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Somewhat OT: Whomever…

Somewhat OT: Whomever Michigan selects as its next head basketball coach (and let's assume that Becky Hammon and Dawn Staley aren't interested), won't that person want to have a good idea of the roster he'll have to work with next season before he accepts that offer? I'm thinking of how Mike Rhoades went from VCU to Penn State late last March and then had to get nine transfers to build his roster for this season.

Tray Jackson, Terrance Williams II and Olivier Nkamhoua are out of eligibility. Jace Howard now has a good reason to play elsewhere.

Do Dug McDaniel, Nimari Burnett and Tarris Reed want to stay?

Does Jaelin Lllewellyn who started and played 21 games at Princeton in 2018-2019 have another graduate year because he missed the 2020-21 season due to COVID 19 shutting down the Ivy League season and he missed most of the 2022-23 season at Michigan due to injury?

Will the two recruited point guards, Christian Anderson and Durral Brooks who signed letters of intent ask to get out of their commitments? Will Dug McDaniel's cousin Khani Rooths decommit if McDaniel decides to leave?

(No subject)

In the metropolitan NYC area…

In the metropolitan NYC area where I grew up in the 1950s and 1960s, they called them Scooter Pies. Now they're known mostly as Moon Pies. I remember them as a lunchbox staple. 

Then there's the smaller, single-cracker version that those of us who grew up in the metropolitan NYC area have known as Mallomars. Boxes of Mallomars fly off grocery-store shelves when they come back in September. They're available only from September through March because Nabisco won't ship them due to the risk that the chocolate will melt during warmer weather.

Whether Moon Pies, Scooter Pies or Mallomars, they've all been the victims of shrinkflation. Curse you, Nabisco!

(No subject)

Unfortunately for those of…

Unfortunately for those of us who root for Michigan, the national championship in football continues to obscure what for the most part has been a down year for Michigan athletics. When reviewing Warde Manuel's performance as Michigan's Athletic Director, consider that as of March 14, 2024 this is how many of Michigan's teams have performed during this academic year:

Men’s Soccer (5-6-7; 2-1-5 and tied for 5th in Big Ten)
Women’s Soccer (7-7-4; 3-5-2 and tied for 9th in Big Ten)
Men’s Cross Country - 2nd in Big Ten championships
Women’s Cross Country - 3rd in Big Ten championships
Field Hockey (9-8; 3-5 and 7th in Big Ten)
Men’s Basketball (8-24, 3-17 and 14th in Big Ten; 0-1 in Big Ten Tournament)
Women’s Basketball (20-13, 9-9 and tied for 6th in Big Ten; 1-1 in Big Ten Tournament)
Volleyball (7-22; 5-15 and 12th in Big Ten)
Men’s Hockey (20-13-3; 11-11-2, 4th in the seven-team Big Ten and 10th in the Pairwise rankings that usually predict the NCAA tournament field meaning that Michigan should make the NCAA tournament if they finish in the top 14)
Men’s Gymnastics (11-2; 1-2 and last of five teams in Big Ten; ranked 5th in nation)
Women’s Gymnastics (11-5; 9-1 and 2nd in Big Ten; ranked 10th in the nation)
Wrestling (8-4; 5-3 and 6th in Big Ten; 2nd in Big Ten Championships)
Men’s Indoor Track and Field (8th in Big Ten Championships)
Women’s Indoor Track and Field (5th in Big Ten Championships)
Baseball (6-11)
Softball (13-10)
Men’s Lacrosse (5-2; 0-0 in Big Ten; ranked 18th in the nation)
Women’s Lacrosse (9-0; 2-0 in Big Ten; ranked 6th in the nation)
Men’s Tennis (6-9)
Women’s Tennis (12-3; 2nd ranked in the country and runner-up to top ranked Oklahoma State in ITA National Indoor Championships)

After finishing among the top ten schools in the final Directors’ Cup standings in five of the six years in which the standings were kept before 2023 (the 2020 standings were canceled due to the pandemic), Michigan finished 11th last year and was ranked 21st in the final fall standings
_______________

To be fair to Warde Manuel, before last year and this year. Michigan consistently finished in the Top Ten in the final Directors’ Cup standings.

