Recently, I have been asked why I hate or dislike our little brother from East Lansing, and also I am just getting really sick of Sparty fans complaining about this football season.
So where I grew up the in-state rival between us and State was more heated than us vs Ohio, and even us vs the golden domers. The little farm town was full of farm boys and Sparty lovers. I also grew up showing steers in 4-H, as you can imagine there are not many Michigan fans in that hobby. So I constantly was mocked for liking Michigan, and received phone calls after any Michigan loss in football or loss to Sparty in any sport.
I know there are a ton of "Wal-mart Wolverines" out there, but I was surrounded by Spartan slappies that had no affiliations with the school or any knowledge of anything related to sports. They just felt the connection to MSU because of the ag school. My very first Michigan football game happened to be the Braylon take over against MSU. I was invited by a former MSU softball player who wanted to invite me because she was convinced ole Lion's standout Drew Stanton would lead her beloved Sparty to victory. She wanted to go to the Big House to celebrate with her Spartan brethren, and rub it in my face at the same time. As you probably know, Braylon had one of the best games that a Michigan receiver ever had. It was a glorious game. So I have lived with these confused souls all of my life, and I dont like most of what Spartan fans stand for (love for Dantonio because he hates Michigan, I think he could go 1-11 and beat us and never lose his job, disregard to their national leading amount of personal fouls against Michigan, I could go on and on).
That takes me to my current annoyance with the Sparty lovers. I keep reading different articles all week about how Michigan State will get the shaft for the second year in a row because if they lose the B1G championship game, it appears they will drop from the Rose Bowl to the Outback, and we will be headed to the Sugar Bowl. But I think I can say this with the support of most Michigan fans, that I would gladly trade spots with MSU right now. Because the goal of most B1G teams is the Rose Bowl, the Grand Daddy of them all, the greatest bowl ever, etc, etc... The only way to get to this game in the current B1G format is to go to the championship game to win one last game. We have no chance of making the Rose Bowl this year, or winning the conference, but State does. So if they are more worried about us making a BCS bowl and them getting the shaft again then focusing on their game this weekend I would trade them in an instant. I would love to be watching my team play one more game, to be pumped up for one more week, knowing that there is a chance we could lose and our bowl outcome would be affected. In reality I would trade the Sugar Bowl over a chance at the Rose Bowl. Just the chance is all fans can ask for. Why are Spartan fans already counting on them losing and us going to a better bowl game? Why do they care about us more than looking forward to the first B1G championship game? I dont understand it. Also, at this point MSU should also be hoping we do make a BCS bowl game. Lets say Wisconsin wins the game on Saturday and go to the Rose Bowl, but Michigan finishes ranked number 15 in the BCS. We would not be eligible for the Sugar Bowl. The Capital One Bowl gets the first pick of the remaining B1G teams, and taking a 2 loss Michigan is the most attractive left. The Florida bowls have already shown a ton of interest in bringing Nebraska there for the first time, so they would slip to the Outback Bowl. The Gator Bowl has its matchup of Florida v Ohio. This leaves the Insight Bowl, which is a pre-New Year's bowl. Hah, talk about getting the shaft. Sorry Sparty, but I think you would rather be in the Outback in my opinion. But, maybe you could actually win the Insight Bowl... maybe. I never would think that going to the conference championship game would be such a burden. I guess we can only hope that Michigan can take this problem off of their hands for the next long while.
Poor Sparty.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Congratulations Pt. 2
Our very own Coach Brady Hoke found out that he won the coach of the year in the B1G from both the media and coaches. He is the first Michigan coach to win B1G coach of the year since Gary Moeller in the early 90s.
This also gives the Hokenator 3 coach of the years in the past 4 years, and all of them from different conferences (MAC 2008, MWC 2010, and B1G in 2011). I dont think he will be winning this award in another conference anytime soon. But this is quite an accomplishment for a first year coach taking over an underwhelming 7-5 football team and program in disarray. Brady also beat out rival Sparty leader or gatherer of criminals... which ever title you prefer.
Let's hope this is a first coaching award of many for our very own double pointing leader.
Congrats Coach!
This also gives the Hokenator 3 coach of the years in the past 4 years, and all of them from different conferences (MAC 2008, MWC 2010, and B1G in 2011). I dont think he will be winning this award in another conference anytime soon. But this is quite an accomplishment for a first year coach taking over an underwhelming 7-5 football team and program in disarray. Brady also beat out rival Sparty leader or gatherer of criminals... which ever title you prefer.
