Diaries

 

After a break in the summer because my “job” suddenly became much busier and then the usual fall hiatus as we all enjoyed Hoke’s resurrection of the football program, it’s time to turn our attention to the Spring and the inaugural season of varsity lacrosse at Michigan.  This post is just a series of links to help catch people up on what has happened since the end of last season and some stuff that will hopefully get you all excited for this spring.  It’s winter, it’s cold, so it gives us the chance to think about warmer weather and sunny days ahead.

This list obviously far, far from exhaustive, so if anyone else has any links they would like to add please throw them up in the comments.  But, to start out with, Great Lax State has Michigan’s 2012 schedule.

Love For Coach John Paul

John Paul has been the toast of the lacrosse community for the last six months since Michigan announced it would be the first BCS-level team to add varsity lacrosse since Notre Dame in 1981.  Here are some great articles about Coach JP:

Inside Lacrosse has named JP and Michigan’s move to varsity it’s “2011 Story of the Year.”  You can click on one story for free here or see the full article behind a paywall here.  Lacrosse Magazine has named JP the “Lacrosse Man of the Year” in this story and they had a reporter spend a day with Michigan lacrosse to learn about Paul’s “Presidential” leadership style in this story.  You can also read about Dave Brandon’s decision to go to varsity and why he never hesitated about his decision to keep JP on as the team’s first varsity coach.

 

Fall Ball Roundup

Michigan had it’s first varsity fall ball in October, which is the lacrosse equivalent of spring practices in football.  It’s three weeks of full squad practices, but it also includes scrimmages against other schools.  Lacrosse Magazine provided some great photos from the UM scrimmage against Providence and Concordia on October 3 in the Big House.  Inside Lacrosse also provided summaries and box scores of the games that weekend.

Inside Lacrosse provided this wrap up of Michigan’s first fall ball session.  Not surprisingly, the first round of games were tough for the Wolverines as they struggled to adjust both the speed of varsity level D1 lacrosse as well as the expectations of their own coaching staff.  IL believes that the freshmen class looks solid, and points out that Goalie Emil Weiss (who was also listed as one of Quint Kessenich’s “Players Who Impressed Me Most” at this summer’s ESPN Rise Games), Midfielder David Joseph and Defensemen Ryan Breen (who was interviewed by Lax Lessons this fall after he de-committed from Lafayette) could all see playing time.  One area of concern that jumps out to me for the first season, however, is the way that the coaching staff plans to change the role of Attackman Trevor Yealy.  He’s been a crease player for the Wolverines the past couple of years, scoring 266 points primarily by hanging out around the net and scoring with quick shots off passes from in tight spaces.  That’s a pretty niche role on the team, but now they are using him as a dodger from the outside.  In basketball, this would be like moving your power forward who scored mostly off slam dunks and put backs, and asking him to move to point guard and to create shots for his teammates.  I have not seen any of Michigan’s club games so I cannot say whether Yearly has that ability or not, but I do know it raises red flags.  The coaches asking a successful player to take on a fundamentally new role on the offense for the first time—at the same time that he’ll also be asked to play against better individual defenseman and better schematic defenses.  That’s a very tall order.

 

Recruiting

There have been lot of links about different recruits from various years in the past couple of months.  As I said this past summer, lacrosse recruiting is much more similar to basketball recruiting than football so you see a lot of kids from 2013 and 2014 committing to colleges this time of year than anyone from 2012.  Greatlaxstate.com has great info on all these players and some commitment posts, so if you’re interested in lax recruiting be sure to give them some traffic because they have their ears much closer to the ground than anyone else I've seen.  Great info not just on UM, but also high school kids coming out of Michigan and the other lax programs in the state.

 

2012

Inside Lacrosse provided their own breakdown of Michigan’s inaugural varsity recruiting class.  Laxpower also has a similar write up about the class.  The most impressive part of the class is that Coach JP was able to land 2 Top 100 recruits in his first class.  Since he was joining the recruiting game in this class two or three years behind some of the other top programs in the country, that’s a pretty solid first haul.  Taking 5 attackman, 4 middies, 4 defensemen and 3 Long Stick Middies shows what you’d expect from Michigan’s first class—they need numbers and depth at every position on the field. They also took a player from Ohio and Brother Rice, so JP is establishing some good ties for players in his own backyard.

The guy that’s gotten the most attention from the class is Attackman Brendan Gaughan.  He’s from Carlsbad, CA, so not from a lacrosse powerhouse or a hotbed which means it will probably take him a year to adjust to the speed and angles of the game.  On the other hand, his upside appears to be huge.  His height and size at 6’4” 195 lbs means he’ll be a match up nightmare for any team trying to scheme against him especially if he can pack on 20 lbs between now and his freshmen season.  He’s also a lefty, which means he opens up options for Michigan in even situation to potentially run a pairs offense rather than a tradition motion offense (more on this in later posts) as well as will immediately make an impact on Michigan’s Man-Up (or EMO) unit.

