Inspire like Bo

There is a web site, Michigan The Team.com where Michigan fans can download their own videos reciting former Wolverine Head Football Coach Bo Schembechler's famous "The Team, The Team, The Team" speech.

Fans can give their best Bo speech, and win several cool Michigan Football prizes.

What do you have inside that cotton pickin' Maize and Blue heart?

My new Fave Mascot

Michigan is one of the few schools in the NCAA that doesn't have an on field mascot, but I have found one that will, for now, do just fine thank you.

Ohio Bobcatackles Brutus the Buckeye

This guy in the Ohio Bobcat mascot suit is my new best friend if he wants.

What's great about this is that the only reason the guy tried out for the job as the mascot is the fact that he knew the Bobcats were going to play the Buckeyes at Ohio State.

That's the only reason he wanted the job, so that he could go out there in the pre-game and hammer that ugly looking thing that stalks the Buckeye sidelines...Brutus.

Take a good look at the facial expression of Brutus...wow, is that great, or what?

The young man was escorted from the field, and later he was let go by Ohio University.

So what, no big deal. This kid knew he had one shot at hitting that disgusting Buckeye Mascot, and he took it.

Here's a Michigan student from 1983 pummeling Brutus.

These two young man gets my vote as the guy's of the week, of the month, and maybe of the year, unless there's another shot at Brutus...now, that would be great. I wish I could do it myself

Go Blue!

Me, the Wolverines, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

I never thought this would happen top me.

I was completely computer illiterate just a few years ago. I didn't have an e-mail address until 2005, and never had my own computer until 2009.

I didn't know about the social networks, Facebook, Twitter. Never knew about sports web sites for fans to talk about sports, places like Fan IQ , a great place I go to talk about the Wolverines with sports fans from across the country.

I never knew that Michigan Football was just a click away, that M Go Blue.com was just a click away...Go Blue!

I am now immersed in My Twitter Page, or my My Facebook Page, any where that takes me to coverage of the Wolverines.

I just want to devour as much coverage as possible on Michigan Football. 

These 12 weeks in the fall are my favorite time of the sports year. 12 weeks of watching the Wolverines...I love it, and know I search the web every day for Michigan news.

This blog is my personal diary of my love of Michigan Football, and all things Wolverines.

Now it's time to go, and look for that next great article, or post, on the Wolverines...Go Blue!

Michigan hangs on to defeat UMASS

I really don't know how to put what I saw on my television screen today, because you'd thin k I would have learned my lesson after the past 3 years of watching Michigan Football.

One thing for sure, Michigan needs to forget about scheduling any more 1-AA/FCS schools on their schedule.

42-37...what?

Now, the Wolverines won the game, yes, but 37 points allowed?

Michigan's offense missed the pre-game alarm clock going off, stumbling through most of the first half before scoring 2 TD's in the final minute of the second quarter to give the Maize & Blue a 21-17 lead after being down 17-7.

The defense never got their wake-up call, sleeping through the entire game, giving up 439 yards of offense and 37 points to the Minuteman of Massachusetts.

Shades of Appalachian State from the 2007 opener came back to Michigan fans all across the country...not again!

After the Wolverines went up 35-17, UMASS outscored Michigan 20-7 in the 4th quarter to pull within 5 points of Michigan with a little over 2 minuets left in the game.

Michigan rolled up an impressive 525 yards of total offense behind QB Denard Robinson, who passed for 241 yards, and 2 TD's, and ran for another 104 yards, scoring one TD.

Michael Shaw ran 12 times for 126 yards, one a spectacular 50 yarder, and Shaw scored 3 TD's.

After all the ups and downs of the game, Michigan emerged with a win, raising their record to 3-0, and that's ultimately what matters.

The coaching staff have their work cut out for them before the team runs out of that tunnel next week against Bowling Green.  

Giving up chunks of yardage on the ground and in the air simply cannot be tolerated at Michigan.

We, as fans, know we cannot win every game, but to get gashed at the line of scrimmage against FCS schools is unacceptable, to say the least, and D-coordinator Greg Robinson wiull have to find a way to get the defense playing hard on every down.