Final Directors’ Cup Standings for Michigan: 2023 (11th); 2022 (3rd); 2021 (3rd); 2020 (Canceled due to pandemic); 2019 (2nd); 2018 (6th); 2017 (4th)

(No subject)

I'm also old enough to…

I'm also old enough to remember watching THIS GAME in a black-and-white broadcast on a small TV.

Old enough to remember the…

Old enough to remember the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball championship game between Louisville and Michigan. This season, Michigan finishes last in the Big Ten with a 3-17 record and 8-23 overall and Louisville finishes last in the ACC with a 3-17 record and 8-23 overall. The times they are a -changin!

And Trey Burke cleanly blocked Peyton Siva's shot.

You might want to change…

You might want to change that to JUAN HOAR

I love Stephen King's On…

I love Stephen King's On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft.

Going back to re-reading JFK’s Profiles in Courage along with Jon Meacham’s The Soul of America and (as I've been doing in every presidential-election year since I first read it for a college course in 1970) parts of Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville

On the Shelf to Be Read: Loose Balls: The Short, Wild Life of the American Basketball Association by Terry Pluto; Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen; 1776 by David McCullough

Recommended for fans of Major League Baseball History: The First Fall Classic: The Red Sox, the Giants, and the Cast of Players, Pugs, and Politicos Who Reinvented the World Series in 1912 by Mike Vaccaro; Veeck As In Wreck: The Autobiography of Bill Veeck by Bill Veeck with Ed Linn

 

Understood.

The 1988-89…

Understood.

The 1988-89 year wasn’t too shabby. In Bo Schembechler’s 20th season as head coach, Michigan’s football team went 9–2–1 record (7–0–1 in the Big Ten), won the Big Ten championship, defeated USC in the 1989 Rose Bowl, outscored opponents by a total of 361 to 167 and was ranked No. 4 in the final AP and UPI polls. Four months after winning the Rose Bowl game, Michigan won the NCAA men’s basketball championship. The baseball team was 49-16 and won the Big Ten regular season title; the softball team was 42-20. 

Despite the football team’s…

Despite the football team’s national championship, the wrestling team’s 24-11 upset of Iowa, the possibility that the hockey team will hang within the top 14 in the Pairwise rankings to get to the NCAA tournament and the lacrosse teams getting off to good starts (men are 5-1; women are 6-0), this is setting up to be the worst year in Michigan sports in a very long time.

After finishing among the top ten schools in the final Directors’ Cup standings in five of the six years in which the standings were kept before 2023 (the 2020 standings were canceled due to the pandemic), Michigan finished 11th last year and was ranked 21st in the final 2023-24 fall standings. LINK

Football has had to overhaul its staff and the worst men’s basketball team in 57 years just lost its successful strength and conditioning coach.

Baseball’s 4-8; softball’s 11-9. Remember when those teams were pretty good, like 2019 when UM baseball went 50-22, was runner-up in the College World Series and UM softball went 43-11 and won the conference and conference tournament championships?

#FireWarde

I approve of “RICE, RICE,…

I approve of “RICE, RICE, Baby”.

Freshman year of high school, the year of JFK’s assassination; wrestling practice; badly sprained ankle while wrestling the taller, stronger senior captain; doctor gave me an ace bandage and a crutch and told me to apply some ice when I got home. In those days, ice came from aluminum, ice-cube trays. It was long before I’d ever hear the RICE expression (Rest-Ice-Compression-Elevation).

Aggravated in sophomore year during pre-season wrestling practice. Only thing different this time was getting TWO crutches while the injury lingered much longer – a sign to give up wrestling.

