Recent Comments

The "natural order" is us beating them 100 times in 100 games, at this point nothing will restore that. Beatig them at this point proves nothing.

I'll be there for sure, and I encourage everyone to do the same! The level of play might not be amazing, but the fan experience is top notch. If you like to get rowdy, there isn't a better fan section in the whole state, and that's coming from someone who's been to Michigan football and basketball games deep in the student section. We cheer for a full 90 minutes!

Composite #126 WR in his class, other offers from Temple and Old Dominion... Can't say Sparty is likely losing a major contributer here. Funny story though.

Didn't we cancel '17 & '18 before they canceled '15 & '16? And we are the ones who just added a new high profile opponent to the years where we were supposed to come off hiatus, essentially closing that door. Not saying ND doesn't hold some of the blame here, but it doesn't seem to me that they are "chickening out."

It really would be a long strange trip for Big Will if he ended up re-committing this year, after he graduated.

This is the video they put together for us for winning last year. So funny I still have it bookmarked http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGfCGz26L6w&feature=player_embedded

For the basketball/hockey version, you could have one sport on one cover (like it was a basketball only preview), and one sport on the other cover, flipped vertically so that it still reads from the beginning as its own sport preview mag. ESPN Mag has done this for a few joint themed issues, iirc. Assuming you dont have any combined basketball/hockey articles, it could be cool, as both sports would start from the beginning of their respective side.

That would make a total of 16 commits in the ESPN 150, and 2 of the best 4 players in the country. Yes, please. 

Even if (slash when) we don't actually get a class this good, I just want to say how happy I am that Hoke has proven his ability to maintain the recruiting momentum he established in year one. It's not that hard to recruit going into year one at a major program if there's enough positive energy around the team, but to be able to not only keep that up but if anything improve upon the previous year's recruiting class each year has been extremely impressive. In 2 or 3 years we're really going to be seeing the fruits of this, and it's going to come in national championships. 

Those close ups on the lines before the snap are part of what makes football the best sport on earth. Such an intense physical and mental battle on every play, the likes of which I'm not sure you'll see in any other sport. I love soccer (in fact I'm watching it right now), but seeing that was truly refreshing. Can't wait for football season. 

Has anyone else not gotten their rewards yet? I ordered a signed note from Tae but don't think I've gotten it yet

Iirc didn't Urban Meyer do this too? I know for a fact plenty of teams do similar things, I don't think Minessota"s "small" fanbase (which I think you are underestimating) has as much to do with it as Kill and other coaches being more open with their practice than Hoke.

So... the Champion's League? Having an international league competition would be nice for the quality of play, but it would destroy everything that makes domestic competitions unique. I think the current balance between tiered leagues in every country and international cup competitions is perfect.

After the game me and a friend were completely depressed and talked a bit about how it's bizarre people do this sort of thing after a loss. I mean, we had no energy to even get out of our chairs, much less run outside and burn things. I could see things getting out of hand after a crazy win, but a loss? It took me a half hour to get out of my seat.

WTF happened to that poor man's scalp. 

The man knows how to get publicity. Good as Griner is, there's no way she would have a chance at success in the NBA, and any good scout would know that. No way she gets drafted, though I could see a well publicised tryout after the draft.

100% yes. I've always wondered why the school didn't do more of this.

Not to jinx anything, but they say that the tournament is all about who gets hot at the right time... This is a different team from the one that sputtered at the end of B1G play. We're hot.

A floor in south quad also flooded, though this was a more minor issue (sprinklers went off). Fun story behind it (and this is 100% confirmed, not a rumor), it was caused by a kid who got high and was shooting nerf darts around his room. He aimed for the sprinkler head, took a shot, and hit it dead on in such that it not only set it off but flooded all of 3rd Taylor. The whole floor had to be temporarily evacuated, and slept in other buildings for the next couple of days.

Hoke says pretty much the same stuff. As much as you'd like to spin it, there's just not that much that can be said about kids who leave the program.

When I started watching their game a few days ago I hadn't even heard of FGCU, and I thought to myself that a team with that name, that's only been D1 for 2 years, better just go out and act like globetrotters every game. And they do. And it's beautiful.

You've got to be fucking kidding me

Well in that case our name isn't Michigan

But what will Illinois do without their biggest rival? Won't someone think of those poor Illini children?

