michigan state

Before we start, I should point out an actual football coaches' actual opinion on these matters: GSimmons has done some breakdown at Three and Out. Here's the first quarter, the second quarter, and the third quarter.

I'll pull selected highlights on some big plays; I didn't look at these until I had done the UFR on my own to keep my opinions untrammeled.

Argh, again. What happened?

Well, first I have to take some complaints issued Monday back. Michigan did spend most of this game in tight man-to-man coverage and occasionally used a third cornerback. Also, inserting Boubacar Cissoko is a risky move at this point in his career. While the kid shows plenty of promise, he was largely responsible for two of Michigan States's four big plays (You Know Who was the culprit on the other two).

Actually, when I reviewed the tape I thought most of the defense played pretty well with the glaring exception of the safeties and the not glaring but still disappointing Obi Ezeh.

But we should probably go to the…

Chart?

Chart.

!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

I know I managed to come up with a +26.5 for a defensive line that gave up 194 yards to Javon Ringer, but:

• About 60 of those came after Cissoko gave up leverage on the ball.
• It took him 37 carries to get there.

If you hack out the yards ceded to Ringer on that play—which had nothing to do with the line—he averaged 3.5 YPC. That's pretty much a push and would be worth +5 or +8 or something by itself.

Then add in five sacks, most of which were impressive instances where Graham smoked a guy and sacked Hoyer immediately—no coverage sacks, these—and you can see where the big number comes from. Hoyer rarely had time to throw, and when he did Michigan was often rushing three or even two.

It's not just that, you only gave a –5 to the secondary.

Yeah, I'm always torn between handing out something like a –8 on that slant and something less. –8 accurately represents the negative impact of the play but seems unfairly high for a single missed tackle, so I usually go with smaller numbers.

This is kind of dancing around the point: five plays by Brown and Cissoko killed the Michigan defense. The offenders:

• Simple slant pass Mouton screws up on, ceding a first down, and then Brown turns into a 64-yard touchdown.
• End-around Brown loses contain on goes for 25 plus a personal foul on RVB.
• Cissoko loses leverage on the Ringer touchdown, again turning six yards into 60.
• Cissoko loses White Receiver deep, allowing a 35-yard completion
• Brown gets lost on a rollout and flails as MSU completes a deep bomb.

Collectively, those plays added up to around –15 or something… and represent half of MSU's yards. Outside of those extremely localizable issues, Michigan's defense played somewhere between pretty well and really well.

Here's GSimmons' pithy summation of events:

we played man, we blitzed, we stunted, we played odd and even front, and we played our zone coverage, at the end of the day, we got beat by one bad play by one player... thats what happens..

Word.

Stone the witches!

Well, Cissoko is a true freshman and they make mistakes like that from time to time; I've been encouraged by his play so far and think he'll be pretty good starting next year.

Brown, on the other hand, seems hopeless. He was quiet for a few games, then returned with a vengeance in this one. Some guys just can't figure out how to play, and at this point it would be shocking if the light ever went on.

The only thing is: Michigan has no one to replace him, really, except yet more freshmen or Charles Stewart, who hasn't been much better. We're stuck with him.

Do you still have Scott Shafer bitches?

Yeah, man, although, as mentioned, the ones leveled earlier were wrong. New bitch: I really, really don't get his tendency to drop defensive tackles into short zones on third and long. Two major MSU plays came because Michigan rushed two(!!!) and gave Hoyer plenty of space and time. I mean, what is the point of having Will Johnson five yards from the LOS on third and twelve? The only thing I can think of is screens, but you're still dropping seven or eight guys into coverage; this is not a DT dropping off as part of a zone blitz.

Here's GSimmons on the Ezeh overrun against one of those two-man rushes:

okie 2 man rush, ng peels off looking for screens draws, and qb flow.. coverage players are not showing blitz, obviously we feel we can force the throw with are front, and we do, freak play, busted play, ilb looks lost trying to recover they get a first down... a millisecond away from getting a big sack, and getting off the field, great call , unexpected, just didnt work this time

I'll give him that one: the playcall forced a dumpoff against eight guys in a zone and should have been an easy stop, but I guess I'd rather not risk our linebackers—crappy in space all year—in long-term zone drops.

Heroes?

Brandon Graham was a beastmonster all day; I thought Mouton and Thompson both turned in the best games they've played to date.

Goats?

See "stone the witches" above.

What does it mean for etc etc… 2009!

First and foremost, pray like the dickens Brandon Graham is around next year. He's the best player on the team now, and will be the best player next year.

I'm encouraged by Mouton's play. He still sucks in coverage—see that slant he was helpless on—but his blitzing continues to get better and he defied Michigan State's repeated attempts to blow him up with iso plays. I think he's working towards being a solid guy for the next couple years.

Ezeh… well, middle linebacker is hard, maybe? He's got work to do.

As far as the secondary: I see very little hope at safety for next year. Stewart and Harrison are gone; Brown returns, and the only safety who's rotated in at all this year is Michael Williams. Maybe he'll be okay; maybe Brandon Smith or JT Floyd will emerge… I'm skeptical.

Hooray another one of these!

Having some video issues at the moment; a couple are up and seven more are coming; will get them up ASAP.

Let's get this over with. Chart?