Let's hope this is a first coaching award of many for our very own double pointing leader.
Congrats Coach!
OT: Rich Rod
There are a few reports coming out today from Arizona that state one of the main reasons the defensive guru took the Wildcat position was that the AD guaranteed him that they would schedule Michigan within 3 years. This seems like a crazy objective to guarantee, this is not like PS3 NCAA football where you can schedule almost anyone any year. It requires an agreement from the other school's AD and usually coach.
I get that Dave Brandon likes scheduling non-conference games that will get some national appeal (Bama, App St rematch, UMass rematch, Air Force, etc) but I am not sure how I feel about scheduling our old coach who was ran out of town by Big Blue nation. I admit, I thought RR should get fired even if he won the bowl game. I was sick of watching decent athletes fall into a blackhole and be blamed for being terrible on defense. I wanted Lloyd Carr back, I wanted consistency... even if that means traditional and boring. Funny what 3 years does to you. I dont think Brandon will agree to a home and home series with Arizona (going to the west coast for a non-conference game would be pretty tough). And if I was the Arizona AD I wouldnt do this if it was a one year game at the Big House.
I personally don't want to see RR back in our stadium anytime soon. I think there are other teams from real conferences that would love to play us, why schedule someone who will come in with a chip on his shoulder and a win at all costs attitude in a non-rivalry game.
I get that Dave Brandon likes scheduling non-conference games that will get some national appeal (Bama, App St rematch, UMass rematch, Air Force, etc) but I am not sure how I feel about scheduling our old coach who was ran out of town by Big Blue nation. I admit, I thought RR should get fired even if he won the bowl game. I was sick of watching decent athletes fall into a blackhole and be blamed for being terrible on defense. I wanted Lloyd Carr back, I wanted consistency... even if that means traditional and boring. Funny what 3 years does to you. I dont think Brandon will agree to a home and home series with Arizona (going to the west coast for a non-conference game would be pretty tough). And if I was the Arizona AD I wouldnt do this if it was a one year game at the Big House.
I personally don't want to see RR back in our stadium anytime soon. I think there are other teams from real conferences that would love to play us, why schedule someone who will come in with a chip on his shoulder and a win at all costs attitude in a non-rivalry game.
Game 7 Recap: 5-2... UGLY!
I am not sure where to even start about last night's game. There are two positive things that I can think of resulting from the game. 1. I am glad we did not play Wake Forest (worst team in ACC) because I am sure we would have lost to them, which would have hurt our resume a lot more than UVA. 2. I am glad we didnt play UNC, because they might have scored 80 by halftime and it might have been one of the biggest margins of defeats since those years of playing Duke and losing by 60. I guess there might even be a 3rd positive, we might have just watched us play the worst possible game from this Michigan team and they were a few breaks away from keeping the score within 5 against a probable tournament team.
So we got the standard positives out of the way, I will take a few minutes to analyze what actually happened last night. I am still frustrated and annoyed at how bad a team I thought was a legit top 12 in the country performed last night. We all know they played terribly, and most of us know the main reasons. So there is no reason for me to go on and on.
FOUL TROUBLE killed us again. In my preview one of the biggest matchups was Jordan Morgan v Mike Scott. But Michigan game out and tried to defend him with a slow, unathletic gump of a dude that cant keep his hands straight up when he plays defense. So he gets whistled almost every time he plays post defense. Of course I am talking about the one and only Smot. He is so frustrating to watch, he was having his best offensive game of the year but then complimented it with one of his worst defensive performances. He racked up 5 fouls in incredible time.. maybe we wanted to play hack-a-Cavalier with just Smot. Since Horford looks weak and useless on the court most of the time, we were stuck with our back up power forward guarding a first team all-ACC-er. This is our 6'3" linebacker of Zak Novak. Mike Scott is the exact type that Novak cannot match up with at all. Scott was able to shoot over him, also able to see the court for WIDE OPEN cross court passes for easy jump shots, rebound over him, and to make matters even worse... Scott was also quicker than Novak. That made for a great outing for Mike Scott (18 points and double digit rebounds). Lets move on to our second key matchup, Tim Hardaway and Harris for UVA. Tim wanted to call on his inner-Smot by picking up 2 first half fouls in 4 minutes. Then Beilein was forced to sit him until halftime (questionable since Hardaway usually finishes with 2 fouls for games). He was held to 5 points because once he came back in he was so far out of any sort of rhythm that most shots were forced. Meanwhile, Harris was able to camp out at the 3 point line and have shooting practice since we wanted to see if a team could shoot better than Duke against us. Our defense proved that they can allow even a bad shooting team to have career games. This is going to be great watching us try to defend Sullinger. So the key matchups for the game were heavily in favor of the Cavaliers.