In my opinion, however, the big get in this class appears to be Faceoff man Brad Lott, who ESPN Rise ranks as the #1 FO in the country for 2012.  In lacrosse, faceoffs are vital because possession is so crucial at the college level.  For a young team in particular, a good faceoff man can allow you to steal a couple of possessions throughout a season when goals could be hard to come by and provide a break for a young defense.  This is a really smart approach to recruiting by JP—landing a specialist who can immediately ease the pressure on your offense and defense.  Long Stick Middie (LSM) Paxton Moore from Philadelphia Powerhouse Haverford School was also ranked as ESPN Rise’s #12 LSM in the class of 2012 and Charles Keady was ranked the #24 LSM in the same poll.  Great teams are often built around these two all too often invisible positions; landing players of this caliber at these spots are great building blocks for the future.

The other two players to watch are the two kids out of The Hill School in Ontario.  Midfielder Kyle Jackson made the Candadian U-19 National Team this summer and is ranked by Inside Lacrosse as the #2 Canadian prospect overall in the class of 2012.  He’s undersized at 5’9”, but I assume he’s pretty fast if he won his high school team’s Workout Warrior award.  Defenseman Cooper Charlton is your classic D1 D’s in terms of build at 6’3” and 200 lbs, in addition to the fact that he did a postgraduate year so he’ll essentially arrive on campus as a redshirt freshmen physically.

 

2013

Laxpower lists Michigan has currently at 8 commits for the class of 2013.  The breakdown is similar to 2012: 1 goalie, 1 Faceoff, 3 long poles, 2 attack, and 2 middies.  Look for them to pick up 3-4 more middies in this class, along with another long pole and attack.

Ian King, an attackman out of football powerhouse St. Xavier in Cincinnati, is the major commitment to date listed for Michigan.  He was named to the Under Armour All Midwest Team this past summer.

Phillylacrosse.com recently profiled goalie Robbie Zozino and he talked about his decision to attend Michigan.  He’s a kid from a big time high school team in Conestoga, so he has a good pedigree to handle the pressures of standing between the pipes of a D1 team.

Defenseman Stefan Bergman was also profiled by Phillylacrosse.com.

Great Lax State has profiles from Long Pole Andrew Hatton and Attackman Austin Shanks.

Inside Lacrosse has some info on Faceoff man Will Biagi. Again, faceoff men are key for any team, so having a second commit at this position is great for the team.

Midfielder Mike Schlosser has a commitment post and highlight video up at NorCal Lacrosse.

 

2014

Hugh Mosco became the first Michigan recruit from the class of 2014.  He a defenseman from Georgetown Prep, one of the Washington DC powerhouses in an area filled with D1 talent, and his brother is a freshmen on the team this year.  At 6’0” 175 you hope he has an inch or two left in terms of height before he gets on to campus, but any time you land a defensemen that also has gained interest from Johns Hopkins after only one year of high school, odds are pretty high that he’s a talented athlete.  Great Lax State also provides its roundup on Mosco.

 

Women

The women’s team picked up their first 2 verbal commits this fall.  Midfielder Madeline Dion became the program’s first ever commit, and a commit from Maryland on top of that.  Midfielder Amanda Sutor just committed this past week, and she comes from traditional power St. Paul’s School for Girls in Baltimore.  The coaching staff is clearly making an effort to establish ties to the Maryland area, which if successful, could really pay off in the future.  Both players are in the Class of 2013.

 

I’m hoping to provide some more basics in the coming weeks leading up to the season.  My plan is to provide some basics on offense, defense, clearing, and special teams to help people who may be new to the game.  If there is anything else you would like me to include, just let me know and I’ll give it a try.  Again, I’m sure I left out some info on all of these players and the team, so throw up whatever you find as well.

The hockey team is now roughly halfway through the 2011-12 season.  I thought this would be a good time for a recap of the first half, along with a (very) early look at the pairwise rankings heading toward NCAA Tournament selection time.   By the way, thanks to MGoBlog for already having a "way too early to be doing this" tag. 

 

First half recap

Michigan got off to a strong start, at one point holding down the #1 ranking in the polls with a 4-0 record following easy wins over Niagara, Bentley (twice), and St. Lawrence.  A trip to Northern, resulting in a loss and a shootout win, put a quick end to that.  After winning three of four against Ferris and Western, Michigan went on a massive losing streak, with one point in the next seven games, before a 1-0 OT win in Alaska.  After getting four of a possible six points two weeks ago against MSU, Michigan now sits 8th in the CCHA with 19 points in 14 games, and has a lot of work to do to get back into the NCAA tournament mix.  The defense has been mediocre at best, and Jon Merrill's absence has really hurt.  All signs are pointing to Merrill being reinstated for next weekend's matchup against the Lakers, but we'll have to wait and see.