Chart.

As always, the Threetsheridammit chart legend.

STEVEN THREET

Eight of those CAs were screens, FWIW, so this is not as good a day as it appears, especially because something like five of those BRs were balls thrown directly at State defensive backs. Our downfield ratio (with MAs dropped, as those were about 50-50 CA/IN earlier): 36%. You just can't sustain an offense on that.

So, yeah, ugly, ugly performance from Threet, back on the downswing from a good half against Penn State. I don't think this is all on his head, though. As Sean McDonough noted, it looked like Threet was really looping passes out to his receivers. He reminded me of no one so much as deposed Auburn starter Chris Todd, who can rainbow slants. I saw it, man.

Anyway, that elbow is obviously still bothering Threet.

Yeah, what was the deal with all the balls thrown directly at MSU players?

You'll note that with one exception those were all wheel routes; the Minor "touchdown" was also a well-covered wheel route; so was the pass interference on Minor.

Obviously 1) M loves wheel routes, as anyone who's watched them this year knows, and 2) MSU spent a lot of time in practice working on them.

And what was the deal with all the offsides?

This actually came up in a mailbag earlier this year, at which point I said this…

I’m pretty sure Michigan isn’t using no snap count whatsoever, it’s just that the count is silent. DEs don’t have license to time the snap with impunity. There will be variable pauses between the clap and the snap.

…and promptly forgot about it.

As we now know, there weren't really variable pauses between the hand clap and the snap, which allowed Michigan State to jump the snap count time and again to mostly good effect. They picked up a few offsides calls, but they also got incompletions, stuffed runs, and sacks because their guys were moving before Michigan's OL could even get out of their stances. They were offsides on another two or three plays, but didn't get called for it.

These two things indicate anything to you?

I don't like deploying the word "outcoached" because it's code for "I am a mouthbreather who listens to sports talk radio and my team done losted; I have a picture of Calvin peeing on something on my car." It, like "special," has been used so many times and so incorrectly that the term has lost all meaning.

But?

But! It's clear Michigan State was very well prepared to play this edition of Michigan; they scouted out all the wheels and such and timed the snap counts and exploited Michigan's tendencies on offense wickedly. (On defense, OTOH, Michigan broke tendencies and largely played well save for four enormous errors turned in by Stevie Brown and Boubacar Cissoko.)

Aside from varying the snap count a little and picking up those offsides calls, Michigan could do little about it.

I'm not happy about that but neither am I surprised; given the stuff Michigan's been working through this year on offense they don't have the opportunity to put in cute packages every week. The coaching staff is not focused on self-scouting, which was to their detriment in this game.

I mentioned this in the Penn State UFR: Michigan is getting shut down because their offense is not diverse enough. They add in a new package of stuff, like the wheels against ND and the MINOR RAGE against Penn State, and it works for a while because it's new; then the opponent adjusts and that's gone; Michigan isn't consistent enough at any one part of their offense to force teams into uncomfortable situations as they try to defend it. This was the hope of Minor Rage after the Penn State game; it did not work out.

So why are you not calling for the head of Magee and Rodriguez like you did Mike Debord?

Mike Debord had a record of failure when he arrived at Michigan and was working with veteran editions of Manningham, Hart, et al. He had a ton more talent, a ton more experience, and frittered it away. Yes, this absolutely goes for times Chad Henne was in the game; it goes for 2006 and Debord's first go-round at Michigan.

Rodriguez, on the other hand, has coached explosive offenses wherever he's been for ten years, and he's working with an absolute dearth of talent and experience on his side of the ball. Before the season I thought they might be okay, but as soon as the Utah game rolled around I drastically reduced expectations; there they remain.

There is plenty of evidence Rodriguez will turn things around soon enough. There was even more evidence Mike Debord was a poor choice. One season in the most trying of circumstances does not invalidate a decade of success.

Uh, more charts, right?

Yeah, more charts. Receivers:

(remember: 0 is uncatchable, 1 is a circus catch, 2 is a somewhat difficult one, and 3 is a routine one)

An okay day, with the one big drop from Stonum that would have provided Michigan a (likely meaningless) touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

And PROTECTION METRIC: 34/47. Ortmann –6, Schilling –5, Team –1, Moosman –1. Note that the tackles were often put in tough spots by the snap-jumping. Also note that a lot of this was against three-man rushes and the overall picture was pretty grim.

You mentioned something about bitching about the officiating?

Okay, I in no way want this to be construed as something that affected the game's outcome. Michigan picked up a free touchdown and was lucky to be even close at the end of the game.

Anyway: holy crap. Awful. Not only did Jim Augustyne manage to top himself, but the officials missed three offsides calls on Michigan State and called a ridiculous PI on Harrison on State's go ahead touchdown drive. I'm just mad at the state of officiating in the league, which on this day was probably a net benefit for Michigan.

Heroes?

Uh… I'm looking and I have nothing. Minor did okay, I guess, not fumbling and taking the yards he was provided but he was robbed of a number of opportunities to gash big gains by poor blocking. Odoms continues to prove himself the best receiver on the team. I thought Molk and Moosman were all right.

Goats?