When the Falcons come to The Big House next week I expect the defense to play better, and they had better, because Robinson cannot continue to be counted on every single week. Someone on defense needs to take charge, and get his teammates on the same page.

Now, as I end this post, lets remember that Michigan won the game, and that's what's important. 

They're 3-0, undefeated, and a ranked team...Go Blue!

Week #3, welcome UMASS

No, there will be no Appalachian State reply!

When the University of Massachusetts heads out of the tunnel, and onto the field for Saturday's game at the University of Michigan, many college football fans, and yes, even some Michigan fans, will have the memory of the upset loss to the Mountaineers in the 2007 opener.

Make no mistake, this will not happen!

The Michigan Wolverines will play this game to prepare for the next week, to get better, but this UMASS team is not App. State, and they have not won 3 straight National Championships.

UMASS 2010 season scores

The Minutemen are 2-0, beating William & Mary 27-23 in week 1, and Holy Cross, 31-7, last week.

William & Mary and Holy Cross?

Michigan has defeated the UCONN Huskies, favored by some to win the Big East Championship, and Notre Dame, who was 1-0, and was, well, Notre Dame, one of Michigan's storied rivals.

The coaches will have the players ready on Saturday, and yes, they'll probably remind them of that 2007 game, but even if they don't, this team is not the 2007 team, and they will not care. They just want to go out and play.

After racking up 502 yards of total offense against the Irish, including an 87 yd. TD run, look for some big plays out of Mr. Robinson before he allows the other QB's to come into his neighbor hood to play.


The Final score...Michigan 47, UMASS 17

 

Bo

Over on My Facebook page there was a posting by Michigan Football for their Michigan Football Art Contest, and even though the picture below wasn't the winner, it's my favorite.

I never get tired of seeing, watching, or reading anything about my favorite coach.

I love Bo, and he will forever be my coach, the man who brought me up as a teenager by giving me the lessons of life. 

Yes, he was on TV, and I never met him, but Bo Schembechler was my father figure growing up. I had no Dad, a child of divorce, and his spirit, his love of Michigan, carried over to me.

Bo was a great man, a great leader, and Michigan Football would always be "The Leaders, and the Best" because of men like Glenn "Bo" Schembechler.

Where's Denard?

Take a look at this weeks Sports Illustrated an tell me what's wrong with the cover picture.

Looks normal, doesn't it?

The cover highlights former Michigan QB Tom Brady and the New England Patriots week one win over the Cincinnati Bengals, showing the patriots QB alongside teammate Randy Moss.

My problem, and I love Brady, is simple, where's Denard Robinson?

Michigan Sophomore QB ran and passed his way to 502 yards of total offense last Saturday, and led the Wolverines on a game winning drive with 27 seconds left, scoring the winning touchdown, and giving Michigan a 28-24 win.

If that performance isn't worthy of getting on the cover, then what criteria do the staffers at SI have, because I'd really like to know what Robinson didn't do, like punting and kicking extra points maybe.

Hey, do you think the geniuses at SI would put him on if he tied his shoelaces?

Now, I'll give Si credit, writer Corey McCartney does have Robinson #1 on his Heisman Trophy List, ahead of fellow Big Ten QB Terrelle Pryor of Ohio State.

I am a huge Tom Brady fan, he's my favorite player in the NFL, and, after all, he is a Michigan Man, but SI missed the boat this wee in not putting the most exciting, the most electrifying player in college football on their cover.

Denard Robinson is college football's most exciting player

502 total yards of offense

No one sitting in Notre Dame Stadium had ever see anything like it.

No one watching on TV, including myself, had ever seen anything like it.

24 of 40, 244 yards passing, 1 TD

No one in the 131 year history of Michigan Football has seen anything like it.

28 carries, 258 yards rushing, 2 TD's

No one in college football has seen anything like Denard Robinson.

The Wolverine signal caller ran and threw all over the fabled field at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, leading the Michigan Football team to a thrilling 28-24, come from behind victory over the Fighting Irish.

The win moved the Wolverines record to 2-0 on the season, and into the college football rankings for the first time in almost a year.

Michigan is currently ranked #20 in the AP Poll, and #22 in the USA Today Coaches Poll.