 

Current Pairwise Rankings

For the uninitiated, the pairwise rankings compare every team to every other team in four categories: RPI; record against “Teams Under Consideration (TUCs)”, which means teams with an RPI over .500, as long as both teams have played at least 10 TUCs, not counting each other.; record against common opponents, and head-to-head.  Winning one of the first three categories gets you one point, and you get one point for each head-to-head win over your opponent.  Any ties are broken by the RPI ranking.  The pairwise rankings have accurately predicted the NCAA field for something like ten years, so they are a very useful and important tool. 

As an example of how the pairwise rankings work, let’s compare Michigan to Miami right now. 

• Michigan has an RPI of 0.5374 to Miami’s 0.5264.  Point Michigan.
• Michigan is 5-7-2 against TUCs other than Miami.  Miami is 7-9-0, for a slightly better winning percentage.  Point Miami.
• Michigan is 3-4-1 against common opponents.  Miami is 3-5-0 against those opponents.  By a very slim margin, point Michigan.
• Miami has one head-to-head win over Michigan.  Point Miami. 

This puts the comparison at 2-2.  Michigan wins the overall comparison by virtue of having the higher RPI score.

Every team is compared to every other team in the top half (essentially) of the RPI standings, and the teams are ranked based on the number of comparisons won.  Right now, Michigan sits 17^thin those rankings.  I think that based on the really awful stretch Michigan had in November, many would have felt that they would be further down the list, but the CCHA teams are ranked very high in the Pairwise right now based on their incredibly high RPIs.  In fact, 9 CCHA teams are in the top 19 in the Pairwise as of this writing.  Right now, with very few teams outside of the CCHA having ten games against TUCs, this is a heavily RPI-driven ranking.  That will change as the season goes on, and in a bad way for Michigan unless they pick up some big wins down the stretch.

 

Why is the CCHA doing so well in the pairwise rankings? 

It turns out that nonconference games have a huge impact on the Pairwise for a couple reasons.  First, having a conference do well overall in its nonconference slate has a big impact on the RPI, because it improves every conference team’s strength of schedule.  The CCHA is 40-12-5 out of conference so far this year, for a winning percentage of 0.746.  Even terrible Bowling Green, who is 1-11-2 in conference, went 5-0-1 in nonconference play, which helps everyone else in the conference. Secondly, when comparing teams from different conferences, the common opponents part of the Pairwise is usually based on a very small number of games.  For example, if we compare Michigan to a Hockey East team such as Merrimack, the common opponents are Boston College, Northeastern, St. Lawrence, and Union (Merrimack won’t play St. Lawrence until Friday, and neither has played BC, but both will). Right now, Michigan is 1-2 against those teams, while Merrimack is 2-1-1 against them (mostly against Northeastern).  Had Michigan beaten either Union or Northeastern, it would have made a huge difference.  As it stands, beating BC in the GLI would be a huge help in comparisons against all the Hockey East teams, since they will mostly have bad records against BC.

 

Second half preview

We start with the GLI, and a matchup with #3 Boston College, followed by either MSU or a surprisingly competent Michigan Tech team.  The next six series are all against CCHA teams that are in the top 20 in the pairwise, including four (Ohio, Notre Dame, Northern Michigan, and MSU) that are currently in the top 10. The season ends with a two-game set at Bowling Green. 

This is both good and bad.  Obviously, the schedule down the stretch is pretty brutal, with the Ohio and ND series on the road, and the MSU series as an away/neutral split.  The good news is that this gives Michigan a huge opportunity to work its way back into the mix for an NCAA spot and a higher conference standing. 

 

How does Michigan get back to the NCAA tournament?

Well, winning the CCHA tournament would be nice, but I’m not holding my breath.  Michigan is going to have a fairly strong RPI for its record no matter how the season ends up; what could hold Michigan back is their sub-.500 record against TUCs, and their losses to Union and Northeastern, which (along with some other losses to CCHA teams) are hurting them in the common opponents comparison in the pairwise rankings.  With only the GLI remaining outside the conference, Michigan is going to have to rely largely on improving its record against TUCs.  The good news is that there are still plenty of those left on the schedule.  With at least 13 regular-season games against TUCs, plus a couple in the playoffs, Michigan should have 15-17 more games against TUCs.  Right now, Michigan has a record of 5-8-3 against TUCs.  That winning percentage is not going to be good enough, especially given Michigan’s poor record against out-of-conference opponents.  They’re going to have to get that TUC record up to at least .500, and probably higher. 

To start with, Michigan needs at least a split in the GLI.   A loss to BC won’t hurt too badly, but a win would be huge.  After that, assuming a sweep against BG to end the season, Michigan is going to have to go through that 12-game CCHA stretch following the GLI with at least a .500 record, and it might be necessary to go as much as 8-4.  While the RPI numbers are going to be good for Michigan, the TUC record is going to hurt them down the road if they don’t win more than half of their games the rest of the way.

