Thanks to Brian’s link to College Football Resource, we have been afforded the ability to figure out some of the good non-conference games that we could have seen if not for the scourge of I-AA opponents. In the sake of bowl eligibility, money, and various other reasons, I-AA teams have been added to the schedules of many teams. To fix this, the NCAA must eliminate (or reduce) the ability of teams to schedule tomato cans.

Here are some of the non-conference matchups you won’t see. When picking them, I paired teams with similar prestige levels, geographic interest, or other reasons (i.e. The Michigan-Hawaii game on Sept. 1 was going to happen, but was nixed by Hawaii’s athletic department, as they are trying to sneak into the BCS this year, and didn’t want to risk a loss). When all the most interesting possibilities were used, I just paired up the remaining teams, which still allows for some paycheck games (Florida-Louisiana Tech comes to mind). Obviously, matchups between two teams in the same conference were not allowed.

Aug. 30
Boise State-Louisville
Cincinnati-New Mexico State

Sept. 1
Air Force-Kentucky
Fresno St-Rice
Michigan-Hawai`i
Indiana-Vanderbilt
Florida-Louisiana Tech
Maryland-Texas A&M
North Carolina-South Florida
Northwestern-Ohio U
Alabama-Ohio State

Left out:
Southern Miss

Sept. 8
Arizona-Kansas
Connecticut-Georgia Tech
Idaho-Northern Illinois
Illinois-Iowa St
Pittsburgh-Purdue

Left out:
Army

Sept. 15
Alabama Birmingham-Baylor
Clemson-North Carolina St
Georgia-Wisconsin
Kansas St-South Carolina
Kent St-Marshall
Louisiana-Lafayette
Memphis-Nevada
Oregon St-Rutgers

Sept. 22
Central Michigan-UTEP
Eastern Michigan-Tulane
Hawai`i-Western Michigan
Mississippi St-San Diego St
Missouri-Virginia Tech

Left out:
New Mexico

Sept. 29
Boston College-Oklahoma St
Bowling Green-New Mexico St
San José St-Texas Tech

Oct. 6
Arkansas-Toledo

Oct. 20
Brigham Young-Minnesota

Nov. 24
Houston-North Texas

There are still a few weeks where there is only 1 I-AA matchup, or the two I-A teams are in the same conference, but still, this is a far more compelling schedule than the way it shakes out in the real world.

Posted under Analysis

Mario Manningham would have been a first-team All-American last year had he not missed three games with a knee injury, and played at less than 100% in the final four games (he had nine touchdowns in the first 6 games, and not a single one after that). He is among the top wideouts in the country. Adrian Arrington was a very good #2 man last year, to both Manningham and the departed Steve Breaston. Arrington should be in great shape this year, after running the steps of Michigan Stadium for 60 straight days to earn his way back onto the team after legal trouble off it. Greg Mathews is described as a taller Jason Avant, which means very good things for the Wolverines if he is able to get more involved in the offense this year (he had only seven receptions last season).

Behind those players are a bunch of unprovens, starting with LaTerryal Savoy, a redshirt sophomore whose status on the team is unclear after he got into legal trouble in the offseason. Freshmen Toney Clemons (a speed demon with height), J.R. Hemingway (a fast leaper who can go over the middle), and Zion Babb (an athlete who must polish his skills at the WR position) will battle for playing time. Do not be surprised if one or more of them redshirts.

Carson Butler will be allowed to return to the team after clearing up his legal troubles, though he will be punished with reduced playing time, and Mike Massey will get the majority of the starts. Chris McLaurin is a blocking tight end, and won’t likely see much action in the passing game. Freshmen Steve Watson and Martell Webb will also be factors. Watson is a well-coached route runner (son of Denver Broncos WR coach), but does not look physically ready for the position. He will have to shed baby fat and put on muscle to be a player. Martell Webb will learn both the WR and TE positions, and he is physically skilled, but polished at neither spot. He is a Carson Butler-like physical specimen.