The left side of the line is killing Michigan; I'd be surprised to see Ortmann keep his job once Dorrestein his healthy, and they've been trying to replace McAvoy all year. Threet had a poor day, and Stonum's drops are becoming a concern.

What does it mean blah?

This is not a good offense, and the only salvation is next year.

Michigan's 2010 hockey recruiting class will be epic if the kids who have committed stick to their commitments. D Jon Merrill and F Luke Moffatt are generally regarded as the best kids at their position in their age bracket and are potential top-ten NHL draft picks. F Jared Knight is a bit less hyped but would have been an OHL first-rounder if he wasn't planning on going the NCAA route. His size will depress his spot in the NHL draft, but initial indications are he could be anywhere from TJ Hensick to Andrew Ebbett. (I haven't stumbled across anything that indicates how highly regarded Hotchkiss Prep D Mac Bennett, the fourth commit, is.)

The 2010 class will be super mega epic if F Colin Jacobs joins the show. Jacobs is getting oodles of hype...

"Colin certainly has huge upside and is a player we are monitoring closely," said Chris Lepkowski, assistant personnel director for the USA Hockey National Team Development Program (NTDP), based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. "Our program is one that requires the highest level of dedication by the player and his family. We are not only looking for the most highly-skilled player, but a player who has character, can handle adversity, and will be able to effectively manage his time. Colin's on-ice talent is in line with the NTDP's past players."

... oodles ...

Some scouts hype Jacobs as the best American-born player since Mike Modano.

... and despite being ranked one of the top prospects available in the WHL draft he fell to the fourth round, an excellent indicator he plans on taking the college route:

Here is what Alan Caldwell had to say about Jacobs:

"Jacobs is one of the best 1993-born players in the United States. The fact that he went this low means he'll be a tough sell on the WHL. First-round talent if he comes."

If Jacobs doesn't end up in the WHL he's very likely to be with the NTDP. Just an advisory to keep his name in mind.

Oh, so that explains it. Bill Martin talked to the Big Ten Network, explaining that Michigan's basketball program now has the funding for a practice facility:

Now that we're practicing, look out, world.

Just one transfer away from a return. Indiana safety Jerimy Finch was a top-50 player in the class of 2007 who 1) committed to Michigan early in the process, 2) inexplicably visited Indiana with a bunch of his teammates, 3) even more inexplicably decommitted from Michigan and committed to Indiana, 4) decommitted from Indiana and eventually signed with Florida because Urban Meyer was apparently calling anyone on Rivals' top 100 list.

After his recruiting sojourn, we have more numbers: 5) got move to linebacker against his wishes, 6) broke his leg in the third game of the season, 7) pretty much failed out of Florida, and 8) is now transferring back to Indiana.

He's projected to be Michigan's starting free safety in 2010.

The Big Ten Network: feel the excitement! Presented without comment other than the obviously snarky lead-in:

Dance gala to be aired on Big Ten Network

"Performing Iowa: Dance Gala," the University of Iowa's first original non-sports cable TV program for the Big Ten Network, will be screened at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the auditorium of the UI Art Building West.

No, wait, one comment: damn you, Comcast. This is the last straw.

Speaking of, yet another article that claims a Comcast-BTN deal is imminent:

The Big Ten Network and Comcast — the nation's largest cable provider that replaced Insight Communications this year in Springfield — likely will announce an agreement in late August, said John Ourand, a reporter for SportsBusiness Journal.

"Both sides are saying they expect something before the football season,'' Ourand said.

An announcement could come in as soon as two or three weeks.

Late August or in two or three weeks? It don't matter to John Supinie of the Springfield Journal-Register! The article does have an interesting suggestion: though Comcast and the BTN always talk about a potential deal like it stands alone, the BTN's association with Fox means that there are dozens of channels and stations and so forth and so on in constant flux between the two media titans.

Side note: a WCHA channel? WTF?

Ha-ha. A reader sent along this lol-worthy State News piece wherein the outgoing sports editors "reflect on years of Spartan sports memories." You know where this is going: the Horror features prominently despite, you know, not actually being a Spartan sports memory in any way. Even weirder:

1. MSU football vs. Michigan, Oct. 1, 2005: Domata Peko's 74-yard fumble return touchdown

1) Michigan State lost that game (obviously). 2) The play referenced here may in fact be the worst call in the history of college football. That sounds bombastic, but not only was Chad Henne's arm obviously hit during his throwing motion, just as obviously going forward at the time, and just as obviously propelling the ball forward before it hit the ground -- making this a trifecta of incredibly obvious items that indicate a forward pass -- but they actually reviewed the incredibly obvious forward pass and called it a fumble anyway. Incredibly obvious missed calls from yesteryear can't compete because they weren't validated by some batty old zombie up in the booth. (The video on the post disappeared, but if you want the relevant section of the NCAA rulebook it's here.) We actually spent the entirety of the remainder of the game bitching about that call, enraging an elderly Spartan fan to the point that he wanted to fight us.

Another editor cites the first half of a game Michigan State got blown out in; only the girl
who is apparently one of the three Spartan hockey fans manages to name two things that are actual Spartan sports memories that aren't kinda humiliating.

