O.M.F.G.

This actually happened. At least for the rest of this year, the scourge of having lost to a 1-AA team will be hanging over the ehads of Michigan Wolverine players and fans. For players, it may provide the extra motivation they so clearly lacked yesterday. For fans, there is no recourse but to take the abuse from others, and hope to run the table the rest of the way.

Observations on the game:

• Chad Henne had his worst day (by far) that I’ve observed. He was missing deep balls, making bad reads, throwing across his body, etc.
• Mike Hart carried the team, despite being out for most of the game. Brandon Minor has yet to learn how to find a hole.
• The defensive line was bad. The inside zone handoff was a guaranteed three yards for App St. the entire first half, and was still moderately effective in the second. Brandon Graham was in the doghouse and played limited snaps.
• As expected, the secondary sucked. Stevie Brown and Johnny Sears were major liabilities. Morgan Trent was much improved over last year.
• The coaching was bad. Sure, Brandon Minor isn’t cut out for the zone game unless there is a gaping hole, but you have one of the biggest offensive lines in the country, and you’re playing a bunch of guys who don’t breach 300 pounds. Just pound the ball all game.
• We are back to not being able to stop a mobile quarterback. Scary, considering we’re playing Dennis Dixon next week.
• The fans were pathetic except during the late 3rd and early 4th quarters.
• I was interning for the Big Ten network. It is a poorly run organization at every level. Don’t expect it to last longer than a year.

Halfway through, I switch to the royal “we.” I’m too depressed to go back and fix it. I hope to god that this year isn’t 2005 redux.

Posted under Analysis, Coaching

Thanks to Brian’s link to College Football Resource, we have been afforded the ability to figure out some of the good non-conference games that we could have seen if not for the scourge of I-AA opponents. In the sake of bowl eligibility, money, and various other reasons, I-AA teams have been added to the schedules of many teams. To fix this, the NCAA must eliminate (or reduce) the ability of teams to schedule tomato cans.

Here are some of the non-conference matchups you won’t see. When picking them, I paired teams with similar prestige levels, geographic interest, or other reasons (i.e. The Michigan-Hawaii game on Sept. 1 was going to happen, but was nixed by Hawaii’s athletic department, as they are trying to sneak into the BCS this year, and didn’t want to risk a loss). When all the most interesting possibilities were used, I just paired up the remaining teams, which still allows for some paycheck games (Florida-Louisiana Tech comes to mind). Obviously, matchups between two teams in the same conference were not allowed.

Aug. 30
Boise State-Louisville
Cincinnati-New Mexico State

Sept. 1
Air Force-Kentucky
Fresno St-Rice
Michigan-Hawai`i
Indiana-Vanderbilt
Florida-Louisiana Tech
Maryland-Texas A&M
North Carolina-South Florida
Northwestern-Ohio U
Alabama-Ohio State

Left out:
Southern Miss

Sept. 8
Arizona-Kansas
Connecticut-Georgia Tech
Idaho-Northern Illinois
Illinois-Iowa St
Pittsburgh-Purdue

Left out:
Army

Sept. 15
Alabama Birmingham-Baylor
Clemson-North Carolina St
Georgia-Wisconsin
Kansas St-South Carolina
Kent St-Marshall
Louisiana-Lafayette
Memphis-Nevada
Oregon St-Rutgers

Sept. 22
Central Michigan-UTEP
Eastern Michigan-Tulane
Hawai`i-Western Michigan
Mississippi St-San Diego St
Missouri-Virginia Tech

Left out:
New Mexico

Sept. 29
Boston College-Oklahoma St
Bowling Green-New Mexico St
San José St-Texas Tech

Oct. 6
Arkansas-Toledo

Oct. 20
Brigham Young-Minnesota

Nov. 24
Houston-North Texas

There are still a few weeks where there is only 1 I-AA matchup, or the two I-A teams are in the same conference, but still, this is a far more compelling schedule than the way it shakes out in the real world.

Posted under Analysis

Appalachian State has won the past two Division I-AA (take that, NCAA!) National Championships, and is ranked #1 in the preseason poll for the division again this year. Last year, they played a I-A opponent in NC State, and lost 23-10.

