Bama

Not entirely OT w/ Bama being a UM opponent...

It was so sweet to see his face drop after that penalty. He was telling the ref how unfair the whole thing was. Don't worry, Nick Satan... live to play another day!

I just hope that this does not pave the way for ND to make it to the NCG; please let it be KSU & Oregon! An SEC-less NCG would be payback for last year's SEC vs. SEC!

And I don't want to be. I see a lot of commentary on here about how in a couple years Michigan will be at the level of Bama.  We need to be realistic. There will come a day, hopefully in two or three years where we can compete with a team like Bama or LSU, but we will never be loaded with that much NFL talent. IE, maybe we will have like a 35-40% chance of beating them in a one game setting, but year in and year out, on average, the best SEC team will be better than the best Big Ten team.

As well as Hoke is recruiting, Bama is a football factory that serves as a preparatory school for the NFL. Don't want to sound like a bitter, sore loser cynic, but that is not the "student athlete" model we are going to pursue at Michigan. They oversign, bring in jucos, and pull in a top class of recruits every year with little worry about students having issues in the classroom, or giving out "medical redshirts" and cutting. Once a decade or so there is a team like Bama. There were the 80's Canes, 90's Seminoles, USC of the 2000's. There is something all these teams have in common...They are usually cutting corners in the classroom at best, and involved with a bunch of shadier off fields scandals at worst.

When your 3 deep reads like a future NFL roster, something smells a bit off. Take nothing away from Saban as a brilliant game day coach, motivator, program operator, recruiter, etc. But the man has straight up said he thinks college players should be paid (not a moral indictment in its own right) but there is also a lot of smoke and rumor around the program around that very issue.

OSU tried to go the NFL factory route under Tressel, and will probably do the same under Meyer, and we all saw how that turned out.  Yet even when cheating, OSU was still getting blown up by SEC teams in national title games.

Point being, to those saying give Hoke a few years and we will be like Bama because OMG look at his first two recruiting classes, just realize this is probably an unrealistic hope. I expect us to get significantly better and win the Big 10 repeatedly, and maybe one year pull off an upset in a bowl or playoff for a magical year (like when OSU beat a much better Miami squad in 02). But to expect Michigan football to perennially be what Alabama is now is an unrealistic goal as, IMO, it would require a program character tranformation that Brady Hoke and Dave Brandon would be unwilling to undergo.  As much as I love winning, I wouldn't want to go that route. 

I expect us to get much, much better, more physical, and competitive under Hoke.  Our teams will be bigger and able to compete with offensive and defensive lines like Alabama, LSU, USC.  But the Alabama model is not one I would wish to pursue for my Wolverines.

I have to add this link in as an edit to my post just so all the self-righteous, "just take it on the chin" types understand the concept of smoke can mean fire.  http://larrybrownsports.com/college-football/agent-ralph-cindrich-nick-saban-pay-for-play/148079

Again, my point is not that Alabama didn't kick our ass.  It's also not that we are the greatest non-cheating team in the world, and only if everyone played fair we would win every game.  The point is when teams get this good, as Alabama is now, and there is such a huge disparity between a couple top programs in the country and the rest of college football you would be a moron not to wonder what's up.  And recent history tends to support such skepticism. 

http://www.rollbamaroll.com/2012/8/27/3271749/michigan-hate-week

Wow, that is all I can say.

For a team that we've only played 3 times, they really hate us and pretty much everyone north of the Mason Dixon.  They think we're pricks, elitist, and that they're following the rules as far as oversigining goes.

Well, enjoy!

for those of you who are new to the blog since last season, and those who are not. i make these little mini programs each week with various michigan and opponent information, depth chart, roster, schedule, etc. these are made to be folded and fit into one of those plastic lanyard neck things, if you are so inclined. they can be pretty useful to take with you to the game or bar or whatever (although, lanyard thing at a bar might not be that cool).

this is up a few days early, have a look, let me know what you think. this is a bit rough for now. i am considering putting in a big ten schedule grid in the future in place of opponent info.

Bama Mini Program 2012

http://www.scribd.com/doc/104214715/Bama-Mini-Program-2012

We all know that the most pandemonium inducing, all out nuts with awesomeness moment last year was the UTL victory, which was of course the greatest single Michigan moment any of us has ever witnessed. However, I don't think it was really the BEST moment from last season. After all, we've been kicking ND's tail pretty well recently, with several of the games featuring ND style Yakety Sax. Had we LOST to ND, it would've been very sad that we lost our first night game in Michigan stadium. It also would've been our first loss in four years, the first year of Brady Hoke's tenure, and not a lasting pain. It would'e been a very "can't win them all" loss.

Conversely, though The Game 2011 certianly had a dramatic ending, it's drama did not even sniff UTL's level. There were several palys that made everyone's heart skip, but there was no one single, "It's this or it's nothing" play. Despite that, The Game 2011 was undoubtedly the best moment of the 2011 season. No other game had me pacing holes in my floor for the last quarter. No other game had my father visibly bemused at my nerves and consternation. And when we won, well, King Kong ain't adust mite compared to the Mutant Space Monkey that climbed off every true fan's back at that moment. A loss there would've crossed the line from soul dong punching to soul eunuch making. I would've wilted and died right there in the middle of the living room, leaving only a baren, dust gray talk hinting that once there had been a beautiful fan in bloom there. I may have honestly convinced myself that we would never win The Game again.

But win we did.

So now I ask you,do you think Bama, or any other game of the 2012 season can possibly eclipse that moment? Beating the defending National Championship to open the season would be huge, huge, but again, I think it would fall into the category of "Can't win them all", should the good guys lose.

Or how about MSU? It's been a while now. But after last year's loss, I realized something. I just didn't care as much as I do about OSU, and maybe even the bowl game. Oh, it sucked to lose, but I didn't lose any sleep over it. It's Sparty! They will ALWAYS be little brother. Maybe OSU? Go 1-0 against the new regime?

So what game, if any this season, do you think can bring that same sense of jubilation?

I hate to be the hysterical fan over-reacting to the result of one game....

Howeva, evil oversigning Nick Saban is a coaching genius.  Hate the guy, but must respect.  While Miles and LSU somehow pulled off the victory earlier in the year, Bama was the better team for most of that game as well.  Did LSU deserve the national title given the results from the regular season?....probably, as it is really hard to beat a team twice in a year, let alone a conference rival. 

Given almost two months to prepare for this game Saban showed why he is the best in the business.  Miles has recruited all the talent in the world and has made some of the luckiest/gutsiest calls we have seen in recent college football years, but as a tactition there is no competition.  Clearly they are not in the same league.  Saban just pooped on the Hat.  And I just realized, if not for bama choking last year against Auburn...this could have been a three-peat...amazing for modern day college football.

LSU showed absolutely no preparation on offense, no imagiation, no adjustments from the first game.  That offense was pathetic....Alabama came out throwing on 1st down and totally changed up their game plan.

As for next year's game, I fear Bama's defense.  I said this after watching what Michigan State did to Denard with their 3 and 4 star recruits.  Bama, with Saban and their exclusively 4 and 5 star defense...all the way down to their 3rd string, will eat up our one dimensional offense. 

All that being said, congrats Bama, evil Satan, and cheating SEC.  If nothing else Saban, you prove that assholes finish first.