With both Wisconsin and Michigan State doing some flailing, it was up in the air which game next week would fall to the Big Ten Network.
Michigan/Michigan State has been selected by ABC, and OSU/Wisconsin will fall to BTN. This means Michigan’s final three games of the season will be on network television.
Posted under Misc.
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5 Passing plays were called on first and ten, 23 running plays.
The running plays were distibuted as follows
Mallett obviously struggled as much on first down as he did on any other. Am I trying to contradict Brian’s assertions that running on first down too often sets Mallett up to fail? No, but it doesn’t seem that, at least against a team like Minnesota who can’t stop the run to save their lives, the data don’t necessarily support the conclusion. Seeing as how, in all honesty, I did this little analysis to find supporting evidence for Brian’s conclusions, I think it’s fair to say that against a team with a pulse, the data will support what he has said.
That said, Minnesota was actually much better against the run than I was expecting. When a team like North Dakota State is able to shred you for 394 yards, I would expect Michigan to have an easy go on the ground. 228 of Michigan’s 307 yards rushing came after halftime, when the Gopher defense started to wear down.
Zoltan didn’t have an excellent day punting the ball, as his gravitational mind powers couldn’t keep the ball from rolling into the endzone on 3 of his four punts. However, on at least 1 of said punts (and probably a second), Charles Stewart was in position to down the ball inside the five, and failed to make a play. Zoltan was putting adequate air under the ball, and his coverage team just let him down. The third touchback, however, was like 4 yards deep, and nobody had a chance to rescue it.
Interesting choice by Mike DeBord to have David Cone throw it deep on the last play of the game. It certainly showed that passing when the other team doesn’t know you have to (i.e. third and long), and especially running play action when they are almost certain you will run, definitely puts your quarterback in a better position to succeed. Congrats to David on being 1/1 on his career.
The defense again stepped up, allowing only one sustained drive (on which Minnesota went 68 yards in 10 plays, ending with a field goal). The only other Gopher points were on a fumble return for touchdown (should we start worrying about “Argh Mallett huge mistake” costing us the game in the next three years?).
Junior Hemingway lined up at tailback a few times (in addition to running an ISQD). Is it possible that he moves there in the future? He certainly looks more the part. He has thicker legs than your average wide receiver, and if he’s the same height as Adrian Arrington, I’m the same height as Andre the Giant.
Did anyone see the linesman take out a Gopher player as he and Manningham were talking a little too angrily after a play?
As far as Hart and Henne go, Lloyd used the term “optimistic” when asked whether they would be good to go against State.
Posted under Analysis
1. Ohio State (7)
2. LSU (1)
3. Boston College
4. Oregon
5. Oklahoma
6. Arizona State
7. West Virginia
8. Virginia Tech
9. Missouri
10. Florida
Posted under BlogPoll
Three Illinois freshmen, Brian Gamble, Daryle Ballew, and Mark Jackson, were arrested outside a bar on campus Wednesday night. Coach Zook decided after practice Thursday to suspend the three for at least this weekend. The charges against all players are alcohol-related.
Gamble has played in six games for the Illini, clocking time as both a receiver and ball carrier, as well as in the defensive secondary. He has 5 rushes for 19 yards, and 8 receptions for 77 yards. Jackson and Ballew have both been non-contributors so far this year.
Posted under Misc.
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Michigan’s star running back, Mike Hart, has distanced himself from the pack at this point in the Heisman race. Fans are erecting websites for this man, as they feel he is the clear front-runner. An appropriately-titled post on a popular Michigan blog describes the way Michigan fans feel about their #20.
Hart leads the nation in rushing, at 154 yards per game, and he is the only I-A player who has thus far eclipsed 1000 yards.
Hart has never been a speedster, and many thought this would hurt him in his Heisman candidacy, due to his inability to break the “highlight reel” runs. However, Mike has completed many runs which could qualify, including his 54-yard touchdown run against Appalachian State, putting the Wolverines ahead with 4:36 left in the game, and his acrobatic rolling touchdown against Purdue, which buried the Boilermakers by the first quarter.
Many critics would state that Hart was of no help to his team during losses to Appalachian State and Oregon. However, as evidenced above, Michigan’s loss to Appalachian State was despite a superhuman effort from Hart, and he could have done little more than his 23 rushes for 188 yards and 3 touchdowns. Against Oregon, Hart was injured, yet still managed to carry the team on his back, rushing 25 times for 127 yards despite the complete lack of a Michigan passing game, and the the fact that Michigan was playing from behind all game. Even in the two Michigan losses, Hart carried the team on his back. One man can only take a flawed team so far.
Hart’s fellow contenders also play on teams with losses. Darren
McFadden’s Arkansas team lost to Auburn in part because of his ineffectiveness, as he rushed 17 times for 43 yards (2.5 ypc). Andre Woodson was sacked 4 times (for 50 yards!) and threw a pick in Kentucky’s loss to South Carolina, in addition to the two bad laterals he threw that ended up as USC touchdowns. My intent is not to drag down Hart’s competition, but rather to demonstrate that no individual has a open-and-shut case for the Heisman.
