Brian

Presser. Note the Minnesota replay on Saturday.

The following is a list of Michigan programming on the Big Ten Network for the week of July 20 – July 26. Please add these to your TV listings/website. This schedule can also be found at:

http://www.bigtennetwork.com/schedule/Big-Ten-Network-Michigan-programming.asp

Tuesday, July 21

11:00 a.m. Women’s Gymnastics: Big Ten Championships (3/21/09)

2:00 p.m. Men’s Swimming & Diving: 2008 Big Ten Championship (2/28/08)

4:00 p.m. Men’s Swimming & Diving: 2009 Big Ten Championship (3/7/09)

6:00 p.m. Campus Programming: Out of the Blue – The Michigan Difference #107

Thursday, July 23

5:30 p.m. Campus Programming: Out of the Blue – The Michigan Difference #107

6:30 p.m. Conversations with Dave Revsine: Janet Guthrie

Friday, July 24

8:00 a.m. Campus Programming: Out of the Blue – The Michigan Difference #107

Saturday, July 25 – FOOTBALL REPLAYS: RIVALRIES / TROPHY GAMES

12:30 p.m. Big Ten Football Replay: Michigan @ Ohio State (11/22/08)

5:00 p.m. Big Ten Football Replay: Michigan @ Minnesota (11/8/08)

7:00 p.m. Big Ten Football Replay: Michigan State @ Michigan (10/25/08)

9:00 p.m. Big Ten Legends: Jim Abbott

All times Eastern

Every conference home contest to be televised for third straight season

Park Ridge, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference office today released the game times and television plans for every home non-conference contest during the first three weeks of the 2009 football season along with some additional games later in the year. The 2009 pre-conference schedule will feature 25 home matchups televised by ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 or the Big Ten Network.

The 2009 Big Ten home football schedule begins with Indiana hosting a Thursday night contest against Eastern Kentucky on Sept. 3 on the Big Ten Network. The other 10 conference teams will begin their seasons on Saturday, Sept. 5.

In addition to the television schedule for the first three weeks, the conference also announced that the Miami (Ohio) at Northwestern game Oct. 10 will be played at 11 a.m. CT on ESPN, ESPN2 or the Big Ten Network. In addition, a pair of Illinois games were finalized as the Illini will host Michigan on Oct. 31 at 2:30 p.m. CT on ABC and conclude the regular season at home against Fresno State with an 11:30 a.m. CT kickoff on the Big Ten Network.

Remaining television selections beginning Sept. 26 and continuing through the end of the season will be made six or 12 days in advance of the game.

The Big Ten will hold the 2009 Football Media Days and 38th annual Kickoff Luncheon on Monday and Tuesday, July 27-28, at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, featuring all 11 head coaches and some of the conference’s top returning players. The 114th season of Big Ten football kicks off beginning with every team in action on Sept. 3 or 5.

The complete list of television games already announced appears below.