Why else did we lose? We outfouled Virginia 20-12, and got out scored from the free throw line by 13 from the free throw line (4-7 vs 17-22). Also, we got outrebounded by one of the worst rebounding teams in the country. We outrebounded Duke, Memphis, and UCLA, but get outrebounded by a team that never crashes the offensive glass to stop the fast break. Somehow we found ways to give up offensive rebounds, especially out of the 1-3-1. These two stats might be the main factors for the loss.
I hope this team was still tired from Hawaii, because they are going to have to play better on the road to finish with a winning B1G record. (B1G schedule and team preview will be coming soon).
Also, since this is my blog, I will keep complaining... I have had enough of Stu Douglass playing so much. As a senior I would expect one of the "leaders" to run the offense that he has been in for 4 years better, and to take better shots. How many half court threes can the dude take in one game. Yes, he made one of them, but does that give him the green light to shoot and miss 3 more? I dont think it should. Also, the moron doesn't understand the concept of boxing out anyone on the defensive end. 2 of UVA's offensive boards were from Stu not putting his body into his man (it led to 5 points). He has been struggling with that all year, I just havent mentioned much since they have won or played well until last night. As much as he can make a few shots for us, he needs to improve on the little things to see the floor as much as he does. Everyone knows how much I like Trey Burke so far this year, but last night he had so many bad turnovers. He finally looked like a freshman last night to me, maybe it was the good defense or being on the road. How many times can you try to dribble behind your back when you are inside the 3 point line. People will sag to stop dribble penetration and will be there to steal the ball when you are careless with it. He will need to improve holding onto the ball when B1G time comes around. Also, he struggled to run any sort of offense for most of the game, we were forced to take fade away shots from all over the court. We didnt try to attack the pick and roll much or get Morgan involved in the offense.
I could go on and on. I hope last night was just a bad game from a tired young team (like Duke too losing by 21 to Ohio). But I do not like losing, especially when we dont play well. So hopefully we will see some improvement as the 5-2 cagers head home to take on baby Michigan State... I mean Iowa St on Saturday!
Go Blue!
So we got the standard positives out of the way, I will take a few minutes to analyze what actually happened last night. I am still frustrated and annoyed at how bad a team I thought was a legit top 12 in the country performed last night. We all know they played terribly, and most of us know the main reasons. So there is no reason for me to go on and on.
FOUL TROUBLE killed us again. In my preview one of the biggest matchups was Jordan Morgan v Mike Scott. But Michigan game out and tried to defend him with a slow, unathletic gump of a dude that cant keep his hands straight up when he plays defense. So he gets whistled almost every time he plays post defense. Of course I am talking about the one and only Smot. He is so frustrating to watch, he was having his best offensive game of the year but then complimented it with one of his worst defensive performances. He racked up 5 fouls in incredible time.. maybe we wanted to play hack-a-Cavalier with just Smot. Since Horford looks weak and useless on the court most of the time, we were stuck with our back up power forward guarding a first team all-ACC-er. This is our 6'3" linebacker of Zak Novak. Mike Scott is the exact type that Novak cannot match up with at all. Scott was able to shoot over him, also able to see the court for WIDE OPEN cross court passes for easy jump shots, rebound over him, and to make matters even worse... Scott was also quicker than Novak. That made for a great outing for Mike Scott (18 points and double digit rebounds). Lets move on to our second key matchup, Tim Hardaway and Harris for UVA. Tim wanted to call on his inner-Smot by picking up 2 first half fouls in 4 minutes. Then Beilein was forced to sit him until halftime (questionable since Hardaway usually finishes with 2 fouls for games). He was held to 5 points because once he came back in he was so far out of any sort of rhythm that most shots were forced. Meanwhile, Harris was able to camp out at the 3 point line and have shooting practice since we wanted to see if a team could shoot better than Duke against us. Our defense proved that they can allow even a bad shooting team to have career games. This is going to be great watching us try to defend Sullinger. So the key matchups for the game were heavily in favor of the Cavaliers.
Why else did we lose? We outfouled Virginia 20-12, and got out scored from the free throw line by 13 from the free throw line (4-7 vs 17-22). Also, we got outrebounded by one of the worst rebounding teams in the country. We outrebounded Duke, Memphis, and UCLA, but get outrebounded by a team that never crashes the offensive glass to stop the fast break. Somehow we found ways to give up offensive rebounds, especially out of the 1-3-1. These two stats might be the main factors for the loss.