75-62 M wins it

I upvoted because of the professional and non-inflammatory way OP posted the information, not to celebrate the act itself.

Why does EA care if "everybody wins"? I forsee EA picking the cover athlete they want (which they would have done anyway) and then moving on. Why would it have to be any other way?

FFS people, youre making it sound like they're rigging an electoral vote. It's a internet poll that may or may not decide the cover of a video game for one year. Get a grip.

Wrt your second paragraph:

The same argument could be made for any workplace, though. Think about a restaurant, where everybody needs to be able to work well together to provide the best service. Or even an office complex, where if someone is disruptive and people dont get along as well productivity drops. If I run an Office Max and some of my workers are homophobic, is that a good enough reason to discriminate against hiring a gay worker? Because that argument could apply to any workplace with more than 1 worker. Fact is, the law is the law for a reason.

68-64 Meeeeeeechigan wins it

Oh god, I just reread that. I'm supposed to be writing an essay now, too. 

What a fucking aweful photoshop job... literally all you have to do is copy the real "E" and move it over a couple of spots. /facepalm

I made one comment, it only turned into what you see now because people responded to it. And I'm 99% that's not true... can someone else confirm/deny? I use the new tab and figured most people did, and I'm almost certain that comments have nothing to do with the order of posts.

Only if you're using the recent tab, which most people don't. And people complain about threads all the time, I don't care about what this guy on twitter said but I do care about the quality of posts on the board so I voiced my opinion.

This post is stupid on so many levels. I don't give a shit what some scrub Fort Wayne sports talk radio host says about Derrick Nix. Even on top of that, it's a stupid comment that he made.

You do remember that this team has literally not won a B1G game all year, right?

82-65 M

Wait what?

Dakish sounds like a douche.

Holy shit what a kick. Aint even mad

This isn't new, but what is new (atleast from what I have noticed) is the announcement system using it. The PA guy called them "Ohio" and the B1G standings display did also. It'd be neat if the whole university did it.

I understand, and agree completely. As a big soccer fan I'd love to hear some real commentators, and Fox could make that happen easily. However, I still understand the move.  Big time soccer fans are going to watch regardless, even with a less informed american commentator. Less interested viewers may be turned off by commentators with thick british accents talking in terms they don't understand, and for the World Cup that's going to be like 90% of the american audience. I'd love a real commentator, but if it's going to be an uninformed american I'd love for that uninformed american to be Gus Johnson.

Who gives a shit, it's basketball

79-76 M

He's done a ton of good for his community, from charity work to working with police departments in the area. Definitely a changed man from the time of the incident. If he was found guilty it would be another story obviously, but as is he's a first ballot HOFer without a doubt.

72-66 Mich

Hah, the idea from that one actually came from r/cfb, I was there when it started. LSUFreek did it better of course, this is a classic.

I think it's a testament to how good this team is that we can shoot poorly, get relatively outplayed, and still be only down 2 or 3. All it takes is one little streak where we shoot well (which this team is more than capable of) to take control of this game.

TiVo records shows like Tebow throws footballs? Not sure you want that in an advertisement, TiVo.

On that pick he came off his first read, which was on the right side of the field.......

The passing game for both teams and all QBs has been aweful, this should surprise nobody  given the nature of the game. I don't think Shane has made any awful throws tbh.

Check this 

Lets say the holder for the kick just picks up the ball, walks back to his own endzone, and takes a knee. That would be a safety, no?

Why would that be? I mean it'd be ridiculous but what if the kicker picked up the ball and took it all the way back into his own endzone?

I enjoy sports.

Meh, they were always going to have somebody coach the position, and a guy whose last stop was as a special teams coach for a failing team doesn't scare me from a recruiting perspective, NFL or no. Green doesn't fit with Auburn's new system and this hire doesn't change that either.

Can't say it's going to be a massive loss for them production wise but every bit helps. I get the feeling we're going to have to run it well, early, and often when we play them in EL next year so any less talent on the DL will help us there. The biggest benefit here for me though, is that we get to stop hearing about how much of a "beast" he is.

Meant to say many, not any. 

Well that's one of the more bizarre comment sequences I've seen on mgoblog. Triple posts sure, but two of them intertwined? Weird.