Zing! SI's "Truth and Rumors" is basically a news aggregator that takes snippets from articles and reposts them to SI. Today we have this on GA S Darren Myles:

Coaches from Georgia, Illinois, Marshall, Michigan, Ohio State and Ole Miss were on hand to get a glimpse of junior free safety Darren Myles Jr. and his teammates during opening day of spring football practice at Carver on Monday. Myles, whose marquee scholarship offers are from programs such as Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi State, Notre Dame, South Carolina and Tennessee, enjoyed a productive day at the Nike camp in Tuscaloosa, Ala. on Saturday.

A wag in the comments:

So the hot news here is that if your school has a name, they are still in the mix of getting a commitment from this guy?

biminator | 05/06/08, 08:22 AM

That's all.

Etc.: Purdue teetering on the edge of APR sanctions; UMHoops analyzes the Udoh departure.

Steal, steal, steal.

Appalachian State. Every one of Michigan's rivals (and, frankly, the rest of the planet) loves them some Appalachian State after The Horror, but State fans latched on to it harder than anyone else. Ohio State fans have their own -- for a given definition of "own", anyway -- accomplishments to brag on. Penn State fans have a decade of futility against Michigan and shreds of dignity and self-awareness. And Notre Dame would have lost to Appalachian State by 30. After a brief whooping period they kind of got over it.

Not so at State. Running back Jehuu Caulcrick:

"It felt like we won two games today," he said.

State is long-plagued by similar upsets -- Louisiana Tech, Rutgers before that was respectable, Central Michigan, Central Michigan again -- and improbable snatch-defeat-from-jaws-of-victory losses -- oh, God, too many to name -- so for Michigan to finally get the short end of the stick was sweet, sweet justice. Go to Michigan State's campus in the fall and you'll see so many people wearing black and yellow that you'll pull out a roadmap and mutter "how the f&#$ did I end up in Boone, North Carolina?"

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Wooo, motherfuckers, woo.

Talking about how hot the chicks are. Approach any Michigan State fan, grad, or provost and mention the words "Michigan," "Ann Arbor," or "University," and you will immediately be regaled with a dual-part homily. Part A will describe the Michigan acceptance letter the fan, grad, or provost has framed upon their wall. Part B will be a rousing encomium to the ladies of Michigan State.

Even the women will do this. It does not matter that this fan, grad, or provost might, say, be a 180 pound 5'2" woman, or, more commonly, a moderately in-shape girl with a blond dye job and a face Sarah Jessica Parker would find unpleasantly equine. She will regale you with tales of all the hot poon available for any brah with a barbed-wire tattoo and a 30 of Natty Ice.

Do you think I'm kidding? I am not kidding. The first two identifiable Spartan comments on the EDSBS "Things Maize & Blue People Like":

>> Michigan may be rocking its fair share of beddable, biddable, beautiful women

You've never actually been to Ann Arbor, have you?

Comment by SpartanDan — March 26, 2008 @ 1:54 pm

Concur with #42. On my HS visit to Ann Arbor, I made a conscious effort to count all the beautiful women. There were about 3. The entire day.

Also Orson, there used to be layers. Now, the ladies wear tights posing as pants. It helps a little, but still, it's a cold, hard winter.

Luckily, Oberon just came out, signaling the start of spring.

Comment by Ground0EastLansing — March 26, 2008 @ 1:58 pm

Their degrees may be worth $6.25 on the open market, but by God they've gotten to look at the asses of women they'll never have a chance with* every day.

*(They post comments to college football blogs.**)

**(other than the virile, model-nailing populace of this fine establishment, that is. You go, model-nailing virile commenters!)

This guy.

Hitting that. Yeah, they'd hit that. What is it? Doesn't matter. They'd hit it.

Melissa Theriau: they'd hit it.

Madeline Albright: they'd hit it.

Lenin's corpse: they'd hit it. They would reanimate it with their genitals, brah!

Sand: they'd hit it.

The Crab Nebula: they'd hit it. It's all nova and shit.

Notre Dame Stadium. Michigan State -- MICHIGAN STATE -- has not lost at Notre Dame since 1993, a streak of six games. During that time Notre Dame has usually been somewhere between mediocre and flailingly bad, but that still has to be one of the weirdest current records in college football. I haven't bothered to look this up, but I'm willing to bet the only other teams that share that distinction with Notre Dame are teams State hasn't played since '93.

Rioting. This was going to be a cheap shot based on some long ago Final Four shenanigans until some of the brahs obliged over the weekend:

There isn't a group this side of Palestine more acquainted with the sweet smell of tear gas. I hear the Dupont '95 is developing a lovely honeyed nose, but the East Lansing police insist on using crap from South America that's well past its peak.

Update: Dude, Brah, it was intense:

Strapped like the Navy. Make sure to check the comments out.

Basketball. This is natural when you're the "state" -- or, like, "commonwealth" in Virginia -- school in any state with a flagship U-of that consistently beats the hell out of you in football, but State fans take it to a preposterous extreme. Anecdotal evidence from just last week: after Michigan took out Clarkson we decided to hang around the bar we were at for a while to catch a portion of the CC-Michigan State game, Michigan State being the one team Michigan did not want to face at any point during the tournament. At the same time, Derrick Rose and company were busy beating the everliving hell out of Michigan State.

