More bad recruiting news, as Anthony Fera has decommitted from Michigan.

As much as people think the position isn’t particularly important for recruiting, we really could have used a good kicker in the 2009 class, and the mere fact that there is more attrition at all is a little unsettling for Michigan fans who follow recruiting.

We’ll have to see where the staff goes with this, and I’ll bring more info as it comes out.

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Rank	Team	Delta
1	Texas	1
2	Penn State	1
3	Alabama	2
4	Oklahoma State	4
5	Georgia	2
6	Texas Tech	6
7	Oklahoma	2
8	Southern Cal	2
9	Ohio State	—
10	Florida	6
11	Utah	1
12	South Florida	3
13	TCU	13
14	LSU	—
15	Missouri	2
16	Ball State	9
17	Florida State	3
18	Georgia Tech	8
19	Boise State	1
20	Minnesota	3
21	Brigham Young	10
22	Northwestern	4
23	Pittsburgh	1
24	Maryland	2
25	Wake Forest	4

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Hosted by Nittany White-out.

1. We’re approaching week 9 now, are you pleasantly surprised or already waiting for basketball season?

Uh, neither. The season is going crappily (though only slightly worse than expected), though basketball season won’t be much better. I think the rest of the season is going to be crucial to the mental well-being of many a Michigan fan.

2. Describe one specific play from this season you would alter for a different outcome if you had the chance to.

Just one? How about the “fumble play” every time we’ve run it. Doesn’t count? I guess the failed 2-point conversion against Utah to tie the game could have set an entirely different tone for the season, so for lack of better options, I guess that. One of the early fumbles in the Notre Dame game that really gave them momentum are regrettable as well. I guess the pick-6 against Toledo was the catalyst for the low point this season, so that will be my final answer. THERE ARE JUST SO MANY OPTIONS!

3. How could it (#2) possibly impact the way your season is going?

The Toledo pick would have just changed the outcome of that one game, which would have been a highly desirable change, I guess. However, if the Utah game had ended in a Michigan win, who knows where we might be right now? 5-2, probably.

4. Big Ten player you just can’t stand, why?

Pryor. Only because I covet him.

5. Boo’ing your own team (we’ve seen quite a lot of this across the Big Ten this season), your feelings on this.

Hate. Hate hate hate. I wrote about about this when it first happened against Wisconsin, but I don’t really think it’s that necessary to link it. The reasoning should be obvious enough. By the way, why is there a bonus apostrophe in the word “booing?”

Bonus Round

1. Number of beers or alcoholic drinks consumed by week 8 (or a good estimate)

Enough, but not too many.

2. Most annoying commercial seen this season

Any of the terrible Wisconsin or PSU ads that are seen primarily on BTN. The Penn State ones are particularly eye-gougingly corny, in a completely “One Shining Moment” way.

3. Your prediction for the next coaching change in the Big Ten (Joe Tiller exempt)

Have to think Ferentz is out at Iowa if they don’t make a bowl, considering they have had tons of off-field troubles this year. Paterno is likely gone one way or the other, and definitely so if PSU makes it to the championship game.

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The Board lives here.

Added:
OH OL/TE Dakota Anderson. Michigan is on his radar.
From Jim Stefani (and Pahokee):
FL LB Zachery Allen.
FL DL Richard Ash.
FL DL Antonio Ford.
Also from Jim Stefani:
MD RB Malik Cross.
TN OL Zak Tait.
OH CB Seth Cunningham.

New Information:
FL WR Commit Ricardo Miller. He’s still solid, despite the… struggles… of Michigan. Ricardo is also mentioned in the article about the rest of the Florida guys below.
OH LB Jordan Hicks. He is also a mid-level hoops recruit.
FL S Marvin Robinson, FL CB Lorenza Wood, FL WR Chris Dunkley. A bit of fluff from Sam Webb in the Detroit News, including that all are visiting for the MSU game this weekend.

Analysis:
This MSU game is obviously pretty huge for recruiting, and not just in 2009. If a few key 2010 guys were to drop (and maybe even a 2011?), it could get some positive momentum going. Again in this update, I want to make an effort to be as comprehensive as possible. That means the board will be a bit bloated for now, but hopefully I won’t completely whiff on anyone.

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I couldn’t figure out a larger frame for these stories, so we are going to make them into a collection. There may be some things I forget, so bear with me. I’m still trying to recover.

