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He's relatively young.

I believe that he's only 44 or 45.  He was an assistant at LeMoyne and took over their program at a young age after his predecessor passed away. 

They should consider

Dan Sheehan from Division II LeMoyne College (one of John Beilein's coaching stops) . . .

"Dan Sheehan, the only coach at Le Moyne College to lead his team to a national championship, is in his 20th season as the men’s lacrosse head coach. One of the nation’s most successful lacrosse coaches, he has posted a 283-49 (.852) overall mark through the 2017 season, including five National Championship game victories. Since the turn of the century, Sheehan’s Dolphins are 271-32 (.894). His 283 career victories are the 23rd-most in the history of NCAA lacrosse."

Michigan would surely be an upgrade in terms of salary.  LeMoyne is located in Syracuse, New York and the Central New York area has a good talent pool.

 

 

I'm glad that Coach Harbaugh

offered his unvarnished opinion.  It's exactly how I feel.  I too made the connection to Bo's "bitter" remarks.  It's been a long time since I posted anything, but I'm having a hard time --relatively speaking--shaking off the game.   

RE: Trawling Opponents' Message Boards

In that vein, I watched Pat Fitzgerald's post-game presser and got the distinct impression that he thinks Michigan is the real deal.

iTunes shuffle . . .

iTunes shuffle has spoiled me, but the follwing are albums I can listen to without hitting skip:

AC/DC-Highway To Hell, Back In Black

Bon Jovi-New Jersey

Led Zeppelin-IV, Houses Of The Holy, Physical Graffiti

Miles Davis-Kind Of Blue

Ozzy Osbourne-Diary Of A Madman

Peter Gabriel-So

Pink Floyd-Wish You Were Here

Steely Dan-Aja

Van Halen-I, II, 1984

Not a fan.

That is all.

The expansion of the conferences

and the accompanying expansion of in conference play will eventually force Notre Dame's hand.  The Big 10 is moving to a 9 game conference schedule.  The ACC is now at 14 members and moving toward 16, which almost demands expansion of its conference schedule. Assuming the Pac 12 does likewise, which seems a safe bet given the talk of a Pac-16, a good swath of Notre Dame's opponents will not have room for a marquee (cough) non-conference opponent such as Notre Dame.  For example, consider Notre Dame's 2011 schedule if you were to eliminate its Big 10, ACC and Pac 12-16 opponents:

vs. South Florida

at Michigan

vs. Michigan State

at Pittsburgh

at Purdue

vs. Air Force

vs. USC

vs. Navy

at Wake Forest

vs. Maryland

vs. Boston College

at Stanford

Not the kind of schedule that fans/viewers like, not the kind of schedule for which NBC shells out big money.  They should join the Big 10 and the Big 10 should welcome them.   I appreciate that the Big 10 has been able to preserve a contiguous footprint--neither the ACC, PAC 12 can say that--but I would nevertheless love to see Texas in the Big 10. 

 

Agreed.

The 2005 season included victories over Penn State ("New Math" classic), Michigan State and Iowa. Moreover, while it's never enjoyable to lose to OSU, at the least the game was competitive.  None of that can be said about the 2010 season.

I don't think Spielman's commentary was over-the-top.

The following is, regrettably, entirely accurate:   

"Everybody is saying, 'Well, they're all young, they're all coming back.' Well, yeah, they're all coming back. It's on the worst defense in the NCAA they're all coming back. Is that so exciting for you? It's bad. (Nose tackle Mike) Martin is the only guy that could start at Ohio State -- the only guy that could start. He would roll in there. He's a good player. But other than that, these guys would be excellent special teams guys." 

Can't be certain

that it would be the shortest and surest path back.   I'm just running out of patience.  Every team has injuries.  The recruiting, attrition and poor play are on the coaching staff.  Just looking at the other program records cited above, I'm of a mind that if something good were going to happen, or something other than a middling Big 10 team were going to happen, it  would have happened by now, and it hasn't.  

For yet another example of how the right person at the helm can make a difference, look at Greg Robinson's last gig: Syracuse.  Syracuse was absolutely terrible under Robinson and did not so much as sniff a bowl let alone a winning record.  Robinson's replacement, Doug Marrone, suffered a huge amount of attrition and inherited some inferior Big East talent.  Yet in year two of his tenure the Orange are 7-4 and bowl elligible.   

You are absolutely correct . . .