Ann Arbor is the reluctant home of many Spartan fans and the owners of this place are alums, I believe, so the place was packed with brahs, all of whom looked like... well, probably a lot like I did during this year's Ohio State game. They were purely miserable. Meanwhile, the hockey team was a huge underdog -- a third place CCHA team playing the WCHA champs at altitude on an Olympic rink on their home ice -- and scored. No reaction whatsoever from anyone except the Michigan fans still around. They scored again. No reaction. At this point we start pointing at the televisions carrying the hockey game and begging them to pay attention to their very successful hockey team that's about to pull off a killer upset. It's halftime. Michigan State is down 30 to Memphis. And no one even looks when State scores again, because hearing Clark Kellogg say something like "JESUS CHRIST, if there are any women or children watching please turn on EWTN" is more important than actual success.

Michigan State's hockey team is the defending national champions.

I'm not sure if this is a compliment or an insult or what, but at this point State basketball fans are basically Michigan football fans, except with more brah, brah.

Anyone who does anything that harms or slightly inconveniences the University of Michigan in any way. See: Appalachian State.

300. Every Michigan fan who made the unwise decision to watch "300" spent the entire running time thinking two things: "my God those are some oily, slow-moving sixpacks," and "goddammit I bet whenever I go to a Michigan State sporting event, party, or commencement they're going to reference this movie in a really annoying fashion."

Yeah... check.

Apparently they've got a big Hoohoohoo factory in East Lansing.

Next Year. Because, man, that's the year they beat Michigan.

Brian,

It's probably too early to have much of a take on 2009 recruiting at this point but MSU's two recent RB "commitments" got me to thinking... For as long as I can recall, UM has dominated in-state recruiting. In the past it hadn't been that big a deal because the state would produce about one bigtime recruit each year and maybe a couple other decent ones if we were lucky. Here's how I remember it off the top of my head (UM commits in bold, others in red):

98 Drew Henson

99 TJ Duckett

00 Charles Rogers

01 Ernest Shazor; other notable - Kelly Baraka

02 Gabe Watson; other notable - Drew Stanton (was he in this class?)

03 LaMarr Woodley; other notables - Doug Van Dyke (Purdue), Jake Long, Jim Presley

04 Will Johnson; other (sort of) notables - Morgan Trent, Roger Allison, Alex Mitchell [correction, Mitchell was the top prospect in the state. Allison was like 8 or 9. -ed]

05 Kevin Grady; other notables - Terrance Taylor, Antonio Bass

06 Brandon Graham

07 Ronald Johnson (USC); other notables - Dionte Allen (FSU), Joseph Barksdale (LSU)

08 Nick Perry (USC); other notables - Boubacar Cissoko, Dann O'Neill

09 William Campbell...

Basically, that's major pwnage from 98 until 06 (Duckett was an MSU legacy and Rogers was from Saginaw, and a shady prima donna). But in more recent years, as the State of Michigan has been producing more topflight talent, UM's grip on in-state recruiting has loosened. Normally this would only be mildly bothersome and written off as aberrational (such were my thoughts in 07 and w/re: Perry this year).

But with the coaching/offensive philosophy change, I wonder what's going to happen as we move forward. Simply put, certain offensive players won't want to go to UM anymore -- e.g. dropback passers, certain WRs, and bigger RBs like Edwin Baker and Larry Caper in the 09 class. Maybe that's not such a big deal. A quick look back shows that the only guys UM would have missed out on over the last decade or so are Henson, Duckett, Grady, and Johnson, two of whom they lost anyway. And indeed, the biggest fish of 09 has already committed to UM (though he's a defensive player). But here's what I worry about:

UM used to offer every in-state player who was any good, regardless of position. With the spread, however, more thought is put into personnel that "fits" the offense. That's fine, but it's my belief that such emphasis on fit will eventually hurt UM's place in the in-state recruiting. Obviously, MSU will never surpass UM in the long run but now there is much more opportunity for them to gain momentum in any one year.

Look at this year -- they already have commitments from two of the (arguably) best players in the state. It doesn't matter that UM didn't really want those guys because it sets up the illusion that "something special" is happening at MSU. Such an attitude is completely unfounded but could spread to other recruits. Then, all of a sudden, guys who should be UM locks might [stupidly] start looking at MSU as a viable option. And if MSU is able to get something going, then what stops other (read: better) schools from getting in there too. Just look at what USC has done the last few years. Frankly, I am uncomfortable with other programs thinking they can come in and try to get recruits that in the past would have been Blue all the way. I prefer the old design, where MSU knew its place and was content with nothing better than UM's scraps; and where other schools knew not to bother because all of the bluechippers were pegged for UM.

Anyway, that's a super long email. I'm actually not too panicked about any of this because it's probably not a huge deal. But I just wanted to see if someone else had an opinion on these concerns. What do you think?

Best,

Mark Bilski

UM '01

Mark points out one of the hidden costs of moving to the spread offense: a partial withdrawal of the boot Michigan placed firmly upon State's neck after the Charles Rogers class. The instate dynamic now returns to something like the days when John L Smith was running his crazy, sometimes crazily effective, spread offense and Michigan was running the pro-style attack it adopted in the late 80s. Certain players who were Not A Fit for Michigan but pretty good prospects in their own right found an attractive instate option under the mad hatter. Similarly, State now has free reign to nail down Michigan's new Not A Fit prospects -- quarterbacks with a tendency to chew their cud, Caulcrick/Hunt style mashers, and uninterestingly slow tight ends -- without interference from big brother. Call this the "Better Fit Effect."