Offense
Quarterback – Armanti Edwards didn’t start until game 3 last year, but still managed to lead his team to a national championship. He is a run-pass threat, throwing for 2,251 yards (left-handed) and running for 1,153 more. He was the national freshman of the year, so it’s surprising that he’s not on more all-american watch lists. His backup, Trey Elder, is a senior who has performed admirably when called upon (national championship game 2005), Like Edwards, he ran for about half the number of yards as he threw. He ranked 21st in I-AA in passing efficiency, at 140.7.
Running back – Senior Kevin Richardson will enter the year as a candidate for the Walter Payton Award (1-AA Heisman). He holds most of ASU’s scoring records, and has 3,455 career rushing yards (for comparison, Mike Hart has 3,770). He was a third-team all American last year. QB Armanti Edwards also carries a big part of the load running the rock. Backup Devon Moore, a sophomore, was the third leading rusher last year.
Receivers – Fast Fast Fast Wideout Dexter Jackson will step in as the team’s leading receiver (for the departed William Mayfield), and he is a deep threat, despite only being 5-10. 14 yards per reception last year, with a long of 79. RB Kevin Richardson was the team’s third-leading receiver last year, and Junior TJ Courman will also haul in his share of balls. The team lost their best tight end in Daniel Betts. App State lists about 100 Wideouts in their two-deep, and no fullnack, so a lot of players will get their time to catch a couple, including 6-3 Josh Johnson, the tallest wideout on the team.
Line – First team All-american Kerry Brown returns at the guard position, though he did miss some fall camp with a neck injury. It’s not serious enough that he won’t play, but missing practice, especially in the offensive line, can hurt cohesion. The middle three linemen are all seniors, with Brown joined by C Scott Suttle and G John Holt. The tackles are Mario Acitelli, a true sophomore who had to start most of last year because of injuries, and Jonathan Bieschke, a junior who was mostly a special teams player last year.

Defense
Corner – Jerome Touchstone “One of the fastest players in the nation,” is a true cover corner, though he won’t match up well against the Wolverines, what with being tiny and all. The 5-7 Senior was second-team all-conference last year, though he’ll be matched up againt 6-0 Mario Manningham, or one of the 6-3 options in Arrington and Mathews. His counterpart, Justin Waozeah, is not a particularly huge guy himself, measuring in at 5-10. He started every game last year, and 40 in his career.
Safety – Corey Lynch is a likely all-american candidate. The 5th-year senior has accumulated all-american honors in two previous seasons, and is the school’s all time interception leader, with 18. Titus Howard is the starter at Nickel in App State’s 4-2-5 alignment, with awesomely-named Chase Laws manning the Bandit position. All the safeties are seniors, bringing experience to the defensive backfield. Howard played in almost every game last year, though it was primarily as a special teams contributor. He had his best game against N.C. State, tallying 8 tackles and a fumble recovery. Laws was a 2006 special-teamer as well.
Linebackers – The linebackers for the Mountaineers are a French-name affair, as Pierre Banks plays on the weakside, with Jacque Roman in the middle. Both players are sophomores in their first year as starters. Banks is pretty small, measuring in at only 210 pounds. He probably won’t be a force against the run. Roman, actually engaged in a battle with incumbent Cam Speer, on the other hand, is a stout 6-1 240. Despite being a little guy at only 6-0 215, Speer will be more likely to play on passing downs. He was injured through much of 2006, but still started at the beginning of the year, before Roman beat him out.
Line – Defensive Tackle Tim Washington is the key player along the line for App. State. The junior (a high school teammate of Wolverines Brandon Herron and Troy Woolfolk) used to attend LSU, but left the team after a knee injury during his redshirt freshman year kept him off the field his first two seasons playing. He isn’t listed on the ASU two-deep yet, but there’s a reason this guy was recruited by LSU. The projected starters are all sophomores. Tackles Daniel Finnerty and Anthony Williams will be first year starters, though Williams played in short-yardage situations last year as a true freshman. End Tony Robertson played last year as a true freshman, and racked up 3.5 TFL and 2.5 sacks. The other end is Gary Tharrington, who was a high-level performer last year as a redshirt freshman starter. He recorded seven tackles against N.C. State.

Special Teams
Kicker – Julian Rauch punted part-time in ’06, while serving as App. State’s kicker. He was a steady 70-71 on extra points, and a less great 10-14 on field goals, with a long of 46. The senior was first-team all-conference, and will become the Mountaineers’ all-time leading kicker this year, barring injury (he is only four points short). He went to East Carolina before transferring to App. State after a freshman year in which he did not play.
Punter – Neil Young was the starter last year, until he became too busy releasing classic rock albums (or getting injured: YOU DECIDE!), and averaged 37.6 yards on 29 punts (Rauch punted 22 times). Young will rock, roll, and serve as starting Appalachian State punter this year. Backup Adam Kassouf punted 5 times in 2006, for a crappy average of 32.4.
Returns – Senior Wide Receiver Dexter Jackson will handle returns, and ASU’s website touts him as “One of the fastest players in all of college football.” He was all-conference at the position last year.

