknesses may be at linebacker and less surprisingly in the secondary. If UConn's blockers ever get to the second level on a regular basis, Michigan is going to pay. The Wolverines' run defense was already atrocious in 2008 and actually worsened in 2009. If Michigan's linebacker play doesn't show significant improvement over this off season, then it's theoretically possible for Michigan to play even worse total defense yet in 2010. The good news is that Wolverine fans won't have to wait too long on the answer to this question about the linebackers. UConn's offensive line and rushing attack will probably have made the answer abundantly clear well before the first commercial break.

RECEIVERS

UConn and Michigan's receiving stats are remarkably similar in that the philosophy appears to be the same: spread the wealth and always keep them guessing. Eight different Husky receivers had 10 catches or more, and 7 different players caught touchdown passes. Michigan is fortunate that leading Husky wideout Marcus Easley has graduated. Easley's replacements are equally dangerous, however. Kashif Moore had 370 yards receiving and 3 TDs. Isiah Moore, Dwayne Difton and Michael Smith were all contributors last fall and have great hands. Another receiver named Mike Lang might also head into the Husky receiver rotation next fall. Lang held backup KR duties last fall, and caught only 2 passes, but one of them went for a 50 yard touchdown. The UConn Huskies passing barrage wouldn't be complete without the threat of 6-6, 230 lbs TE Ryan Griffin over the middle (another Tony Moeaki anybody!?) or tailback Jordan Todman (21 catches, 185 yards) used in the flat or underneath for center screens.

Michigan has a talented cast of receivers as well. Ten different Wolverines caught 10 passes or more and 10 different players caught 1 touchdown pass or more. Michigan has the talent to make opponents suffer on the edge this season behind sure-handed slot receivers Martravious Odoms and Roy Roundtree. There are game breakers and wide receiver in Junior Hemingway, Darryl Stonum and freshman sensation Jeremy Gallon also. The Wolverines have two good tight ends as well in Kevin Koger and Martell Webb who should not be ignored. What is perhaps most interesting here is that from this cast of players, no one receiver has emerged as a game breaker. This needs to change.

Key Performance Comparison: Both teams have 5 to 6 experienced, seasoned receivers vs. some of the least experienced Michigan and UConn secondaries their respective histories. Gee, lemme think.

Edge: Tie. Neither team has a proven game breaker at receiver yet. The Huskies have all the right ingredients in place to run the ball off-tackle, throw accurate screens to tailbacks, and to convert third downs with ease - thanks to Michigan's corners being instructed to play 10 yards off. Kashif Moore will be the go-to guy for long bombs from Frazer. Michigan has reliable possession receivers of Odoms, Roundtree and freshman Jeremy Gallon, but does not have a consistent deep threat. Sort of shame, since both UConn and UM secondaries will likely have the words "Easily Exploited" embroidered on their jerseys this fall.

DEFENSE

Connecticut fielded an average, functional defense in 2009. The Huskies finished 72^nd in the land in total defense surrendering 382 yards per game. They also surrendered 25 points per game (60^th in scoring defense). Nevertheless, the Huskies defensive roster in 2010 is littered with several talented stars, and they've become a much more solid and seasoned unit.

DEFENSIVE LINE

The Huskies do lose DE Lindsey Witten to graduation, but everyone else comes back along the front including defensive tackles Jesse Joseph, Kendall Reyes and Tywon Martin. Against the run UConn was pretty good last year (48^thnationally, 1,651 yards). Reyes is the sack machine and Martin has become a terrorizing threat on the edge. This group will likely be even better in 2010.

Key Performance Comparison: Michigan's offensive line vs. UConn's Kendall Reyes and Tywon Martin.

Edge: Slight edge to Michigan. The Wolverines do lose guard David Moosman and tackle Mark Ortmann, but their 2010 replacements (Patrick Omameh and Perry Dorrestein) are probably bigger and quicker players. This will be a match up of team strengths in some respects, but over the course of the game Michigan should be able to wear down the Huskies defense and earn some success both rushing and passing.

UConn Linebacker Lawrence Wilson closes in on Pitt QB Bill Stull (Photo from Vito J. Leo of HTNP.com)

LINEBACKERS

Connecticut probably returns the best linebacking corps in the entire Big East conference for the 2010. Scott Lutrus, Jory Johnson and sack master Lawrence Wilson all return. Wilson is the best defender on the Connecticut team full stop. Michigan has to contain him or he'll dedicate Michigan Stadium in his own honor. All of the linebackers have good sideline-to-sideline speed that comes from having to face a long list of spread offenses in the past, yet they're also big enough to attack blockers and hit the gaps full steam. They're experienced and deep. These backers played outstanding football last year and should become a key strength for the Huskies defense in 2010.

Key Performance Matchup: UConn LB corps vs. Michigan spread option attack of Tate Forcier, Denard Robinson and the Wolverine Slot Machines (Martavious Odoms, Roy Roundtree, Kelvin Grady and Jeremy Gallon)

Edge: About even. The Huskies held their own against the spread option and spread pass centric offenses of West Virginia, South Florida and Cincinnati last year. The Husky LBs are fast and mean. The UConn DL also does a good job to keep the pressure off their linebackers so they can blitz gaps and make tackles for loss. Michigan will be one of the fastest football teams UConn will play all season long, so it will be interesting to see that speed going up against UConn's more experienced linebackers. This will be a great match up to observe, but UConn's experience versus spread teams could become an interesting advantage here.

SECONDARY

The loss of Jaspar Howard weighed heavily on this unit last fall. By allowing opposing QBs to complete 67% of their throws and surrendering 130 first downs, UConn had some difficulty stopping people all season long. CB Robert Vaughn and S Robert McClain are now gone and the only starting returnees will be S Jerome Junior and CB Blidi-Wrey Wilson. Redshirt junior Harris Agbor should take over at the open safety spot, while redshirt sophomore Dwayne Gratz is a potential candidate to take the other corner spot.

If there's a weakness of this UConn team in 2010, it may very well be the defensive secondary yet again. Michigan's passing attack should be much improved this fall with a talented trio of quarterbacks and one of the deepest group of experienced receivers in the entire Midwest. If Tate Forcier gets time to throw (and he has an annoying habit of creating more time), then UConn's defensive effort along the front and middle will come to naught.

Key Performance Matchup: UConn corners vs. Junior Hemingway and Darryl Stonum.

UConn will not win this battle.

Edge: Michigan. If Forcier gets any time to throw, the Wolverine receivers will commit some major property damage.

SPECIAL TEAMS:

Connecticut

Connecticut returns RS junior David Teggart as their PK and FG specialist. Teggart was perfect on PATs (47 of 47) but somewhat erratic at FGs (14 of 23, 60%). He has good distance (47 yarder vs UNC and 42 yarder at Cincy). He also helped UConn defeat South Florida on a last second 42 yarder to end the 2009 regular season. Teggart can be scary good when it really counts.

The Huskies share Michigan's challenge in replacing their punter. Desi Cullen had a 43 yard average in 2009. Cullen's replacement in 2010 will likely be sophomore Chad Christen.

Michigan

The Wolverines lose both their starting place kicker Jason Olesnavage as well as a 4 year starter at punter, Zoltan Mesko. Not good. Candidates at placekicker include senior Bryan Wright, highly rated RS freshman Brendan Gibbons, and walk on Eddie Murray. At punter Michigan returns backup punter Bryan Wright, and adds true freshman star Will Hagerup to the lineup.

Edge: No one knows. Teggart vs. Gibbons is probably equal. For punting I give Michigan a slight edge because Gibbons, Hagerup are both very highly rated and should perform well in 2010.

HOW IT WILL PLAY OUT:

ESPN's Rece Davis, Lou Holtz and Mark May are going to be giggling like schoolgirls, playing up the significance of Michigan's alleged NCAA violations and damning any response made by new AD David Brandon. Whatever can be done will be done to rain intentionally, publicly and with malice aforethought, on Michigan's celebratory parade. Bank on it.

Setting the christening ceremony of the new Michigan Stadium aside for a moment, the table appears to be set in this game for both quarterbacks to have a lot of fun setting the britches of the opposing secondary on fire. The defensive lines might have something to say about all that, but once things settle down the key questions are three-fold:

Which quarterback is the better leader and football player?

Which secondary is less horrible?

Which defensive line can control the line of scrimmage?