Really tough to narrow down. The end of UTL sticks out the most to me because I was there, but that's more an awesome Michigan memory than an awesome Denard memory. There were so many times live when I watched him pull of a big run and I just smiled and laughed at how talented he was. It's funny actually, if we were up big against a bad opponent and one of our RBs pulled off a big run I would cheer like normal, but if Denard pulled off one of his ridiculous runs I wouldn't even cheer, just laugh. He was a truly special player.

Were people this upset when we first went to shiny helmets, too? Come on people, complaining about the jerseys I get (and 100% agree with), but the finish on the helmet doesn't really matter, and is bound to change over time. 

Our OL had a great day run blocking today in traditional under center looks against a great run defense. If that's a sign of actual progress and not a fluke, they should be primed for a good year next year, both with the benefit of offseason coaching and personell actually fit for drive blocking for once.

Oh the ironing

Uhh that's straight up not true... 3 punts for 144 yards, average of 48.

Dissapointing game obviously, but I was really impressed with what I saw out of the offense. We were able to routinely open up holes for our RBs from under center against a great run defense. We haven't really been able to do that to this point, even against terrible run defenses. Add a guy like Derrick Green to that equation and that's a damn good rushing attack. Borges also had a pretty good game, though Gardner let him down a bit. At the end of the day, if we had either of our starting CBs available we probably win. All you can really do is look forward to next year.

I'm picturing your avatar as the one who made this post, and it makes sense.

Mods, please don't delete. This is a national treasure.

The decision to not redshirt LeVert looks better and better everyday. He'd be good enough to start on most Michigan teams.

Man, I'm happy Trey decided to stick around for one more year, but with the skills he's exhibiting tonight I don't think he has much to gain with another year in college. Apart from maybe some height concerns, he looks like an NBA pg right now. I thought he might have been a bit overrated early in the year along with the rest of the team, but he's probably the best pg in college basketball at this point.

These teams look the same and it's upsetting for me and my 20 pixel stream.

I'm glad we're continuing the tradition of pretending the OSU game never happened unless it was a win. But seriously, looking forward to all the SC content to come, and merry christmas to all!

Metallica is rock, and the White Stripes are also rock. Still very different music. Burial & Nero/Skrillex/etc make different kind of dubstep.

Wow, pretty damn impressive to be a D1 coordinator at that age, even if it is only co-coordinator. Here's hoping he becomes QB coach here in a few years, or even OC.

Those Florida jerseys look sweet, and are exactly what alternate jerseys should be about. They embrace a theme (in this case gator scales) and apply it to the jersey (in this case new patterns on the numbers and helmet). Add in some cool but subtle work on the shoulders and that's a pretty cool jersey. 

This is in pretty stark contrast to our plan of "move large blocks of color various places and hope it looks good."

NO WAY!!!! I guess that does it then, we should just recruit 3 stars.

My gut says it's probably weed. But there's really no sense in speculating as to the exact thing that got him into trouble. The important thing here is to recognize that he's handling it in a mature way, and that he fully understands coach Hoke's decision (which reflects very well on both of them in my opinion). 

I want playmakers on offense as much as the next guy, but with a great QB (check) and a stable of huge, reliable WRs (check) I doubt our passing game will ever really be a weakness. Green is a higher priority than Treadwell at this point imo.

Great play. I guess I don't really care who wins, Indiana winning is good for the B1G but it would be sweet to see us ranked #1 at some point. Just rooting for a good finish, which this is.

75-61, M

Arkansas fans are big on FOIs, it seems.

Eh, I don't really care. Not that highly rated on other sites, they've always recruited well, and after 2 years they're not really going to be a part of our lives anyway (sad face). Whatever

I don't really like it, but it would be nice to run a (very difficult) play for possession of the ball as opposed to the 99% chance based shit show that is the onside kick.

My first thought would be Paul Chryst coming back to be the HC after his year at Pitt

Surprised nobody has posted this yet, it makes me laugh in a sad sort of way.

Al Borges likes to work out his feelings in coordinated armored interpretive dance. This second down rollout play-action pass is him telling you that more than anything, Al Borges lives so that he can can die without regrets. (Translation: this will be an utter mess, but an entertaining one.)

85-62 good guys

Probably has a lot to do with the situations he was used in... but an impressive statistic regardless. I'm exited to see what he can do as a full time starter.