Thursday, Sept. 3

Eastern Kentucky at Indiana, Big Ten Network, 8:00 p.m. ET

Saturday, Sept. 5

Missouri vs. ILLINOIS, ESPN, 2:40 p.m. CT

Northern Iowa at Iowa, Big Ten Network, 11:00 a.m. CT

Western Michigan at MICHIGAN, ABC, 3:30 p.m. ET

Montana State at MICHIGAN STATE, Big Ten Network, Noon ET

Towson at Northwestern, Big Ten Network, 11:00 a.m. CT

Navy at Ohio State, ESPN, Noon ET

Akron at Penn State, Big Ten Network, Noon ET

Toledo at Purdue, Big Ten Network, Noon ET

Northern Illinois at Wisconsin, Big Ten Network, 6:00 p.m. CT

Saturday, Sept. 12

Illinois State at Illinois, Big Ten Network, 6:00 p.m. CT

Western Michigan at INDIANA, Big Ten Network, Noon ET

Notre Dame at Michigan, ABC, 3:30 p.m. ET

Central Michigan at Michigan State, ESPN/ESPN2, Noon ET

Air Force at MINNESOTA, Big Ten Network, 6:00 p.m. CT

Eastern Michigan at NORTHWESTERN, Big Ten Network, 11:00 a.m. CT

Southern California at Ohio State, ESPN, 8:00 p.m. ET

Syracuse at Penn State, Big Ten Network, Noon ET

Fresno State at Wisconsin, ESPN/ESPN2, 11:00 a.m. CT

Saturday, Sept. 19

Arizona at Iowa, ABC, 2:30 p.m. CDT

Eastern Michigan at MICHIGAN, Big Ten Network, Noon ET

California at Minnesota, ESPN/ESPN2, 11:00 a.m. CT

Temple at PENN STATE, Big Ten Network, Noon ET

Northern Illinois at Purdue, Big Ten Network, Noon ET

Wofford at WISCONSIN, Big Ten Network, 11:00 a.m. CT

Saturday, Oct. 10

Miami (Ohio) at NORTHWESTERN, ESPN/ESPN2/Big Ten Network, 11 a.m. CT

Saturday, Oct. 31

MICHIGAN at ILLINOIS, ABC, 2:30 p.m. CT

Saturday, Dec. 5

Fresno State at ILLINOIS, Big Ten Network, 11:30 a.m. CT

Press release from the U; thought it was interesting enough to diarize.

ANN ARBOR, Mich.--The University of Michigan and The Ohio State University have agreed to halt the printing of athletic team media guides in an effort to develop new media initiatives for more effective communications and help with cost containment.

“With the new media environment and current economic climate, the decision to cut back in this area was prudent,” Bill Martin, University of Michigan Director of Athletics, said. “The discussion to eliminate the printed version of the media guide has been ongoing within the Big Ten and NCAA administrative services for some time.

“We understand there is a need for a stronger commitment to new media,” Martin added. “Our alumni and fans want more timely information.”

Both Martin and Smith also noted it is important to make changes that will not affect the athletic and academic well-being of the school’s student-athletes.

“With Ohio State and Michigan together making this statement, I hope our decision will be a catalyst for other schools to follow suit,” Gene Smith, Ohio State Director of Athletics, said. “All athletic programs are in the midst of cost containment discussions, but our decision is not only based on economics, the structure of media consumption has changed rapidly and we need to meet the challenges head on.

“New initiatives will have to be developed to allow media, recruits, alumni and fans to follow our teams,” Smith said. “Social networking already plays a role in our communication plan and new platforms will continue to develop.”

The elimination of printed media guides will take place immediately and effectively will result in a total cost reduction of more than $250,000 per year.

Press release, yo!

Park Ridge, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference office released the game times and television plans for 14 home football contests today to appear during prime time on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 or the Big Ten Network. At least one Big Ten contest will be featured during prime time in the first two weeks of non-conference play and on the first six Saturdays of conference action. The prime-time schedule will include three games each for Illinois, Indiana and Iowa and a pair of outings each for Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State and Penn State.

The non-conference home schedule will hit prime time with three contests the opening week of the year, beginning with a Thursday night matchup between Indiana and Eastern Kentucky to kick off the 2009 campaign on Sept. 3 at 8 p.m. ET on the Big Ten Network. Two prime-time tilts will be featured on the opening Saturday, Sept. 5, with Illinois facing Missouri at 3:40 p.m. ET on ESPN and Wisconsin hosting Northern Illinois at 7 p.m. ET on the Big Ten Network.

The second Saturday of non-conference play will be highlighted by a rematch between four-time defending Big Ten Champion Ohio State and USC, a game the Trojans won last year at home. The Buckeyes and Trojans will square off at Ohio Stadium on Sept. 12 at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN. The Big Ten Network will also feature a pair of contests to kick off at 7 p.m. ET the same night, including Illinois hosting Illinois State and Minnesota taking on Air Force in the first game at the Gophers’ new TCF Bank Stadium.

