Didn’t participate last week, but here it is for week 2. Hosted by Braves & Birds.

1. How would you rate your program’s service to you in the first two weeks of the season?

Michigan’s accomplishments are approximately as I expected, but the manner in which they got there is troubling. I can handle a loss to Utah and a Victory over Miami, but I’d really prefer if the offense didn’t look quite so anemic in the process. Hopefully the early-season kinks will be hammered out soon. Alas, there is no guarantee that this team is capable of doing much better, given the talent that they have.

2. How happy are you with your program’s overall scheme? We are in a period in which the spread has become a total obsession in the media. If you’re a fan of a spread team, are you happy with the way your program has implemented it? If you’re a fan of a non-spread team, do you wish that your program would convert to this Xenu of offenses?

Michigan’s schemes look good, but execution errors are killing the offense. The o-line performed better against the RedHawks than they did against Utah, but it still isn’t good enough to get by your average Big Ten defense, and certainly not a team like Ohio State.

Also, I think Steven Threet needs to be named the starting quarterback permanently so at least one of the options can gain confidence. I think if he had a chance to get settled in, Threet would have fewer errors due to being overwhelmed or excited, and it would benefit the team in both the long and short runs.

Defensively, I’m impressed. The linebackers are young (and showing it), and Stevie Brown is a constant liability, but the schemes themselves are working pretty well. Hopefully Brown will be able to put it together mentally a little later in the year, and this defense could start to really dominate.

3. Rate your stadium’s cleanliness and menu options.

I rarely use any portion of Michigan Stadium that isn’t my seat or the exit. The seats are same as always, but the mode of egress from the Stadium is obnoxious and impossible to accomplish in fewer than 20-ish minutes. I’m sure the bathrooms are rockin’ pisswall as well as they always have.

4. As an incentive to provide your valued feedback, you will be entered into a drawing for exciting prizes! What one prize would you like for your program?

Terrelle Pryor, plz.

5. Since we’re all about choices, take one of the following two options for entertainment’s sake:

b. If your program were a casual dining chain, which one would it be? Yes, this is a tricky question because the defining characteristic of a casual dining chain is its sameness. No one said this Roundtable would be easy. Bonus points if you can make a compelling case that your program is Chotchkie’s or Flingers.

Something that is undergoing a radical change with some growing pains, that’s for sure. Maybe a Long John Silver’s that’s being transformed into, say, a Friday’s. In the long run, it will be an improvement (though maybe Friday’s isn’t the best example), but for now, they’re trying to use crappy fried fish as ingredients in everything.

Posted under Analysis, BlogPoll

You wonderful hosts can be found at Black Heart, Gold Pants.

Posted under Analysis

Gopher Nation hosts.

1. ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg recently ranked the top 5 rivalries in the Big Ten and there were some controversial results (Illinois v Ohio State as #3?). Clearly Ohio State vs. Michigan is the #1 rivalry in the Big Ten, but give me your next three. Your school does not have to be included in this list, but regardless of who you choose defend your picks.

Wisconsin/Minnesota, and to a lesser extent Minnesota/Iowa are pretty decent rivalries. Michigan/Michigan State, though one-sided, is a pretty heated rivalry in the “brother v. brother” sense. Everything, of course, pales in comparison to Michigan/OSU.

2. Obviously winning every game is important and beating really good teams sends a stronger message than beating Minnesota. Assume every team is .500 this year and the outcome of your next two games means nothing outside of pride and a year’s worth of bragging rights. Give me the two schools you would want to beat (in order) and why. What makes beating School’s A and B significant?

Uh, Ohio State (obvs). Second would probably be Michigan State in conference, for state bragging rights, etc. If we’re including out of conference, it would have to be Notre Dame, because I hate them.

3. Take the two teams from above that you claim are your biggest rivals and give me a new mascot for them.

Ohio State Convicts. Michigan State Failures.

4. There are some new rules in college football this year. My favorite is the Big Ten experimental rule which states that after every win this year you get to pluck one player off their roster and bring them back to your campus. Looking at your schedule give me two players you would pluck (assuming a win), why you would take them and what would you do with them?