As far as Hart’s status for Saturday’s game against Illinois? At this point, not even Mike’s mother knows how healthy he’ll be come Saturday night, but all indications are he will play – even if he’s at less than 100%. Co-captain Jake Long has complete faith that Hart will hit the field in Champaign on Saturday, going as far as to state “There’s no doubt in my mind he’ll play.” If he has proven nothing else in his four years as a Wolverine, it is that #20 is a warrior, and if he is physically capable of walking out onto the field, he will give his all to deliver a victory to the University of Michigan.
In fact, if loyalty to one’s team was a criterion in the Heisman voting, Hart would be without competition for the award. In the summer, when former Michigan Quarterback Jim Harbaugh spoke ill of his alma mater, Hart didn’t hesitate to fire back, asserting, “He’s not a Michigan man. I wish he’d never played here.” Hart’s loyalty to his team doesn’t stop with such defense of the program, he even went above and beyond guaranteeing victory of Notre Dame, despite the team coming off back to back losses to App. State and Oregon.
Hart is certainly the most deserving Heisman candidate at this point. Expect a highlight video in this space sometime in the next week or so.
All photos © 2007 Tim Sullivan
Posted under Personnel
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Redshirts used/not used:
2007 Eligibility Expiration:
Jamar Adams
Chris Graham
Michael Hart
Chad Henne
All of these players have played this year, and will not be able to redshirt. Therefore, all 9 players with 2007 eligibility expiration will graduate this year.
2008 Eligibility Expiration:
Kevin Grady
Brandon Harrison
Brandon Logan
Mario Manningham
Austin Panter
Terrance Taylor
Kevin Grady has not played this year, and will likely redshirt unless there is a huge problem with healthy running backs later in the year (more on that later). His eligibility will likely be moved back to 2009 expiration. All other players will remain at 2008 eligibility expiration.
2009 Eligibility Expiration:
Justin Boren
Carlos Brown
Stevie Brown
Greg Mathews
Brandon Minor
Adam Patterson
All of these players have played extensively this year, and none will be eligible to redshirt.
2010 Eligibility Expiration:
Zion Babb
Artis Chambers
Toney Clemons
Marrell Evans
Vince Helmuth
J.R. Hemingway
Brandon Herron
Avery Horn
Mark Huyge
Ryan Mallett
James Rogers
Renaldo Sagesse
Steven Threet
Ryan VanBergen
Donovan Warren
Steve Watson
Martell Webb
Michael Williams
Troy Woolfolk
Babb and Chambers have played this year, but probably not enough to be ineligible for the Trademarked Michigan “injury” redshirt. Chambers’s status is more up in the air because of his academic issue. Clemons, Helmuth, Hemingway, Mallett, Rogers, Sagesse, Warren, Webb, and Woolfolk have played enough (and late enough in the season) that they will not be able to redshirt.
This leaves Evans, Herron, Horn, Huyge, Threet, VanBergen, Watson, and Williams who are likely to redshirt (Threet has to because it is his transfer year).
If you notice anything wrong with what I’ve laid out here, please let me know.
Posted under Personnel
Wondering what Paul and I were talking about Saturday night? Here is your chance to find out. Moderately edited version of our conversation follows.
LSU v. Kentucky
Paul: that [LSU/Kentucky] was a crazy game
Tim: yeah
Tim: i can’t decide if i’m happy about the result or not
Paul: i now have no clue what my ballot will look like
Tim: no joke
Tim: i probably have osu #1
Tim: cal #2 [pre-Cal loss]
Paul: les miles threw rock
Tim: yeah
Tim: which is what lloyd haters hate
Tim: but…
Tim: i guess he is a true michigan man
Paul: kentucky wasn’t exactly paper against rock all game
Tim: truf
Play-by play Announcers
Tim: cbs announcers are terrrrrrrrible
Paul: i don’t hate verne
Paul: that would be like hating your grandpa
Tim: they are frontrunners to promote the SEC. Whoever is winning is doing so because they are just that much more awesome than the almost equally-awesome team they are beating
Tim: i’m going to be honest
Tim: the SEC, Pac 10, and big 10 are about the same on a multi-year basis
Paul: yeah
Tim: =-o
Paul: and also… there’s no way to compare conferences
Tim: the SEC thing comes from an exclusive-ish contract
Tim: because CBS promotes the SEC like its their job
Tim: whereas ABC/ESPN is split amongst all conferences
Tim: pac-10 gets bonus cred from the fox thing, but not much
Tim: when BTN is national, B10 will get more respect [I believe this to be inevitable ay this point]
Paul: i watched a bit of the nd game
Tim: yeah
Tim: ND sucks
Tim: BC was unimpressive
Paul: nbc seemed to be thinking “fuck. first hockey, now this”
Tim: yeah
Tim: they were still pathetic ND homers though
Tim: per usual
Paul: i only get so mad at the homerish
Paul: i mean…
Paul: it’s basically like the announcers on fsn for the tigers
Tim: yeah
Paul: if they only cover one team… i guess it’s allowed
Tim: but vastly different
Paul: it’s that it’s a national network rather than an rsn
Tim: because FSN uses tigers-specific people
Tim: nbc is a national network
Tim: and should theoretically be bias-less
Paul: i bet a vast majority of their audience (esp. this year) appreciates the bias
Paul: and if they were non-biased, they would be accused of hating
Tim: haha espn throws hart a bone in heisman race
Tim: in case you aren’t watching ak/auburn
Tim: ak being my hilariously erroneous “arkansas” abbreviation, rather than its accurate “alaska” abbreviation
Michigan Injuries
Paul: any word on mhart’s condition?