How big of an effect is it? Eh... the results of Michigan State's better-fit haul under JLS: QB Keith Nichol, a top 100 QB who liked the idea of being the next Stanton and committed to MSU his junior year. (JLS would be fired before Nichol signed his LOI; he decommitted and went to Oklahoma.) That's, like, a guy in four years. Off the top of my head I can't think of a single other player State picked up because of the divide in offensive philosophy. Heck, Antonio Bass was a top 50 recruit who wanted to play quarterback and he still chose Michigan.

Michigan State's already got at least one guy from the BFE this year: the instate QB named Maxwell, a true water buffalo sort. If Carr and Co. were still around Maxwell might be holding out for a camp offer or something; with Rodriguez he knows the chances of picking up an offer are none and none. Depending on what you believe about Larry Caper and Michigan's Jonas-Gray-like interest in him, he might be a second.

So at most it appears to be a couple kids here and there. Defenders and offensive linemen won't care. Fast little bastard wide receivers and dual-threat QBs will pick Michigan if Michigan is interested. Traditional wide receivers will probably be unaffected. Running backs will split based on perceived fit and opportunity. Michigan's ceded the lumbering sorts that make a power running game go. Okay.

The instate recruiting swing because of a better offense never materialized under JLS despite the same split between offensive philosophies, and it won't happen under Dantonio -- or if it does, it won't be because of the spread and shred.

There's another salutary factor here: the past three years have provided an unheard of bumper crop of recruits. Michigan has the two top-rated backs in-state (for the moment, at least) and Michigan doesn't even have to leave the State to find the guy who turned in the fastest 40 time at the Army All-American combine. That would be Will Campbell's Cass Tech teammate Teric Jones.

This is the third year in a row that Michigan will be pursuing a half-dozen plan A recruits within state borders. That's a remarkable turnaround from the 2006 class when Michigan had little interest
in anyone other than Brandon Graham until they turned up a few prospects at summer camp, or the 2005 class when Michigan swept the three top-100 guys and then grabbed Chris McLaurin and Carson Butler as late sleeper sorts, or 2004, when Michigan again swept the top three and then got picky because future immortals Carl Grimes, Dwayne Holmes, and Justin Hoskins were the next three kids in the rankings. In the past it was extremely important for Michigan to lock down the two or three real in-state blue chips; now they can miss a few and still find the 6 or so kids instate they usually do.

That's the long way of saying I'm not particularly concerned. State's exploited a one-time window provided by the staff switchover to good effect; now that a young, energetic, and exciting Michigan staff is building relationships in the state things should return to normal.

Hi Brian,

I know I wrote to you about our gymnastics team once before. At the risk of being terribly annoying, I have to try just one more time because I think this is worth mentioning. Our gymnasts continue on undefeated, even after facing the #1 team in the country last Saturday.

"The University of Georgia women's gymnastics team came into Michigan's Crisler Arena on Friday night as the three-time defending NCAA champion and the No. 1-ranked team in the GymInfo national poll. The Bulldogs went home with a 197.6-196.95 loss to the No. 4 Wolverines." mlive.com

I am a recent alumnus of the University of Michigan. I was raised in the Wolverine tradition of academic and athletic excellence. I have extreme pride in not only our football program, but in all Michigan sports. This gymnastics team is no exception. They are OUTSTANDING this season and have been outstanding for as long as I can remember. Since I am also a Pats fan, I'm a little wary of planning a parade while my team is 15-0, but isn't that an amazing accomplishment? I can only hope the best is yet to come at the Big Ten and NCAA Championships. Let's give these fine young ladies the recognition they deserve.

Go Blue,

Jessi Ferri

Indeed, it is. I linked the gymnastic team's accomplishments in the sidebar but they deserve a broader hearing. Heck, their fans are getting harassed for being too rowdy when they go on the road (for a given definition of "rowdy"); non-student basketball fans could learn a thing or two from them.

Their next home meet is at 6:00 next weekend, the 22nd. This is an unfortunate overlap with what will hopefully be the hockey team's shot at the CCHA playoff crown, but the Big Ten championships are the next weekend at 2. Bound to be less depressing than the basketball team.

This next one is a reference to the home video footage of the 1959 OSU game posted in this space a couple weeks ago. I wondered what the students were assembling with their placards; I got a pretty cool reminiscence of Michigan football of old:

The "Polarbear" 1959 Michigan-Ohio State footage brought back some pleasant memories. That game was during my junior year. I was in the student section on November 21^st, 1959, hoping for but not really expecting a Michigan win. In those years Michigan had sunk to a second-tier B10 program. In the late 50s and early 60s, Wisconsin (B10 Champion in '59), Iowa (B10 co-Champion 1960), and Minnesota (NC 1960) were among the first-tier teams. In 1959 M finished 4-5, but the Buckeyes did even worse, at 3-5-1.

