1. What are the keys for Michigan beating UConn?

SCS100: Obviously outscore Uconn, but also minimize turnovers. If the offense can play as well as everyone expects them to and the defense at least proves competent, then we should be in pretty good shape.

Hulk: The offense coming out firing and the defense not giving up more than 1 50+ yard play.

Seth9: There are several keys to beating UConn. First of all, we need our defense to hold strong on third downs. While UConn is a run first team, which works well for us considering the veritable wasteland that is our secondary, we cannot afford to give up lots of third down conversions. Third downs killed us against Iowa and they could kill us here too if our secondary cannot do anything. Second of all, we need to hold strong when UConn enters the redzone. Our defense is going to give up yards, but if we can hold them to field goals rather than touchdowns when they get downfield, we have a good shot at winning. Finally, we cannot turn the ball over. Our defense has enough issues without our offense wasting opportunities or giving UConn great field position.

Shredder: Speed Speed and good tackling. Sounds football really. It wouldn't hurt if a RB went off and was a major weapon

Dark Blue: I think utilizing our speed is the most important key to beating UConn. The Huskies haven’t faired very well in the past against teams that run the spread. Also important will be limiting the big play. I’m sure we will give up some yards, but if we don’t let UConn do it in huge chunks against us we should be alright.

2. What do we absolutely have to avoid in order to beat UConn (turnovers, injuries, etc.)?

SCS100: HOLD ONTO/CATCH THE DAMN BALL! Oh, and limit turnovers, or at least have a positive turnover margin. Avoiding injuries will also help.

Hulk: Self inflicted mistakes (turnovers, penalties, blown assignments)

Seth9: We absolutely must avoid turnovers. Turnovers will kill us when you look at how our defense has shaped up. We also need to avoid giving up big plays, which will be a challenge for our very inexperienced secondary.

Shredder: Turnovers have been the issue for the last two years. Lets hope with some older guys now on the team that our TO luck will change. That and bad tackling. Its been pretty suspect since RR showed up and needs to become better. ALL YOUR ARM TACKLES BELONG TO US!

Dark Blue: Don’t turn the fucking ball over. Its that easy. If we don’t turn it over we win easily.

3. Who will lead Michigan in Rushing, Passing, Receiving, and Tackles?

SCS100: Rushing and passing leader will be Denard, receiving will be Stonum, tackles will be Martin, and return yardage will be Stonum.

Hulk: Rushing- Shaw     Passing- Robinson      Receiving- Roundtree      Tackles- Mouton

Seth9: Vincent Smith will lead Michigan in rushing, narrowly beating out Denard Robinson who will lead in YPC. I say this because I imagine that Denard will run the ball fewer times this year as he runs the read more effectively and more importantly, throws the ball more. Tate Forcier will lead in passing yards as he is still the go-to guy in situations where we can't just rely on throwing the ball. Roy Roundtree will lead in receiving yards as he rack up a ton of receptions again this year. And Jordan Kovacs will lead in tackles this year, following up on his productive first season.

Shredder: .Rushing I will go out on the limb and say Mike Cox, no other reason than he is the complete back. Passing Tatnard.... Roundtree picks up where he left off. Tackles.... Moundros!!!

Dark Blue: Rushing will be Denard. Passing will be Tate. Receiving will be Stonum and tackles will be that super sweet sex machine JORDAN FUCKING KOVACS.

4. How many total yards do we give up to the Huskies?

SCS100: 400+ (I'll say 413)

Hulk: 280 (220 passing, 60 rushing)

Seth9: We will give up 350. About 150 on the ground and 200 through the air. I imagine we'll give up a ton of yards to most teams this year, but we at least match up fairly well against UConn's run-first offense.

Shredder: hmmmmm 345 yards.

Dark Blue: 290. About 220 passing, but we shut down UConn’s run game.

5.Since RR has owned Edsall, if given the chance, will he run up the score?

SCS100: I doubt he'll intentionally run up the score. The only two games I see that happening are Purdue and Michigan State, for obvious reasons.