The better quarterback is probably Zach Frazer of Connecticut at this stage due to his greater experience, lack of injuries and overall confidence, though it's also unwise to discount Michigan's Tate Forcier or Denard Robinson in this game. Frazer knows he must get the ball to his playmakers. Forcier and Robinson need to learn to operate similarly in order to win this game.

The better secondary in this game may be...wait for it....Michigan's. Whaaa? That probably surprises people to hear. Yes, the Wolverines are very young, and gave up ridiculous 3^rd down conversions and touchdown pass plays all of last year. They did not do a very good job on run support either. But defensive coordinator Greg Robinson now has some better talent and depth to work with in 2010, and there probably won't be any walk-ons starting at safety or corner or defensive for Michigan either. The problems will not be fixed. But they won't get any worse.

The UConn and UM defensive lines are likely comparable, but the Huskies OL could be a major problem for Michigan's linebackers. The team with the fewest turnovers, best rushing offense, and best rushing defense will win this game.

Connecticut is riding high after the 2009 season and stands an excellent chance of beating Michigan in this game. Even if the score is close, UConn has experience bringing down opponents in the final stretch whether at home or away. Michigan can win this game by holding on to the ball and relentlessly attacking UConn's undermanned secondary. This would keep UConn's voracious defensive lineman and linebackers honest.

Prediction: Connecticut 38, Michigan 36

Michigan Football Video Preview

2010-03-11T20:12:04Z

Michigan Football Video Preview

Our buddy Adam Rittenberg has a video preview of the Wolverines.

Big Ten Tournament Psuedo-Liveblog: Michigan v. Iowa! Who Wants It Less?!

2010-03-11T19:22:14Z

Woo. Game thread.

TV/Radio/Etc:

• Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Blog
• TV: ESPN2 | ESPN360.com

King wants to see the banners re hung

2010-03-11T18:57:11Z

King wants to see the banners re hung

It's interesting to listen to King talk about his relationship with Jalen Rose and Chris Webber but I thought his opinion on the banners was most interesting.

Michigan Basketball and the Big Ten Tournament: The (Hopefully) Long Goodbye

2010-03-11T18:18:51Z

More photos » Al Goldis - AP

Do not anger White Moses. He'll part your seas and make it rain pain. (AP Photo/Al Goldis)

Browse more photos »

Every year when the Big Ten Tournament rolls around fans of middle tier teams, like the Michigan Wolverines, tend to think the impossible can happen. Phrases like "if we get a couple bounces", "if we can hit our open looks", "if the other team is suffering from Ebola" engender hope that should have been abandoned months ago. Perhaps the reason for this blind optimism that all of sudden your arctic cold team will get hot stems from your first round match up. Witness, Michigan v. the Iowa Hawkeyes.

The standard Ken Pom-esque previews provided by mgoblog and UM Hoops.comgive you the general idea of how things have gone. Michigan wins comfortably at home, scrapes by on the road, and Iowa is really, really awful. It's so bad that on the day the tournament opens, one of the first links on BHGP is this:

Transfer Bug Resurfaces for Iowa Basketball

Jesus, and you thought Rodriguez' had a transfer problem. Tood Lickliter (Iowa's head coach) can't even keep his son around! So, as you can imagine, basketball isn't really on BGHP's or the Iowa fanbase's mind right now. Especially after a season that saw them go 10-21 (4-14). Geh. Not good.

But the way Michigan's season has turned out, you never know what could happen. Last time around Michigan let Aaron Fuller drop 30 on them, despite being Iowa's only legitimate scoring threat and being able to concentrate on not letting him shoot 11-13.

/pulls out hair in clumps
/screams

ahem....

Michigan shouldwin this game, but we've said that over and over again this season only to return to the fetal position muttering to ourselves. I do I think Michigan will win? Sure. Why not? It's possible. It's also possible they could lose by twenty. I don't know. What it boils down to is this tournament is our last chance to watch DeShawn Sims, Zack Gibson and Anthony Wright play in a Michigan uniform, and I think that means something.

(More after the Jump......................)

Sims committed to Michigan for reasons I can't fathom. He was the best player in the state with offers to go anywhere he wanted. But he came to Michigan. A program in disarray with a coach at the time who couldn't tie his shoes without somehow entangling his arm. It was that bad. But Sims came here anyway. Shortly thereafter his brother was killed in a senseless tragedy that robbed Sims of his best friend before he had even turned 20. Instead of giving up, Sims returned to Michigan. Played his heart out. And now he's leaving Michigan with a degree. Again, I think that means something and says something special about DeShawn.

I'll have more on Gibby later, but you all know about our fondeness for Honky Magic. Over the last year we've probably been a little harsh on Anthony Wright's ability and contributions on the court. But one thing's for sure, he's a good kid with a great sense of humor. One of those glue type players that keeps people loose and you simply have to have on your team. Good luck kid.

So today we say goodbye to three kids and to a season that never really lived up to our expectations, whatever those were. Maybe it's best to say goodbye to the season as a whole. Let it pass into 'bolivion. But I'm not quite ready to hang it up. There are three good kids on this team, seniors, who deserve better. Maybe just one extra game, maybe five or six. Who knows. To continue its season, Michigan basketball team must win four games in four days. It's possible right?

For that to happen, it's going to take luck, defense, and hitting an open shot or two. It's possible. The first game is the key, and I suspect it'll come down to the wire. As with so many games in the Big Ten, this will also come down to officiating. That is never good. Surprisingly the ref in that link is not Ed Hightower (though I wouldn't put it past him).

Regardless, go get 'em guys. Come back with a win. Then we'll deal with the season's next mot important game.

For more on the Big Ten Tournament, check out SB Nation's Big Ten Tournament page. Live thread will be up in an Hour. Join us then.

Maize n Brew's Guide to Jackassery: How to be a Creepy Recruiting Troll on the Message Boards

2010-03-10T19:27:46Z

The off-season does strange things to us. We no longer cry over the split second decisions of teenage athletes. We leave that last half inch of bourbon in the bottle when we throw it out and start another (because finishing it would be the sign of a problem). We spend time with our families in our homes rather than at bars with hordes of strangers dressed in similar colors that smell like yesterday's bacon. We eat right, and by that I mean Cheetos are no longer a staple of all three meals. And you know what?

It sucks.

We miss you football season. There's only so much of this "sunlight" and "family" we can stand. If you're reading this, you're probably like us. At least your spouse/significant other/"friend"/Dr. Hanibal Lector who is forcing you to read this is. We need football to carry us through the year, and it's a cruel fate that the season lasts only six months. So what can we do in the interim to keep our sanity?

Many things, my friends. Many things. Over the next few weeks we at Maize n Brew will be rolling out some ideas to help you keep your mental function until the season finaly kicks off in August. Every one of these will pertain to football in some form. Most are probably best performed under the influence of alcohol. Some ~~may~~ will put you on a federal "watch" list of some kind or another. But they'll help you make it through the off season. So with that in mind let's kick off Maize n Brew's Guide to Jackassery.

Chapter One: How to be a Creepy Recruiting Troll on the Message Boards

So, College Football Recruiting You Say?

College Football Recruiting is the life blood of our beloved sport. Without it the game would go back to the days of the University of Chicago winning national championships and Yale and Harvard mattering athletically (they're annoying enough as it is). We have to replenish the players that graduate/leave early/get arrested, and the only way to do that is to promise dumb teenagers ~~all the ass they can handle~~ fame ~~and fortune~~... er... and the opportunity to obtain great wealth after you leave the NCAA (wink, wink).

How Does This Effect Me?

While everyone knows how important college football recruiting is, no one reputable wants to be involved with it. It's a little dirty. And creepy. Really creepy. Face it, it's following around teenagers and asking them a lot of questions about where they're going later. Creepy. Even so, it involves football and beggars can't be choosers. It also keeps Tom Lemming employed and away from your nonathletic children. Consider the alternative. /shudder/

You mind if I talk privately with your child?

Because everyone wants the steak, but doesn't have a clue where it comes from, that leaves an opening for youto step in and be the provider of that information. People don't want an ecoli porterhouse the same way they don't want some damn two star running back when there's disease free filet or a five star RB available! But how are they going to know what they're getting unless you step in and tell them? You can be important. You can be the great and powerful Oz of your school's football recruiting. You can talk down to people for no apparent reason! What's not to love!?

(more insanity after the jump......)

How Does This Help My Team?