A lot of things can change between now and March, aside from Michigan's performance.  Every game over the next two months is critical, and it's going to be an exciting ride as Michigan tries to extend its consecutive tournament appearance streak. 

 

If you read only one wallpaper explanation this year I hope it's this one because this time I have an offering AND a request.

The Offering

In between family events and having my throwing motion critiqued by Al Borges at Chuck E. Cheese's, I scraped together a little time during our Christmas visit to Ann Arbor to create this Sugar Bowl wallpaper. I've never been to Louisiana but I have been on the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' ride at Disneyland more than once so I know a little something about how a sleepy, firefly-occupied swamp is supposed to look. One of my girls is Princess Tiana-crazed at the moment so I was also inspired by the bayou color palette from Disney's 'The Princess and the Frog'. Conveniently, it turns out that nighttime ambiance in the Louisiana swampland adheres strictly to the athletic department's brand guidelines - even the fireflies know that the split Block M is no longer welcome in these parts.

The images below are previews only. You can get the widescreen, 4:3, iPad and mobile wallpapers at The Art. The Art. The Art!.

 

 

The Request

I have received kind comments, emails and tweets from many of you over the last two seasons. I create Michigan football-inspired artwork to satisfy a personal creative need and as a way to participate in the fan community so your enjoyment of my work is very gratifying. Some of you have asked if you can donate money to say thanks or pay royalties for hanging prints of my artwork on your walls. Beyond getting me into trouble (again) with the University's legal representation, money exchanging hands doesn't feel right given the spirit of my work.

So, if you're looking for a tangible way to tell me "thanks" I have a non-monetary idea that could be really fun. For the last decade I've coached local youth flag football, and for the last 5 years my family and I have coached and supported the teams at Sunshine Acres Children's Home in Mesa, Arizona. Sunshine Acres takes in children whose parents cannot or will not care for them. I think this year's flag football team will be covered on the budget front so I have an idea that I think will have a way bigger impact on our kids than your dollars anyway.

 

Here's how you can help:

1. Become a virtual fan by liking the Acres Football Facebook page. The page is pretty sparse at the moment but will be updated as the season goes on. Our first game is Saturday, January 14.

2. Check the Facebook page during the season for game recaps and to post an encouraging comment or two for our players. I'd love to have a few fun comments from out-of-town fans to share with the kids each week.

 
During most seasons we only have a fraction of the fans that our opponents bring to the field, so we invite our friends and families to act as partisan seat fillers. Fans have a noticeable positive impact on our kids' energy and excitement and it would be pretty cool to be able to tell our players that they have fans all over the country following them on Facebook. Last season was the first where we had enough people for a postgame arm tunnel and, after several seasons of going "feated" (the exact opposite of undefeated) both of our teams made their respective Super Bowls with our 6-8 year old team winning the big trophy for the first time. You can see that championship squad in the image above (yes, I am just as crazy about my Acres football team as I am about Michigan).

The teams we play against are made up of kids who (for the most part) are playing with the specific goal of developing into better football players. While we usually have a few players with strong athletic ability, many of them are raw first-time players without much experience and all of them have burdens much heavier than any child should carry. The chips, as they say, are stacked in an orientation not to our favor, but our players fight on and learn great things about themselves in the process.

Go Acres! Go Blue!

Only the SEC has yet to have had one team play in a bowl game; they’ll finally have one team play on Friday (Mississippi State). We round in to mid-bowl season form this weekend, with 15 games being played between Friday and Tuesday.

 

 

For those of you keeping track, Conference USA teams are 2-0 (Marshall and Southern Miss). Big 12 teams are 1-0 (Missouri). Big Ten teams are 1-0 (Purdue). MAC teams are 2-1 in bowl games (Temple and Ohio University won; Western Michigan lost). Mountain West teams are 2-2 (Wyoming and San Diego State lost; TCU and Boise State won). Sun Belt teams are 1-1 (Louisiana-Lafayette won, Florida International lost). ACC teams are 0-1 (North Carolina). PAC-12 teams are 0-1 (Arizona State). WAC teams are 0-3 (Utah State, Louisiana Tech, and Nevada).

 

During the regular season, the Upset Watch reviewed picks from the previous week, noted the bad picks, and pointed out a few games to give the underdog some credit in, even if it was only in Vegas. It also looked at one or two sure-fire favorites (two when Michigan wasn’t playing).

 

Because this is the bowl season (and our last hurrah for the 2011-2012 regular season), we’ll cover each of the bowl games, splitting them up by week.

 

As a reminder, I’ll have more picks on Saturday, December 31^st, before noon, covering the games through January 2^nd. The Michigan game will be covered on the January 3^rd posting.

 

Be sure to check out my website, Before Visiting the Sportsbook, throughout the week, for more content.

 

Recap:

Wins

Marshall (7-6) +5.0 Florida International (8-5). Result: Marshall 20 Florida International 10.