Hulk: Not sure what you mean by this question. I think both coaches are pretty classy guys that know nothing good can come by running up the score. Now if we were talking about Douche Hope or Dantonio, Hang 80 on 'em.

Seth9: No.

Shredder: No way he runs up the score. He has no reason to. Also Uconn has go through a lot and thats the last thing Rod would do. I don't think he would even get a chance to since it's gonna be a close game.

Dark Blue: After all the shit he’s been through since he came to Ann Arbor I don’t think RR will run the score up. I however do think UConn is down by a couple of scores at the end of the first quarter and it may get ugly quick.

6. If by some miracle we lose this game, how will you cope?

SCS100: I'll live knowing it was a decent opponent. Oh, and I'll probably go get extremely drunk.

Hulk: Large quantities of alcohol. And Strippers. And Blow.

Seth9: I won't.

Shredder: Hold out for a ND win. How we lose is important also. Blow out... You won't see me until Friday. Close but just unlucky.. Maybe Wednesday.

Dark Blue: I will spend a week hiding, since I have made all of these boisterous predications for Michigan football this year.  

7. Final Score (yet again)?

SCS100: 38-21 Michigan

Hulk: 31- 20 Michigan.

Seth9: Michigan 34, UConn 30. Our offense will carry us.

Shredder: UM 31 UCONN 27

Dark Blue: MICH 42-17. Suck on dat Huskies

8.Closing Thoughts?

SCS100: Nope. Hope everyone enjoys the game on Saturday, weather looks good.

Shredder: Yes I hope Marshall wins tonight and If Nard gets the read option down than it will be lights out for UCONN but this team could easily beat us if we TO the ball over and make tackling mistakes. It should be close. UCONN is the trendy pick right now so us vs the world boys. Michigan is about to start the greatest comeback of it's history... as Kevin Harlan would say so.... BUCKLE UP!!

Seth9: This is an absolutely critical season for Rodriguez and this batch of Wolverines. If we fail to make a bowl and achieve a winning record, there's a strong chance that we'll have a new coach and a conventional offense next season. This team has a lot of weaknesses, but a lot of strengths too and our success is going to result from how well our coaches utilize our strengths and mask our weaknesses.

Dark Blue: I was talking with my Dad recently and the conversations turned to Bo’s 1980 Rose Bowl winning team. How many of you know that that team did not have a returning starter in the secondary? Nobody knew anything about them, and they turned out to be pretty damned good. I think our secondary will be fine. GO BLUE

 

 

MICH (5-7 1-7 0-0) vs. UConn (8-5 3-4 0-0)

 

Its almost time for FOOTBAW peeps. Michigan’s 2010 Fuck.Shit.Up tour starts in just a few short days. First up on the schedule is the UConn Huskies. UConn is a team from the powerhouse College Footbaw conference known as the BIG EAST. What do we know about UConn? Honestly not a whole lot, but I’m sure Google will help me through this.

UConn Offense

On offense, UConn has 8 returning starters from what was a pretty good offense in 2009. This includes 4 star recruit, and former Notre Dame Fighting Irishman Zach Frazer. Why is Mr. Frazer no longer in South Bend? Well as the legend goes, he couldn’t beat out that stud Jimmeh Clausen, and decided the grass really was greener in Connecticut. UConn tends to run a more traditional pro style offense, and they definitely like to establish things on the ground first. A small Table of last years UConn offensive stats.

Passing Yards	Rushing Yards	Total Offense	Points Scored
216.5 YPG	170.7 YPG	387.2 YPG	31.2 PPG

So yeah, not bad offensive stats. Of course a lot of these stats were accumulated against BIG EAST teams, so the numbers may be slightly jaded. Oh yeah, and Notre Dame, so these numbers are most definitely jaded.

 UConn Defense

In what is becoming a reoccurring theme, the UConn Defense also Returns 8 starters (somehow I just changed my font, and haven’t a freaking clue how to change it back. DERP). Senior Linebacker Lawrence Wilson leads the Huskies defense, who in all honesty wasn’t that great last year. The UConn secondary is very young, kind of like MICH’s secondary is very young. Here is some defensive stats per rivals.