Assuming a win (it would be a tall task, no doubt) against Ohio State, I would take Beanie Wells, because he is probably the best overall player in the conference. He isn’t a perfect match for the new Michigan offense, but I think he’s a good enough player that he can play in nearly any system. The other is Terrelle Pryor. Speaking of fits for the new Michigan sytstem, he is perfect. Had he come to Michigan, most prognosticators would easily have the Wolverines in the preseason top 20-ish. He can run, he can throw (well enough), etc.

5. Brian at MGO was kind enough to post a diary entry which gives us and new coach Rich Rodriguez a list of Michigan traditions that maybe we were not all aware of. This has inspired two final questions… 5A – are there any Michigan traditions that he missed? (here is your chance for some Michigan cheap shots)

None that I can think of, unless we’re gonna bring up a serious one or two, which would be consistent top-25 finishes and dominating the Spartans.

5B – Are there any traditions of your school’s rival that we should all be aware of?

Other than the cheating at Ohio State (hardy har) and the rampant coke use at Michigan State (hardy har again, Jeff Smoker), which everybody is already pretty well acquainted with, nothing that I can think of off the top of my head.

Posted under Analysis

1. As a general question, evaluate your recruiting class. Is it more or less what you expected, were you pleasantly surprised or horribly, horribly disappointed? Were your team’s needs adequately addressed or will you be starting a two star running back at center next year?
Considering the coaching change, Rich Rodriguez did a great job both locking up Lloyd’s recruits and getting some new commitments, especially from players who will fit his system (i.e. slot receivers). A couple of big needs went unfilled or inadequately filled. Those would be the quarterback (pending the commitment of Terrelle Pryor to some other school), and defensive line, especially at the defensive end position.

2. Who were the big catches in your recruiting class? Name two players matriculating to your school whose existence everyone else in the Big Ten will curse for the next four years.
Sam McGuffie is the obvious choice here, do to his already-existing reputation if nothing else.
Another (less obvious) choice is Justin Feagin. He’ll play the most important position on the field for at least part of this next year, then maybe take over as a starter, or split time with someone else later in his career. He is a speedy guy, and even if he isn’t a supreme athlete, he’ll be someone that opposing defensive coordinators have to specifically gameplan against (which is something Michigan rarely has on offense).

3. You can’t win them all. Maybe some slick talking carpetbagger schmoozed his way into your living room, sold you a set of ginzu knives made out of tin foil, and walked off with your wife and your star recruit. Perhaps an in-state lock who grew up with [Insert University Here] posters on his wall and your coach’s face tattooed on his arm decided to go elsewhere for reasons no one seems to understand? Did your recruiting class lose someone big on signing day, who was it, and was your school able to yoink someone else to cover his loss?
Michigan lost Nick Perry to USC, and (probably) Terrelle Pryor to Ohio State, Penn State, or Oregon. These two hurt pretty bad, because they were big positions of need, and Michigan got nobody to cover Perry, and only 2-star safety Justin Feagin to cover Pryor. Michigan almost expected Perry, because he was an in-state Michigan fan, and Pryor hurts more, because Michigan has nobody on the roster who can do what he does.

4. There’s been a spirited debate about this whole “Coaches’ Code” among the members of the Big Ten coaching fraternity. Do you believe this exists or is it a line being floated by the guys who couldn’t keep their recruiting classes together? Bonus points for declaring your coach a poacher or a poachee in creative fashion!
Joe Tiller is an idiot. Every coach in the conference tries to poach recruits, some are just unsuccessful. Mark Dantonio went after every single Michigan commit, Iowa pulled John Weinke from Michigan, etc. Rich Rodriguez is not even close to the only poacher in the conference, he’s just probably the best one.

5. Finally, who’s the slickest, smoovest, most Billy Dee Williamsesque recruiter in the Big Ten? Who’s the worst, most incompetent, “trip over the flat tire on his Yugo” recruiter in the Big Ten?
Best: Rich Rodriguez. When you see the recruiting class he could retain and put together in less than two months, you have to give this guy a ton of credit.
Worst: Joe Tiller. There’s a reason this guy needs to make up excuses for his incompetence. He might not have the worst class in the conference, but the way he went about making excuses for it tells the whole tale.

Posted under Analysis, Recruiting