 

Boise State (12-1) -13.5 Arizona State (6-7). Result: Boise State 56 Arizona State 24 [Props to Trebor and BrewCityBlue for correctly predicting Boise State would cover].

 

Southern Miss (12-2) -5.5 Nevada (7-6). Result: Southern Miss 24 Nevada 17 [Props to Trebor for correctly predicting Southern Miss would cover].

 

Missouri (8-5) -3.5 North Carolina (7-6) (@ Shreveport, LA). Result: Missouri 41 North Carolina 24 [Props to Trebor and BrewCityBlue for correctly predicting Missouri would cover].

 

Losses

TCU (11-2) -9.5 Louisiana Tech (8-5) (@ San Diego, CA). Result: TCU 31 Louisiana Tech 24 [Props to BrewCityBlue for correctly predicting Louisiana Tech would cover].

 

 

Western Michigan (7-6) +2.5 Purdue (7-6). Result: Purdue 37 Western Michigan 32.

 

This Week

Only three bowl games that take place between now and Friday will have a top 25 team playing in them. In a traditional PAC-12/Big 12 matchup, the Holiday Bowl will pair California and (#24) Texas (8:00 PM EST/ESPN/ESPN3) on Wednesday night. On Thursday night, Heisman trophy winner QB Robert Griffin III leads (#12) Baylor against Washington in the Alamo Bowl (9:00 PM EST/ESPN/ESPN3). A late Friday night game will pair Iowa against (#14) Oklahoma in the Insight Bowl (10:00 PM EST/ESPN/ESPN3).

 

Upset Watch

Louisville (7-5) +3.0 North Carolina State (7-5) (@ Charlotte, NC). The Cardinals are 104^th in total offense (94^th rushing, 79^th passing); North Carolina State is 93^rd (107^th rushing, 52^nd passing). Louisville is 23^rd in total defense (10^th rushing, 61^st passing); the Wolfpack are 39^th (41^st rushing, 55^th passing). Louisville leads the series 3-0, with a 29-10 victory over North Carolina State in 2007, 35-14 in 1994, and 26-2 in 1951. North Carolina State is 13-11-1 all time in bowl games (4-1 SU in last 5; 4-0-1 ATS in last 5; 3-0 ATS as a favorite in last 5). Louisville is 7-7-1 all time in bowl games (3-2 SU in last 5; 2-3 ATS in last 5; 0-2 ATS as an underdog in last 5). Louisville Coach Charlie Strong is 14-12 (15-11 ATS, 8-4 ATS underdog); North Carolina State Coach Tom O’Brien is 85-52 (68-53-3 ATS, 30-31-2 ATS favorite) since 2001. North Carolina State is 2-4 ATS as a favorite this year (5-6-1 overall ATS); Louisville is 6-0 ATS as an underdog this year (8-4 overall ATS). Louisville’s last bowl game was the 2010 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl, a 31-28 win over Southern Miss; North Carolina State’s last bowl game was the 2010 Champs Sports Bowl, a 23-7 win over West Virginia. Take Louisville to cover the points.

 

Toledo (8-4) -1.0 Air Force (7-5) (@ Washington, DC). The Rockets are 8^th in total offense (14^th rushing, 29^th passing); Air Force is 19^th (2^nd rushing, 113^th passing). Toledo is 76^th in total defense (28^th rushing, 109^th passing); the Falcons are 70^th (113^th rushing, 6^th passing). These teams have never met before. Toledo is 7-4 all time in bowl games (2-3 SU in last 5; 2-3 ATS in last 5; 2-2 ATS as a favorite in last 5). Air Force is 10-10-1 all time in bowl games (2-3 SU in last 5; 3-2 ATS in last 5; 2-2 ATS as an underdog in last 5). Air Force Coach Troy Calhoun is 34-18 (28-20-1 ATS, 10-7-1 ATS underdog); Toledo Coach Matt Campbell is 0-0 (0-0-0 ATS, 0-0-0 ATS favorite). Toledo is 5-3 ATS as a favorite this year (7-5 overall ATS); Air Force is 2-2 ATS as an underdog this year (5-7 overall ATS). Toledo’s last bowl game was the 2010 Little Caesars Bowl, a 34-32 loss to Florida International; Air Force’s last bowl game was the 2010 Independence Bowl, a 14-7 win over Georgia Tech. Take Toledo to cover the points.