On the Necessity of Shirts:
I will try not be too specific in order to protect the guilty. We stayed at a chapter of my fraternity at Penn State. It was started up there in 2001 and is now starting to become cemented on campus. Well, on that Friday night we got into State College around midnight with 30 rack purchased in Ohio. We were obviously too sober for the scene when we arrived. The level of inebriation was completely appropriate for the occasion, except for one gentleman.

This gentleman was one of the original founder of the chapter. He had to be at 25, but likely older. Tim, our mutual friend Nate and I were talking with a few of the brothers in the kitchen when this gentleman walked up the stairs from the basement we could immediately tell it was going to get interesting. He was wearing jeans and boxers and that was it. We all know the term OMG Shirtless, this was the opposite, so LOL Shirtless or maybe OMFG Shirtless. When both nipples and navel point to the ground, you should wear a shirt.

He seemed completely confused as to why Michigan fans would be in State College. He seemed fairly confused about everything else. After babbling on about getting special forces troops to kick our (meaning Michigan I believe) Marines’ asses, he set out trying to explain the new shirt sweeping Penn State this year. The conversation went something like this:

• Drunkard: On the front it says “Make Michigan our Bichigan.”
• Tim: uh… OK.
• Drunkard: Bichigan. You know, like bitch again.
• Paul: yes… bitch. OK.
• Drunkard: Bichigan. Do you get it? Like bitch again… get it?
• All Three of Us in Unison: Yes! We went to Michigan. We get it
• Drunkard turns around and walks away

He would later find his shirt and disappear into the night. I assume he made it to wherever he was heading. This was clearly not his first rodeo.

On the Dichotomy of Fans:
Before the game, we were walking around State College and campus decked out in our Michigan gear. We were going to see our friend play Penn State’s club tennis team, so we were walking down Curtin street by the Creamery (I think). As we were approaching the street, a car slowed down and the passenger leaned out the window and yelled “FUCK MICHIGAN! FUCK YOU GUYS.” A middle aged woman walking toward us turned around looking horrified and said “I can’t believe people would say things like that.” She did not acknowledge our existence.

We were walking down Beaver St. (I think) and on either side of there are tall apartment buildings with balconies. We saw a group of kids on an 8th floor balcony having a good amount of fun. Tim and I have been to State College before and are a little wary drunk Penn State students. Well, they started yelling at us when we crossed the street, and by the time we got near to the balcony on of the kids up there poured some vodka. This surprised me. I could understand throwing empty cans or something, but wasting perfectly bad alcohol on us? That’s just lame.

We were walking around trying to find a bar to watch the game. We went into the Saloon, and once we got inside of a bar, the fans were all friendly and good sports. One woman gave us a drink recommendation (a Bong Water Monkey Boy FWIW); I talked with another fan about how Rodriguez will work out in the long run (more logically than some conversations I’ve had with Michigan fans). Sure we were ribbed and there were some friendly barbs thrown, but it was in the spirit of college football.

I don’t mind people making fun of Michigan or me by proxy. That’s what makes college football great. Be creative and not threatening. Everyone is there to enjoy two programs going up against each other and two fan bases coming together. Have fun and enjoy it.

Photo: On Penn State Signs
The text of the sign:

ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION

Used for improved livestock breeding. Was made feasible for dairy cattle by the work of Prof. John Almquist, who, beginning in 1944 in the Borland Lab, perfected the use of antibiotics to preserve semen and developed commercial methods of using it. His internationally acclaimed research increased food production and breeding efficiency worldwide.

That’s all I have for right now. One or more parts will be coming throughout the week.

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Yet again, I found myself not in control of which games I got a chance to watch. I also just threw teams on it pretty randomly if I wasn’t quite sure what to do. I’ll need a lot of help making something coherent out of this mess:

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Texas	1
2	Penn State	1
3	Alabama	2
4	Oklahoma State	4
5	Texas Tech	7
6	Georgia	1
7	Oklahoma	2
8	Southern Cal	2
9	Ohio State	—
10	Florida	6
11	Utah	1
12	LSU	2
13	South Florida	2
14	TCU	12
15	Missouri	2
16	Ball State	9
17	Florida State	3
18	Georgia Tech	8
19	Boise State	1
20	Minnesota	3
21	Brigham Young	10
22	Northwestern	4
23	Maryland	3
24	Vanderbilt	2
25	Wake Forest	4

Posted under Football

While Rich Rodriguez, Michigan coach, has never faced off against Mark Dantonio, Michigan State coach, the two individuals have coached against each other in a former life. In 2005, Dantonio was the headman at Cincinnati, the new kid on the block in the Big East. Rodriguez was just starting his multi-year romp through the Big East. The Bearcats and Mountaineers squared off in Nippert Stadium, then met again in Morgantown the following year.