I hope this team was still tired from Hawaii, because they are going to have to play better on the road to finish with a winning B1G record. (B1G schedule and team preview will be coming soon).
Also, since this is my blog, I will keep complaining... I have had enough of Stu Douglass playing so much. As a senior I would expect one of the "leaders" to run the offense that he has been in for 4 years better, and to take better shots. How many half court threes can the dude take in one game. Yes, he made one of them, but does that give him the green light to shoot and miss 3 more? I dont think it should. Also, the moron doesn't understand the concept of boxing out anyone on the defensive end. 2 of UVA's offensive boards were from Stu not putting his body into his man (it led to 5 points). He has been struggling with that all year, I just havent mentioned much since they have won or played well until last night. As much as he can make a few shots for us, he needs to improve on the little things to see the floor as much as he does. Everyone knows how much I like Trey Burke so far this year, but last night he had so many bad turnovers. He finally looked like a freshman last night to me, maybe it was the good defense or being on the road. How many times can you try to dribble behind your back when you are inside the 3 point line. People will sag to stop dribble penetration and will be there to steal the ball when you are careless with it. He will need to improve holding onto the ball when B1G time comes around. Also, he struggled to run any sort of offense for most of the game, we were forced to take fade away shots from all over the court. We didnt try to attack the pick and roll much or get Morgan involved in the offense.
I could go on and on. I hope last night was just a bad game from a tired young team (like Duke too losing by 21 to Ohio). But I do not like losing, especially when we dont play well. So hopefully we will see some improvement as the 5-2 cagers head home to take on baby Michigan State... I mean Iowa St on Saturday!
Go Blue!
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Michigan Ball Game 7 preview: 5-1 Virginia
Michigan basketball takes the court again tonight in their first true road test of the season against an improving 5-1 Virginia. We will get to see how this team looks after 3 games in 3 days in Hawaii, and if they are fully rested now. Also, it will be a good road test for this young team. We will need to win games like this to avoid being on the bubble at the end of the season.
While Virginia is 5-1 so far this season, they have not played a team as talented as Michigan yet. Their lone loss came to an average at best TCU team. Tonight's game will be Virginia's toughest non-conference test, and will be a major inidicator if they get into the NCAA tournament come March.
The Cavaliers are led by 6'9" power forward Mike Scott, he is averaging about 15 points and 10 rebounds a game. He will be a very tough matchup for our frontcourt players, and I expect all 3 regulars in our rotation to have some foul problems while trying to guard Scott. They have a 6'6" sophomore guard in Joe Harris who is a very streaker shooter. When he is making shots, this team can be very tough to defend and stop. Their point guard is 5'11" Jontel Evans. He is not a top tier point guard like Michigan saw in Austin Rivers or Joe Jackson, but he is a more than capable distributor who can get to double digits in points on occassion. Also, Virginia is more concerned about not giving up fast break points, that we should control defensive rebounds. Virginia will almost never crash the hoop to get an offensive board. Look for someone to have close to 10 rebounds by the end of the game. Honestly, Virginia is not extremely overwhelming offensively like teams we have already played this year, but where they win games is on the defensive end of the court.
The Cavalier coach, Tony Bennett, is still relatively new to Charlotte after turning around Washington St. Most people compare his styles to our very own John Beilein. While Virginia will not run a 1-3-1 zone tonight, they will always run a man-zone defense. It might be one of the most complicated and difficult defenses in the nation to gameplan against. Virginia's defense is rated number 9 in the nation currently, and they have held 2 opponents already below 40 points. They will play aggressive man defense on the ball, and the other 4 players will sag 2-5 steps away from their guy. This allows them to pack in the middle of the key, which will limit the amount of backscreens and dribble penetration Michigan will be allowed to do. The big men will front our frontcourt to deny any low post passes, and they will almost never allow someone to get around them on the baseline. It will be a very tough test for us to get to 65-70 points. It will be important to take care of the ball and value every possession. Also, early 3 point shots might appear open for our shooters, but the defender will quickly close the gap. Virginia wants us to launch some quick threes against them, but we cannot fall into this trap. We need to try to run our offense, try to attack with back cuts/ screens to open up good 3 point looks.