Simple. By going out there are scavenging every last scrap of information on high school football players who could potentially go to your favorite school, you become the informational resource that your school and fan base so desperately needs. Without you, they are lost in the wilderness and you will be there to drag them out of the woods. But perhaps more importantly, you can shout down people with different opinions and insights because their information isn't what you know to be true. If someone suggest that a two star prospect is underrated, hammer them with links and a condescending tone. If someone says "So and So is thinking about School X", tell everyone you knew about it for months and he's only "testing the waters."

By screaming the loudest your Athletic Department is guaranteed to notice you and you will become a valuable resource. Hey, they might even come to relyon you. Who knows what that means? Maybe an invite to a game. A job! A statue in your honor! A moonlit dinner with Linda Cohn! It's all possible!

Moonlit Dinner With Linda Cohn? I'm SOLD! What Next?

Now comes the fun part, picking a name for the message boards. It should be something unoriginal, crass, and something of a double entendre (except without the double). Examples include "Johnny Cash Money", "Harry Sac", "Yo Mamma's Boy", "One Night in Paris", "Carrie Underwear", "Tom Lemming", "Spanky McStalknkill", etc....

Got My Screen Name, I went "Helmut VonThunderpenis." Where Do I Go From Here?

Your basic mission over the next few weeks is to spend as much time as humanly possible soaking up recruiting information, not just on your school, but everyone's. You want to know everything about every potential recruit from their forty times to their favorite Muppet. Finding photos of them with guns, money or riding on a Rascal is just an added bonus. You can store those away in case they decide to go elsewhere, then post them all over the interwebz with the caption, "I knew this guy would be trouble. We're better off without him. lol." But we're getting ahead of ourselves.

You have to build credibility within the message board community. An easy way to do this is to recycle posted information but to add the phrase "I saw him at this game/combine/bookstore/place of worship and it's totally true/untrue." You see, you haven't really done anything but repost someone else's work but you get credit for confirming it.

Another way is simply siphoning off someone else's information and reposting it elsewhere. You'll notice that every board has a dominant super nerd... er... information source. The guy whom everyone says "Well, if he says Coach Y bought Player Q a lap dance, then it happened." This dominant information source tends to post regularly and with a lot of info. Follow each super nerd on each different board, and start posting their information as your own on other boards. All of a sudden you're all seeing and all knowing! Reap the rewards of others hard work!

What if Someone Calls Me That?

So what? Just type an angry response in ALL CAPS CALLING THEM COLLIE MOLESTING SPORK HOARDERS AND I KNEW THAT BEFORE HE DID ANYWAY. You see, there's really no way for anyone to check, so you're home free.

Awesome. Tell Me About The Trolling Part.

Well, since you now know everything there is to know about high school football recruits, it's time to put that information to misuse.

Start spreading interwebz rumors about key opposition recruits on their message boards. Obviously, you can't use your real screen name, so you have to pick a new opposition friendly screen name with which to maliciously spread your rumors. Something clever like "LOLverines Suck!", "Alex Boone's Drinking Buddy", "Clayborn Hit Me Once", "Felony Record" (MSU), etc...

By using these aliases, you can escape detection and not only find out what's going on in the imaginary world of message board recruiting, but gain acceptance within the group. Just type the standard "School X sucks! w00t!" email with some innocuous "I saw him play and oh boy" statement regarding a heralded recruit. Once you're in the fold, start posting that High Profile Commit B is considering other schools. Always say Miami (yes, that Miami) is after him and he wants to play where it's warm. Occasionally throw in a Notre Dame trip or an Urban Meyer texty text saying how important Player B is to School Y. This will create confusion among the Luddites on the opposition boards and reveal their deepest insecurities which you can exploit later.

How Does This Help My Team Again?

I'm sorry, what were we talking about?

Getting Through The Football Off Season, Dumbass.

Oh, right. This will get you through the off season because you'll be so subsumed with watching high school football video and reading about potential recruits that you'll forget the real sport isn't being played. It's just like being a Chicago Cubs fan, always getting ready for next year. So not only have you become the sole source for information on recruiting, you know, besides all those professional sites and people who are actually good at it, you have caused chaos for your opponents!

You see!? It works! You get your football fix and ruin someone else's day! Is there anything better? I thought not. Now if you'll excuse us, we have to throw out this almost finished bottle of Beam and get some Cheetos.

Maybe We Missed Something: A Look Back at Our Mis(sed)persceptions and Shots on the 2009-2010 Michigan Basketball Team

2010-03-09T23:40:11Z

Going into this season, like every one else, I was confident that Michigan would reach the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year. What wasn't to love? Manny Harris was a Preseason Big Ten Player of the Year candidate. DeShawn Sims was finally living up to his billing. We had three big men ready to step in and allow Sims and Gibson time to play together. We had shooters, cutters, dunkers and a hot freshman to play point. Plus, we returned 90% of the team. The only guys leaving were walk-on seniors and Jevohn Shepherd. Granted the two walk-ons were our captians, but there was plenty of leadership to go around. Right? Another tourney berth seemed to be a guarantee.

But, like with so many guarantee and warranties, we neglected to read the fine print. No one actually quantified how important CJ Lee and David Merritt were to this team. No one took into account how much the extra playing time would affect Michigan's now sophomore starters. No one knew how success would effect John Beilein's exceedingly young team. No one accounted for how the bright lights and attention might change how Harris and Sims played. We forgot that Kelvin Grady had left the team. No one expected every big man on the roster, save Sims and Gibson, to get injured or red shirt. When you're a rebuilding basketball program, you're not going to get the breaks the established programs with depth get. And Michigan didn't get any of them this year.

Obviously not a break we got.

Even with all that said, how'd we miss so badly on this team? How'd they miss so badly every game? There have to be reasons for this. There are. After taking a look at the rosters, the numbers and the season, we came up with some interesting thoughts. We'll admit, none of this is earth shattering stuff. But taken together it helps to explain what initially seemed like a lost season. Now, in hindsight, it may still be bad, but it ain't as bad as we thought it was.

Depth

Going into this season Michigan's only losses were Jevohn Shepherd, CJ Lee, and David Merritt. The incoming class included Darius Morris PG (4 star), Matt Vogrich SG (3 star), Jordan Morgan PF (3 star), Blake McLimans PF (3 star), Eso Akunne PF (w/o). It was also anticipated that Ben Cronin, a seven footer recruited the year prior, would recover from a hip injury and contribute minutes in the 2010 season as a true center. Also in the fray was 6'11" beanpole Eric Puls, who might be able to eat some minutes off the bench. Then there was Kelvin Grady, michigan's diminuitive point guard and best three point shooter on the team to help out at the point.

Of the group, only Darius Morris contributed in any meaningful way. Vogrich was simply not ready to step in and contribute. Jordan Morgan injured himself and has redshirted this season. McLimans redshirted. Akunne played a few minutes, but hasn't been able to crack anything but the garbage time lineup. Making matters more difficult, Morris struggled at point guard out of the gate (not uncommon for freshman point guards) and was eventually replaced by Stu Douglas at point for large swaths of the season. The young guns simply weren't ready or physically capable of stepping in. Ben Cronin's career came to an end because of his hip injury. Eric Puls left the basketball team and became a regular student in the engineering program. Making matters worse, Grady left the team to concentrate on football over the summer.

What this came down to was only six players on Michigan's roster cracking 400 minutes in the 2010 season (Harris, Sims, Morris, Douglas, Novak, and Laval Lucas-Perry. Zack Gibson only registered 298. By contrast in 2009 eight players cracked 400 minutes (Harris, Sims, LLP, Douglas, Novak, Lee, Merritt, and Kelvin Grady) with Gibson posting 379 minutes. These numbers are down right shocking. When there's a nine player rotation on a team, things are going well, and a team has depth. When you're only playing six guys, you're in trouble.

So the impression that Michigan only lost three players is a fallacy. Michigan lost three players to graduation, two to injury, one to real life, and one to football. In return, they gained only Darius Morris' minutes. Bottom line, our perception that this was a deep, talented team was way, way off. This was an incredibly shallow team with no one off the bench who could contribute meaningfully.

Minutes

The distribution of playing time minutes can tell a lot about the state of a team. When you're looking at a team that has evenly distributed minutes, it means you've got some depth or that you suck all the way around. When you've got a team that has five or six guys so far out in front of everyone else it means you've got yourself some purebreds on the floor, or it means you lack depth so badly that putting anyone on the bench means you'll go down by 30 before you can get them back in.