AP/USA Today Coaches Polls

Michigan Head Football Coach Rich Rodriguez opened the competition for the starting QB spot in the spring, even though he had a Sophomore, Tate Forcier, that started all 12 games in 2009.

The competition continued into the summer, where Robinson became the clear leader that Rodriguez had been waiting for, over taking Forcier, and true Freshman Devin Gardner.

"Shoelace," as Robinson is referred to,  is the most exciting Michigan football player since Charles Woodson, the 1997 Heisman Football winner.

Neither the Notre Dame players, their coaches, or the play by play men on the Notre Dame Broadcasting Company, er, NBC-TV, had any ideas on how to stop the elusive Wolverine QB.

With the Wolverines now on a two game winning streak to open the season, fans of the Maize and Blue are cheering on "Shoelace," and coach Rod, forgetting, at least momentarily, on the problems of the off season.

Up next for Michigan are home games against Massachusetts and Bowling Green before heading into the Big Ten schedule, at Indiana, in three weeks.

If all goes as scripted, the Wolverines will carry a 5-0 record into the annual battle with the Spartans of Michigan State on October 9th.

The schedule doesn't get any easier for the Irish this week, as they take the bitterness of a last second loss on the road to play Michigan State net Saturday at Spartan Stadium.

Gameday 9/11/10

43 minuets before kickoff in South Bend...

and I'm watching college football, getting ready for the Michigan-Notre Dame game. 

The Big Ten is having a good day so far...except...

Minnesota...what in the name of  the Little Brown Jug is going on...South Dakota?

34-30, with 10 min. left, and the Gophers are losing to...South Dakota? Come on.

 Come on Minny, just go ahead and forget about the Big Ten season. Very bad effort today, even if they win.

Michigan-Notre Dame..

So, here we are again, back in South Bend, and the weather is horrible again, with another possibility of storms throughout the game. 

Turnovers will be the key again

The Wolverines must take care of the ball, regardless of the weather, to win today.

I'm looking for a big day from the Michigan defensive front 7. The strength of the Michigan defense must come up HUGE today.

One more Big ten note..

Michigan State and Florida Atlantic @ Ford Field...a money game for FAU... Sparty gets the win, 30-17 in front of  plenty of empty seats.

30 min. until kickoff...Go Blue!

Meeeechigan @ Notre Dame

At the start of this post, I'd like to apologize for a lack of posts. My health has kept me from being able to sit at the computer, but here we go for week #2.

Michigan @ Notre Dame...3:30 pm...NBC-TV

Michigan enters this game much improved over two years ago, when a truck load of turnovers lead to a Irish win. 

The Wolverines and Irish are both 1-0, and a 2-0 start would be huge of both programs.

The Wolverines have had trouble in South Bend lately, with the exception of a 47-21 thumping of the Irish in 2006.

Michigan Sophomore QB Denard Robinson was fantastic against UCONN last week , and I'm sure the Irish will hold him more in check this week, but look for contributions from the other Michigan offensive players, like running back Vincent Smith, and WR Martavious Odoms to keep the Irish defenders away from Robinson.

One secret weapon I think will help Michigan is QB Tate Forcier

Michigan didn't play Tate Forcier in week 1 against the Huskies,  but I believe the coaching staff will find a package for Forcier to run against the Irish, something that Notre Dame won't expect.

I'm just saying, look for Forcier in the game early.

Michigan's defense will be tested on a higher level this week. Look for the Irish to test the Michigan secondary early. 

If the Wolverines front 7 can get pressure on Irish QB Dayne Crist early, the secondary will be able to get their legs under them, and Greg Robinson's defensive scheme will put the players in proper positions to keep the Irish from making big plays down field.

The Michigan defensive line, lead by nose tackle Mike Martin, should be able to keep the Irish running game under control.

Most experts are predicting an Irish win, probably because of Michigan's secondary woes, and the fact the game is on the road, where Michigan has won only once, @ Minnesota in 2008, under Head Coach Rich Rodriguez.

I will always predict a Michigan win, after all, I'm a Michigan fan, and I always believe that the Wolverines will win...why would you not?

I know the team will be ready, they will be hungry, and yes, I know the team is depleted, and young on defense, but this team will surprise the critics tomorrow.

The Maize and Blue will prevail, 27-17.