Key matchup: There are really two big matchups in tonight's game. The first is Jordam Morgan vs Mike Scott. Morgan had a great Mauii tournament, and he needs to continue that success tonight. Mostly on the defensive end of the floor. If Virginia struggles to get Scott going offensively it could be a long game for the Cavaliers. He is their first and second option. It will be important for Smot and Morgan to stay out of foul trouble and stay on the floor. They need to limit stupid/lazy fouls (Smot), and continually work to keep Scott out of the paint. If our frontcourt continues to struggle with fouls, this game will be a lot closer than it really should be. Also, Morgan needs to make Scott play defense, which will hopefully wear him down so he either commits some bad fouls, affects his offense, or even if he has to sit on the bench. The other key matchup for Big Blue to walk away with the win will be Hardaway vs Harris. Harris is a shooter, and we cannot let him get into a rhythm. Hardaway will have to limit his open looks, while also being more aggressive in the first half offensively. Look for Hardaway to score close to 20 again, but if he gives up 13-18 points to Harris it will not be a success for Tim.
Prediction: Virginia will play us more like a B1G team than anyone has this year, this will be a good road test for this Michigan team. While this win is not as necessary as if they went 1-2 in Hawaii, it is one that will look good at the end of the year and could mean us getting a 5 seed instead of a 6. The key number tonight is 70. If we score 70 we should win the game. If we somehow give up 70 to a below average offense, it will be a long night and we most likely will not come home 6-1. I think our team is playing very well together right now, and they seem focused on something more than just getting into the tourney. I expect us to come out with high intensity and to eventually win this game tonight. 68-59 Michigan.
Go Blue!
While Virginia is 5-1 so far this season, they have not played a team as talented as Michigan yet. Their lone loss came to an average at best TCU team. Tonight's game will be Virginia's toughest non-conference test, and will be a major inidicator if they get into the NCAA tournament come March.
The Cavaliers are led by 6'9" power forward Mike Scott, he is averaging about 15 points and 10 rebounds a game. He will be a very tough matchup for our frontcourt players, and I expect all 3 regulars in our rotation to have some foul problems while trying to guard Scott. They have a 6'6" sophomore guard in Joe Harris who is a very streaker shooter. When he is making shots, this team can be very tough to defend and stop. Their point guard is 5'11" Jontel Evans. He is not a top tier point guard like Michigan saw in Austin Rivers or Joe Jackson, but he is a more than capable distributor who can get to double digits in points on occassion. Also, Virginia is more concerned about not giving up fast break points, that we should control defensive rebounds. Virginia will almost never crash the hoop to get an offensive board. Look for someone to have close to 10 rebounds by the end of the game. Honestly, Virginia is not extremely overwhelming offensively like teams we have already played this year, but where they win games is on the defensive end of the court.
The Cavalier coach, Tony Bennett, is still relatively new to Charlotte after turning around Washington St. Most people compare his styles to our very own John Beilein. While Virginia will not run a 1-3-1 zone tonight, they will always run a man-zone defense. It might be one of the most complicated and difficult defenses in the nation to gameplan against. Virginia's defense is rated number 9 in the nation currently, and they have held 2 opponents already below 40 points. They will play aggressive man defense on the ball, and the other 4 players will sag 2-5 steps away from their guy. This allows them to pack in the middle of the key, which will limit the amount of backscreens and dribble penetration Michigan will be allowed to do. The big men will front our frontcourt to deny any low post passes, and they will almost never allow someone to get around them on the baseline. It will be a very tough test for us to get to 65-70 points. It will be important to take care of the ball and value every possession. Also, early 3 point shots might appear open for our shooters, but the defender will quickly close the gap. Virginia wants us to launch some quick threes against them, but we cannot fall into this trap. We need to try to run our offense, try to attack with back cuts/ screens to open up good 3 point looks.
Key matchup: There are really two big matchups in tonight's game. The first is Jordam Morgan vs Mike Scott. Morgan had a great Mauii tournament, and he needs to continue that success tonight. Mostly on the defensive end of the floor. If Virginia struggles to get Scott going offensively it could be a long game for the Cavaliers. He is their first and second option. It will be important for Smot and Morgan to stay out of foul trouble and stay on the floor. They need to limit stupid/lazy fouls (Smot), and continually work to keep Scott out of the paint. If our frontcourt continues to struggle with fouls, this game will be a lot closer than it really should be. Also, Morgan needs to make Scott play defense, which will hopefully wear him down so he either commits some bad fouls, affects his offense, or even if he has to sit on the bench. The other key matchup for Big Blue to walk away with the win will be Hardaway vs Harris. Harris is a shooter, and we cannot let him get into a rhythm. Hardaway will have to limit his open looks, while also being more aggressive in the first half offensively. Look for Hardaway to score close to 20 again, but if he gives up 13-18 points to Harris it will not be a success for Tim.