Yes, we played 3 great teams (ignoring the Nebraska game because obviously). Yes, chances are we would lose each individual game. But this is Michigan damnit, and if we play 3 great teams I expect to beat at least one of them.

Remember when there was that mini offseason drama about Borges taking a HC job somewhere? Just think of how that could have turned out for us. Yes, we were probably a bit more positive about him at the time, but that would have given us a chance to break the bank on a great OC without much drama.

Their offense stalling was a result of well timed botched snaps and a great game by Mattison & co (which, lets be honest, is massively better than OSU's equivalent). What I saw out of OSU's OC was a cohesive gameplan that threatened to score a lot more than it did due to a great opposing defense.

What I saw out of our offense was an incohesive mess that really should have only scored 7 points or so. OSU put together many coherent drives. Our offense scored
A) on a big passing play that was only a TD due to OSU's safety taking a terrible angle
B) a big Denard run when we were trying to run out the clock where 2 OSU tackles nullified each other due to some funny physics, and
C) a drive that started in OSU territory after a muffed punt, and still needed OSU penalties to stay alive

If anything our offense looked better than it actually was, and theirs looked worse. 

Their OC was able to identify what worked and didn't, and adjust accordingly. How on earth can a professional offensive coordinator lack this skill? How long have we waited for Borges to develop this skill? Is it really too much to ask?

Compare this with OSU's coaching situation a year ago. They got a little known up and coming offensive coordinator from Iowa State, and look where they are now. Consistent improvement on offense, not to mention a beautifully called game against us. They started the game with their base option offense, adjusted to a more inside run heavy game when they saw that it was working, and mixed up enough constraint plays to keep it going. Is that too much to ask for? This is Michigan, we can pluck up pretty much any offensive coordinator and make him our own, especially with Dave Brandon's new big hire policy. I'm sure there are tons of good OCs out there...

Borges can draw up some nice plays, but our offense is completely incohesive. Against bad defenses it doesn't matter; Borges can just pick a random play and it will work because we have talent. Against competent defenses our offense completely shuts down. Coincedence? Of course not, this is what happens when you have an incohesive offense and a bad OC.

I think by now it's pretty easy to see where his strengths and weaknesses lie. He draws up great plays - whether it's getting Denard in a position to break a big one from a loaded backfield, or getting multiple WRs open deep. But he just has absolutely no clue how to call an actual game. Our offense is incapable of operating as a cohesive unit. Borges seems equally incapable of making adjustments, or realizing when something just simply wont work. This isn't an "unpredictable" offense, it's an incohesive one. Borges shows some great plays every once in a while, and when our opponent is simply overmatched he can just pick one at random and have it work, but when we go up against defenses that have a plan our weaknesses are obvious. 

Lol @ your sig, how ironic. What a piece of shit comment.

Everyone saying they would "rather play OSU at full strength" needs to get a grip. We're already missing our best CB, our best RB, and our best QB can't throw a football. I would welcome any injury on their side to even things up a bit.

Who gives a fuck about a division title?

This game is going to end with the ball in Nebraska territory and the clock just running out.

Lol dat wind

This is the beginning of the end

35-31 good guys

I completely agree with OP. Yes, their coach is an asshole, but it's not like we haven't had asshole coaches. Our programs are almost entirely the same: we value tradition, academics, and class, and both teams fans like to think that we "do it the right way." I have a ton of respect for ND, and to me that's what makes our rivalry unique from our other more hateful ones.

I would say though, from the outside looking in, there's probably a distinct age split in people who hate or respect ND right now. I'm only 18, and pretty much all of my ND memories are of kicking their asses. They have never been a real threat my entire football life, so there's really no reason for me to hate them. Just like I hate MSU, but some of the older fans might see them as more of a nuisance than anything else. The older fans (and by older I mean 30+ or around there, not actually old) grew up with ND being a very real threat to Michigan football, and they saw Michigan lose to ND plenty, often in huge games. This is what allows hate to develop in a rivalrly, and for the younger fans it's just not there. 

Agreed. Devin's statline: 18/23 for 314 yards, 37 yards on rushes, and 6 (!) total TDs. Denard's total YPA this year is 7.9, Devin's in this game was 13.7. You think Borges's offense works better with Devin? I sure do. The rushing game is a problem obviously, but even if we just passed the entire time I think we'd have done fine.