In Michigan's case, it was the latter.

In thirty games this year Michigan had four players that exceed 900 minutes. Manny actually cracked 1,000 minutes. At this time last year there were two. Looking at the stats, Michigan lost approximately 1700 minutes of playing time with Lee, Merrit, Grady and Shepherd departing. Making matters worse, the drop off after Darius Morris' 740 minutes was like the Marianas trench. It went to 648 to LLP and then 248 for Zack Gibson (shockingly, Anthony Wright registered 231 minutes, that speaks for itself). Those were your contributors. Six players contributing meaningful minutes.

For comparison's sake the Michigan State Spartans (you know, that team that won the Big Ten Title) had just ONE player exceed 900 minutes. They had four players just above or justbelow 800 minutes. Then two more at about 640 minutes. Then two more at 250. The difference is clear, two extra players contributing 600 plus minutes means a lot more rest for your starters and fresher legs.

If you want to know why Novak and Douglas couldn't hit water from a boat, look at their minutes compared to last year. Douglas logged 656 minutes in 2008 then jumped to 924 with the added responsibility of manning the point. Novak went from 799 to 954 and had to play power forward at 6'5". That is going to wear any sophomore in college out. Douglas' time jumped almost 300 minutes and Novak tacked on an extra 150. Take a look at LLP, he went from 411 to 648, meaning he was playing an extra 237 minutes this season. Thats more than three full games extra for Novak, almost six full games extra for LLP, and more than seven full games extra for Douglas. Want to know where their shots went? They lost them and their energy playing all that extra time.

One thing commenators kept saying, game in game out, was that Michigan was getting open looks. They just weren't getting the shots to fall. Everyone's seen the games and seen Novak, LLP and Douglas shoot. Their shots were alternatively flat or had too much arc. Their deliveries looked slow and wonky. That's why. Theses kids were tired, and they took the sophomore dive like just about every other college sophomore asked to play more in year two than year one. If you're looking for a reason no one "improved" it was because they were exhausted, not for lack of trying.

Had Michigan been able to spread those numbers out a little more, it would've made a huge difference. But without any depth on the bench it wasn't going to happen.

The Schedule

One of the things John Beilein promised us was the type of schedule that mean Michigan would never again be on the bubble for the NCAA tournament. We'd either be in or out. No questions. At the time everyone appaulded this, thinking Michigan would now cement enough wins to make the Big Dance no questions asked. We wanted tougher games and that's what we got! Woo! Awww crap.... be careful what you wish for.

From November 26 forward, it was apparent Michigan had bitten off more of a schedule that it could chew. After eeking out an OT victory against Creighton, Michigan was dismantled by Marquette and dropped their next contest to Alabama in a manner that would come to be commonplace as the season went on. After the disappointing showing in the Old Spice Classic, Boston College beat the favored Wolverines in Crisler and Michigan promptly got flattened by Utah in Salt Lake City. After splitting with Kansas and Ohio State, Michigan's season slipped away as the competition got tougher.

But if you're looking for when, you can pinpoint this stretch in January to February as the culprit:

Jan 10th - Northwestern - 2:30 PM - BTN
Jan 14th - Indiana - 9PM - ESPN/ESPN2
Jan 17th - UConn -1:30/4:30 PM - CBS
Jan 20th - at Wisconsin - 8:30 PM - BTN
Jan 23rd - at Purdue - 4 PM - ESPN
Jan 26th - Michigan State - 7 PM - ESPN
Jan 30th - Iowa - 4:30 PM - BTN
Feb 2nd - at Northwestern - 7 PM - BTN
Feb 6th - Wisconsin - 4 PM - CBS

During that stretch, Michigan went 2-7. Take away the unexpected (and overrated UConn win) and this looks even worse. Teams should be hitting their stride at that time in the season. Michigan didn't. As a result, the toughest and most crucial time on their schedule ended up costing them.

We got the tougher competition we wanted. Michigan just wasn't up to the task this year.

Leadership

It's easy to overlook the keel on a sailboat. It's below the water, out of view, and ain't the prettiest thing in the world. But it's the keel that keeps the boat upright when the waters get choppy and does the work out of view to get the boat from point a to point b in one piece. Last season C.J. Lee (at right) and David Merritt were this team's keel. They kept everyone focused, they did the dirty work on defense, they did the dirty work in the locker room maintaining order, they slowed things down when the games got a little out of hand. This year we expected Sims and Harris to take up that mantle and be the leaders that Lee and Merritt were.

Maybe it was because of a soft spoken nature, or because it wasn't in their nature, but it was clear watching the games that both led by example only. Not with the loud, surprisingly forceful voices of Merritt and Lee. Harris and Sims are quiet kids, and barking instructions seems to be the antithisis of their nature. So too with Douglas, Novak, or LLP. Of all the characters on the team, only Darius Morris seemed to have the personality and animation to be that leader on the court, but it's hard for a freshman to do that. And he couldn't.

I won't belabor this point, but it was clear Michigan did not have someone who could settle the team down. instead of long deliberate possessions in the face of adversity, Michigan chucked up early shot clock threes or tried to do too much, resulting in game burying fast breaks. Without its keel, Michigan's barcos floundered when the seas got choppy.

Size

As mentioned in the Depth section, Michigan is not a tall or sizeable team this season. There are only five players currently on the roster over 6'7". Jordan Morgan (injured), Blake McLimans (RS), Ben Cronin (injured), Zack Gibson and DeShawn Sims. Only Sims and Gibson played any meaningful minutes this season. After that it's Anthony Wright (6'6"), Manny Harris (6'5") and Zack Novak (6'5"). You're not going to win games in the Big Ten when you can only field two players over 6'6". Call it Fate. Call it Karma. Call it God punishing us for something we did. But you can't win games in this league without a healthy center, and Michigan didn't have it this year.

It All Adds Up

Regardless of what we thought we were getting going into this season, the reality was much different than perception. Michigan had no depth, no size, no leadership, and a schedule that would make or break them. Going into this season we assumed that we hadn't lost anyone of value. We were wrong. We figured there would be big men that would able to play the low post. Wrong. We thought Michigan would be on the right side of the scheduling hurdle. Nope.

Michigan lost so much more than it gained over the off-season, but no one noticed. The lights were still bright from the NCAA tournament appearance and the sudden rise to prominance. No one noticed the minutes departing or worried about the lack of depth. Every thought the sky was the limit for this team.

It wasn't. Looking at all of this now, Michigan was never going to be the same team it was the year prior. The drastic jump in minutes for Sophomores LLP, Novak and Douglas robbed them of their energy as the season wore on. Michigan had no stopper on defense. Michigan had no size down low. This was (at most) a six person team. And you can't compete that way. As a result, the pre-season accolades and all the hoopla now seem somewhat hollow and misguided. This was, at best, a .500 team with an outside chance at a Dance ticket thanks to a rediculous schedule. If Michigan underachieved, it was becasue they didn't make it into the bubble discussion, not because they didn't outright make the tournament.

Take a look. Add it up. It wasn't just Michigan's shooting that missed the mark. We expected this team to be something it wasn't, and a team it didn't have the personnel to be.

Monday Happy Hour Revels in a Sweep, Prays for the Big Ten Tournament, and Welcomes Dave Brandon

2010-03-08T21:14:34Z

If you're having any trouble posting comments, fanpost, fanshots, or even just logging in, please email me at maizenbrewdave@gmail.com. I think we've cleared this issue up, but just in case, please let me know if you have any problems. Alright, on the the Happy Hour!

Michigan Finally Unleashed It's Secret Four Armed Hockey Monster on LSSU (photo: Ariel Bond, the Daily)

Stuff You Should Read Right Now

Today is our new Athletic Director Dave Brandon's first official day on the job. We're thrilled to have you Dave. Go Blue!

Michigan Tops Lake Superior State in Game One of CCHA Playoff - Sometimes you need a little luck to get rolling. Michigan's first round opponent lost it's top line to the flu. Instead of feeling sorry for the Lakers, the Wolverines went out and hammered them. Then, the next day, Caporusso's Hat Trick Gives Michigan a Sweep of LSSU.