Passing Yards	Rushing Yards	Total Yards	Points given up
244.9 YPG	137.6 YPG	382.4	25 PPG

So the run defense wasn’t awful, which is why I firmly expect Tate Forcier to have his wings on and to see a whole lot of the field on Saturday.

Matchups

Since you already know all about the Michigan football team, we’re going to skip over that, and I’ll grade each position group on the field, and then give you my expected final score.

Position	Mich	UConn	Advantage
QB	B	B	Push, I think Michigan has the advantage here, but if Denard is still unproven and we are still very young
RB	B+	B+	UConn’s Todman is a very good back, Again this is a push, mostly because other then Shaw Michigan’s running backs are largely unproven
WR/TE	A	C	I think the WR/TE position is one of Michigan’s strongest, as long as the QB’s can throw, MICh will have a huge advantage here
OL	A-	B+	UConn returns 4 starters from last years team, however MICH gets David Molk back, and Molk wants to fucking kill somebody. Advantage Good Guys
DL	B	C+	I think I’m being favorable giving UConn a C+, their line is very young, and pretty undersized. Our O-Line should dominate.
LB	C+	B	Lawrence Wilson is a very good linebacker and the Sporting News picked him as a preseason All American. That in itself is an advantage over MICH
Secondary	C+(??)	C-(??)	Both of these secondary's are largely unproven, I’m  giving MICH the advantage here based on recruiting, and not so much on any sort of play.

 

Final Score

I think that if our O-Line can control the game, like they should, we handle UConn fairly easily. Hopefully these words don’t come back and bite me in the ass. MICH 42 UConn 17.

The Midnight Maize Pre-season Top 25:

1. Alabama (2) 98
1. OSU (2) 98
3. Boise St. 924. Florida 85
5. Texas 82
6. Virginia Tech 74
7. TCU 66
8. Wisconsin 62
9. Iowa 61
10. Miami 60
11. Nebraska 57
12. Arkansas 48
13. Oklahoma 47
14. Oregon 46
15. Pitt 44
16. USC 40
16. Georgia Tech 40
18. Stanford 32
19. Florida State 30
20. North Carolina 25
21. Penn State 23
22. Georgia 20
23. WVU 19
24. Auburn 15
25. Oregon State 13

Others receiving votes:
LSU 9 UCONN 3 Utah 2

This last May I did a preview for College Football Zealots. It's a little out dated by a few months but a decent read none the less. We hope to have the Midknight Round table by tomorrow along with MS Paint and hype video. Also a pick em with five games all us MM writers pick on. To the preview!

                                         Detroit News... Denard is improved but new?. "Meh" reporting.

Michigan started strong out of the gate last year by winning their first 4 games. Unfortunately they folded late by losing 5 consecutive games to end the season (3 against Top 25 caliber opponents). This is the third year for Rich Rodriguez at Michigan. He is in a spot where he needs to start producing as the natives are used to a winning product. We have partnered with the colorful Michigan blog Midnight Maize to get their thoughts on the 2010 version of the Michigan Wolverines.


What are the major strengths and biggest weaknesses of the team?

That's sort of the Million dollar question. The team has been so young the last few years and so up and down, it's hard to say. I can say the O-line should be a huge strength. It should be a top three O-line in the B10. With everyone coming back besides Mark Ortmann and having the best center in the B10 in David Molk and red shirt frosh Taylor Lewan who is a Jake Long clone and plays left tackle. The O-line is shaping up very well.

Strength would be team speed as well. It’s all over the field. RR has some of the fastest players to wear the winged helmet. They are not called slot ninja’s for no reason. Having a QB who can run a legit sub 4.3 forty is looked as a strength I would say.