Prediction: Virginia will play us more like a B1G team than anyone has this year, this will be a good road test for this Michigan team. While this win is not as necessary as if they went 1-2 in Hawaii, it is one that will look good at the end of the year and could mean us getting a 5 seed instead of a 6. The key number tonight is 70. If we score 70 we should win the game. If we somehow give up 70 to a below average offense, it will be a long night and we most likely will not come home 6-1. I think our team is playing very well together right now, and they seem focused on something more than just getting into the tourney. I expect us to come out with high intensity and to eventually win this game tonight. 68-59 Michigan.
Go Blue!
Football recruiting update & Congratulations
Let's start with the congratulations... David Molk the starting center for the Michigan football team was awarded with the honor of the best offensive lineman in the B1G. He was absolutely outstanding this year, and led a very valuable line. He is a great leader of this football team, and will hopefully find success in the NFL somewhere. Also, he should rack up a few more honors this year, like All-American. It will be tough replacing him next year, especially when our first game is against Saban's Crimson Elephants.
Recruiting updates: Michigan has 3 or 4 available spots for this already amazing recruiting class. The only desperate position is wide receiver. Michigan is in the running for 3 highly rated receivers at this point with the leader being Stephon Diggs (a high school teammate of Blake Countess). He is a 5 star recruit whose interest in Big Blue continues to increase. We were just listed in his top 8, with some jokes of schools in there. It will most likely come down to Michigan vs Oklahoma. Oklahoma has their sights on a different receiver prospect, and if they land him. Diggs should commit to Michigan. The other 2 possibilities are no slouches either, both picking up 4 star praise. It will be great to land at least one of these guys (2 if we take 4 more recruits).
Brionte Dunn got the chance to talk to his new coach (The Whiner) yesterday, and from all of the reports it looks like he doesnt want to play in a spread system. Urban never had a 1,000 yard rusher in his time at Florida and Brionte has dreams to be an NFL running back. He would be the featured back in our system, most likely as a redshirt sophomore while seeing time as a redshirt freshman. His cousin (Dymonte Thomas a 2013 very highly rated recruit for U-M) has been quoted as saying Brionte wants to play in a pro style offense. A lot of the current recruits have been contacting Brionte to get him to commit to Michigan. It looks like this could be a very good possibility in the near future since he was in attendance for the Nebraska and Ohio games. Dunn is one of the top rated running backs, with a 5 star rated on most sites. This would be a huge recruit.
There are multiple offensive lineman who are still interested in Michigan, and all of them are very highly rated as well. Joshua Garnett just listed us in his final two schools, and he should be deciding soon. There is also the 5 star Jordan Diamond who was very interested in Michigan, but recently has cooled on becoming a Wolverine. Apparently his mom did not like Michigan or some stupid rumor like that. It looks like he will most likely go to the SEC. Finall, there is Zach Banner another top OL prospect who has kept his recruiting pretty low key so far. He seems to like Michigan a lot, but it looks like he could be staying closer to home in the Pac12 (USC or Stanford). At one point it looked like Michigan could land all 3 of these guys, but at this point 1 would be a great addition for the 2012 class.
Defensive Back: Yuri Wright has shown an increase in interest for the past few months now. He is listed as a 5 star recruit who was a Michigan fan growing up. It looks like he is between Rutgers and Michigan. I am not sure why a 5 star defensive back would want to go to Rutgers, but I am not the high school senior. He is planning on committing at the Army All-American game in January, so we have a while to wait. With Michigan in more of the national media recently with their good season and great finish and potential BCS bowl, this cant be a bad thing. I am assuming if we still have an open slot in January, Yuri Wright will be coming to Ann Arbor (maybe I am just hoping too).
Michigan is in a great position to get 3 more 5 star recruits, and 1 high 4 star. If this actually happens, look for Michigan to have the highest rated recruting class in the nation because of depth and quality.
Its great to be a Michigan Wolverine!
Recruiting updates: Michigan has 3 or 4 available spots for this already amazing recruiting class. The only desperate position is wide receiver. Michigan is in the running for 3 highly rated receivers at this point with the leader being Stephon Diggs (a high school teammate of Blake Countess). He is a 5 star recruit whose interest in Big Blue continues to increase. We were just listed in his top 8, with some jokes of schools in there. It will most likely come down to Michigan vs Oklahoma. Oklahoma has their sights on a different receiver prospect, and if they land him. Diggs should commit to Michigan. The other 2 possibilities are no slouches either, both picking up 4 star praise. It will be great to land at least one of these guys (2 if we take 4 more recruits).