Perhaps more important than Capo's Hat Trick is the fact that Shawn Hunwick stopped 28 shots for his first career shutout and playoff win. That's not bad for a kid that's sat on the bench for three years. Up until last weekend Hunwickhadn't seen the ice since his freshman year. His career won loss record prior to this weekend was 1-1, with both of those decisions coming against Notre Dame in the season's last regular season series. Here's hoping the offense woke up and Hunwick stays hot. Yost Built sums it up best: Where the Hell has this Been All Year? When you have an 11 goal outburst, especially from an offense that's struggled to score goals all season, Sometimes you've gotta scratch your head. MSU is next. Bracket is 'mere:

Michigan played MSU tough in their meetings this year and is fully capable of taking it to the Spartans. The Spartans are rested, but Michigan finally is playing well. Puck drops at 7:05pm, Friday Night at Munn.

2010 Big Ten Basketball Tournament Bracket courtesy of UM Hoops. We get Iowa and, hopefully, Ohio State. We miss Purdue, but don't have to face MSU again until (conceivably) the finals. For the record, Michigan has to win three straight games to be guaranteed a .500 record on the season. I certainly didn't think I'd be writing that at the end of this year. NIT, let a lone NCAA Tournament hope is optional and not advised.

Terry Foster (Detnews) Says Michigan Basketball is Stalled and Other Stupid Things - Look. I don't argue with part of your premise, Terry. Not at all. Michigan is short. It doesn't shoot well. It's presently manned by kids who (for the most part) aren't Big Ten players. However, the rest of your article.... well.... is awful.

Ex. 1: "Sims will probably leave after this season..."

Probably? He's out of eligibility. So yes, he HAS to leave.

Ex. 2 "If you are in the Big Ten you should have at least a 50 percent chance of making the tournament."

No. You would have a 45% chance. There are 11 teams. If five make it (as with this year), you have a 45.454545...% chance. There is a difference between these numbers that is statistically significant. Based on the quality of Mid Majors and other conferences, the Big Ten is not guaranteed to send six teams to the Dance every year.

Finally, and my favorite:

Ex. 3 "Meanwhile Western Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Central Michigan, Oakland University and of course Michigan State have all played in NCAA tournament games since Michigan last did."

What? Did you write this in 2008 and just publish this? No? This was published today. Wait. You site last year's tourney run. Alright. Just so we're clear tho, Michigan played in last year's NCAA tournament. You might have seen it. Was there another tournament I missed in between? No? Okay then. Then what the hell are you talking about?

Ex. 4 "I'm only bringing up reality."

No. You are bringing up an alternative reality. This is just piling on a rough season for this team rather than offering anything constructive. When I see columns like this, one thing comes to mind.

(More after the jump..............)

Michigan Men's Basketball

Michigan State drop kicks Michigan, 64-48.

At least Honky Magic came to play. Zack Gibson pumped in a team high 10 points in his final regular season game. That is all. (As always, photo credit to the Michigan Daily's Ariel Bond)

'His Brother's Keeper:' Michigan forward DeShawn Sims plays for his brother and his family - Mike Rothstein at AnnArbor dot Comdrops a wonderful, honestly heart wrenching piece on DeShawn Sims. Great work by Rothstein and a must read.

So Far Away - I've made it known I'm a huge fan of Genuinely Sarcasticwhen they're posting. They write well. They make good points. But I think everyone needs to take a deep breath, and get a grip when it comes to th basketball season. Last year's tournament run was improbable, but it happened. Unfortunately it also gave everyone a false sense of confidence going into the season. A losing campaign later, and everyone's ready to wave the white flag on Beilein and the team. Really? Have we reached the point where we're this impatient? Beilein's'10 recruiting class is one of the better classes Michigan's seen in a decade. Darius Morris will be a Big Ten star. Sure we're a little short, but he'll recruit someone to play center. Everyone breath deep. More on this later.

Wolverines' decade in the wilderness - That's the polite way to put it. Wasted Decade. Decade of FAIL. Decade of infinite sadness. Joe Howley points out, correctly, that since that 51 point loss to the Spartans in 2000 the competition on the hardwood hasn't been close. I think what he forgets is that according to the NCAA's rulings, Michigan basically didn't play basketball for the decade before.

The Life of a Freshman Point Guard - UM Hoops.com on the life and times of one Darius Morris.

Michigan basketball team received more contributions than normal in Ohio State loss - Article included only for "hur hur, basketball and money" title. Just a rehash of the OSU game.

Michigan Wolverines Football

DeAnthony Arnett and Shawn Conway among brightest stars at Michigan Football Showcase - Sam Webb remains awesome in his recruiting coverage and give some great insight into Conway and Michigan's other top In State receiving target DeAnthony Arnett. Also a big section on potential linemen (including Chicago Simeon guard Chris Bryant who is 6'5" and 330!). A great recruiting read.

High School Paper fluff on Shawn Conway's verbal to Michigan Anyone panicking about his numbers needs to realize something, when you walk into a Junior Day combine and walk away with an offer from Michigan, you're something special. Requisite "he is a physical specimen and a freak on the football field" quote included.

Spring practice stock characters: The Heir Apparent - Dr. Saturday picks the new players that should, ney, will have to make a difference in 2010. Justin Turner? Yeah. He's there.

Michigan Women's Basketball

Lady Wolverines likely headed to WNIT - Say what you want about the NIT, this is serious progress for the women's program. My hat's off to Kevin Borseth and his staff.

Fluff on one of Lady Wolverines' outstanding recruits, Val Driscoll - Driscoll is "a three-time Catholic Central League all-star, and is a shoo-in for a fourth." She's also one of Boston's Top 10 players to watch. Great get for the Women's team.

College Football

Counterpoint, Rutgers Doesn't Deserve the Big Ten - Cosign one thousand times.

ESPN sets your New Year's agenda (You only care about the SEC and Big Ten, right?) - Dr. Saturday points out that ESPN's unholy alliance with the SEC and Big Ten means there will be three Big Ten games on at the same time. LAME!

Suppose they gave a bowl and nobody came? - Doug Gillett over at Dr. Saturday poses us a question no one wants to answer: Who wants more bowl games!? No one. God. Please make it stop. I can't take it anymore. It is already statistically harder to MISS the post season than to make it. Further, the bowl expansion would require four more teams than were eligible last season to make this work!

Larry. Stop. You're killing your father.

Michigan Basketball at Michigan State Open (WiNNaR!) Thread! Let's close out the season on a high note!

2010-03-07T20:39:07Z

One last time in the Regular Season, Peedi. via www.annarbor.com

Michigan v. Michigan State. It really doesn't need anything more. We'll be chronicling this one in all it's glory.

Go Blue!

With Spring Practice a Week Away, Let's All Take a Deep Breath: A Counterpoint on Rich Rodriguez and the NCAA's Michigan Investigation

2010-03-05T19:53:49Z

More photos » Carlos Osorio - AP

FILE - In this Sept. 26, 2009, file photo, Michigan football coach Rich Rodriguez is seen on the sidelines during an NCAA college football game in Ann Arbor, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)

Browse more photos »

After Markus' outstanding hot seat piece on Rich Rodriguez, it seemed like an excellent time to take a look into what this whole "practicegate" debacle really means to Michigan Football fans rather than the program. I don’t agree with Markus on everything in his post. We’re going to be at odds on many things there. But I consider that a good thing. The discussion about how Michigan deals with the coming season and the pending NCAA decision isn’t one sided. It’s multifaceted, with so many nuanced permutations that it makes the Healthcare debate look manageable. It’s only when we consider perspectives different from our own that we can actually come up with a full grasp of this situation and where we go from here.

From a fan perspective, the effects of Practicegate on the program’s on-field capability are fairly obvious. Potential loss of scholarships, loss of recruiting privileges, probation, etc. While there’s nothing program crippling in there, or anything worthy of punishments worse than a slap on the wrist for being sloppy with your paper work and pushing the envelope a little too far, it’s still embarrassing.

But embarrassment is overrated. Ask Alabama how their sanctions and the shame associated with them effected the Crimson Tide faithful. I think you know the answer. Our buddies at Roll Bama Roll are laughing at these so-called infractions while puffing on national championship cigars and burying their faces in a mound of coke provided by a former player who actually completed the coke deals he promised. Let the "Jimmy Johns, Cocaine So Fast You'll Freak!" jokes commence.

On field, the infractions may amount to a scholarship or three, maybe fewer official visits and some negative recruiting. But in reality? It’s not going to affect the program too much. This is Michigan after all. Just like Alabama, Texas and Notre Dame, Michigan will always be a powerful name in college football. It’s just the way it is.