Damaged much worse just before senior-year soccer practice after stepping in a hole while running and twisting ankle badly, but not breaking it. End of soccer career. Little did I know then that I’d suffer from chronic Achilles tendinitis for the rest of my life. No more running on steep inclines on treadmills.

Voltaren gel also helps. 

Now is the winter of our…

Now is the winter of our discontent . . . LINK

How did William Shakespeare know in 1592 what Michigan men's basketball and hockey would be like in 2024?

If the Wolverines get pumped…

If the Wolverines get pumped up on Amphetamine, Michigan could Wynn it with a Miracle 3

Working late in my law…

Working late in my law office in the evening on Friday, February 22, 1980 and got in my car with my radio tuned to a news station that announced the results of the game just after it had ended. Got home in time to watch it broadcast by tape delay on ABC-TV.

 

Here's USA 1980 Olympic…

Here's USA 1980 Olympic Hockey Team Captain Mike Eruzione with Ann Arbor resident and auto-industry reporter for The New York Times Neal Boudette at a book signing for Eruzione's book "The Making of  a Miracle". 

Eruzione said: "My friends always like to joke with me [about his game-winning goal in the "Miracle on Ice" game], 'Three more inches to the left, you'd've been painting bridges.'"

From 1991 through 2012,…

From 1991 through 2012, Michigan played in the NCAA Men’s Hockey Tournament. Since 2012, Michigan has played in the NCAA Men’s Hockey Tournament only four times because COVID prevented the Wolverines from playing in the 2021 tournament.

It looks like Michigan might have to sweep Notre Dame and Minnesota to end the regular season and win its opening series in the Big Ten tournament to feel safe inside the Pairwise bubble.

DraftTek.com as of February…

DraftTek.com as of February 15, 2024 has 13 Michigan players drafted

J. J. McCarthy - 2nd round to Vikings (42)
Kris Jenkins - 2nd round to Steelers (51)
Blake Corum - 3rd round to Chargers (69)
Roman Wilson - 3rd round to Jets (72)
Mike Sainristil - 3rd round to Rams (83)
Zak Zinter - 3rd round to Bucs (89)
Drake Nugent - 4th round to Seahawks (119)
Junior Colson - 4th round to Texans (124)
Ladarius Henderson - 5th round to Broncos (146)
*Joe Milton III - 6th round to Rams (154)
Jaylen Harrell - 5th round to Bills (159)
*Erick All - 5th round to Chiefs (172)
Trevor Keegan - 7th round to 49ers (214)
Mike Barrett - 6th round to Titans (219)
*Eyabi Okie-Anoma - 6th round to Texans (220)
Braiden McGregor - 7th round to Chargers (256) 


UDFA - Cornelius Johnson (30th rated WR), A. J. Barner (13th rated TE), Karsen Barnhart (20th rated OG), Trente Jones (37th rated OG), Josh Wallace (32nd ranked CB), Cam Goode, Quentin Johnson, James Turner, William Wagner

My high school team ran the…

My high school team ran the single wing offense in the early 1960s. Players were wearing leather helmets in those days and the British Invasion was just beginning to change rock 'n' roll. 

DraftTek.com as of February…

DraftTek.com as of February 8, 2024 has 12 Michigan players drafted

J. J. McCarthy - 2nd round to Giants (39)
Kris Jenkins - 2nd round to Houston (59)
Blake Corum - 3rd round to Chargers (69)
Roman Wilson - 3rd round to Bears (75)
Mike Sainristil - 3rd round to Rams (83)
Zak Zinter - 3rd round to Ravens (93)
Drake Nugent - 4th round to Arizona (105)
Junior Colson - 4th round to Houston (128)
*Erick All - 5th round to Washington (138)
Jaylen Harrell - 5th round to Carolina (141)
Ladarius Henderson - 5th round to Arizona (161)
*Joe Milton III - 6th round to Chargers (183)
*Eyabi Okie-Anoma - 6th round to Houston (202)

