[Ed: Bump. I am not entirely sure I want to ride again. A nice, relaxing weekend against Eastern sounds pretty good right about now.]

I wanna ride again!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XQzQYFYfy8

Words can't describe it

So here's a graph:

This is a graph of what I thought our chances of winning were throughout the game. That really erratic part at the end is the reason why my neighbors knew I was watching a sporting event. 

I don't really know what to say that hasn't already been said, and I don't know where to start.  All I know is that it was amazing, and horrifying, and awesome, and I wish I had been there.  So I guess I'll just start at the beginning.

Buckle in kids, this is going to be a long ride (warning some NSFW language).

Pregame 51%

Maybe? I don't know.  Home field, under the lights, Brady Hoke's Magical Golden Poop. So what if they got higher rated recruits and have had an extra year of experience in that system. We got Denard and Mattison, so the defense CAN'T POSSIBLY be as bad as last year. With so many unknowns, it might as well be a coin toss, but vegas favored ND.  Vegas is almost always wrong in this series. 

1st Quarter

13:02 49%

Three and out on the opening drive, no reason to panic yet.

Desmond Morgan didn't look very good early.  He started the game with 2 missed tackles in 2 plays

So you've probably heard by now that I won't be producing weekly schedule wallpapers this season, and some have taken that to mean that I won't be producing any wallpapers at all. However, as I was considering semi-retirement in the face of my grown-up-adult-9-to-5-then-kids-bedtime-sleep-is-important responsibilities, I set aside time to design a few rivalry game wallpapers. The Ohio State game is a given (and probably Michigan State too) and I couldn't pass up the historic night game at The Big House.

Last year I made Touchdown Jesus say "No Good", prompting concern from my young daughter over God's feelings about mocking Jesus. "No sweetie, I'm not mocking Jesus, I'm mocking Notre Dame. God enjoys this kind of thing." Several other promising and less-blasphemous ideas were left to rot in the pages of my sketchbook, including a few inspired by the saying "All that glitters is not gold." I pictured everything from a rainbow with a pot of fools good to a Notre Dame helmet peeling to reveal a rusted shell.

Like The Game, the first night game at Michigan Stadium calls for a dramatic rather than humorous image. Where Ohio State was represented by the decaying side of a planet, Notre Dame's gold is shown as a thin, blistering and cracking layer of paint.

I wrestled over whether to make the centerpiece of the image helmets or logos (you can see the back and forth in the making-of video), but I heard from several people that one of their favorite images from last season was the lump of coal block M so I tried for something similar here. I designed the block M to match the front of Michigan's legacy jerseys, while Notre Dame's legacy helmet gets a nod with the shamrock treatment similar to my vine-wrapped block M.

Some other people you should know about

The stadium photo in the background was generously provided by Scott Maez. It would have been extremely difficult to get just the right look from an illustration or a low resolution image, but Scott's photo was shot the perfect angle (and he was kind enough to share the high resolution file with me). You should check out some of Scott's other Michigan photography. He has a nice mix of games and other events going back to 2002.

I also want to point you in the direction of MGoBlog users cjm and Blue Indy who have picked up the proverbial ball where I have proverbially dropped it. Both are doing awesome work so if you need a dose of wallpaper goodness between now and my next caffeine-fueled Michigan football design binge they're your guys.

The image below is a preview only. You can get the widescreen, 4:3, iPad and mobile wallpapers at The Art. The Art. The Art!.

How it was made

I recorded the screen while I wiggled my mouse around and hoped for a miracle. Lucky for you I sped up the footage to condense a wasted weekend into just a few minutes of video. If you want to see me ruin a nice wallpaper with a happy little shamrock Watch this video.

 Web Gem Happens. (photo from MGoBlue)

Michigan took two games against a weak opponent that is still looking to wake the echoes and return to glory from their days when Paul Mainieri, current coach at LSU, was still in South Bend. In Notre Dame's first visit to Ann Arbor since 1977, Michigan won a closely contested game, and the next night, the Wolverines pounded out a huge win.

Abbreviated midweek recaps and thoughts after the jump.