A weakness has to be the wide receivers and that may surprise a few people but over the past two seasons there hasn’t been a wide receiver who came up big. Some of that may have to do with the bad QB play but they have had their chances with many drops. This is a make or break year for Darell Stonum. He is now a Junior and was very highly rated. He’s been great on Special Teams but a bust thus far as a wide receiver with a few stand out moments versus Notre Dame and MSU. Others need to step up and some started to last year like Roy Roundtree who had a great last six games. He also blew up the spring game on a 97 yard TD. So there is a silver lining there. Our TE/WR Kevin Koger has a great upside but he had a case of the drops during last season and never bounced back.

A Major weakness is also depth. The last two years have been the thinnest UM teams of all time. No depth which has hurt badly. Walk-ons have graced the field with major playing time and that was a rare event before but seems common these days. The depth is getting there and should be about right after the next recruiting class. It’s been a main reason UM has struggled in the past two seasons. Just a lot of bad luck with players, injuries and transfers.

Looking at the schedule who will be the first major test and why?

The first game (UConn) of the season will be a major test for this team. So much is unknown at this point. Who is the QB? Can the defense produce turnovers? Can the defense stop the run? Will a running back grab the job? Can we hang onto the damn ball? UConn brings almost everyone back besides a RB and a WR. Our offense should move the ball but can UConn cut up our D? They looked sharp verses an alright Notre Dame team last year and beat them in South Bend. I’m hoping that opening day energy plus a rocking Big House will overwhelm UConn and Rich Rod has had great success when playing UConn.

What team on the schedule do you fear the most?

Michigan State and not because of their talent on the field. MSU because of what’s at stake. This is a must win in the worst way. Michigan State beating us two times in a row was rare and a blow to the ego but a look at the series will see how laughable and how one sided the series has been. It’s very important for Rich Rod to beat Dantonio and MSU. Three in a row and at the big house would make the Rich Rod seat very hot. MSU has made it a point to make that game their game of the year. MSU has brought some great intensity and UM just hasn’t matched it. This is a must win. Michigan must come out for blood. They have to be sick of all the “MSU owns the state” talk. They have to be sick of how the local media has treated Michigan in compared to Michigan State. They have to say enough and rip some heads off! Alright I’m all worked up.

Who is the best player on your team that nobody talks about?

Will Campbell with out a doubt. Outside of Michigan fans not to many people know about him. The DT has great upside and I think could be a high draft pick when it’s all said and done. He has worked hard to slim down and to not go down the road of a Gabe Watson. He needs some PT and some more practice reps and he can really be a force in the middle of the D-line.

Who is the best offensive player on the team?

That’s another great question. Denard Robinson? Tate Forcier? Roy Roundtree? Someone has to step up. After seeing Denard at the spring game it’s hard to imagine him not winning the job but at the same time I still think Tate will bring his “A” game come fall practice. If Denard can get a grip on the zone reads/options then it could be a lights out offense. He will be hands down the best offensive player. He also seems to be making great strides in his passing game. Only time will tell.

Who is the most impactful defensive player on the team?

Craig Roh can be that person. He’s so versatile. He reminds me a bit of Shawn Crable or a Lamarr Woodly. He can play standing up or with a hand in the ground. He has a great motor and seems like a natural leader. I expect a great leap this year for him and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him as an All-Big Ten Teamer.

What player(s) needs to step up this year in order for the team to reach it's full capability?

That’s easy, either Tate Forcier or Denard Robinson. I will also throw in line backers Obi Ezeh and Jonas Mouton. If the QBs can limit turnovers and get a better red zone and limit mistakes then the team will be even better on offense and out score teams which they might have to. Both Obi and Mouton have been suspect, awful and down right terrible the last few years. It’s so important that these guys step up and play well and be leaders. It’s hard to be a leader when you look clueless on the field. That has to change. Mouton looked good in the spring but Obi has back up Kenny Demens hot on his tail if he can’t play well.

Who is the top offensive newcomer that can make an impact this year?

