I got back from badminton practice at 1pm PST and fired up the DVR. My worst fear was realized. The early game had gone long and was going to eat into the Michigan game. However, not all was lost, as I got to watch Iowa beat MSU in double OT. The shocking thing to me was not that State lost, but that there was virtually NO one in the student section to cheer on their team. My dad said it was like that throughout the whole game, which if true, shows an appalling lack of vim. Sparties gonna spart, I guess.

    Another regular feature of MGoBlog is the MGoWeather report. I was unaware of this until recently, when a fellow MGoUser asked if that diary was going to continue. I'm sure that is a valuable service, but when I was a student, I didn't care what the weather was because I was going to the game if there was rain, sleet, hail, snow, or if it was 100 degrees out. It's Saturday in the fall and Michigan has a home game, what more do you need to know?

{My approach to the weather is to dress according to yesterday's weather, which is fine now that I live by the beach in LA, but was terrible in Michigan where the temperatures could change by +/- 50 degrees in a day.}

    After watching the Spartan fan-fail, I was curious to see how UofM's students would approach the game. Even though the weather was basically the same - rain - the stands looked full to me. There were a few who left the game in the 2nd half, but I'm sure if we would have gone to double OT, the stands would have been full. So even though State may have won the last four games in the series, they have a long way to go to match the University of Michigan on the field, in the classroom, and in the stands.

Link: http://www.mgoblue.com/sports/m-footbl/stats/101312aaa.html

Burst of Impetus
* Both starting quarterbacks were knocked out of the game in the first half. UofM's returned, Illinois' didn't, although I don't think it would have mattered either way. Fortunately, we didn't have to find out.
* A little over a year ago, Minnesota entered the Big House without their starting quarterback. They left 58-0 losers. When Scheelhaase went out, history repeated.

Malachi Crunch
* Brian loves Greg Mattison. I do too.
* Not only did we shut them out, but the furthest Illinois progressed was to our 32 yard line. That's like a whole third of the field we didn't need.
* 21 players show up in the defensive stats, lead by Jake Ryan with 11 tackles, 3.5 TFLs for 16 yards, a forced fumble, and 1.5 sacks.
* Quinton Washington was tied with Morgan for third with 5 tackles. Q had a sack for 7 yards, showing that he is learning what to do once he's in the opponent's backfield. He may becoming the player we were hoping Will Campbell was going to be, if that makes sense. No knock against Campbell, because he also helped keep the linebackers clean, leading to Ryan, Demens, and Morgan making 11, 8 and 5 tackles.
* Kovacs and Gordon only had 2 tackles each, as very little got past the second level.
* Seven players recorded TFLs. SEVEN!!!
* Illinois was held to 7 first downs and 134 total yards. That's about what they did in an average quarter the last time they visited. Oh what a difference.
* Illinois was held to 1.8 yards per pass attempt. They would have been better off QB sneaking for the whole game.

Ermahgerd Dehrnerd's Fernger
* Denard hurt his right pinky finger, and UofM Nation held it's collective breath. I will fly back to Ann Arbor this week to apply an ice-bag if needed.
* Denard was 7-11 in 2 and 1/2 quarters, for 159 yards and two TDs.
* Right before Denard's 49 yard TD run, they showed Denard diagram a read-option play. The TD looked similar, but I think it was more of a power play with the RB becoming the lead blocker. Denard followed the RB, made half a dozen cuts, leaving several Illini jockstraps scattered across the field, and then waltzed into the endzone. I'd like to request whoever is showing the next game to have Denard diagram a bubble screen, an inverted veer, and several more plays that will undoubtedly end in touchdowns.

I Need a RB Section Title
* Seriously, anybody have any ideas for this section?
* Denard gained 128 yards on 11 carries and scored two TDs. Lewan drove his defender into the endzone on the shorter Denard TD run, and gently let the Illini know about it.
* Rawls lead the running backs with 90 yards on 9 carries, and Hayes got some early work before the game was decided.
* Running back by committee? Yeah, I think so, but Rawls may be the guy by the time Shoelace makes his final trip to the 'Shoe.

Bunches of Funchess
* When I was a kid playing basketball, and someone took a high arching shot, we'd say that the shot was going to bring rain. Denard's TD pass to Funchess was like that, and it brought a lot of rain.
* Funchess is such a weapon. His future is really bright.
* In an obvious attempt to mess with this section, nine players shared the lead for most receptions with one. Two players even dropped passes, lest they look like glory-hogs.
* Gallon caught a screen pass and took it to the house. I'm not sure of the differences between the bubble and the laser/lazar screen, but when Gallon employs his cloaking device, I propose we call that a holographic screen.* 

Norf and Souf
* Norfleet was on the punt team. It was after one punt that I realized he is so small his numbers barely fit on his jersey.
* Wile punted three times to Hagerup's one. All four were In20.
* Gallon actually returned a couple punts, and Norfleet returned one for 42 yards. I had to call wifey into the room to watch Norfleet's punt return. That kid is just so much fun to watch.

Zonkeys
* The refs called two offsides penalties against Gerald Ford. That takes some guts.

Miscellaneous Bullet
* We have developed some depth. When the second units came in, particularly on defense, the beatdown continued. Usually, there is a noticable drop off, but the defense didn't let up, and Rawls and Hayes ran better than Fitz. Heck, even Jack Kennedy completed his only pass of the day and had the team moving at the end.

Outside the Boxscore
* The co-inventor of three-dimensional holography was a UofM professor named Emmett Leith. He was on my committee for my qualification exam for grad school. This was a two hour oral exam to see if I was qualified to continue working towards my thesis. About an hour into the exam, I looked over at Prof. Leith, and realized that he had fallen asleep. My whole future was on the line, and he's gently snoring. But I didn't dare say a word. When you are the father of modern-day holography, you can take a nap whenever you darn well please.