Unverified Voracity KILL IT WITH FIRE Comment Count

Brian

OR ACID OR COLD OR SOMETHING. So… uh… there was some mascot segment on Real Sports that featured this decidedly un-real Michigan mascot:

mascot-wut-2 mascot-wut

If you ever wondered why Michigan didn't have an anthropomorphic wolverine, wonder no longer. What is that thing? Who made it? And why hasn't it been drowned in acid? Answers: my idea of hell, Special K, and because society is falling apart.

Man up. This Notre Dame guy lost a bet, but owns it:

Your pathos is delicious, but respect for putting it on the internets.

Double pass in the sky what does it mean it means touchdown. A Wolverine Historian tribute to the transcontinental:

I don't think we'll see that at Michigan for a while since the play keys on people forgetting about the quarterback and what are the chances of that with Denard running around? Not so good.

Stapled together. A couple of commenters objected to the idea that "upcoming" Big Ten opponents feature freshman quarterbacks and stapled-together run games, and insofar as we know anything about Indiana after a I-AA game, bye, and the closest thing they could find to a I-AA game (WKU just transitioned to I-A last year) they are right that the first two offenses Michigan faces in the Big Ten look at least competent.

These are the stapled together folks:

Only 16 of those [203] rushing yards [against Ball State] came from a guy (Dan Dierking) who actually plays running back, although he's listed as a fullback on the team roster. The others came from two quarterbacks (Rob Henry and Robert Marve), a fullback (Jared Crank) and three receivers -- Antavian Edison, O.J. Ross and Justin Siller -- one of whom, Siller, used to play both quarterback and running back.

That's Purdue. Meanwhile, Iowa's down to Adam Robinson and whoever and Penn State's Evan Royster has 31 carries for 110 yards through three games, averaging just 3.5 YPC on 22 carries against Akron and Youngstown State. As a team, PSU is averaging just over 4 YPC despite playing two tomato cans to start. I'm sure they'll all exceed season averages against Michigan but that might not mean a ton.

Go wherever you want, cheer for whoever you want. In Rod We Trust makes the terrible confession that the author did not attend Michigan. Who cares? Michigan fans who didn't attend the university are paranoid about the depth of their fandom because they're in a situation faced by many schools in a Big Brother/Little Brother situation where there's a less prestigious school in state fewer care about because they're historically crap. The historically crap school gets all mad that people like to watch the football team that usually does something other than go .500 and asks everyone if they went to the school they root for. This has happened to me multiple times as I leave Michigan State, and the crestfallen look on the brah's face when I say "yes, I went to Michigan" never fails.

Fans who buy stuff and indoctrinate their kids who might turn out to be 6'8" maulers and fill up the largest stadium in the country are all assets to the program no matter where they went to school or if they, say, have multiple crayon-like tattoos akin to the ones all around me at the UMass game. The more the merrier.

The reason there are people unaffiliated with Michigan who root for it is because the football program has offered something other than pain and fleabag bowl games against Fresno State over the years.

Kicking in a sentence. Rodriguez:

"The guy from the parking lot has not been cleared yet so I don't know if he hasn't gotten his physical yet or if there's an issue with his eligibility."

HA HA HA I FEEL GREAT. Go for it, Rodriguez, go for it so hard. Third and six is a running down now.

Interesting bits. MGoUser sits next to Chargers scout and gets a largely positive take on the team, plus something we're seeing play out right now:

Robinson's defenses have always been a "bend don't break" style that simply count on the opposing offense to make enough mistakes for your offense to outscore them. He felt Robinson was very gifted at player development, even though his schemes are often too passive.

FWIW, before the season I got second-hand report from another NFL scout that was basically the polar opposite of the take linked above, stating that Michigan had nothing but Martin on defense and the immediate future is grim, but this was before the Denardening.

Etc.: Following up on the curl-flat discussion last week is a Football Defense post on defending it when you're in quarters. The answer is "you can't defend the flat." Pedobear invades Neyland. Soccer wins 3-2 in OT over Kentucky; should have gone last night, eh? Double rainbow Denard. MVictors interviews author of book on Michigan Stadium about… Michigan Stadium.