App. State is a very good I-AA team, but a I-AA team nonetheless. They gave N.C. State a hard time last year, but N.C. State is not Michigan (they went 3-9 last year). An experience-heavy team won’t be as intimidated as you might expect, so this one should be a little closer than you’d think.

Posted under Analysis

The most comprehensive part, “The Fans,” is still forthcoming. Again, feel free to speakyour mind on the matter in the comments.

Not only are many of the Michigan cheerleaders lacking in the aesthetics department, but their ability to enhance the gameday atmosphere is seemingly nonexistent. They participate in many of the songs in which the band leads the students (doing “The Claw” with their megaphones during “Temptation”), but do little else. They have cheers that nobody has ever heard, and they don’t exactly make up for their novelty with catchiness. Moreover, they seem to feel like they are working, rather than having fun at the game (which, admittedly, they are, but when it’s your job to seem excited, then you had better do it). They rarely encourage the fans to make noise on opponents’ possessions, and when they do, it’s only by holding up signs that say “NOISE” on them, or even by having signs instructing people to perform the :shudder: God Damn 3rd Down Key Play Thingy.

A sad state of affairs was exposed at the Homecoming game last year, against Northwestern. Two old men who couldn’t have been younger then 70 did a better job exciting the students for 2 quarters than the regular cheerleaders did for the rest of the year combined. Merely by showing enthusiasm, they were able to get the fans in a frenzy, despite the dismal weather. They also introduced a new generation of students to the most amazing cheer I’ve heard in my time at Michigan, the “Rah Rah Rah Rah Rah Rah Michigan Michigan” chant (of course ending with the superfluous “Hooray!”). I can only hope that enough students remember this cheer next year, allowing it to become a regular occurrence at Michigan Stadium.

Watching ESPN Classic games featuring Michigan, it is easy to see that the cheerleaders of bygone days were far more enthusiastic than today’s breed. While the flying cheerleaders (AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME)will probably never grace Michigan Stadium again (seriously, someone please put video of these guys on Youtube), that doesn’t mean that the cheerleaders can’t positively impact the gameday experience for all involved.

Posted under Analysis

One of the comments on Tim’s post about the Michigan Marching Band really surprised me. In it Anonymous wrote:

3:30 games are obviously better atmospheres than noon games. We should only play once or twice at noon.

I will go on record that I really dislike 3:30 games. In the interest of full disclosure, I was one those assholes who left probably the greatest game in Big House history early, Michigan vs. Michigan St. my freshman year (2004). Everyone I was sitting with wanted to leave after the last huge shotgun-counter back breaker. I succumbed to peer pressure and left. I ended up sprinting back to Mary Markley Hall and breaking in through the window of my buddy’s room because the door wasn’t working. I caught Braylon killing the will of MSU and all of overtime (which is the only reason that people seem to think Tim Massaqoui was worth a damn). So, it could be argued that my hatred of 3:30pm games is a result of my natural self-loathing for leaving early.

Now that I feel freed by confessing my biggest Michigan Football related sin, I hate 3:30pm games. Part of it comes from being a member of one of the State street fraternities (it may or may not have a volleyball court). My football Saturday’s generally start at 7am when I hop in a car and head over to whichever sorority we are Pregame partners with to wake them up and invite them over. This happens every game (except Homecoming) no matter when the starting time. Noon games are beautiful because it’s the perfect amount of time to get into a proper level of pre-game preparedness and there is time to rest between either celebrating a victory or self medicating a loss (the Year of Infinite Pain probably cut a good 5 years off my life span). Also, I definitely feel more into Noon games. There’s something inherently college football about it.

The arguments for 3:30pm games seem to be:

1. OMFG was the MSU game amazing under the lights (I FEEL ASHAMED STOP RUBBING IT IN)
2. More national exposure for recruiting and general Michigan viewing purposes.
3. You don’t have to wake up early.

I’ll concede point one to an extent. Having that game end under the lights added an element of coolness and novelty for Michigan fans who aren’t used to night games. But, realistically, that changed the game from a 9.998 to a 9.999 (always have to leave room for a better game). Arguably, the fact that the game was a day before Halloween and there was everyone from Waldo to a man sized lobster in the student section had as much value added as the night-ness. What made the game was Braylon Edwards decided he didn’t want to lose, and it would be a top game at the Big House no matter when it was played.

On the second point, I can’t really agree completely. I may not be the best one to judge this since I’ve never lived out of Michigan, but it seems that starting at 3:30pm would be nice because it would be 12:30 on the West Coast, but then you have to compete with the regional games there for viewership. How many people are going to watch a Michigan game in Texas when both Texas and A&M are in action? And does Michigan really have a problem with spreading it’s brand nationally? Also all these points might be moot with the new structure of ABC/ESPN* coverage structure.

