B10 Pigskin Preview - From The Road
Mgomates,
We are all used to reading football previews based on numbers like returning starters, strength of schedule, last year's records, etc. But today I drove through most of B10 country and maybe the driving down the westside of Michigan, turning right at indiana, and driving to nebraska might give me a feel for the season based on what was seen as we rolled along in the van for just shy of 800 miles. Here goes:
Michigan - the nicest part of the drive and the best part of the day. sunny and cool. the Wolverines go 11-1. we didn't drive close enough to east lansing to smell it, but i still think little bro' goes a solid 10-2, but one of the '2' is at home against a team with wings on it's helmets.
Indiana - the I-94 is a disorganized mess under reconstruction. IU, Purdue and ND will all have rebuilding seasons and all go 0-12. ND will suspend its' season after purple face actually pops on that second saturday of the season.
Illinois - also a cluster-muck of construction and covered with more jack-wagon drivers per square mile than any place in the lower 48, and it's crowded. thus, the illini will have no run game as there isn't any room, and will also go 0-12. northwestern will go 9-3, possibly 8-4 based on the fact that's where my brother played so i've always liked them.
Iowa - we spent the most time here. they are plain jane but in good shape. we saw no cattle until the middle of the state though, and that means no depth on either side of the line. however, there was this one woman driver who looked to be able to play NT, 3-tech or 5-tech...simultaneously. can't speak to her speed, but man she would take the whole O-line to move out of the way. i think they are an 8-4 team. incidentally, every square inch of iowa is planted with corn and it's in great shape. for you commodity speculators i suggest you go 'short' on corn, there is going to be enough to feed the world twice over and the price will drop further.
Nebraska - only saw omaha at sunset. it looked....red. will discover more tomorrow when we cross to colorado.
no review for ohio or wiscy, and screw them since we're not going to visit. they go 0-12 too. maryland and rutgers don't count, at least not yet. and yeah, i understand that some of these 0-12 teams play each other but tough bananas for them anyway, they still all go 0-12.
August 3rd, 2014 at 11:48 PM ^
especially when i decided that lots of those teams can go 0-12. i'm not going to let nebraska go 36-0 though, nope. maybe....9-3. sun is rising in a few minutes. i will watch those red bastards closely and see what i come up with. i might not have internet in the mountains though, so i'll have to take notes and get back to the mgogang.
August 4th, 2014 at 12:04 AM ^
back together! but since i have never seen urbz and craig james together, it is my opinion that 5 female band members are in grave danger! remember, you heard it here first in the pigskin preview.
to come up with B1G Pigskin Predictions (BTW, you hit the bullseye with your comment/complaint about Illinois drivers), but you're probably at least as accurate as half the self-proclaimed experts in the pre-season mags.
I wish I had known you were heading past my "neighborhood" in SW Michigan, I'd have invited you to join us for a beer/ale at a just-opened brewpub located just a few miles from where I-196 merges into I-94. A cold one to refresh in the middle of that long drive may have "enlightened" you further. That's how I felt after a couple of their IPA's (and they have one there called "When Worlds Collide" that was one of the most delicious, balanced IPA's I have EVER had), we spent a couple of afternoon hours there sipping samples, most of which were good to very good, that one IPA being truly awesome!
and if i get business down there i'll try to reach out and join you. in fact, i think we should have a few get-togethers with mgobloggers especially since football season is almost upon us. some good folks on the blog and would be fun to meet the humans behind the black and white flashy lights.
Where are you going?
fly-fishing, rock climbing, water-skiing, even a triathlon to compete in. it took a lot of planning with our livestock getting cared for while we're away and we had to harvest crops and a whole bunch of animals before we left, but we got 'er done.
than other tri's, but fun. and magnus, i so wish i could get you that one driver's photo. your TTB write-up on her would be a classic.
Good luck on your drive across Nebraska. It'll make the Iowa drive seem exciting. If you have the time and inclination, there is one point of interest I can think of on that drive, the archway over I-80 at Kearney.
a definite possibility on the way home. other than the cluster muck drive through indiana and the start of illinois, the drive has been quite pleasant. we farm, so there was a lot to see from the road and i must confess to having some serious 'tractor envy' more than once as we plugged along. not enough to save illinois or iowa's season, but tractor envy nevertheless.
in North Platte has some things of interest, if you're into that sort of thing, If nothing else, at least a chance to get off the road for a bit to break the monotony of the drive.