Here are the records of coaches in their first three years at historically dominant Division I programs

 

Bob Stoops at Oklahoma coming off of a 5-6 season under John Blake

1999: 7-5 

2000: 13-0 (National Champions) 

2001: 11-2

 

Nick Saban at Alabama coming off of a 6-7 season under Mike Shula

2007: 7-6

2008: 12-2

2009: 14-0 (National Champions)

 

Pete Carrol at USC coming off of a 5-7 season under Paul Hackett

2001: 6-6

2002: 11-2

2003: 12-1 (National Champions)

 

Urban Meyer at Florida coming off of an 7-5 season under Ron Zook

2005: 9-3

2006: 13-1 (National Champions)

2007: 9-4

 

Mack Brown at Texas coming off of a 4-7 season under John Mackovic

1998: 9-3

1999: 9-5

2000: 9-3

 

Jim Tresell at OSU coming off of an 8-4 2000 season under John Cooper

2001: 7-5  

2002: 14-0 (National Champions)  

2003: 11-2

 

Bo Pellini at Nebraska coming off of a 5-7 season under Bill Callahan

2008: 9-4

2009: 10-4

 

Michigan obviously belongs in this group.  Lloyd Carr coming off of an 8-4 season under Gary Moeller: 

1995: 9-4

1996: 8-4

1997: 12-0 (National Champions)

 

I don't dislike Rich Rodriguez, and I want him to win.  The simple fact is, however, that he hasn't (3-9; 5-7; 7-5*), and as the above records amply demonstrate, you can field a winner, a national championship team no less, in your first three years.

I take no pleasure in writing this, but right now Michigan is Minnesota under Glenn Mason:

1997: 3-9

1998: 5-6

1999: 8-4

I think the fact that we

I think the fact that we haven't been competitive against the top teams in the conference is the problem.

Could not agree more. Sub-.300 record in the Big 10 since RR took over at the helm. Michigan has exactly ZERO wins against MSU, PSU, Iowa and, barring a miracle, OSU. My expectations at the start of RR's tenure were that Michigan would have multiple victories against against that group of teams. Is that really out of line?

I do not know Jim Harbaugh

but he strikes me as the kind of guy who would want the pressure of being the head coach of Michigan or an NFL team like his brother. 

Right on

Bo coached at OSU and Mo was a team captain there IIRC.  That doesn't bother me, but I suspect he's happy with his broadcasting gig.  

The staff should be able

to identify admissions issues before signing day.  That's on the coaching staff.

There was a time when

as a Michigan fan you could reasonably expect to beat teams like Wisconsin.  That's no longer the case.

Spielman's commentary was right on . . .

re: scheme/philosophy and recruiting.  Where is the NFL talent on the defensive roster?  Outside of Mike Martin (maybe) there isn't.  Too many three star, undersized and inexperienced defenders flailing around out there.  Sub-.300 Big 10 record after three years is downright embarassing.  No wins against MSU, Iowa, PSU or OSU (sorry, but it would be a minor miracle for Michigan to beat OSU in Columbus next week).  I've been a MIchigan fan for as long as I can remember, and for the first time, I no longer expect MIchigan to win.  I don't even get upset anymore.  I expect Michigan to get pushed around the field on defense regardless of their opponent.  Remember when 7-5 was a down year?  I'm just frustrated right now. 

I attended

 the 2008 game at Notre Dame.  Setting aside the final score and the soggy weather in the second half, I had a good experience.  I wore Michigan attire around campus on gameday and encountered no problems.  It's a nice gameday atmosphere.  Their marching band plays a pregame show on the steps of some building.  Also check out the usual suspects: the grotto (the night before) the Golden Dome and the library with Touchdown Jesus.  ND fans in the stands were pretty friendly on average too.  Hopefully you'll walk out of there with a big Michigan win.   

I think anything without

Notre Dame or Texas really isn't a big score.  I love the idea of Michigan v. Texas on what I'll assume would be at least a semi-reglar basis; however, Texas, seems like a reach to me for the Big Ten in terms of geography and culture (Austin is in Texas but it's not of Texas). 

If the Pac 10 goes to sixteen teams, I think it's important for the Big Ten to keep pace, because I suspect the SEC and ACC will raid the Big East and/or each other.

So I'll go with these five additional teams:

Notre Dame

Nebraska

Pittsburgh

Pick two--Missouri, Syracuse, Rutgers

I don't dislike Moore,

but nobody does it better than Connery. 

Come to

Penn State: legendary coach; 2nd best home uniforms, white-outs look pretty impressive.

Awesome

Thank you for posting that. Can't wait to share it with my dad.

Ballot

1. Gerhart
2. Suh
3. Ingram
4. McCoy
5. Tebow

I'm hoping the SEC and Big 12 voters splilt their votes between the two candidates representing each of their respecitive conferences and that Gerhart emerges as the winner.

atmosphere

I attended two games this season: the ND and OSU games. There was a stark--and considering this season's arc I suppose not altogether unexpected--depreciation in the level of excitement from September 12th to Saturday's game. I thought the ND pre-game and game atmosphere was electric. Things were more subdued Saturday.

I'm a CNY guy myself. Did

I'm a CNY guy myself. Did you go through Canada? We had a half an hour plus wait at Sarnia.

When I saw the amount of red

milling about the Stadium before the game I was concerned; what I saw/heard inside was appalling. I'm not looking forward to seeing how the stadium appeared in the aerial footage during the broadcast. It pains me to say this, but I seriously doubt we'll ever see that much maize/blue in the Horseshoe. Ira Weintraub suggested on the post-game show that there is a way to formally address this problem, but I lost the signal at that point. Anyone know what he was suggesting?