With the re-addition of Carson Butler, this unit becomes much stronger, earning a rating of 8/10

Posted under Personnel

At the quarterback position, Chad Henne will start. He has All-American, first-round NFL potential. He is widely considered in the top couple quarterbacks in the nation (along with Brian Brohm, John David Booty, and Andre Woodson). His backup, Ryan Mallett, would start at a lot of schools in America, despite being a true freshman. David Cone is still considered a career backup type. Steve Threet will likely lead the scout team in practice, as he will redshirt during his transfer year. The quarterback position has gone from razor-thin to fairly robust in no time at all.

At running back, All-American Michael Hart will carry the load for this offense. The fifth-place Heisman vote-getter is reportedly faster then he has ever been, after working his legs during the offseason while rehabbing after minor shoulder surgery. The stable will hope to spell him more often than last year, when he carried the ball a whopping 318 times (everyone else on the team combined carried 217 times, including 47 by Chad Henne, mostly sacks). Brandon Minor will be the key backup, and the 6-0, 213 pounder definitely looks the part. He is faster and stronger than Hart, but not as elusive or tough. He will likely take over primary duties upon Hart’s graduation, and must get his reps this year.

Carlos Brown has shuffled all over the place this offseason (including spending some time seeking a possible transfer), and broke his hand in fall camp. He won’t contribute until the second or third week of the season, but provides a burst of speed for Michigan out of the backfield. Incoming freshman Avery Horn has impressed in fall camp as well, prompting Fred Jackson to call him the fastest RB in his 16 years at Michigan. Junior Kevin Grady tore his ACL in the spring, and will probably have to take a redshirt this fall. He was a contributor in the backfield, but had been passed by Minor during last season. mainly due to his fumbling ways. If Grady redshirts, this would give Michigan 3 junior running backs in 2008.

Fullback is the key question for Michigan in the offensive backfield. Walkon Mark Moundros and early-enrolling freshman Vince Helmuth competed in the spring, with Moundros the slight leader, though no true winner was named. Moundros is a redshirt freshman, and earned a scholarship (one year, as he is a preferred walkon, though it can be renewed on a yearly basis). Helmuth played tailback in high shcool, and though he is a workout warrior, may benefit from a redshirt year building strength if he does not win the job outright.

Andre Criswell provides depth at the fullback position, as does Quentin Patilla. However, Patilla’s status is unclear, as he is involved in a legal situation off the field. If he returns to the team, he will not be likely to see much playing time.

With a lack of quality at the the FB position, and injuries creating depth issues at RB, it is hard to rate this group higher than 7/10

Posted under Personnel

PA H-Back Christian Wilson, long rumored to be a Michigan lock, has committed to become a Wolverine. Wilson is the class’s 14th commitment.

Posted under Recruiting

Changes since spring: Schifano removed from team for unspecified medical issue.

The left 3/5 of the line is as close to set in stone as it can be. Jake Long was a first-team All-American last year, and has a pretty good chance of being the first lineman taken in the 20 NFL Draft. Adam Kraus is a likely first-team All-Big Ten performer this year as well. Justin Boren seems like a future All-American, but for now he probably won’t be. However, he will be in the All-Conference discussion this year.

The right side of the line is a little less firm. Alex Mitchell has struggled with his weight throughout his career, and this year is no different. He got burned a bunch of time in the Rose Bowl, though that doesn’t appear to have motivated him enough. He needs to get down to a more suitable playing weight if he wants to start this year. He is a good run blocker (though with his build not perfectly suited for the zone game), but lacks in pass protection. If he cannot, redshirt freshman Steve Schilling (who would have probably started at right tackle last year if not for mono and a separated shoulder) will step in to provide a far more athletic option at the guard position. At tackle, Schilling is in the mix if Mitchell is able to earn the RG position. It is a Schilling v. Ortmann battle over there, with Schilling being the more athletic of the two. UPDATE – Mitchell has injured himself in fall camp, and will miss the first couple games. Ciulla has taken over the RG spot, and I don’t see it likely that Mitchell will be able to get back into shape to reclaim his role.