Anyway, a couple things still stand out about that game, which the Wolverines won 23-14. First, the limited substitution rule was in effect, which meant that many of the team members were two-way players. Michigan QB Stan Noskin played safety when M went on defense. During that '59 game Stan intercepted a pass in the end zone that was otherwise a sure Buckeye TD. It was a game-changing play: maybe not quite up to Charles Woodson standards, but it went a long way toward preserving the Michigan victory.

Second, before each game the stadium staff would set up wooden folding chairs along both sidelines. I don't remember who was supposed to sit in them, but there they were, neatly lined up on either side of the player's benches. At one point during that '59 game Woody, clad as always in his white short-sleeved shirt and his blue cap, became so frustrated with what was occurring on the field that he picked up one of those folding chairs and flung it about 15 yards down the eastern sideline, toward the north end zone. Fortunately no one was injured.

As far as what the card section was supposed to display in that film, I can't help much. I recall that the efforts to organize and to implement the card section were at best only partially successful. Few students were really interested in holding up cards during the game when they could be drinking and socializing. In 1959 the rules regarding what liquid refreshment one could bring into the stadium were lax to nonexistent. Beer-filled coolers were not uncommon; some students would even bring gin and vermouth into the stadium and enjoy a martini or two during the game. It was a different time.

There's also this:

The placards were done by the students in the Card Section. Ran from about the 20-30 yard line. If you were a Freshman ( as I was that year), it got you seats on the 20 as opposed to behind the goal post. You flashed cards during half time. I do not remember when they stopped but I was in it for 3 years. As I recall, we won that game in Bump Elliott's first year. It went down hill for the team after that until the 1964 team that went to the Rose Bowl and if not for a 1 point loss to Purdue ( Bob Griese), we would have won the National Championship.

Ron Grabois

The general conclusion is "who knows what's on the damn flashcards? Let's have a martini." Word.

A lot of inexplicable things have happened over the last couple days. Terrelle Pryor decided to not decide. Michigan stole commitments from Penn State, Purdue, and Florida. Sam McGuffie went on some sort of vision quest. (Fortunately, his totem animal is a wolverine.) And sooner or later Michigan will give a full ride to a long-snapper. It's been the craziest Signing Day in the internet era of Michigan recruiting.

But it doesnt hold a candle to the local media's reaction to MSU's class. I discussed this a bit on the Fanhouse:

Michigan State struck out on instaters Nick Perry (USC) and Mark Ingram (Alabama) late; Ingram's decision to flee is especially grating since his father was one of Michigan State's best wide receivers. Ohio linebacker Taylor Hill took an official visit to MSU and liked it so much he committed to Michigan on the way home. Hell, linebacker Yourhighness Morgan took a look at MSU and said "thanks, but I'm going to play for Florida."

Florida Atlantic.

MSU ranks 7th in the Big Ten, and this was both their new-coach-bump year and a year in which Michigan changed coaches. Michigan's little brother continues to bow down.

If there was ever going to be a year in which Michigan State wrested instate recruiting from Michigan, this would be it. The results are Fred Smith and, depending on who you listen to, Tyler Hoover. Though Hoover claimed a Michigan offer, he ended up ranked a three-star at both sites. If he was part of the Michigan class, he would be the at best the #18 recruit in it. This is MSU's silver medal recruit. By any standard this is an immensely disappointing class... unless you're in the media.

You sort of expect spin like this from the Steve Grinczels of the world who make their living by telling State fans "wait till next year":

As things stood through Tuesday, MSU ranks in the bottom half -- as low as ninth by Scout.com -- of the Big Ten.

However, that should not be interpreted as an indictment on the overall quality of the players coming in, according to CSTV recruiting analyst Tom Lemming.

Sure. The fact that this is a class on par with Northwestern's shouldn't be interpreted as an indictment of the players' quality, just their ability to play football. Which they have none of.

This is even funnier:

Ray, who committed early, joins a full stable of running backs that returns senior starter Javon Ringer, junior A.J. Jimmerson, Andre Anderson and Ashton Leggett from last year's recruit class.

The addition of Ray allowed MSU to make four-star running back Mark Ingram Jr., of Flint Southwestern, less of a priority even though he was rated higher.

Yes, the reason they didn't get Ingram Jr. -- remember Ingram Sr was a star for MSU -- was because they snatched Caulton Ray away from the MAC. Meanwhile, Ingram is part of the #1 recruiting class in the country.

It gets better:

National signing day turned out to be a day of bold statements at Michigan State, including the one Mark Dantonio made to one of his top recruits, Charles Burrell, on Wednesday morning.

"Look down at your feet," Dantonio said to Burrell, a safety from Detroit. "Now you just imagine those feet playing in the Rose Bowl, because that's where they'll be within four or five years."

(One of MSU's top recruits on why he didn't pick Michigan: "I didn't receive a scholarship offer from Michigan. That was the school I always wanted to go to. It was kind of disappointing they didn't offer me. I worked real hard to receive an offer.")

Tim Brewster, meet Mark Dantonio. You're both bats. Except you can recruit, Brewster.

Lemming again pops up for a ludicrous quote:

"They basically battled to a draw with (U-M) on in-state guys, which is big," said CSTV recruiting analyst Tom Lemming.

In-state recruits with M and MSU offers who went to M: 5, including three of the top four kids in the state. The reverse: 2.