Mike Barrett - 6th round to Jacksonville (211)
Trevor Keegan - 7th round to Tampa Bay (244)

UDFA - Braiden McGregor (24th rated DE), Cornelius Johnson (30th rated WR), A. J. Barner (13th rated TE), Karsen Barnhart (20th rated OG), Trente Jones (37th rated OG), Josh Wallace (32nd ranked CB), Cam Goode, Quentin Johnson, James Turner, William Wagner

* Players with Michigan connections

(No subject)

Michigan's now 15th in the…

Michigan's now 15th in the Pairwise. The Atlantic Hockey and CCHA champs will get the 15th and 16th places in the tournament field.

Anything worse than sweeping two at Penn State (23rd in Pairwise) and two at home against Notre Dame (21st in the Pairwise) and splitting the two at Minnesota (8th in the Pairwise) means that Michigan probably would have to win the Big Ten tournament to be in the NCAA tournament.

My only connection to the…

My only connection to the University of Michigan is as the parent of a “Double Wolverine” (undergrad and MBA). At my child’s freshman orientation when Michigan required a parent to attend, I was taught the proper way to sing “The Victors”.  As a long-time college sports fan, I knew the tune, but not the words. I also was introduced to some of his new classmates including one who’d become Michigan’s hockey coach. 

Although I can’t recall when I first became aware of Michigan Wolverines sports, I remember seeing Bob Timberlake lead Michigan to a win in the Rose Bowl in January 1965 and watching Cazzie Russell and Bill Buntin playing for Michigan in the Final Four in 1964 and 1965.  As a fan of the New York Giants and Knicks, Timberlake and Russell became my earliest connections to Michigan Wolverines sports.

Just Naming Guys

Nathan…

Just Naming Guys

Nathan Brink
Andre Criswell
Eugene Germany
Jareth Glanda
Jason Olesnavage

Special Mention:

Chris McLaurin - helped create the American Football League of China; degrees from Michigan and the London School of Economic and now at Harvard Law

MC5's cover of Chuck Berry's…

MC5's cover of Chuck Berry's "Back in the USA" (produced by Jon Landau who once managed MC5 and Bruce Springsteen as well James Cameron's films, Titanic and the two Avatar films) was among songs in my college radio show's regular rotation back in 1970-71.

Not likely, BUT, keep in…

Not likely, BUT, keep in mind that, unless there are trades made that cause the Chargers to lose the last pick in the 2024 draft, there's a possibility that a Michigan player will become this year's Mr. Irrelevant.

Agree. To be fair to Warde…

Agree. To be fair to Warde Manuel, before last year and this year. Michigan consistently finished in the Top Ten in the final Directors’ Cup standings.

Final Directors’ Cup Standings for Michigan: 2023 (11th); 2022 (3rd); 2021 (3rd); 2020 (Canceled due to pandemic); 2019 (2nd); 2018 (6th); 2017 (4th)

Future Big Ten members UCLA and USC also are among the schools that often have been finishing near or among the top ten schools in the final Directors’ Cup standings during the period since Warde Manuel became Michigan’s Director of Athletics.

Final Directors’ Cup Standings for UCLA and USC: 2023 (UCLA - 14th; USC - 10th); 2022 (UCLA - 15th; USC - 12th); 2021 (UCLA - 13th; USC - 6th); 2020 (Canceled due to pandemic); 2019 (UCLA - 6th; USC - 5th); 2018 (UCLA - 2nd; USC - 4th); 2017 (UCLA - 9th; USC - 3rd)

Exactly! This would be a…

Exactly! This would be a good time to examine Warde Manuel's performance as Michigan's Athletic Director since he was hired in January 2016.

Michigan's national championship in football is great, but it's obscuring what, for the most part, has been a down year for Michigan athletics.