Tim: he’s fine
Tim: was going to come out soon anyway
Tim: could have come back otherwise [prior to the high-ankle sprain news]
Paul: i kind of felt like it was a 30pt lead injury
Tim: and, apparently mouton isn’t so much injured as he gets beaten out by chris graham
Tim: ouch
Tim: that’s like getting beaten out by jason gingell
Paul: i know
Tim: sorry, bryan wright
Tim: but you suck
Paul: apparently wright has a groin injury
Paul: at least that’s the excuse
Tim: really?
Paul: except he’s doing kos
Tim: i had no idea
Tim: he’s not having distance issues
Tim: which i would think would be the probem with an injury
Paul: i know
Tim: especially since an injury like that wouldn’t last 8 weeks, without getting either better or worse
Paul: what happened with englemon?
Tim: ?
Paul: was it just “blow out- get him out?”
Tim: dunno
Paul: stevie was in with the rest of the 1st team
Tim: i didn’t notice he went out
Tim: i think it’s “try to prepare for the future” time
Paul: which could make sense for learning
Tim: in that particular case
Tim: i didn’t feel like staying for the press conferences
Tim: so i don’t know for sure
Paul: gotcha
Tim: but englemon was walking fine after the game
Tim: so i’d assume it’s getting brown starting minutes
Paul: i bet it was learning
Tim: esp. considering he was really the starter at the beginning of the year
Paul: yeah
Paul: good choice…
Michigan Special Teams
Paul: what’d you think of our ko strategy?
Tim: especially since an injury wouldn’t last 8 weeks
Paul: some kids behind me were bitching
Paul: yeah
Tim: i wasn’t upset
Tim: when they are #2 in the country in yds/ko
Tim: plus the first one
Paul: by the way… zoltan has mind lasers
Tim: you do what you have to
Tim: it’s an example that lloyd doesn’t just throw rock while ignoring the results
Tim: zoltan has all sorts of lasers
Paul: this team has made so many adjustments throughout the season
Tim: including fuck lion lasers
The game itself
Paul: so do you ascribe to the “we’re actually a pretty good team at this point” reasoning or the “purdue == straw man” argument?
Tim: a bit of both
Tim: though i definitely believe in each
Tim: so more like a lot of both
Paul: the thing is… michigan didn’t just win
Tim: we could have put up 80 if we wanted
Paul: they were like, “I’ll see your shellacking, and raise you a walloping, OSU…”
Paul: so… can we say that the D didn’t give up one legit TD?
Tim: whether you give them a 6 yard drive or not, you still gave up a td
Tim: especially since you allowed them to tie the game
Paul: it was 4…
Tim: but the only legit td was definitely on the offense
Paul: yeah
Tim: sorry i was on the field where i couldn’t see exactly how many yards
Crowd
Tim: the crowd was actually pretty fucking good
Tim: especially for a blowout
Paul: it was pretty quiet after hart went out
Tim: hart went out when the game was long over
Paul: and when we couldn’t find him after half
Paul: it’s true
Paul: it was nice to have a full on wave in kind of garbagy time
Tim: yeah
Tim: and it was early 3rd too
Paul: it was nice to have garbage time
Comcast
Tim: i hate comcast fyi
Tim: i fully intend to call and bitch at them wasted tonight
Tim: though BTN has them by the balls if they get the UM/MSU game
Paul: yeah
Tim: as both talent and the exec producer and producers think will happen
Paul: the comcast OD lady gave me the company line when i was talking to her
Tim: oh yeah?
Paul: yeha
Paul: i bit my tounge
Posted under Analysis, Coaching, Personnel
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1 OSU (6)
2 BC
3 USF (1)
4 LSU
5 OU
6 UK
7 Ore
8 SoCar
9 WVU
10 ASU
VT, Kansas, and Florida also received votes.
Posted under BlogPoll
Here are some things that I noticed:
Posted under Analysis
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For those who aren’t quite aware of the coverage situation, it basically breaks down like this:
There are more nuances, but these are the relevant aspects of the deal for now. The Big Ten Network played their second choice card this week, and they have 2 of them left. Michigan must be covered in November. Their November games are as follows:
These are all big games, with Ohio State definitely slated to appear on ABC, and one of the other two having to be on the Big Ten Network. The November 3rd weekend Big Ten schedule looks like this:
…I think you can figure out where this is headed by now. The Wisconsin @ Ohio State game is already locked into ABC. The Big Ten has a second-choice card left. They will play it in a week that a) gives them the bet game they can get, and b) puts a ton of pressure on Comcast.
The Michigan/Michigan State game is almost guaranteed to be on the Big Ten Network. Please note that this is mostly speculation, but it is not without good sources.