Can that series tell us anything about how the contest in Ann Arbor this weekend is going to turn out? While those were the same coaches, they were with different teams, in drastically different situations. West Virginia was in the midst of making the entire conference its bitch, while Cincinnati was just moving up from Conference-USA. However, Mark Dantonio is a defensively-oriented coach (he was Ohio State’s defensive coordinator from 2001 to 2003), while Rich Rodriguez spends the majority of his energy on offense. Perhaps there are some relevant tidbits to tell us a little something about how Saturday’s game will transpire.

2005
38 West Virginia-Cincinnati 0
The Mountaineers rushed for 297 yards (Cincinnati only gained 269 total yards), with Steve Slaton leading the way, gaining 129 on 25 carries (5.16/carry). Pat White had success one the ground as well, gaining 111 yards to accompany his 100 through the air (on 7-12 passing with one TD).

Since Michigan doesn’t have Pat White, what can we glean from this performance? For starters, West Virginia scored on their first drive. This is a tribute to good game planning by Calvin Magee and Rich Rodriguez, and allowed the Mountaineers to put their opponents on their heels from the beginning of the game. In addition, the Bearcats gave up 100-yard rushing performances to two, players, which they rarely did under Dantonio (with the caveat that one of them was White, of course). Cincinnati’s leading tackler was a safety, which isn’t out of the ordinary, but maybe troubling when playing a team that did most of its damage on the ground. Cincinnati also did manage a few tackles for loss, sacks, and hurries. With a less mobile quarterback, that may mean that State can force Michigan into similar situations with its defensive schemes.

2006
42 West Virginia-Cincinnati 24
The rushing attack of West Virginia was once again potent in Year 2 of the Dantonio-Rodriguez rivalry. This time, the Mountaineers gained 313 yards on the ground, with 148 of them coming on the legs of Steve Slaton (on just 12 carries, for an eye-popping average of 12.33/carry). Pat White contributed 93 yards of his own, while going 7-13 for 98 yards and a TD over the air. Though Cincinnati scored the game’s first points on a field goal, it was all Mountaineers from there until the game was out of reach.

What can this tell us for a game between Michigan and Michigan State? Even if the Wolverines get down early, the quick-strike capability of this offense can keep them in the game. Also, although team speed is largely a matter of recruiting, even Cincinnati’s press release for this game acknowledged that the offensive schemes of West Virginia had the Cincinnati defensive braintrust stumped. Add in that Michigan has been building and recruiting for speed (and has had much better recruiting success that Michigan State in recent years), and the Wolverines could have success soon.

Analysis
West Virginia won by a comfortable margin in each game, averaging 40 points. The success on offense may lead one to believe that Mark Dantonio has trouble defending Rodriguez’s particular implementation of the spread. An interesting note may be that West Virginia was more dominant in 2005, the year in which they scored first (despite being on the road). If Michigan can draw first blood, perhaps the Spartans will be on their heels. Can RichRod make the struggles continue at a new school? We’ll find out Saturday afternoon.

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If you know of an article that can help out, let me know. I’ll fill in the remaining game articles/stats as I find the articles. 2010 updates will come in the form of a year-end wrapup.

CA QB Tate Forcier
This Week: Scripps Ranch v. St. Augustine. Scripps wins 40-36.

With a sprained ankle, sore back, cramps in his legs and a woozy head, Scripps Ranch quarterback extraordinaire Tate Forcier limped off the Serra High football field last night with an amazing 40-36 victory over Eastern League rival St. Augustine…

It doesn’t sound too serious. I hope. The touchdown runs?:

He also rushed 14 times for 121 yards and had touchdown runs of 1, 53 and 47 yards. And he plays cornerback on defense.

Season Totals: Scripps Ranch 5-1.

Season Totals: Pius 4-2.

Posted under Football

Action since last rankings:
10-13-08 Michigan loses commitment of Bryce McNeal.
Rivals also updated its player rankings, though not too many Big Ten commits saw a change. There were a couple minor shakeups in the actual team rankings as a result.

New Rankings:

Down: Simon (from 4)

Up: Bennie Fowler (from 2)

Up: Thomas (from 3)

Up: Ball (from 3)

Up: Jeremy Gainer (from 3), Kenny Watkins (from 2).

Up: Riley (from 1) Paxton (from 2)

Up: Shayon Green (from 2).

Posted under Football

Posting may be light this weekend, as the VB crew is on the road to see its team get killed in State College. Hopefully I’ll be able to get something up Saturday night, but I guarantee nothing, and I fully expect to have to hold FNL until monday.