 

Texas (7-5) -3.0 California (7-5) (@ San Diego, CA). The Golden Bears are 37^th in total offense (48^th rushing, 38^th passing); Texas is 45^th (19^th rushing, 85^th passing). California is 26^th in total defense (37^th rushing, 43^rd passing); the Longhorns are 14^th (11^th rushing, 47^th passing). Texas leads the series 5-0, with a 56-15 victory over California in 1970, 17-0 in 1969, 28-3 in 1961, and 33-0 in 1959. Texas is 25-22-2 all time in bowl games (4-1 SU in last 5; 2-3 ATS in last 5; 1-2 ATS as a favorite in last 5). California is 10-9-1 all time in bowl games (4-1 SU in last 5; 2-3 ATS in last 5; 0-0 ATS as an underdog in last 5). California Coach Jeff Tedford is 79-47 (64-58-1 ATS, 16-16-1 ATS underdog); Texas Coach Mack Brown is 113-28 (70-67-3 ATS, 55-48-2 ATS favorite) since 2001. Texas is 5-3 ATS as a favorite this year (6-6 overall ATS); California is 2-2 ATS as an underdog this year (7-5 overall ATS). Texas’s last bowl game was the 2009 BCS National Championship, a 37-21 loss to Alabama; California’s last bowl game was the 2009 Poinsettia Bowl, a 37-27 win over Utah. Take Texas to cover the points.

 

Florida State (8-4) -2.5 Notre Dame (8-4) (@ Orlando, FL). The Seminoles are 73^rd in total offense (99^th rushing, 34^th passing); Notre Dame is 33^rd (51^st rushing, 33^rd passing). Florida State is 6^th in total defense (2^nd rushing, 18^th passing); the Irish are 34^th (58^th rushing, 34^th passing). Florida State leads the series 4-2, with a 37-0 victory over Notre Dame in 2003, 31-26 in 1996 (Orange Bowl), 23-16 in 1994, and 19-13 in 1981; Notre Dame defeated Florida State 34-24 in 2002 and 31-24 in 1993. Florida State is 23-14-2 all time in bowl games (4-1 SU in last 5; 5-0 ATS in last 5; 1-0 ATS as a favorite in last 5). Notre Dame is 12-11-1 all time in bowl games (2-3 SU in last 5; 2-3 ATS in last 5; 2-2 ATS as an underdog in last 5). Notre Dame Coach Brian Kelly is 71-32 (52-41-4 ATS, 20-9-2 ATS underdog); Florida State Coach Jimbo Fisher is 18-8 (14-12 ATS, 12-8 ATS favorite). Florida State is 6-4 ATS as a favorite this year (6-6 overall ATS); Notre Dame is 0-1 ATS as an underdog this year (5-7 overall ATS). Florida State’s last bowl game was the 2010 Chick-fil-A Bowl, a 26-17 win over South Carolina; Notre Dame’s last bowl game was the 2010 Sun Bowl, a 33-17 win over Miami (FL). Take Florida State to cover the points.

 

Baylor (9-3) -9.0 Washington (7-5) (@ San Antonio, TX). The Huskies are 57^th in total offense (67^th rushing, 51^st passing); Baylor is 2^nd (18^th rushing, 5^th passing). Washington is 94^th in total defense (54^th rushing, 116^th passing); the Bears are 114^th (102^nd rushing, 112^th passing). Baylor leads the series 3-1, with a 17-14 victory over Washington in 1965, 13-7 in 1955, and 34-7 in 1954; Washington defeated Baylor 35-14 in 1964. Baylor is 8-9 all time in bowl games (2-3 SU in last 5; 2-3 ATS in last 5; 1-2 ATS as a favorite in last 5). Washington is 15-14-1 all time in bowl games (3-2 SU in last 5; 4-1 ATS in last 5; 3-0 ATS as an underdog in last 5). Washington Coach Steve Sarkisian is 19-18 (20-17-0 ATS, 11-12-0 ATS underdog); Baylor Coach Art Briles is 58-53 (54-52-1 ATS, 30-20-1 ATS favorite). Baylor is 6-2 ATS as a favorite this year (8-4 overall ATS); Washington is 3-3 ATS as an underdog this year (7-5 overall ATS). Baylor’s last bowl game was the 2010 Texas Bowl, a 38-14 win over Illinois; Washington’s last bowl game was the 2010 Holiday Bowl, a 19-7 win over Nebraska. Take Baylor to cover the points.

 

Brigham Young (9-3) -1.0 Tulsa (8-4) (@ Dallas, TX). The Cougars are 41^st in total offense (52^nd rushing, 46^th passing); Tulsa is 24^th (25^th rushing, 41^st passing). BYU is 17^th in total defense (21^st rushing, 29^th passing); the Golden Hurricane are 90^th (38^th rushing, 118^th passing). Brigham Young leads the series 6-1, with a 49-24 victory over Tulsa in 2006, 49-39 in 1997, 55-30 in 1996, 45-35 in 1995, 38-15 in 1984, and 25-7 in 1971. Tulsa defeated Brigham Young 55-47 in 2007. Brigham Young is 11-17-1 all time in bowl games (4-1 SU in last 5; 3-1 ATS in last 5; 2-1 ATS as a favorite in last 5). Tulsa is 8-9 all time in bowl games (4-1 SU in last 5; 5-1 ATS in last 5; 2-1 ATS underdog in last 5). Brigham Young Coach Bronco Mendenhall is 65-24 (48-37-1 ATS, 33-26-0 ATS favorite); Tulsa Coach Bill Blankenship is 8-4 (7-5 ATS, 2-3 ATS underdog). Brigham Young is 5-4 ATS as a favorite this year (8-4 overall ATS); Tulsa is 2-3 ATS as an underdog this year (7-5 overall ATS). Tulsa’s last bowl game was the 2010 Hawai’i Bowl, a 62-35 victory over Hawai’i; Brigham Young’s last bowl game was the 2010 New Mexico Bowl, a 52-24 win over UTEP. Take Brigham Young to cover the points.