Finally, like I said in the beginning, I always wake up around 7am for football games. I don’t like waiting. No matter who Michigan is playing, I’m always wired and worried and need to see the game to relax. 3:30 never seems to come soon enough. Also, I really think it would be cool to have a pregame atmosphere like some of the schools we play. Penn State has the benefit of being surrounded by nothing and hills, but it is amazing to see the caravan of RVs and tailgaters coming in on Friday night. An entirely new city was up and running by 7am when the game starting around 8pm. I really wish there was more of push for a Michigan Football Saturday: presented by Adidas (I kid) feel than the current Michigan Football Game feel. As corny as it is, and how much I hate to credit Notre Dame with anything, the excitement and school pride was shooting through the dome while the Notre Dame football team walked (and Charlie Wiess waddled/rode a golf cart) from the chapel to the football stadium. It isn’t a big thing, but it got everyone fired up a few hours before the game, which is something I feel Michigan lacks. I hope that if the Athletic Department tried to put something together before a football game at like 9-10am fans would show up and get fired up for the game. The only thing Michigan has close to this is the MMB marching from Revelli Hall to the tunnel (see, we still love the MMB).

I am for a night game once a year. I don’t want to a night game for no reason. Ideally we would pick a good team (Penn St., Wisconsin, Iowa?), do it every year (home and away) and make it an event at Michigan. One reason the Admin types have reservations (besides Martin’s comments on travel) is what will the students and many of the fans do during the day before the game. Worst cast scenario: drink themselves into oblivion during the day making it Hell for the crotchety old guys in yellow vests. The obvious solution seems to be provide something! Have a pep rally (do we even know what those are?) Have players address a crowd. Bring in some bands. I don’t know what exactly would work, but if some effort is put into a day full of football related events, I think it could something really special.

So, my ideal schedule would be all Noon games except one exceptional night game with a day full of football related festivities preceding it. Bill Martin, get on that…

Posted under Analysis

Please note that when I wrote my (apparently over-) critical piece on the MMB, that it was but one in a series of such posts, and fear not, much of my vitriol has been saved for fans themselves, cheerleaders, athletic department, etc.

I know not every change in my post was entirely realistic, that is why I write on a blog, saying that they are ideals, not things that OMG must change immediately!!! Things like the placement of the band aren’t going to change, and I’m aware of that, I just wanted to note that I thought it was far from optimal.

Most of the points I’m going to rebut or at least respond to come from Hoover Street Rag‘s response to my original post. I’m glad Jeremy (along with a bunch of commenters) took the time to develop arguments, and we can have a suitable, productive-ish discussion, rather “omfg ur dum!!1” going on left and right (though not all commenters were above that the first time around).

And on to the discussion:

1. Band location – already mentioned.
2. Lack of cheers either catchy or able to be participated in by students/fans – I will stand by this statement (and Jeremy seemed to agree with it, though I take issue with his statement that students get into “Respect” – as a student, I’ve never noticed anyone with any particular joy for that song).
3. The claw – I don’t hate the claw itself, it’s something that’s not necessarily unique (see the FSU Tomahawk Chop), but at least it exists, to fill in the dearth of fan participation, if onlt slightly. The onlt aspect I hate is the words to accompany “Temptation” that the students employ (just say “you suck” a bunch of times). If there were some sort of creative lyrical content to accompany the Claw, I’d be all for it. However, I do respect Jeremy’s opinion on UM not having anything to do with actual wolverines (though if that’s the case, why are their bronze statues in the Big House concourse, and actual stuffed creatures in Crisler?).
4. GD3DKPT. HATEHATEHATEHATEHATE. Just had to get that out there. I sat next to the band last year. To the best of my observations, there was not necessarily silence during said thingy, but certainly not as loud as the other students around me (despite mass participation in GD3DKPT and no mouth noises). Also, don’t even try to imply that MMB doesn’t perpetuate the GD3DKPT, as Professor Nix was up on his little podium deal miming the activity, for not only the band, but also the students to copy, but with actual keys in their hands.
5. Alma mater. You will not convince me otherwise. Alma maters exist as something to be sung or played at the end of a contest. I don’t know where in my original post it came off that I wanted it to be played before the conclusion of the game. I just want the tradition of college football (and, yes, even MMB, when Revelli was still around) to be upheld by the most recognizable band in the nation.
6. The postgame show. Paul responded in the original comments with (approximately) my opinion on this, and the cheering factors:
   

   Finally, I don’t mean to sound like an ass, but the crowd isn’t there for the
   band, the band is there for the crowd. The crowd should not cater to the Band’s
   traditions or history. The supplier has to provide the consumer with what it
   wants and the consumer wants cheers (and developing cheers for cadences is huge.