Speaking of Friday Night Lights, by the time you read this, it is highly likely that we are in Youngstown to see Fitzgerald Toussaint, Isaiah Bell, and the rest of the Liberty Leopards as they face off against Warren Howland. Full report, of course, included when we get around to posting early next week.

We’ll be back as soon as possible, and in the meantime, Go Blue!

Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a ridiculously long post I’ve been working on for OSU week. Since the PSU portion of the story is both very long and relevant to this week’s game, I’ve decided to post it as a standalone.

October 14, 2006 provided a roadtrip opportunity. We left for State College on Thursday night, so Danny could visit his girlfriend, a freshman at Penn State. By the time we got there, it was nearly midnight, so we dropped off Danny and his friend, then Paul and I explored the campus a bit, and paid way too much for one night in a hotel.

The next day, we were completely free from responsibility. We explored the town, bought Penn State gear (I’m an avid collector of any and all college merchandise), went for a ride on the Nittany Lion (a phrase which here means “sat on a stationary statue”), and generally took in the Penn State experience. It is at this time that I should probably recommend against going to an away game 40+ hours before it starts unless you have something or someone to see there, or are 21.

That night, Paternoville was certainly an experience itself, and the atmosphere among the student body was awesome. Of course, a friendly PSU fan offered me a paper plate to tape over the Michigan decal on the back of my car, to avoid getting all my windows broken. After failing to find a random couch to stay on (are there even house parties at Penn State?), we found a parking lot that didn’t seem to be a towing threat, tilted the seats in my car back, and slept. When we woke up the next morning, we found my passenger seat permanently reclined. This was a bad omen.

Fortunately for us, Penn State’s media relations office had furnished us with a parking pass. Unfortunately for us, their instructions on reaching the parking lot were something short of “subpar.” After finally dealing with myriad parking lot attendants, we left the car in the Black Lot and trudged back to the dorms. Once there, we snagged something to eat in a food court (all the while managing to avoid being stabbed by Chris Baker) and camped out on a couple of couches in a common room. As I drifted in and out of consciousness, catching up on sleep from the previous night, the games that we watched are kind of hazy. I remember seeing Indiana shock Iowa, diminishing the importance of our tilt against the Hawkeyes the following week. Whatever, I guess it would be that much easier to focus on tonight’s game.

As we left the commons area, I stripped off my Penn State sweatshirt, under which I had been wearing a maize Michigan shirt all along (take that, punks!). After revealing to the unwitting Nittany Lions all around me that I had been nothing more than a mole from the beginning, I became the recipient of all sorts of “friendly trash talk,” a phrase which here means “death threats.” On the death march back to my car, one thing really struck me: the Penn State fans had no doubt that they would win this game. Perhaps it’s just a difference between the fan bases, but I think the general tailgating attitude in Ann Arbor is mortal fear (or this year, resignation), especially when facing a more-highly ranked team that didn’t get housed by Notre Dame (Zing!). If I could extract that excitement from their fan base without getting the “threatening asshole” factor, I would certainly love to inject it into Michigan fans. There was no sense of entitlement, just excitement leading to confidence.

After changing into Official Media Costumes and arriving at the empty stadium, I took some time to snap a few glamour shots of the Beav. Beaver may be one of the most minor league hockey-like venues in the conference (of course, it doesn’t hold a candle to Sparty’s eye lasers), but the facility itself is nothing short of impressive. I’m not one for electronic music, especially when said music is “Zombie Nation,” and the pump-up videos on the board were bordering on brutally cheesy, but there are certainly aspects of the game experience that are redeeming. The inside of the stadium (you know, the part that doesn’t look like an erector set) is certainly one of them.

The students started to filter in before the rest of the fans. This took place two hours before the game started. Every single one was wearing white. Are you taking notes Michigan students? Be more like that. Always. The white-out was in full force. Like I had been weeks earlier against Notre Dame, I was on the sidelines. This time, I knew I wasn’t alone. Mike, Adrian, and Alan were definitely there. Steve Breaston may have been the unsung hero of the game (as he was for much of the 2006 season). Though the defense played well, I managed to hear a spirited Ron English rip into them at halftime. They responded.

The details have faded with time, but I remember the sense of elation once more, as the visiting fan section celebrated following the win. Danny was equal parts confused and excited. After Notre Dame, I couldn’t stop smiling for a week. Again, I was ecstatic on the drive home. This time, it was too long, and I was too tired to smile the whole way.

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