 

Iowa State (6-6) +2.5 Rutgers (8-4) (@ Bronx, NY). The Scarlet Knights are 100^th in total offense (115^th rushing, 46^th passing); Iowa State is 55^th (35^th rushing, 75^th passing). Rutgers is 13^th in total defense (57^th rushing, 10^th passing); the Cyclones are 99^th (100^th rushing, 72^nd passing). These teams have never met. Rutgers is 4-2 all time in bowl games (3-2 SU in last 5; 4-0-1 ATS in last 5; 3-0-1 ATS as a favorite in last 5). Iowa State is 3-7 all time in bowl games (2-3 SU in last 5; 3-1-1 ATS in last 5; 3-1-1 ATS as an underdog in last 5). Iowa State Coach Paul Rhodes is 18-19 (20-16 ATS, 13-10-0 ATS underdog); Rutgers Coach Greg Schiano is 67-67 (68-57-1 ATS, 23-26 ATS favorite). Rutgers is 4-2 ATS as a favorite this year (8-4 overall ATS); Iowa State is 7-3 ATS as an underdog this year (7-5 overall ATS). Rutgers’s last bowl game was the 2009 St. Petersburg Bowl, a 45-24 win over UCF; Iowa State’s last bowl game was the 2009 Insight Bowl, a 14-13 win over Minnesota. Take Iowa State to cover the points.

 

Mississippi State (6-6) -6.5 Wake Forest (6-6) (@ Nashville, TN). The Bulldogs are 87^th in total offense (45^th rushing, 92^nd passing); Wake Forest is 76^th (96^th rushing, 36^th passing). Mississippi State is 43^rd in total defense (65^th rushing, 23^rd passing); the Demon Deacons are 75^th (70^th rushing, 71^st passing). These teams have never met. Mississippi State is 8-6 all time in bowl games (4-1 SU in last 5; 4-1 ATS in last 5; 1-0 ATS as a favorite in last 5). Wake Forest is 6-3 all time in bowl games (4-1 SU in last 5; 4-1 ATS in last 5; 2-1 ATS as an underdog in last 5). Wake Forest Coach Jim Grobe is 68-66 (63-63-4 ATS, 39-26-3 ATS underdog); Mississippi State Coach Dan Mullen is 20-17 (19-17 ATS, 10-6 ATS favorite). Mississippi State is 4-3 ATS as a favorite this year (6-6 overall ATS); Wake Forest is 5-2-1 ATS as an underdog this year (7-4-1 overall ATS). Mississippi State’s last bowl game was the 2010 Gator Bowl, a 52-14 win over Michigan; Wake Forest’s last bowl game was the 2008 EagleBank Bowl, a 29-19 win over Navy. Take Mississippi State to cover the points.

 

Iowa (7-5) +16.0 Oklahoma (9-3) (@ Tempe, AZ). The Hawkeyes are 70^th in total offense (77^th rushing, 56^th passing); Oklahoma is 4^th (49^th rushing, 4^th passing). Iowa is 68^th in total defense (64^th rushing, 66^th passing); the Sooners are 62^nd (49^th rushing, 83^rd passing). Oklahoma leads the series 1-0, with a 21-6 victory over Iowa in 1979. Oklahoma is 26-17-1 all time in bowl games (2-3 SU in last 5; 1-4 ATS in last 5; 1-1 ATS as a favorite in last 5). Iowa is 14-10-1 all time in bowl games (3-2 SU in last 5; 4-1 ATS in last 5; 1-3 ATS as an underdog in last 5). Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz is 92-46 (75-56-3 ATS, 22-16-3 ATS underdog) since 2001; Oklahoma Coach Bob Stoops is 118-29 (74-67-4 ATS, 55-50-3 ATS favorite) since 2001. Oklahoma is 6-5 ATS as a favorite this year (6-6 overall ATS); Iowa is 1-3 ATS as an underdog this year (5-7 overall ATS). Oklahoma’s last bowl game was the 2010 Fiesta Bowl, a 48-20 win over Connecticut; Iowa’s last bowl game was the 2010 Insight Bowl, a 27-24 win over Missouri. Take Iowa to cover the points.

 

Who ya got?

Eds-[As in all of us]: Bumped from boards (!) for awesome. May 2012 be even better!