Brionte Dunn got the chance to talk to his new coach (The Whiner) yesterday, and from all of the reports it looks like he doesnt want to play in a spread system. Urban never had a 1,000 yard rusher in his time at Florida and Brionte has dreams to be an NFL running back. He would be the featured back in our system, most likely as a redshirt sophomore while seeing time as a redshirt freshman. His cousin (Dymonte Thomas a 2013 very highly rated recruit for U-M) has been quoted as saying Brionte wants to play in a pro style offense. A lot of the current recruits have been contacting Brionte to get him to commit to Michigan. It looks like this could be a very good possibility in the near future since he was in attendance for the Nebraska and Ohio games. Dunn is one of the top rated running backs, with a 5 star rated on most sites. This would be a huge recruit.
There are multiple offensive lineman who are still interested in Michigan, and all of them are very highly rated as well. Joshua Garnett just listed us in his final two schools, and he should be deciding soon. There is also the 5 star Jordan Diamond who was very interested in Michigan, but recently has cooled on becoming a Wolverine. Apparently his mom did not like Michigan or some stupid rumor like that. It looks like he will most likely go to the SEC. Finall, there is Zach Banner another top OL prospect who has kept his recruiting pretty low key so far. He seems to like Michigan a lot, but it looks like he could be staying closer to home in the Pac12 (USC or Stanford). At one point it looked like Michigan could land all 3 of these guys, but at this point 1 would be a great addition for the 2012 class.
Defensive Back: Yuri Wright has shown an increase in interest for the past few months now. He is listed as a 5 star recruit who was a Michigan fan growing up. It looks like he is between Rutgers and Michigan. I am not sure why a 5 star defensive back would want to go to Rutgers, but I am not the high school senior. He is planning on committing at the Army All-American game in January, so we have a while to wait. With Michigan in more of the national media recently with their good season and great finish and potential BCS bowl, this cant be a bad thing. I am assuming if we still have an open slot in January, Yuri Wright will be coming to Ann Arbor (maybe I am just hoping too).
Michigan is in a great position to get 3 more 5 star recruits, and 1 high 4 star. If this actually happens, look for Michigan to have the highest rated recruting class in the nation because of depth and quality.
Its great to be a Michigan Wolverine!
Monday, November 28, 2011
BCS = slight panic attack
Many of you received texts from me in panic mode about a potential two loss Michigan team not getting a chance to play in a BCS game because of some crazy rules and rankings. I was also shocked that we dropped to number 16 in the polls.
As I looked at last weeks rankings more, I realized that us dropping to 16 was to be expected... since people enjoyed the Wisconsin beat down of then 19 ranked Penn St. That win gives them more of a boost than our win vs Ohio. Actually I think the Penn St game was looked at by the BCS as their best win of the year.
It still sucks going into this last weekend needing teams in front of us to lose for us to have a chance at the top 14. If we do not make the top 14, the choices for BCS games gets pretty thin. Assuming every higher rated team wins this next week (except Sparty because I cannot imagine a world where Sparty green fills half of the Rose Bowl) and we are still number 15. This leaves Bama, Stanford, Boise St and Kansas St as realistic at large possibilities. If we are number 15, a 3 loss Oklahoma and MSU would still be ahead of us... and who would want them in a marquee game? Bama is a lock for the championship game, Stanford should be going to the Fiesta, and the last open slot in the Sugar bowl is left for either Boise or Kansas St... whew they are real attractive for ratings. A Houston v Boise BCS game. While appealing to some, winning this game does not prove anything about that team. People want/ need to see a non-AQ team play against a big named school. That leaves Kansas St with their nursing home resident head coach. Honestly, I think most people would rather see Boise play Houston than Kansas St.