Feel free to respond away once more. Again, I’m glad there is actually some intelligent discussion going on. Remember, my criticism of the band won’t sound quite so harsh when other volumes in the series come out (re: idiots in comments thinking I’m just picking on the band). To the best of my knowledge, Paul, a former band nerd himself, will also be responding on VB.

Also, the halftime music is going to suck this year. Take that, band!

Posted under Analysis

I’d really enjoy feedback on this series, so please comment. Also, please note that I didn’t do so much of the “extended editing” on this piece, so be gentle about those types of issues.

As someone who is not an insider to the ways of the band, but rather a student and fan of the Michigan football team, the band has been failing in its responsibilities to enhance the gameday atmosphere inside Michigan Stadium. There are various ways in which the band’s presence could be improved.

The first improvement is the placement of the band. While the band exists to enhance the experience for all fans, the students are the primary participants in the cheers and songs that are played by the band. In Michigan Stadium, the band is placed in the stand within the student section, so that the sound moves away from the students. This makes it difficult for all students to hear certain songs by the band, and nearly impossible for the poor freshmen in row 98, who can hear almost nothing the band plays.

The students’ participation in cheers led by the band is hindered not only by their inability to hear what the band is playing, but by an utter lack of these cheers in general. On any given Saturday, the band typically plays 3-4 songs with participation by students: “Temptation” (3rd down stop, with the claw and the “You Suck” chant – which I despise), “Hawaiian War Chant” (I think, it’s the one they play on most first downs, with the hands in the air and the “Let’s Go Blue” at the end), “Let’s Go Blue” (random, with clapping and yelling “Let’s Go Blue” at the end), and “The Victors” (With the singing, and the clapping, and the fist pumping, etc.). If there are any others I’m forgetting, let me know, but this is still sparse, sparse stuff.

Encouraging the God Damn 3rd Down Key Play Thingy. The GD3DKPT is the bane of my existence. It not only gives people (mostly students) an excuse to not make loud noise on opponents’ 3rd downs, but even encourages them not to. The band endorses the GD3DKPT by remaining silent, and wiggling their hands in the air, without even having keys to make noise. This renders them literally silent, at a time when every soul in the stadium should be making as much noise as possible.

Refusal to play the alma mater at the end of games. A very important tradition in college football is the playing of the school’s alma mater at the conclusion of the contest, win or lose. Some of the most powerful moments have come during this time. Matt Leinart, confetti flowing around him, conducts the Sprit of Troy in “All Hail” after the Trojans clinch the National Championship over Oklahoma in January 2005. Jim Tressel and his fellow coaches and players stopping in front of the Block O to sing “Carmen Ohio,” before (while) the students in Columbus stormed the field after defeating Michigan in 2006. Under Jamie Nix, the Michigan Marching Band has refused to participate in this tradition. My freshman year, I e-mailed Professor Nix, asking him why the band did not engage in this time-honored tradition. His (remarkably rude) response was that he would do things the way he wanted, and if fans wanted to hear the alma mater, they could wait until the end of the postgame show. I can only hope that the new director has the respect for college football tradition (and concerned fans) that Mr. Nix so clearly lacked.

Posted under Analysis

Is it September yet?

Tier 1
Michigan 12-0 (8-0)
Wisconsin 11-1 (7-1)
Penn State 10-2 (6-2)
Tier 1a
Ohio State 9-3 (5-3)
Tier 2
Illinois 7-5 (4-4)
Iowa 7-5 (4-4)
Purdue 6-6 (4-4)
Michigan State 6-6 (3-5)
Tier 3
Minnesota 6-6 (2-6)
Indiana 4-8 (1-7)
Northwestern 3-9 (0-8)

These are based on first look at the schedule, and things can still change over the summer, especially when we get a more clear idea of lineups.

Non-conference teams with more than one Big Ten opponent:
Syracuse (0-2)
Ball State (0-2)
Bowling Green (0-2)
Eastern Michigan (0-2)
Northern Illinois (0-2)
Western Michigan (1-1)
Notre Dame (1-3)

Posted under Analysis

Fuck you, Brian Cook.

Posted under Analysis

You are the biggest pussy ever. ever think that it’s not the rules that are the problem, but rather the enforcement of said rules? You are an embarrassment to college athletics.

Posted under Analysis