Finally for all us Wolverines fans, we have a year we can look back on fondly and anticipate the future (mostly in regards to football and basketball).  Here's a little picture page-ish post recollecting the past 12 months.  I hope you enjoy.

January:

After starting the year out unauspiciously, a new era of Michigan football took hold on January 11th as AD David Brandon introduced us all to....

...

and the now famous Hoke-point.

The Hokester brought along his buddy

which was encouraging to most, but some people were still

.

On the hardwood, the cagers started the season off right with a win over

only to go on a 6 game losing streak, including 2 narrow losses to the #2 and #3 teams in the country. 

People were starting to question

.

But Ann Arbor Torch and Pitch Fork closed it's door for the year after the Wolverines marched into Breslin Arena and ended the Spartans beloved "Days since....." calendar, forcing these assclowns

to have to scrub each other's prepubescent chests.

Get the **** off my court.

February

After just 3 weeks on the job, Hokester salvages a top20 recruiting class, including

          
 Brennan Beyer (SAM) | Frank Clark (WDE) | Blake Countess (CB)   

          
Delonte Hollowell (CB) | Desmond Morgan (WLB) | Matt Wile (K/P/KO)

...who either start or make signficant contributions in just their first year on campus.  We didn't know at the time, but these 6 turn out to be pretty damn good.

March

Meanwhile, the pipeline from Farmington Hills Harrison to Lansing is temporarily diverted west as

and

solidify their future by taking their talents to the good side.

Also in 

these 2

decide to go all

on some poor dude in a Colorado bar then flee the scene. The po-po apprehended them and sentenced them to 1 to 3 more years in East Lansing.

April

went to the NCAA finals, narrowly losing 3-2 in overtime to Minnesota-Duluth.

May

Memorial Day Weekend.  It's one of those days where you remember exactly where you were at that moment in time when

was "forced out" at Ohio State for repeatedly lying to his administration and NCAA. Turns out Cheaty knew about some shenanigans going on inside his program but didn't want to upset the winning apple cart, so he only told the owner of this car

and perhaps an FBI agent. 

Ding dong, the dick is dead.

At a team meeting to tell all the Buckeyes their coach had been fired for failing to monitor his program, which included massive memorabilia sales and trades for tatoos and questionable car deals, TP decided it would be a good idea to roll up in

with temporary tags.  TP would also be unceremoniously led out of Columbus.

Take that, Brutus.

June

In one of the saddest and most unbelievable tragedies I can remember, 16 year old basketball commit Austin Hatch survives his SECOND airplane crash. The plane went down in northern Michigan, killing Austin's father and step mother. In the first crash in 2003, Austin and his dad survived but his mother and two siblings were killed.

Thankfully, Austin's recovery has been nothing short of miraculous.  He may not play basketball again, but he'll be a Wolverine for life.

July

As a result of the aforementioned Buckeye shenanigans,

delivers another dong punch to the evil empire by switching his commitment from OSU to Meeeeeeeechigan. Buckeyes everywhere suck it.

September

FOOTBALL SEASON!!!

Finally all the speculation and predictions have come to an end and it's time to play some football. 

The boys take care of Western Michigan in grand fashion before 2 lightning delays force an early end to the game. 

Then the much anticipated

game.

Trailing 24-7 at the end of 3 quarters,

leads the Wolverines to a furious 28-point 4th quarter rally.  With 1:22 left in the game, Denard hits Vincent Smith on a screen pass that goes for 21 yards and the score.  The crowd goes nuts.  We win, we win, we.......................... fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu. Notre Dame pulls out the unthinkable and drives right down the field, and Tommy Rees hits a wide open Theo Riddick for a 29 yard touchdown.

. 

What a f****** drag.  God******. What the hell is wrong with our D? Screw you Mattison.  FU Kelly. God da.......

Wait a minute.  There's still 30 seconds left.  Who knows, right?  Anything can happen, right?  RIGHT?

Right!

Suck it Irish.

October and November

We lose to Satan for the 4th time in a row during a trash tornado, and inexplicably look bad against an average Iowa team.  But all is not lost.  We go on to beat Illinois, run a train on Nebraska, and then, FINALLY, after a decade of OSU dominance...

10-2 !

December

!

Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year.  All America.

Here's a list of other

Conference Champions from 2011...

• Field Hickey wins the regular season and conference tournament championship
• Women's Gymnastics
• Hockey
• Softball
• Men's Swimming and Diving
• Women's Tennis
• Men's Soccer wins the tournament title.

As Coach Hoke will tell you, it wasn't a "great" season because we didn't achieve our goal, which is the Big Ten Title. But after the last 3 years, and since 2006 frankly, this year has given us reason to be very optimistic for the future. I'm proud to be a Wolverine. My wife and I (also an alum) are fortunate to have a son who was accepted into UofM last week and hope he will grow as attached to this great institution as we are.

Thanks for the memories 2011.