More spin:

"I know a lot of people nationally don't think this class stacks up with a lot of classes in the Big Ten [including me], but I think it does [except I don't]," said Jeremy Crabtree of Rivals.com, which ranks MSU's class No. 7 in the Big Ten and No. 47 in the nation [see?]. "They got a lot of the best kids from Michigan [that no other Big Ten teams wanted]. Any class that has (Detroit receiver) Fred Smith in it, I'm a fan of. If anything, this class could have used a couple more home runs [good players]."

Aaand then:

MSU thinks it got three from its back yard in Smith, Hoover and Burrell. They helped MSU compete closely with U-M for in-state talent, for the first time in recent memory.

Asked how the Spartans did against the Wolverines, Dantonio stuck with the tone of the day. Bold.

Indeed, "compete closely" now means pick up one guy Michigan wanted, one other they were kinda lukewarm on, and none of the top four guys in the state.

This is expected from Lansing party organs. But what's the deal with Drew Sharp writing his bi-annual positive column about one of the worst recruiting classes in the Big Ten? And Mike Rosenberg trashing Rodriguez for "running off" malcontented, disrespected, and teammate-hated Ryan Mallett?

Rosenberg's piece is especially disappointing, as it lingers on the off-the-cuff comment provided by Rodriguez when he was surrounded by reporters at halftime of a basketball game:

A month after Mallett left, I've not forgotten what Rodriguez said about him. A reporter asked where Mallett was going.

"I don't care," Rodriguez said. "He's not playing for Michigan. I'm concerned with who's playing for Michigan. ... I recruited him once, I recruited him twice, and after the third call, I'm thinking, 'OK, three calls is enough for me.' It's a great institution, and if somebody doesn't want to be here that's already here, you wish them well and move on."

He doesn't care. Why should he care? Mallett decided to leave the program, at which point he no longer cared. Follow up:

The problem is that Rodriguez didn't just say that to Mallett, or to the media. He acted like the wronged party, and he made a Michigan freshman look bad in the process.

I do not understand the leap from "I tried three times and he does not want to be here, I wish him well" to "I am a wronged party! Mallett should look bad in your eyes!"

You know who else was about to run off Ryan Mallett? Saintly Lloyd Carr, who according to a source told him "I don't like anything about you" and then hurled transfer papers his way halfway through this season. Mallett almost transferred two seconds after he showed up on campus, then almost transferred the summer between his early enrollment and fall, and then actually did transfer as soon as Rodriguez was hired. There's a common thread here. It is not Rich Rodriguez.

About every week I got an email from someone on campus who had seen the kid getting high or trashed. Some talked to him; all who did came away with the opinion that the guy didn't care about anything. Sources inside the program confirmed multiple times that Mallett had a major attitude problem, something that was so pervasive that it even worked it way into one of the local newspapers. The dissent was evident on the sidelines
during the disastrous Wisconsin game, when Mario Manningham bitched him out on the sidelines, or during Mallett's disastrous stint in the Illinois game, when Carr bitched him out for two solid minutes.

In October I wrote this based on multiple sources:

The situation here is precarious; without a major attitude adjustment things could be very sketchy at quarterback next year.

I have heard it far and wide and so many times from so many sources that the conclusion is indisputable: Ryan Mallett is the reason Ryan Mallett transferred, no matter what Ryan Mallett's mom -- no doubt the least biased source around -- says.

Mallett would be on his way to Arkansas and failure no matter who Michigan's coach is.

Meanwhile... Drew Sharp. What can you say?

There were no news conferences from attention-hungry teenagers announcing there wouldn't be a news conference. There were no last-minute decisions that left the recruiting-obsessed almost breathless in anticipation.

"No one decided to go to Michigan State."

There was little buzz surrounding Michigan State's fresh list of football signees because it's boring building a foundation.

Also boring: Northwestern's class.

There's only one "four-star" player coming to MSU? Detroit Southeastern wide receiver Fred Smith. But the commitments don't seem to include the illogical reaches that defined many of John L. Smith's recruiting classes.

This class looks more Big Ten than Mid-American Conference.

MSU's 2008 class: #49 to Rivals. MSU under JLS: #16, #35, #33.

For Michigan State, it's not about the number of four-star recruits it signs now, but the two- and three-star players that can help develop a sturdy program. That's the foundation from which championship seasons and Rose Bowl appearances are inevitably erected.

That's how Jim Tressel did it in Columbus.

Indeed. Tressel's second recruiting class: #5. A foundation of... uh... three five-star recruits and fourteen four-star recruits. Just like Michigan State's class.

There are private whispers around East Lansing that Rich Rodriguez's radical transformation of Michigan football creates opportunities for the Spartans. While the new guy from West Virginia introduces himself to the local prep coaches, Dantonio is already in the door, gaining familiarity.

Indeed, Rodriguez, who hopes to have a spring game at Ford Field and will invite every coach in the state to come to his frequent clinics and camps and finished his first recruiting class with a flourish, will have to fear Michigan State's insane short-joke-making curmudgeon. Because Jesus, man... they got a guy!

This is what you need to know about Michigan State's class: its second-best guy would be Michigan's 18th, and this year is the first time in 40 years Michigan changed coaches. Meet the new boss, little brother.