The depth along the lone is good but not spectacular. Ortmann is probably the left tackle next year, so if Jake Long goes down (or is taken out in junk-time situations) Ortmann will get play over there (les likely if he starts at RT, in order to avoid injury to a starter). Tim McAvoy and provides solid-but-unspectacular depth at both guard positions. At center, Dave Moosman was close to Justin Boren in the race for the starting job, so he will be a good backup there. At right tackle, there is a host of players waiting to get their shot, including highly-recruited Corey Zirbel and Perry Dorrestein.

It’s hard to rate the position entirely accurately without knowing how the right side will shake out. However, the coaches will choose the best unit they can, and it’s hard to pick against 3 future NFLers on the left.

Rating: 8.5/10

Posted under Personnel

Appalachian State has won the past two Division I-AA (take that, NCAA!) National Championships, and is ranked #1 in the preseason poll for the division again this year. Last year, they played a I-A opponent in NC State, and lost 23-10.

Offense
Quarterback – Armanti Edwards didn’t start until game 3 last year, but still managed to lead his team to a national championship. He is a run-pass threat, throwing for 2,251 yards (left-handed) and running for 1,153 more. He was the national freshman of the year, so it’s surprising that he’s not on more all-american watch lists. His backup, Trey Elder, is a senior who has performed admirably when called upon (national championship game 2005), Like Edwards, he ran for about half the number of yards as he threw. He ranked 21st in I-AA in passing efficiency, at 140.7.
Running back – Senior Kevin Richardson will enter the year as a candidate for the Walter Payton Award (1-AA Heisman). He holds most of ASU’s scoring records, and has 3,455 career rushing yards (for comparison, Mike Hart has 3,770). He was a third-team all American last year. QB Armanti Edwards also carries a big part of the load running the rock. Backup Devon Moore, a sophomore, was the third leading rusher last year.
Receivers – Fast Fast Fast Wideout Dexter Jackson will step in as the team’s leading receiver (for the departed William Mayfield), and he is a deep threat, despite only being 5-10. 14 yards per reception last year, with a long of 79. RB Kevin Richardson was the team’s third-leading receiver last year, and Junior TJ Courman will also haul in his share of balls. The team lost their best tight end in Daniel Betts. App State lists about 100 Wideouts in their two-deep, and no fullnack, so a lot of players will get their time to catch a couple, including 6-3 Josh Johnson, the tallest wideout on the team.
Line – First team All-american Kerry Brown returns at the guard position, though he did miss some fall camp with a neck injury. It’s not serious enough that he won’t play, but missing practice, especially in the offensive line, can hurt cohesion. The middle three linemen are all seniors, with Brown joined by C Scott Suttle and G John Holt. The tackles are Mario Acitelli, a true sophomore who had to start most of last year because of injuries, and Jonathan Bieschke, a junior who was mostly a special teams player last year.

Defense
Corner – Jerome Touchstone “One of the fastest players in the nation,” is a true cover corner, though he won’t match up well against the Wolverines, what with being tiny and all. The 5-7 Senior was second-team all-conference last year, though he’ll be matched up againt 6-0 Mario Manningham, or one of the 6-3 options in Arrington and Mathews. His counterpart, Justin Waozeah, is not a particularly huge guy himself, measuring in at 5-10. He started every game last year, and 40 in his career.
Safety – Corey Lynch is a likely all-american candidate. The 5th-year senior has accumulated all-american honors in two previous seasons, and is the school’s all time interception leader, with 18. Titus Howard is the starter at Nickel in App State’s 4-2-5 alignment, with awesomely-named Chase Laws manning the Bandit position. All the safeties are seniors, bringing experience to the defensive backfield. Howard played in almost every game last year, though it was primarily as a special teams contributor. He had his best game against N.C. State, tallying 8 tackles and a fumble recovery. Laws was a 2006 special-teamer as well.
Linebackers – The linebackers for the Mountaineers are a French-name affair, as Pierre Banks plays on the weakside, with Jacque Roman in the middle. Both players are sophomores in their first year as starters. Banks is pretty small, measuring in at only 210 pounds. He probably won’t be a force against the run. Roman, actually engaged in a battle with incumbent Cam Speer, on the other hand, is a stout 6-1 240. Despite being a little guy at only 6-0 215, Speer will be more likely to play on passing downs. He was injured through much of 2006, but still started at the beginning of the year, before Roman beat him out.
Line – Defensive Tackle Tim Washington is the key player along the line for App. State. The junior (a high school teammate of Wolverines Brandon Herron and Troy Woolfolk) used to attend LSU, but left the team after a knee injury during his redshirt freshman year kept him off the field his first two seasons playing. He isn’t listed on the ASU two-deep yet, but there’s a reason this guy was recruited by LSU. The projected starters are all sophomores. Tackles Daniel Finnerty and Anthony Williams will be first year starters, though Williams played in short-yardage situations last year as a true freshman. End Tony Robertson played last year as a true freshman, and racked up 3.5 TFL and 2.5 sacks. The other end is Gary Tharrington, who was a high-level performer last year as a redshirt freshman starter. He recorded seven tackles against N.C. State.