Men’s Soccer (5-6-7; 2-1-5 and tied for 5th in Big Ten)
Women’s Soccer (7-7-4; 3-5-2 and tied for 9th in Big Ten)
Men’s Cross Country - 2nd in Big Ten championships
Women’s Cross Country - 3rd in Big Ten championships
Field Hockey (9-8; 3-5 and 7th in Big Ten)
Men’s Basketball (7-14; 2-8 and 14th in Big Ten)
Women’s Basketball (14-7; 5-4 and tied for 6th in Big Ten)
Volleyball (7-22; 5-15 and 12th in Big Ten)
Men’s Hockey (12-9-3; 5-7-2 and 5th in the seven-team Big Ten)
Wrestling (5-3; 3-2 and tied for 5th in Big Ten)

Michigan's Senior Bowl…

Michigan's Senior Bowl players are on the National Team roster with a wide receiver from Rice, Luke McCaffrey whose older brother Dylan once played for Michigan. Former Michigan quarterback Tennessee's  Joe Milton III is on the American Team roster.

Somewhat OT:

Cornelius Johnson, Karsen Barnhart, Trente Jones and Josh Wallace are on the East Roster for the East-West Shrine Bowl to be played this Thursday night and shown on the NFL Network at 8:00 PM in the Eastern time zone.

 

I must've missed the rule…

I must've missed the rule that says that you're only allowed to root for one team in Major League Baseball, even if those teams have been playing in different leagues for your entire life.

Because I grew up in the metropolitan NYC area and my father was a Giants fan, it was easy for me to become a Giants fan at a young age in the 1950s. I was at the Polo Grounds during the last weekend when the Giants played there before they left for San Francisco.

Long before I spent my college and law school years living within close proximity to Fenway Park, I'd been a Red Sox fan for many years. I didn't hate the Yankees and Dodgers even though most of my friends and relatives rooted for those teams.

There was something to having seen Willie Mays and Ted Williams play when I was very young that made me give my "whole heart" to BOTH of those teams. Maybe, based solely on the west coast/east coast divisions, my left atrium and ventricle root for the Giants and the right atrium and ventricle root for the Red Sox.

I was among those hoping…

I was among those hoping that either the Harbaugh family or the Michigan family might get to enjoy an NCAA football championship and an NFL championship in the same season. For the first half of the NFC championship game, I thought that Michigan might have the chance to celebrate those two wins. Sorry that it wasn’t meant to be. 

From my perspective*, I understand why Lions fans will be suffering. I hope that those of you who root for them will get to experience that elusive Super Bowl victory during their lifetimes.
____________________
* During the seventh game of the 1986 World Series, I was at Shea Stadium in New York, hoping to see the team I’d rooted for since the late 1950s finally break “The Curse of the Bambino”. Leaving the stadium that night, I never thought I’d live to see the Red Sox win the World Series again. But then 2004, 2007, 2013 and 2018 happened and the Red Sox had won four World Series championships.

As a long-suffering New York/San Francisco Giants fan, I also thought that I’d never see another Giants’ World Series championship during my lifetime. Then the Giants won the World Series in 2010, 2012 and 2014.

Add kicker James Turner and…

Add kicker James Turner and long snapper William Wagner to those who won’t be playing for Michigan in Columbus next season AND . . . the possibility that Michigan will have a different head coach, defensive coordinator and special teams coach in 2024, then it’s reasonable to think it will be very hard for Michigan to beat Ohio State next season with a completely new, less experienced and possibly less talented offense (except for the only returning starter, Colston Loveland and running back Donovan Edwards).