Comments

iawolve

September 23rd, 2010 at 1:29 PM ^

wishing the team well and not having to ask to be our starting kicker. Like my father has asked me before, "How can a program that big not have a kicker?". Hell if I know.

jamiemac

September 23rd, 2010 at 1:43 PM ^

Wolverine fan by birth and grace of God.

I make no apologies, however, for choosing not to go to school there and heading to Bloomington for college. I needed a different experience in my life at the time.

As much as I cant imagine life without being a Michigan fan, I also cant imagine it without the Hurrying Hoosiers to follow every winter. Besides, the symetry in watching two of my sporting loves rebuilding their programs basically from scratch HAS BEEN SO FUCKING GREAT FOR MY MENTAL HEALTH I DONT KNOW WHERE TO BEGIN GOD HELP ME I AM STARTING TO TALK LIKE TED

This is the year both get somewher back to good. Please? I'd like to Book That, kthnxbai

MGoShoe

September 23rd, 2010 at 1:44 PM ^

...for freshman Soony Saad in the OT win over Kentucky (very impressive).  Oh, and it's officially the first Hate Week of the new school year as the Men's Soccer team takes on OSU on Saturday at 7 pm at the new soccer stadium.  If I can convince my wife to attend two games in one day, I'll be there (not likely).

M-Wolverine

September 23rd, 2010 at 1:46 PM ^

Ah, a glorious play. The clips are great, just to remind everyone that in addition to everything else, yes, Woodson passed too (and it was forward...look at the replay again). The only think (ever?) WolverineHistorian missed out on was including Brady "limping" off the field.  Academy Award material, for sure. (And has been said many a time, it's rich that Navarre is the one to score).

I disagree about the "not being able to work now". The whole point of the play is the quick back and forth.  They react instantly to the pass, without thinking, as you want your defense to do.  It could totally work with Denard, especially if you ran some passes like that just as passes before it.  It's not that much different than what we run anyway.  And even if a spy stays at home, the whole idea is to have a wall of blockers in front of the QB, so that spy is toast.  And imagine Denard doing the rest. I mean, on the one play, they put Gonzales in at QB...how could you be telegraphing it more?  But it still worked. And if you really wanted to do some trickeration, you throw two QB's in, then swing Denard out as a Receiver. Everyone in the Stadium is going to think you're going to throw to Denard, and when you do, you have a real QB throwing the ball back to Devin or even Tate.  No one's going to think that Denard is a decoy. And unlike a real pass to Denard, it's no risk of him getting hit, because the pass back comes way before they can get there. And if somehow they read it and stay at home (unlikely), Denard has the ball all alone in space with the majority of the defense on the other side of the field. One guy misses, and TD.

And Brian, as for your view that anyone can root for Michigan sports teams, no matter what college they went to, do you think that include U-M Dearborn students....?  ;-)

Zone Left

September 23rd, 2010 at 3:44 PM ^

I'm not the only one that saw the athletic looking QB against Illinois and did a double take, right?  Navarre's run might be my favorite Michigan play of all time.  They should have gotten him on the edge more...

The clip is also great to highlight the S&C differences between the two staffs.  Good or bad, the lineman look completely different.  Kraus /= Omameh.  

WolverineEagle

September 24th, 2010 at 9:40 AM ^

I'd still be a Quattro.Family means infinitely more than school, nation, or any other group allegiance.People make way too much noise about their school ties. A school does not love you, it does not shelter you, it does not feed you-- at least not for free.
<br>
<br>An university is a business. Nothing more, nothing less.

M-Wolverine

September 24th, 2010 at 10:16 AM ^

But your first point is a very good one. I haven't actually seen it, but I've heard it enough to know it happens. Which is stupid on multiple levels. If you didn't attend a "better" school (or school at all), why would you be ragging on someone else's education?  It's not like you got into Michigan.

But in any regard, ragging on someone else's education is just kind of stupid.  At least they're studying, getting an education, and bettering themselves. Now, I'm not saying that can't be a target in a hot and heavy argument, where outside of sports things come in like "heh, all your women are ugly" and such non-game generalizations.  Then someone is asking for it. 

But if you haven't gone to the other school, and your answer to "your team sucks" is, "well, you went to a crappy school"...I can't relate to where that person is coming from.