Special Teams
Kicker – Julian Rauch punted part-time in ’06, while serving as App. State’s kicker. He was a steady 70-71 on extra points, and a less great 10-14 on field goals, with a long of 46. The senior was first-team all-conference, and will become the Mountaineers’ all-time leading kicker this year, barring injury (he is only four points short). He went to East Carolina before transferring to App. State after a freshman year in which he did not play.
Punter – Neil Young was the starter last year, until he became too busy releasing classic rock albums (or getting injured: YOU DECIDE!), and averaged 37.6 yards on 29 punts (Rauch punted 22 times). Young will rock, roll, and serve as starting Appalachian State punter this year. Backup Adam Kassouf punted 5 times in 2006, for a crappy average of 32.4.
Returns – Senior Wide Receiver Dexter Jackson will handle returns, and ASU’s website touts him as “One of the fastest players in all of college football.” He was all-conference at the position last year.

App. State is a very good I-AA team, but a I-AA team nonetheless. They gave N.C. State a hard time last year, but N.C. State is not Michigan (they went 3-9 last year). An experience-heavy team won’t be as intimidated as you might expect, so this one should be a little closer than you’d think.

Posted under Analysis

I took in the Orchard Lake St. Mary’s scrimmage yesterday against Clarkston High School. The St. Mary’s Eaglets feature two ’09 prospects in Dion Sims and Christian Brandt.

Dion Sims – The St. Mary’s roster listed him at 6’6″, 235. Most reports I’ve seen on him list him a little shorter a 6’5″, and I tend to think that those are correct. Sims’s legs and ass are huge, and he definitely has the look of a college TE, rather than the WR/TE hybrid he is listed at. He lines up with his hand down on about half the offensive plays he’s in the game. He had one spectacular catch, where he really had to climb the ladder to get the ball. On defense, he played SLB, but didn’t show good instincts on that side of the ball in reading and reacting to plays. He looked lilke he really belongs on offense.

Christian Brandt – Though listed as the state’s #18 class of ’09 prospect by Allen Trieu of GoBlueWolverine, Brandt really did not look like a Division I player. Thuogh he has decent measurables for the tackle position at 6’6″, 285, he did not carry his weight well at all, looking fat, rather than athletic (even offensive linemen should look athletic – look at Dann O’Neill). The only way he’d get looked at by D-I schools is if he really busted his ass to get into shape over the course of the next year. On the field, he was decent, but not dominating, like you’d expect a D-I prospect to look against much smaller opposition.

I will take in anither St. Mary’s game the 25th, as they face against Boubacar Cissoko and William Campbell, along with the rest of the Detroit Cass Tech Technicians. It will be interesting to see how a short corner like Cissoko matches up against a tall wideout in Sims.