For years, I've been…

For years, I've been checking the mock drafts listed by DraftTek.com because they often will list all seven rounds. These were some of their Michigan (and former Michigan) selections as of January 18, 2024:

J. J. McCarthy - 1st round to Atlanta (8)
Kris Jenkins - 2nd round to Pittsburgh (52)
Blake Corum - 3rd round to Chargers (69)
Zak Zinter - 3rd round to Miami (85)
Mike Sainristill - 3rd round to Detroit (94)
Junior Colson - 4th round to Minnesota (109)
Roman Wilson - 4th round to Jets (112)
Drake Nugent - 4th round to Chicago (123)
* Joe Milton III - 5th round to Minnesota (159)
Ladarius Henderson - 5th round to Minnesota (164)
Jaylen Harrell - 5th round to Buffalo (165)
* Erick All - 5th round to Philadelphia (170)
Mike Barrett - 5th round to San Francisco (176)
Braiden McGregor - 7th round to Baltimore (229)

UDFA - Cornelius Johnson (32nd rated WR), A, J. Barner (13th rated TE), Trevor Keegan (22nd rated G), Karsen Barnhart (30th rated OT), Trente Jones (37th rated OT), Josh Wallace (36th rated CB), Cam Goode, James Turner, William Wagner

* Former Michigan players

NOTE: There's an NFL Mock Draft Database that lists and has links to numerous NFL Mock Drafts.

I read this thread title and…

I read this thread title and thought that, in a last-ditch effort to improve their team’s record, Detroit’s NBA basketball players will have their their largest solid body organs removed and sent to Hogwarts for rejuvenation.

Not-Fun Facts: Five of…

Not-Fun Facts: Five of Michigan's eight losses have been by five points or fewer. They're still the only Big Ten Men's Basketball team with a losing record, but they play 7-7 Penn State in Philadelphia on Sunday, so there's a chance that the Nittany Lions also could be under .500 after Sunday's game. (And yes, I'm saying that there's a chance.)

Does the point spread take…

Does the point spread take into account that Michael Penix, Jr. is undefeated against Michigan? His only game played against Michigan was a 38-21 win for the Indiana Hoosiers in Bloomington, Indiana on November 7, 2020. LINK

That's what she said.

That's what she said.

If Michigan had lost the…

If Michigan had lost the game due to:

(1) Semaj Morgan's muffed punt that led to Alabama's first touchdown,

(2) William Wagner's bad snap and Tommy Doman's hold on the extra point after Michigan's first touchdown that gave Alabama the chance to avoid the loss in regulation after Michigan's third touchdown,

(3) James Turner's missed 49-yard field goal that gave Alabama the ball with good field position and led to Will Reichard's 52-yard field goal that put Alabama up 20-13 with 4:52 to play and

(4) Jake Thaw's muffed punt late in the fourth quarter that might've led to a safety or Alabama touchdown,

we might've been focusing on Michigan's special teams having had a BLUNDERFUL performance that caused another defeat in the playoffs.

But Michigan WON! Hail to the Victors Valiant! GO BLUE!

If you watch the final play…

If you watch the final play in stop action, you'll see that one of the keys to the play was Josaiah Stewart taking a running start at offensive tackle JC Latham.

Stewart hits Latham so hard that Latham is lifted off the ground and as he's falling back, Jalen Milroe's right knee hits the back of Latham's left leg. As Milroe falls into the waiting arms of Derrick Moore, Stewart also falls on Milroe. Milroe is stopped short of the goal line and Latham is seen clutching his left leg.

JALEN MILROE IS STOPPED ON 4TH DOWN😱

THE WOLVERINES ARE HEADED TO THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP 🏆 #CFBPlayoff pic.twitter.com/X2x3tPzwqr

— ESPN (@espn) January 2, 2024

Bad snap on the final play doomed the timing of the run. It was there if Milroe had a good snap and could hit the run where it was intended. Would have been tough but there’s a path with the widest guy going so far upfield. pic.twitter.com/khi61nHDV1

— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) January 2, 2024
Alabama's sophomore guard…

Alabama's sophomore guard Tyler Booker played with J. J. McCarthy and Greg Crippen on the IMG Academy football team in 2020. Booker was a junior when McCarthy and Crippen were seniors. LINK Booker was a first team All-SEC offensive lineman this season. 

And it was an impressive…

And it was an impressive video from Paul Nelson in August 2009 that might have to be updated before the championship game next Monday.