Winning Cures Everything

Going past the effects of these potential sanctions let’s be clear, the thing that hurts the most right now is our won-lost record. You can say all the sucked, but if we won two more games I’m willing to bet people would be a lot more forgiving.

It’s easy to point to the every transfer, the West Virginia buyout nonsense, Justin Feagin, the Free Press articles and say that these were all indicia of things to come. But I’d disagree. If you look, for every Justin Boren there's a Brandon Graham and Zoltan Mesko. For every complainer there are two to three other kids who would lay down in traffic for their coach. For all the bitching about privileged athletes Rodriguez' teams have posted the highest GPAs of any Michigan football team in the last 20 years. After three years of horrible recruiting on defense we've got a cadre of linebackers, corners and safeties ready to contribute immediately. All the nonsense that pre-dated the NCAA investigation was just that, nonsense. Rich Rodriguez is a good man and a good coach. I still believe, though that faith has been shaken somewhat, that he is the man to lead our team.

Think about it. If Michigan pulls out one or two of the close games they dropped in 2009, the hot seat isn't even in the discussion. The investigation would be a nuisance rather than a cause celibre. We’d be getting amped for a Big Ten Title run.

Only we're not.

(More after the Jump....)

Instead, a week away from the start of spring practice, we’re shooting flaming arrows of anger at the Coaching staff or blindly circling the wagons. Or, in some instances, acting like nothing really happened. That’s not what should be going on. We should be looking at this with a clear, cynical eye and ridding ourselves of our passions and biases so that we can judge this situation based on the facts.

While I don't agree with Markus on every point he made, I do agree with him on this one:

It's one thing to emphatically state that you not only know the NCAA practice rules and that you follow those rules, but it's quite another when a university and NCAA investigation eventually uncovers that you, a) either don't know the rules; or b) really didn't follow the rules. It makes you look incompetent and dumb. That's a hot seat of one's own making. It was avoidable.

It was avoidable. Repeat that phrase a few times to let it sink in. If you're looking for a reason that so many Michigan fans aren't just sweeping the infractions under the rug as "everyone's doing it," that's the reason. Practicegate stems from a series of dumb mistakes that has allowed a dying newspaper to drag a proud program through the mud. If you want to know why so many of us are upset, there you have it.

Shattering the Illusion

Outside of the program related irritations, the one thing that’s driven me up a wall in talking to other Michigan fans is this delusion that before Rodriguez Michigan was a holy land covered in gumdrop forests and constantly sprinkled in WIN from the football fairies. That Michigan was a place of RIGHT not wrong. For so many years we’ve prided (and sometimes comforted) ourselves by saying "We don't do things that way. We do them the RIGHT way." And for so many years, from outside Schembechler Hall anyway, that's how it seemed. Michigan was doing it the right way, and winning while doing it the right way.

How easily we forget the truth in the face of adversity.

As much as we love pointing to the Good ‘Ole days, the fact remains that Michigan possesses only a single national championship after 1948. And that one was shared. Year in and year out between 1948 and 1996, Michigan would field capable teams that never lived up to expectations. Even Bo's teams would disappoint. Dropping the inexplicable game or getting trounced in a Bowl Game. Even though Michigan fans love to point to the glory days of Bo Schembechler, they really weren't "glory days" in a national championship sense:

If there are questions regarding Bo's tenure, they revolve around his Rose Bowl record 2-8, his postseason record of 5-12, his style of offensive coaching, and his performance against top ten teams. During his tenure Bo went ~~7-27-1~~ 15-20-1 (thanks to Don to pointing out the error) against top ten teams.

Worse:

During Bo's 21 year tenure, Michigan came close but never captured a National Championship. However, Southern California who Michigan played in the Rose Bowl several times captured 3. Perennial foe Notre Dame took 3 National Championships home.

Ten trips to the Rose Bowl, two wins. 21 years and no national championships. And that's just on the field. Then you go to Gary Moeller, who was summarily dispatched by Michigan after one bad night out on the town and, arguably, some iffy seasons. And it's not like things were peachy under Carr either. Chitownblue put together a full list of Carr's disciplinary problems, all 29 arrests ranging from drunk and disorderly to allegations of sexual misconduct and rape. Hardly a paradise of doing things the "right way."

Why am I bringing all this up? Because our memories and reality seem to exist on two separate planes. This is not the first time Michigan has been in trouble. Nor will it likely be the last. Whether its players being stupid or coaches acting like fools, Michigan has not led the celibate, holy life on field and off that we'd like to believe.

If that's doing things the "right way", this administration hasn't strayed to far from the norm.

My point is, before we as a fanbase get all holier than thou on anyone, especially our current coaches; we need to recognize the team's and university's failures in the past rather than sweeping them under the rug. Frankly, from time to time, Michigan fans have dismissed poor seasons or performances with the twofaced refrain of doing things the "right way." It makes us sound like Charlie Weis. "We don't recruit thugs." "Tough academics make it tougher to recruit." "If I was at Florida, I'd win too." Doing things the "right way" has been a favorite excuse for years. Now, mercifully, we should be able to see it for what it is. A hollow refrain.

The Stuff that Brought the Investigation Never Should Have Occurred

That said, none of this excuses Rodriguez or his staff for some colossal errors in judgment. I'm not talking about monitoring athletes to make sure they're in class. If that's an NCAA violation, screw it, I'll lose a scholarship or two to make sure players are going to class and punishing them when they don't. That's something Michigan should stand for.

But the staff's failure to know the rules after years of telling us they did is a problem. All you had to do was email the Compliance Guy. He'd tell you. And, it's not like the NCAA doesn't have staff there to answer the occasional question. That's what's galling to me. These are reading mistakes. Mistakes Michigan is not supposed to make. Reading. To that extent, Rodriguez and the whole athletic department need to be taken to task. This isn't failure to monitor. This isn't loss of control. This is just failure of reading comprehension. And that's something Michigan students, alumni and fans are not used to, and something we shouldn't accept as being okay.

Let's Be Honest

In my estimation, it's okay for everyone to be pissed about the staff screwing the pooch on reading the damn rules. Further, everyone should be annoyed about the QC staff gone nuts. You can’t run an asylum when the guards are nuttier than the interned. I've got a real problem with that.

But it's not okay for Michigan fans to say "we've never done that before" or this never would've happened" under so-and-so. Maybe they wouldn't have, but we'd have a string of other problems we'd be dealing with. Before we deify Rodriguez' predecessors in an attempt to tear Rich down, take a look at the facts that predated his arrival. The arrests. The sub par seasons. The horrific recruiting. Problems staring us in the face that we were willing to overlook to maintain the illusion of doing things the "right way." Be honest, this wasn't paying players. This wasn't taking recruits to strip clubs. It was just dumb.

Where Do We Go From Here?

Everyone knows my position on Rodriguez, but I'll state it here again anyway. Rodriguez should get four full years to show what he can do. Given the on the field disaster he inherited, anything less than four years is patently unfair and would make us look like Notre Dame when they fired Ty Willingham. Frankly, it would make us look even worse because Willingham flat out stopped recruiting or caring after the end of year two and sandbagged his job. Rodriguez has done the opposite. He's working even harder than ever and has stockpiled enough talent and experience to compete for a Big Ten title in 2011.

Not giving him the opportunity to truly show what he is capable of would not only be unfair to him and his players, it would be unfair to the coach who would replace him. And what if the guy was a dud? Look at Charlie Weis (again), he inherited a program in the fourth year of recruiting for his system. The team was ready to explode and he got to parlay that into a "return to glory" and a 100 zillion dollar buyout-impossible contract. Ask your favorite Domer how that turned out.

Crucifying Rodriguez isn't going to fix things. Further, the sanctions the University is expecting aren't that harsh. Both of those things are obvious. If the opposite had been true Mary Sue Coleman and Dave Brandon would've canned Rodriguez rather than sit next to him at a press conference.

What we need to do, as fans, is acknowledge what's going on. Acknowledge the screw up for what it is. Not a nefarious attempt to circumvent the rules, but a really dumb series of minor mistakes that snowballed. We should recognize that the implications of the infractions aren't program crippling, they're just annoying. Realize that the golden years weren't so golden and that Michigan, like any other program, has had its fair share of screw ups on the roster or coaching staff over the last fifty years. Acknowledge that whether Rodriguez is here or not, our opponents are going to keep yakking until we beat them again. Recognize that the best response is winning.

And if you want to win, I still say Rodriguez is your man.