That was the best flyover

I can recall. Loved the sheer volume of it.

Marquis Walker

Not sure if he meets the "famous" qualifier because his NFL career never really panned out, but he was one of the better ones for the Maize & Blue. In my senior year of high school football, I played against him. I recall that he played a lot better than his freshman status might otherwise have suggested.

agreed

what might have otherwise been comical was aggravating today

http://www.madhattersneverland.com/checklists/ActionFigures/MOTU_Checkl…

Excellent point re: Warren/Hemmingway "kick catch interference"

I was actually expecting a flag to be thrown just because of how the play "looked" but could't come up with a rule book justifcation.

Thanks for posting the link

I had Googled Coach Barwis months ago hoping to find something like this but had turned up nothing. Anyone out there already have a copy? Care to post a review?

TP's NFL prospects at QB are not good

No great revelation here, but quarterbacking in the NFL is about making good decisions. TP is only a sophomore, but his play on the field has suffered not only from poor mechanics but also poor decision-making. Moreover, various off-the-field remarks that he's made fairly suggest that he's immature and that he's not particularly heady. If the NFL's his goal, he should switch to WR or gain 15-25 pounds and move to TE, positions at which he'd be a matchup nightmare. Now if Tate, Denard & company could just beat the Buckeyes on November 21st to drive home the point a little further . . .

Agreed

My interest in Major League baseball, the NBA (and even the NHL, to a lesser degree), have waned significantly over the last decade: I watched the Tigers' World Series run in '06, but beyond that . . . not so much; however, I always watch Michigan Football every Saturday and at least one NFL game every Sunday.

I like that broadcast crew

I was ambivalent about McDonough, but after attending this season's ND game and then watching the recorded broadcast, I thought he did a good job of conveying the excitement I had experienced in person. Regarding Millen, I gave up supporting the Lions after Sanders retired, so his tenure as the Lions' GM never bothered me, and I think he's a better than average color guy.

Denard should not have been in the game for the last drive

I liked the change of pace he provided on the previous drive, but Tate's skill set gives Michigan the best chance to win under the circumstances--little time, no timeouts, obvious passing situation. I don't like that decision. With the four turnovers prior to the final drive I'm not sure we "deserved" to win that one. Man does Minor run hard.

I was wondering

I was wondering the same thing. When I intially saw "Chris Graham," I assumed that he meant Chris Singletary another former Wolverine linebacker who's associated with the program as the recruiting coordinator but after looking at the pictures it indeed appears to be Chris Graham.

agree

I received my mascot shirt today and it fit as I would have expected an XL to fit. Delivery time was good--under a week and I live in upstate New York. Good chance I'll be wearing it to the game Saturday.

If there were no Michigan, I'd support

Penn State and Texas: programs with tradition, honorable mention home uniforms and classy fanbases.

Done

Bought the mascot t-shirt. Brian's just killing it. Top shelf.

Nice

All your mascot are belong to us!

120,000+ sounds awesome. I

120,000+ sounds awesome. I wonder what the saturation point is. That's probably another thread unto itself. I suspect the parking would work itself out if they were to add additional seating. I've always appreciated the symmetry of the stadium (which has of course actually improved with the expansion), and while I'd be willing to sacrifice that if necessary to add capacity (I'm neither an architect nor an engineer but there's a lot more room on the North side of the stadium versus the South side for expansion), I'd prefer that they maintain the stadium's symmetry with any further expansion. I join the chorus on upgrading the scoreboards as the next project to tackle.

Nicely Done!

Can't recall a better one than that.

Penn State '05

I remember Penn State coming into the game undefeated and thinking that if Michigan were to lose it would be first time since I had started following the team in '85 that they would be sub-500 that deep into the season. Somehow I knew they would not let that happen. I'll never forget watching Henne to Manningham from the South endzone and the ensuing pandemonium.

Michigan Football

1. Michigan Football-everything else pales in comparison
2. Detroit Red Wings-#19 the Captain Steve Yzerman
3. Pittsburgh Steelers
4. Chicago Bears-started with the '85 team which as a fourth grader I likened to comic book superheroes.
5. Detroit Tigers

Sooner or later,

ND to the Big 10 will make too much sense not to happen. From Andy Staples:"The NBC contract and the BCS exemptions are great, but they're going to evaporate if 6-6 seasons are the norm. Joining the Big East would make more sense for recruiting; that conference has a wider recruiting footprint that would allow the Irish to play regular games in Tampa, Fla., Pittsburgh and Piscataway, N.J. It also would allow Notre Dame's other programs to stay in the same conference. But joining the Big Ten would make that conference the nation's most powerful, and it would allow the Irish to play Michigan, Michigan State and Purdue every year. It also would allow the conference to play a championship game, which may be a necessity now that Ohio State's consecutive BCS title game losses have harmed the league's reputation. Also, a switch to the Big Ten could help Notre Dame's already excellent men's basketball team by getting it out of the top-heavy Big East." http://www.fannation.com/si_blogs/the_sweep/posts/27401-ten-things-notr…