Jenny Lewis, lead singer for Rilo Kiley when they released "Better Son/Daughter" on their 2002 album "The Execution of All Things", is still performing.

Unfortunately, there should be quite a few low-light clips from the Rich Rodriguez and Brady Hoke years to be shown in black and white before the video switches to color highlights from these past 15 seasons.

No-Fun Facts: Michigan at 6…

No-Fun Facts: Michigan at 6-7 now is the only Big Ten Men's Basketball team with a losing record this season. McNeese State at 11-2 now is the only Southland Conference team with a winning record this season.

Even with a healthy All…

Even with a healthy All-American guard Zak Zinter and with J. J. McCarthy and Will Johnson having had sufficient time to recover from their injuries, I would be joining the pessimism/BPONE chorus . . . with one caveat.

I never thought that Michigan, in Lloyd Carr's final game, had much of a chance to beat Urban Meyer's/Tim Tebow's Florida team in the 2008 Capitol One Bowl, but then THIS happened. 

Now, 16 years to the date of when Michigan upset what appeared to be a more-talented Florida team in a bowl game, I hold out just a slight bit of hope that Michigan can upset a more-talented Alabama team.

The Story of Festivus

The Story of Festivus

SOMEWHAT OFF TOPIC

RE: CFB…

SOMEWHAT OFF TOPIC

RE: CFB PLAYOFF SELECTION (per comment posted at The Athletic)

In its four most recent games to get to 13-0, Big Ten champion Michigan played and beat the best four Big Ten teams other than Michigan – 10-2 Penn State (24-15), 7-5 Maryland (31-24), 11-1 Ohio State (30-24) and 10-3 Iowa (26-0).

In its four most recent games to get to 13-0, Pac-12 champion Washington beat 8-4 Utah (35-28), 8-4 Oregon State (22-20), 5-7 Washington State (24-21) and 11-2 Oregon (34-31).

In its four most recent games to get to 13-0, ACC champion Florida State beat 3-9 Pittsburgh (24-7), 3-8 FCS North Alabama (58-13), 5-7 Florida (24-15) and 10-3 Louisville (16-6).

In its four most recent games to get to 12-1, Big XII champion Texas beat 5-7 TCU (29-26), 7-5 Iowa State (26-16), 6-6 Texas Tech (57-7) and 9-4 Oklahoma State (49-21). Early in the season, Texas beat 12-1 SEC championship game winner Alabama on the road (34-24).

In its four most recent games to get to 12-1, SEC championship game winner Alabama beat 7-5 Kentucky (49-21), 8-4 FCS Tennessee-Chattanooga (66-10), 6-6 Auburn (27-24) and 12-1 Georgia (34-24).

In its four most recent games to get to 12-1, SEC regular-season champion Georgia beat 10-2 Mississippi (52-17), 8-4 Tennessee (38-10) and 6-6 Georgia Tech (31-23), but lost to 12-1 Alabama (34-24).

When I heard “Mr. Brightside…

When I heard “Mr. Brightside” sung by Cornell’s fans at a hockey game in Madison Square Garden and the comment from the BU fan sitting near me about having a Michigan football game break out at Madison Square Garden last Saturday, I began to wonder whether Michigan ever had tried using a song by Ann Arbor native Bob Seger to pump up the crowd.

Somewhat OT: A friend who…

Somewhat OT: A friend who knows that I follow college hockey invited me to accompany him and his sons to the Cornell-Boston University game at Madison Square Garden last Saturday. During one of the breaks, they did a Karaoke Cam and played "Mr. Brightside". A BU fan sitting behind us said, “Hey, we go to a college hockey game and a Michigan football game breaks out!”

Maybe Cornell has decided to bring "Mr. Brightside" to the hockey rink.

WTF: Well, That's…

WTF: Well, That's Flabbergasting.

OT: How's LLOYD BRADY doing…

OT: How's LLOYD BRADY doing these days?