Excuse Me Coach But Your Seat Is Officially On Fire

2010-03-04T06:20:34Z

Right around the time that college football spring practices begin I usually stop and take a look quick look at the college football coaches who are "on the hot seat", as they say, for the upcoming football season. Tom Dienhart at Rivals.com posted a nice story summary on this subject earlier today.

I found it interesting. And somewhat weird.

Hey look! Les Miles of LSU AND Rich Rodriguez of Michigan both find themselves on a "hot seat" of some description entering the 2010 season!

Together!?

Well, of course, Rodriguez's "hot seat" isn't just hot.

It's more like an exploding throne at the moment. Like one of those chemistry experiment TV shows, where they'd dip a chair in large container of water and then measure the total displacement. Except in this case Rodriguez is sitting in that chair. And the chair is a toilet.....made of Cesium.

But Les Miles? Is he really on the hot seat? I mean, this is the same dude that a large contingent of Michigan fans wanted as the new Wolverines head coach when Carr stepped down after the 2007 season. They badly wanted Miles because he had just led LSU to it's second national title in just 4 years, and especially since his LSU Tigers blasted Jim Tressel's Ohio State into oblivion in the 2008 national title game.

Miles also played for Bo, so he's made of bona fide "Michigan Man" material. Miles also coached alongside Bo for several years during the early apex of the Wolverines football program - the glorious 1970s.

LSU Head Coach Les Miles: "I'll just put on my white hat like this, hide back here behind you guys, and they'll all just think I'm another referee."

I didn't even realize that Les Miles' LSU Tigers were just 8-8 thus far in the SEC. Surprising? Yes. But come on. Miles tenure at LSU by any standard has been only a few degrees off of glorious: 11-2, 11-2, 12-2, 8-5, 9-4. Lloyd Carr did far worse than this at Michigan and people barely raised an eyebrow. So we remember Miles' unforgivable time management error during horrific defeats against Ole Miss last fall, one that was inexplicably repeated again against Penn State in the Capital One Bowl. OK. So Miles is not Nick Saban. So freaking what! Saban went 8-4, 10-3, 8-5, 13-1 and 9-3 while at LSU. Les Miles isn't exactly Bill Arnsparger, David Archer or Gerry DiNardo either. I'm not saying LSU fans shouldn't be disappointed with 8-5 and 9-4 seasons. I'm just saying that with all of the Charlie Weis, Rich Rodriguez, and Lane Kiffin business going on these days in college football, LSU could do a hell of a lot worse than Les Miles at the helm.

So back to Rich Rodriguez. No one in their right mind can dispute Rich Rodriguez's current circumstances this fall. It's one thing to emphatically state that you not only know the NCAA practice rules and that you follow those rules, but it's quite another when a university and NCAA investigation eventually uncovers that you a.) either don't know the rules or b.) really didn't follow the rules. It makes you look incompetent and dumb. That's a hot seat of one's own making. It was avoidable.

So what's in store for Rodriguez in 2010? Let's take a quick inventory. With two sophomoric quarterbacks, no proven punter or placekicker, no proven running backs with any demonstrated durability, an inconsistent offensive line to say the least, and essentially a ghost of a defensive unit all returning for the 2010 football season. Let's just say Rich Rodriguez has enough to worry about without a demanding new boss, NCAA allegations of impropriety, and the entire state of Michigan press corps standing outside Schembechler Hall dressed up like the Grim Reaper.

Rodriguez's third Michigan football team has to show considerable improvement in virtually every facet of the game this fall, not just one or two areas. Then there's the 2010 schedule to consider. I'll post more about this aspect later, but unless Michigan's defensive unit rises from the ashes in 2010 like a brilliant Phoenix that nobody could possibly have ever imagined, then Michigan's 2010 season could be equal to or worse than last year, even with Iowa, MSU and Wisconsin games at home. It is not difficult at this stage to envision a 0-2 start for Michigan next fall. I do believe that six or seven wins is possible for Michigan in 2010. But is it likely? So far Rodriguez has done an excellent job of making himself look dumb. It would be a welcome change if he could just make his critics look dumb for once.

If Rich Rodriguez is fired at year end, the Dienhart article points to the possibility that Les Miles and several others might be not only interested, but available to talk about Michigan. This possibility might make one section of Michigan fans very happy. But the idea that the real issues facing the University of Michigan football program can all be solved overnight with the hiring of yet another new football coach - with the full staff change that would automatically coincide with it - is, I believe, a delusional one.

When I read the Dienhart article one more time I thought about something else. If Rodriguez gets fired by Michigan at season's end, and Bob Toledo is thrown out at Tulane, well, we'll see what happens.

The 30th Anniversary of Michigan’s 1980 Championship Football Team

2010-03-02T23:08:33Z

Michigan's 1980 Big Ten Championship Football Team

I'm not sure exactly what to expect on the gridiron for the Michigan Wolverines in 2010.

More wins, I guess.

I do know one thing I definitely want to see.

The 2010 football season marks the 30^th anniversary of the Wolverines' 1980 outright Big Ten Championship and Rose Bowl championship football team. If they haven't done so already, somebody within the University of Michigan administration and the athletic department needs to organize a commemorative event during the course of the 2010 football season to recognize Michigan's great 1980 Big Ten championship football team.

What made Michigan's 1980 football team so special?

The First of Only Two Teams Under Schembechler to Ever Win an Undisputed Big Ten Championship AND a Rose Bowl Victory

Bo Schembechler's First Victory Ride in Pasadena, January 1, 1981 (AP Photo)

Winning a conference title in the Big Ten started to get a whole lot tougher around 1979. Before that Ohio State and Michigan pretty much ruled the league with impunity. Under head coach Bo Schembechler, Michigan won a lot of Big Ten championships in football: Five of them undisputed outright titles and 8 shared titles where the Wolverines finished tied for first in the conference standings. The 1980 Michigan football team was Schembechler's second undisputed Big Ten championship team (1971 was the first), and it was the first Wolverine squad to hand Bo a bowl game win. This victory just happened to take place in the 1981 Rose Bowl - mostly a Wolverine graveyard since 1964 - over a talented 16^th ranked, 9-2 Washington team. Schembechler would repeat this feat only one more time in 1988, when the Wolverines would finish 7-0-1 in conference, win the Big Ten title outright and win the Rose Bowl game (over USC 22-14).

Bill McCartney's Scoring Defense: 22 Quarters Without A Surrendered Touchdown

Bill McCartnery, Michigan Defensive Coach between 1974-1981

From local, little-known Michigan high school coach to one of the best Michigan's best defensive coordinators ever

Bill McCartney had become a defensive assistant at Michigan in 1974. Most Michigan fans kind of forget that McCartney was the only high school football coach ever hired by Bo Schembechler. McCartney is probably most widely known for his head coaching exploits later on at Colorado. But while working alongside Gary Moeller and Lloyd Carr (Carr's first season at Michigan was 1980), Bill McCartney was arguably one of the best defensive coordinators in Michigan football history. In 1980 Michigan returned with only 5 starters on defense and would have to replace two of the most prolific defensemen ever to ever strap on a winged helmet: inside linebacker Ron Simpkins and defensive tackle Curt Greer. McCartney would also have to rebuild the entire Wolverine secondary with the losses of FS Michael Harden, CB Mike Jolly and SS Mark Braman. They'd also have to find a way to replace the other veteran and starting DT Chris Godfrey. The 1980 replacements on defense were a less experience group on paper, but became a pleasant surprise by season's end. Michigan's defensive line saw a tremendous amount of flexibility with a 3-4 alignment. Winfred Carraway, Jeff Shaw, Cedric Coles and Mike Trgovac were all stalwarts along the defensive front. During spring practice, the idea of trying to replacing Simpkins at linebacker must have been seen by McCartney as an impossibility. By season's end, however, Michigan's linebacking corps of Paul Girgash, Mel Owens, Andy Cannavino and Robert Thompson had all picked up the slack and much more. Perhaps McCartney's greatest accomplishment, however, was getting a very young Wolverines secondary ready to play against some of the best quarterbacks and passing offenses in the Big Ten and the PAC10 in 1980: California (Rich Campbell), Illinois (Dave Wilson), Indiana (Tim Clifford), Purdue (Mark Herrmann) and Ohio State (Art Schlichter) and Washington (Tom Flick). Michigan's defensive backs in 1980, Marion Body, Brian Carpenter, Keith Bostic and Tony Jackson, kept plays in front of them and pretty much shut down these opponent passing attacks outright. This was an unexpected result following Michigan's 1979 campaign that fielded a much more experienced secondary with superior talent. McCartney's "Monsters" of 1980 gave up a paltry 11 point per game. The one thing for which the 1980 Michigan defense is probably most remembered is that fact that for 22 straight quarters of play, starting with the Indiana game in Bloomington on November 1^st all the way through to the Rose Bowl win versus Washington, three straight opponents were held scoreless and no one crossed the Wolverines' goal line.