This QB may or may not play (he's a hot topic) but Devin Gardner looks like the real deal. There could be a nasty three way battle next year at QB. He has been hot on Denard Robinson and Tate Forcier heels as a true frosh. He’s got the size at 6’4 and the speed to be a force. His long ball seems to be the best of the three and just looks like he glides on air when he runs. He’s very natural. Tate and Denard will get their shot but if they can’t produce or can’t limit turnovers then Devin will get his shot. Rich Rod will play all his cards and take a chance burning his red shirt. Everyone hopes that Denard or Tate grabs the job so he can use a red shirt but he will be used if need be.

Who is the top defensive newcomer that can make an impact this year?

Cam Gordon. He was moved from wide out to safety and has been a man among boys all spring. He got a lot of hype this spring. Safety is a huge position of need and is great to hear that Michigan may have its best safety since Jamar Adams or Ernest Shazor (By the way, where are you?). It’s been said he is just a natural at the position and has great instincts. I do expect him to make a few mistakes but I think he will be a solid player and might find himself as one of the better players on defense for the next three years. I had a live blogger (JC) from the Midnight Maize at spring practice and he said Cam was a real deal, flying around the field blowing up people and making plays. So he is someone Michigan fans are high on going into the season.

Gut feeling on the teams final record at the end of the regular season and what makes this a successful season in your eyes?

If you put a gun to my head, which you are I would say 7-5 but could easily be 8-4. I think an exciting season with wins over MSU, ND and Purdue (or PSU) would make a great season. I know a OSU win would be huge but I’m being real and I think winning in the horse shoe with a better Pryor will be a tough task. I think 2011 is the year the Buckeyes finally go down. Seven wins and a nice bowl win would give Michigan a lot of steam going into 2011 where they will have a great home schedule and its first night game at home. I want Rich Rod to make this happen since the players are finally being put in place. Now it’s just time to grow and win some games. I think Michigan has a solid season.

I just want to say thanks for having me and I look forward to reading this blog as the season gets here. Go Blue!

When Brian writes on incredibly depressing subject matter, he often references and/or uses the music of one Steven Patrick Morrissey. Considering how incredibly awful August was (and it's the offseason!), I feel that it too deserves a song. And as this month has been so very soul crushing, I feel that it deserves an especially depressing song. I mean after all, it really really sucked. Here's a quick recap:

Detroit Tigers

The Tigers didn't have a terrible month on paper. They recovered slightly from a terrible start to the second half and finished the month at 13-16. However, there are several things that happened to make it seem a lot worse. First of all, we went to extra innings three times and lost all of them. Secondly, Edwin Jackson, who we traded to Arizona during the offseason and was picked up by the White Sox in a deadline deal, pitched against us twice, giving up only two runs in 14 innings. Thirdly, we went 8-16 against teams that aren't having atrocious seasons like Cleveland and Kansas City are. Fourthly, we went 3-6 against the White Sox and Twins. And finally, we started and ended the month with a loss, the latter featuring the generally consistent Phil Coke blowing a 7th inning lead against the aforementioned Twins to cost us the game.

In comparison to what follows, the Tigers had a very tame month.

United States Men's National Soccer Team

Bob Bradley got a four year extension. As in, the guy who had Adam Findley start every game in the World Cup that he was eligible for despite Findley being clearly over-matched every game got a four year extension. Bradley is known for his masterful second-half adjustments, but that is due in a large part to his inability to use common sense in making a starting lineup in the first place. SCS recently released a post on how dumb this move was (especially when considering our other options) and it really doesn't need to be hashed over in full again for the sake of the sanity of everyone who cares about the USMNT.

Our Secondary

Troy Woolfolk is out for the season. May our hopes for a semi-decent secondary this year rest in peace.

The Game

Michigan and Ohio State are in separate divisions. The Game is still going to be played at the end of the season, but the stakes are will almost certainly be less than they would be if Michigan and Ohio State were in the same division. And the worst part is that Michigan, Ohio State, and the Big Ten did this for a chance at increased profit without listening to the wishes of the fans.

Troy Woolfolk's injury alone is worthy of a depressing song. With all the other crap that's happened this month, it deserves this:

CBOX

...is no longer with us.


Yes, I know this is going overboard. I just wanted an excuse to use this.