The Big Ten schedule begins on Saturday, Sept. 26, with Iowa hitting the road to face reigning Big Ten Champion Penn State, after the Nittany Lions shared last year’s title with Ohio State. The Iowa-Penn State contest will be played at 8 p.m. ET on ABC or ESPN. The conference’s final non-conference prime-time game will also take place that night when Purdue hosts Notre Dame at 8 p.m. ET on ABC or ESPN.

The month of October will feature six prime-time outings, including four games on the Big Ten Network, one contest on ABC or ESPN and another matchup on ESPN or ESPN2. The complete prime-time schedule for the 2009 campaign appears below.

The Big Ten will hold the 2009 Football Media Days and 38th annual Kickoff Luncheon on Monday and Tuesday, July 27-28, at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, featuring all 11 head coaches and some of the conference’s top returning players. The 114th season of Big Ten football kicks off beginning with every team in action on Sept. 3 or 5.

2009 BIG TEN PRIME-TIME FOOTBALL GAMES

Sept. 3              Eastern Kentucky at INDIANA, 8 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network

Sept. 5              Missouri vs. ILLINOIS, 3:40 p.m. ET, ESPN

                        Northern Illinois at WISCONSIN, 7 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network

Sept. 12            Illinois State at ILLINOIS, 7 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network

                        Air Force at MINNESOTA, 7 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network

                        USC at OHIO STATE, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN

Sept. 26            IOWA at PENN STATE, 8 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN

                        Notre Dame at PURDUE, 8 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN

Oct. 3               OHIO STATE at INDIANA, 7 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network

Oct. 10             MICHIGAN at IOWA, 8 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN

Oct. 17             ILLINOIS at INDIANA, 7 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network

Oct. 24             IOWA at MICHIGAN STATE, 7 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network

Oct. 31             MICHIGAN STATE at MINNESOTA, 8 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network

                        PENN STATE at NORTHWESTERN, 4:30 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN2

Editor's note: Last year I sort of shoehorned Alan Weymouth's useful analytical posts into my game previews; this year I've been encouraging him to make them into diary posts. He hasn't gotten around to it, but I think they're good pieces of analysis so I'm posting it here. This one is from the Miami game, so it's old, but better old than moldering in my inbox.

I've watched the Miami game several times from the offensive POV. I thought the OLine made huge strides, though it still has a ways to go. Molk and McAvoy both did a much better job this week..Molk especially. I saw fewer instances where Molk turned his shoulders to the LOS rather than keeping them square. He got into his man much better and was better able to wall off and hold his ground. That little dude is pretty quick, and if he can play with the proper technique, can make M a good center. McAvoy let one blitzer inside of him, but on the whole had a much better day.

The loss of Ortmann has me a little concerned. Nowicki is slower and does not "stick" to his guy like he should. He just doesn't have the agility IMHO to play against some of the better DEs. According to RR, Dorrestein will move over, and Omameh will also get a look. I'm not real worried about the OLs against NDs defense as I'm not sure it's a whole lot better than Miami's at this point.

I thought the blocking of our SEs and TEs was really up and down this week. At times, they  were good..at other times horrid.  Having Butler against 190 lb DBs should be a huge mismatch, but it doesn't always come off that way. Getting good blocking from those guys can often mean the difference in this offense. Case in point, Butler and Odoms missing on a Miami DB when Threet ran option left. Threet was fine, and made the right read, but Odoms didn't block the DB from the inside, and Butler whiffed from the outside leaving the DB to come up in force and make the tackle..to me, Butler often looks lost when asked to block in space....or any other place for that matter.

I'm pulling my hair out over Threet, so I know RR must be too. The guy is making the right reads..even in the running game with the zone stuff, but his inability to hit open receivers is maddening. It's been said that he has mechanical flaws that lead to this, and I think Andre Ware touched on it during the game Saturday..siting Threets "all arm" throwing motion..which leads to an improper release point for the ball and the "sailing" of the pass. If Threet doesn't throw off his front(left) foot as he should, the tip of the ball is up, and therefore tends to sail.