A Trio of Tailbacks and A Dominant Offensive Line

Butch "Don't-Call-Me-Harold" Woolfolk

When your football team fields three (count ‘em, three!) running backs that rush for over 900 yards each and about 7 touchdowns on average each, well, that's the sign of a a run-centric football coach, an incredible offensive line, or both. In 1980 Michigan scrapped most of its option run plays because it's quarterback John Wangler was recovering from knee surgery. The Wolverines moved to a Multiple I attack with some two split back pro set formations as well. Butch Woolfolk, Stan Edwards and Lawrence Ricks were excellent runners and alternated at tailback. In 1980 Woolfolk racked up an impressive 1,073 yards and 8 TDs, Edwards had 916 yards and 8 TDs and Ricks gained 904 yards and 6 TDs. Behind Michigan's massive offensive line, it didn't really matter which running back was in there. All three backs were now big enough to serve as excellent blockers for Wangler on play action passing downs too. Jerry Hanlon, Michigan's offensive coordinator and offensive line coach, was fortunate to return 4 of the 5 front lineman from 1979 in tackles Bubba Paris and Ed Muransky, center George Lilja and offensive guard Kurt Becker. In 1980 John Powers would replace senior John Arbeznik at guard and do a fantastic job. Offensively, Michigan averaged 27 points per game that season.

Anthony Carter

As if three Wolverine tailbacks marching up and down the Tartan surface of Michigan Stadium for almost 3,000 yards on the ground in 1980 wasn't bad enough, Wolverine opponents struggled to put any plan in place to neutralize this 5 foot, 11 inch tall, lanky-legged sophomore receiver from Florida who donned a menacing No. 1 jersey.

A.C.- Nobody Does It Better

Michigan's wide receiver Anthony Carter played a position known as "Flanker" for the Wolverines, because that's what he did. He flanked you, among other things. While Schembechler's off-tackle traps and tailback counters were softening opponent front lines and sucking in opposing safeties, he'd call a deep out or a post pattern throw to Anthony Carter with max protection for his quarterback Wangler. The results were shocking. Half of Wangler's completions ended up in Anthony Carter's mitts for either an acrobatic 1^st down catch or a touchdown. Of John Wangler's 16 TD passes, 14 went to Anthony.

For Schembechler, the advent of Anthony Carter in the offensive attack in 1980 reminds me a lot of the part in the Christmas Carol when Scrooge, realizing he had survived the night's haunting, couldn't help himself but maintain the evil façade for a few moments the next day to fool his employee Bob Cratchett, only to finally let go and reveal his new redeemed persona with kindness and joy.

So it must have been both difficult and yet strangely uplifting for a guy like Schembechler to finally be able to break free from his Hayesian instruction and actually throw the football on something other than 3^rd down and then witness either the same or better result compared to that trusty 38 cross buck counter play. Only Anthony Carter could have wrestled loose the "Three yards and a cloud of dust" ideology from Bo's gray matter - though it would never leave Schembechler entirely.

It remains to this day a worthy subject of study just why Anthony Carter only caught 51 receptions in 1980. If you are a head football coach today, and you know that from a statistical probability point of view that every 4 times one of your players (Player X) touches the football, he ends up trying to make it rain in the opponent end zone....well, that was Anthony Carter: 51 receptions. 14 touchdowns, 818 yards and 16 yard per reception average.

Overcoming A 1-2 Start

Michigan started out the season with a lackluster win at home against the Big Ten's worst team, Northwestern, 17-10, and proceeded to lose two straight games at Notre Dame by a last second field goal and again at home versus one of the best South Carolina football teams ever (Heisman tailback George Rogers, quarterback Gary Harper). A lot has already been written by Mitch Albom and others about the turnaround of the 1980 season, the revolt brewing by some of the players, etc. Michigan had every opportunity to implode after that 14-17 defeat to the Gamecocks. I won't go into it all again. It's enough to say that the1980 football team was one of Michigan's best ever. I wrote a brief comparison of the 1980 team to some of Michigan's other greatest teams entitled The Magnificent Seven at my previous blog. The 1980 team really was one of Schembechler's finest. Not the biggest group of kids. Not the fastest. Not even the most talented. But they did go through a hellish start only to come together in the end, never looking back only to dole out some memorable punishment on the opposition all the way to a 10-2 final record.

If you're a Michigan football fan, I highly recommend viewing some of these 1980 season football games posted on youtube from Wolverine Historian. Watch how the Michigan defense seemed to feed the offense, and vice versa, in these games. Watch how the Wolverine defensive players would celebrates a big stop as a team, smacking each other around joyously after the play. It might have gotten a flag by today's standards. Here is the 1980 roster and starting lineup.

It is most interesting to me to think that one of the best Michigan football teams ever was not a perfect one.

So I'm hoping something special will be planned this fall to remember the 1980 football season. I don't know what they'll do. Something cool hopefully. Bo and Ufer are gone, but the memories still remain. It's thirty years later, that 1980 championship team deserves a standing ovation from the Michigan faithful in the Big House once again.

No. 11 Michigan vs. No. 16 Purdue, November 16, 1980 (courtesy of Wolverine Historian)

UConn Football Coach Randy Edsall: Best Players in the State Have Had Wandering Eyes

2010-03-01T09:51:05Z

Randy Edsall, Connecticut Huskies Head Coach Since 1999 (Photo NY Times)

Connecticut head football coach Randy Edsall is apparently livid with high school football coaches in the state of Connecticut.

Why livid? Well, because high school coaches in the state simply aren't driving enough local kids to consider UConn football up in Storrs. According to Scout.com, there were 8 recruits in 2010 from the state of Connecticut with 3-Stars or more. Only one of them, 3-star WR Tebucky Jones, committed to play for Edsall's Connecticut Huskies. The rest of the best were poached by raiding recruiters from Penn State, Boston College, Florida State, Florida and Tulane. Even more startling, out of UConn's 20 player recruiting class for 2010, Jones was the sole player from the state of Connecticut. In 2009's 21 player recruiting class, only 3 of Edsall's recruits were from Connecticut.

So OK, maybe Mr. Edsall is on to something here. Losing top state players like 5-star tailback Silas Redd and 4-star OLB Khiari Fortt to Penn State has to be frustrating. Edsall has been the head coach at UConn for the last 11 seasons. The Huskies have been invited to bowl games for the last three straight seasons, not to mention a media-filled 2009 season, and a gloriously decisive victory over a decent SEC defensive team (South Carolina) in the Papajohns.com Bowl. Under Edsall the Husky football program is definitely moving upward.

But if a UConn recruiting conduit to some of the most talent-rich high school football programs in the Stamford area were ever to be formed, would it not have already been accomplished by now?

On September 4 Connecticut opens up the 2010 college football season in Ann Arbor against the Michigan Wolverines - another major media event that will provide Edsall's Huskies plenty of national exposure for the program and future recruiting. Edsall can probably accept some solace in the fact that he's not a lone with this phenomenon of local kids going astray and deciding to play football elsewhere. Michigan landed only 4 in-state players in their 2009 class of 22 recruits, and just 3 Michigan players in the Wolverines' 2010 class of 27.

It begs the question just how much does this "I gots to be No. 1 in the state!"-recruiting philosophy really matter? It seems like every year we see Texas kids ending up at Nebraska and Oklahoma. Michigan kids heading to USC and Ohio State. Texas, Arizona, Ohio and Florida kids then somehow choose to play their careers up north at Michigan. What comes around really does appear to go around, and kids today more than ever before probably want to make up their own minds.

Interestingly, Rich Rodriguez did successfully snag one Connecticut player from Edsall's clutches back in 2008: 4-star, No. 35 running back, Mike Cox of Avon, CT. Cox will likely get some serious consideration for playing time in 2010 too since Michigan lost its two leading rushers of 2009, Brandon Minor and Carlos Brown, to graduation.

On the Road Today

2010-02-25T19:46:07Z

real life intervenes. content up tomorrow.