After calming down some, and looking at the numbers and likely scenarios. LSU should roll over Georgia to win the SEC. Oregon might score 100 vs a terrible UCLA team in the Pac12 final. Ok St should beat Oklahoma, and with them having this past weekend off. This game will be their first since their only loss of the year, and they will need this win to be the most impressive win of their season. If able, look for Ok St to keep passing even late in th game to make the final as lopsided as possible. It is their only hope of making the championship game. VaTech plays a completely different Clemson team than the one they lost to earlier in the season. I would be surprised if it is even close the second time around. Houston plays Souther Miss, and they should hold serve for a 13-0 season. Boise plays UNLV which shouldnt even be close. Kansas St plays Iowa St who just got smoked by Oklahoma. This game could be interesting, and if Kansas St loses, it guarantees us a BCS game... but at this point it looks unlikely. Then there is the B1G final. I predicted Wisconsin to rip apart Sparty the first time they played, and it was going well for the first few drives,then Bielema tried to outcoach himself again (he might be the worst big game coach... just look at how they played against TCU). I dont see it happening again. Wisconsin is the better team period. If they both play their best game, MSU shouldnt be within 14 points of the Badgers. I think Bielema will want revenge, and he still wants Monte Ball to catch Barry's old touchdown record of 39. Look for the Badgers to run up the score this time around and win by 20+. If this does happen, then a blowout loss for either of the B1G teams should be enough to drop them below our Fighting Hoke's.
The BCS game predictions look the same as last weekend, with us playing Houston January 3rd in the Sugar Bowl. Oregon v Wisconsin in the greatest bowl ever. Bama v LSU 2.0. Ok. St v Stanford in the guacamole bowl. and the battle of the worst conferences Va Tech v WVU in the Orange. If these are the matchups 4 of the bowls look to be really exciting, with 1 unwatchable game. Which should be good for the fans if they do pair up the ACC vs the Big LEast, instead of them playing 2 teams that win by 100 points combined. Should be exciting!
As I looked at last weeks rankings more, I realized that us dropping to 16 was to be expected... since people enjoyed the Wisconsin beat down of then 19 ranked Penn St. That win gives them more of a boost than our win vs Ohio. Actually I think the Penn St game was looked at by the BCS as their best win of the year.
It still sucks going into this last weekend needing teams in front of us to lose for us to have a chance at the top 14. If we do not make the top 14, the choices for BCS games gets pretty thin. Assuming every higher rated team wins this next week (except Sparty because I cannot imagine a world where Sparty green fills half of the Rose Bowl) and we are still number 15. This leaves Bama, Stanford, Boise St and Kansas St as realistic at large possibilities. If we are number 15, a 3 loss Oklahoma and MSU would still be ahead of us... and who would want them in a marquee game? Bama is a lock for the championship game, Stanford should be going to the Fiesta, and the last open slot in the Sugar bowl is left for either Boise or Kansas St... whew they are real attractive for ratings. A Houston v Boise BCS game. While appealing to some, winning this game does not prove anything about that team. People want/ need to see a non-AQ team play against a big named school. That leaves Kansas St with their nursing home resident head coach. Honestly, I think most people would rather see Boise play Houston than Kansas St.
After calming down some, and looking at the numbers and likely scenarios. LSU should roll over Georgia to win the SEC. Oregon might score 100 vs a terrible UCLA team in the Pac12 final. Ok St should beat Oklahoma, and with them having this past weekend off. This game will be their first since their only loss of the year, and they will need this win to be the most impressive win of their season. If able, look for Ok St to keep passing even late in th game to make the final as lopsided as possible. It is their only hope of making the championship game. VaTech plays a completely different Clemson team than the one they lost to earlier in the season. I would be surprised if it is even close the second time around. Houston plays Souther Miss, and they should hold serve for a 13-0 season. Boise plays UNLV which shouldnt even be close. Kansas St plays Iowa St who just got smoked by Oklahoma. This game could be interesting, and if Kansas St loses, it guarantees us a BCS game... but at this point it looks unlikely. Then there is the B1G final. I predicted Wisconsin to rip apart Sparty the first time they played, and it was going well for the first few drives,then Bielema tried to outcoach himself again (he might be the worst big game coach... just look at how they played against TCU). I dont see it happening again. Wisconsin is the better team period. If they both play their best game, MSU shouldnt be within 14 points of the Badgers. I think Bielema will want revenge, and he still wants Monte Ball to catch Barry's old touchdown record of 39. Look for the Badgers to run up the score this time around and win by 20+. If this does happen, then a blowout loss for either of the B1G teams should be enough to drop them below our Fighting Hoke's.
The BCS game predictions look the same as last weekend, with us playing Houston January 3rd in the Sugar Bowl. Oregon v Wisconsin in the greatest bowl ever. Bama v LSU 2.0. Ok. St v Stanford in the guacamole bowl. and the battle of the worst conferences Va Tech v WVU in the Orange. If these are the matchups 4 of the bowls look to be really exciting, with 1 unwatchable game. Which should be good for the fans if they do pair up the ACC vs the Big LEast, instead of them playing 2 teams that win by 100 points combined. Should be exciting!
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