The QB play will decide who wins the ND game. If Threet or Sheridan can just get it going a little (I'm thinking Threet starts) with the passing game, we can move the ball enough to score. I watched some of the ND game, and thought that Jimmah looked a good bit better than last year. He made some nice throws. Our defense can keep us in this one, but SheriThreet has to be able to:

1. Eleminate turnovers.

2. Lead us to at least 17 points..I.E 3 good solid drives. Maybe pick up a cheap TD off a turnover.

3. Execute the short passing game...ND is vulnerable here.

It's the third point that might lead me to think Sheridan might get the nod this week. He's looked better in this phase than Threet.

Will not be at all surprised to see Brown or Minor at QB a good bit this week. IMHO, it gets alot of your best offensive talent on the field and could really give ND fits. I'm not entirely sure its coincidence they are both getting healthy just in time for ND.

press release from the BTN; Michigan games bolded.

Season two debuts at 6 PM ET on Tuesday, Aug. 26, with the 2000 Orange Bowl match-up between eighth-ranked Michigan and fifth-ranked Alabama. Tom Brady, who threw for 369 yards and four touchdowns, helped erase a 14-point deficit. The game went to overtime when a special teams blunder by the Crimson Tide gave Michigan a 35-34 victory.



The full schedule includes:

• Aug. 26 – 2000 Orange Bowl No. 8 Michigan def. No. 5 Alabama, 35-34 (OT)
• Aug. 28 – 1990 No. 21 Illinois def. No. 9 Colorado, 23-22
• Sept. 2 – 2000 Northwestern def. No. 7 Wisconsin, 47-44 (2 OT)
• Sept. 4 – 1998 Alamo Bowl Purdue def. No. 4 Kansas State, 37-34
• Sept. 9 – 1983 Sugar Bowl No. 2 Penn State def. No. 1 Georgia, 27-23
• Sept. 11 – 2000 No. 5 Wisconsin def. Oregon, 27-23
• Sept. 16 – 2005 Capital One Bowl No. 11 Iowa def. No. 12 LSU, 30-25
• Sept. 18 – 2003 No. 3 Ohio State def. No. 24 NC State, 44-38 (3 OT)
• Sept. 23 – 1981 Minnesota def. No. 18 Ohio State, 35-31
• Sept. 25 – 2005 Wisconsin def. No. 14 Michigan, 23-20 [yuck -ed]
• Sept. 30 – 1988 Indiana def. Iowa, 45-34
• Oct. 2 – 1995 No. 12 Penn State def. No. 6 Northwestern, 21-10
• Oct. 7 – 2003 No.4 Michigan def. Minnesota, 38-35
• Oct. 9 – 2006 Indiana def. No. 15 Iowa, 31-28
• Oct. 14 – 1989 No. 11 Illinois def. Indiana, 41-28
• Oct. 16 – 2005 Minnesota def. No. 11 Purdue, 42-35 (2 OT)
• Oct. 21 – 1999 No. 11 Michigan State def. No. 3 Michigan, 34-31
• Oct. 23 – 2004 No. 12 Michigan def. Michigan State, 45-37 (3 OT)
• Oct. 28 – 1981 No. 8 Ohio State def. Stanford, 24-19
• Oct. 30 – 1996 Minnesota def. Illinois, 23-21
• Nov. 4 – 1984 Penn State def. No. 9 Boston College, 37-30
• Nov. 6 – 2002 Iowa def. No. 12 Penn State, 42-35 (OT)
• Nov. 11 – 2003 No. 24 Minnesota def. Wisconsin, 37-34
• Nov. 13 – 2002 No. 2 Ohio State def. Illinois, 23-16 (OT)
• Nov. 18 – 1969 No. 12 Michigan def. No. 1 Ohio State, 24-12
• Nov. 20 – 1974 No. 4 Ohio State def. No. 3 Michigan, 12-10