Posted under Recruiting

1. USC
2. LSU
3. Oklahoma
4. Michigan
5. West Virginia
6. Virginia Tech
7. Texas
8. Wisconsin
9. Lousiville
10. Penn State
11. Ohio State
12. Florida
13. Arkansas
14. Rutgers
15. Tennessee
16. Nebraska
17. UCLA
18. Cal
19. Florida State
20. Georgia Tech
21. Auburn
22. Hawaii
23. Oregon
24. Iowa
25. TCU

Hawaii is the only team in this list that doesn’t play any of the others. The only first-week matchup between two of the teams is Tennessee @ Cal. In the second week, there are three more:

• VT @ LSU
• Oregon @ Michigan
• TCU @ Texas

This is my personal ballot (Paul may post his later), and during the course of the year, there may be a WOLV sports Top-25 unveiled. My ballot is not a member of BlogPoll because there are too many Michigan voters in it already.

Posted under BlogPoll

…and the Offseason of Infinite Pain continues.

I heard about this at the time, but didn’t post about it because my only tip was one of my friends (who was there) saying “Quentin Patilla and another football player beat the hell out of some guy at Touchdown’s.” She didn’t know who the other guy was, and I didn’t find any confirmation anywhere, so I held off on it.

Neither player was listed on the fall roster. Thornbladh was a walkon, and his removal from the team means next to nothing. Patilla famously switched positions about 300 times this offseason (eventually finding himself buried at the FB position), before being (maybe) removed from the team, so losing him wouldn’t hurt the team much at all, except in terms of reputation. Michigan is uncharacteristically kicking ass in the Fulmer Cup this year.

Posted under Personnel

On ESPN.com:

“Big East. The conference everybody loved to dismiss before 2006 is must-see TV this fall with three Top 25 teams (Louisville, Rutgers and West Virginia) and a potential sleeper (South Florida). The league is littered with Heisman candidates (WVU’s Slaton and Pat White, Louisville’s Brohm and Rutgers’ Rice) and great young coaches (WVU’s Rich Rodriguez, Louisville’s Steve Kragthorpe and Rutgers’ Greg Schiano).

Big Ten. Outside of Michigan, Wisconsin, Penn State and reloading Ohio State, few Big Ten teams have a legitimate chance of making the postseason. Michigan State and Minnesota have new coaches, and Illinois, Indiana and Northwestern continue to struggle. No wonder people are jumping off the Big Ten bandwagon.”

-Mark Schlabach

The Big East has 3 top-twenty five teams. Very neat. The Big Ten has 4. The Big East has a sleeper in South Florida (in the “others receiving votes” in the USA Today Top 25). The Big Ten has an “other receiving votes” as well, in Iowa, as well as a legitimate sleeper in Illinois, who has been stockpiling talent under Ron Zook, and returns 19 starters, including 9 from a defense that was, if not spectacular, certainly a bright spot for the team. (36.4% teams top 25 B10, 37.5% teams top 25 BL, with no top 5, and 1 top ten to the Big Ten’s 3)

The Big East has four preseason Heisman contenders. Michigan has 3. Wisonsin has one in P.J. Hill, one of Penn State’s skill position players on offense (Morelli or the electric but as-yet disappointing Derrick Williams) could be considered a candidate. Ohio State’s Beanie Wells will receive consideration. Juice Williams from Illinois is a human highlight reel – though he’ll have to stop allowing half of those highlights be for the other team if he wants to be considered. Indiana’s Kellen Lewis is a less electric, but also less mistake-prone version of Juice, and James Hardy is likely to catch touchdown passes over many a defensive back who can’t handle his 6-8-ness. The Big Ten returns 4 first and second team all Americans (would be five if Mario Manningham wasn’t hurt for a significant portion of last year – remember, until the injury, he was a legitimate Heisman contender, not just an all-american candidate). The Big East returns two first and second teamers, along with a third teamer, Rutgers tackle Eric Foster, their only defensive name on the list.

Great coaches? Who cares if they’re young. Give me Tressel over everyone in the Big East any day. In terms of recruiting, there is no better coach in America than Ron Zook (ok, except Pete Carroll, but he has a lot more to work with). Bret Bielema, despite being an asshole, took his team to a one-loss season in his first as a head coach. Oh, did I say don’t worry about age? He’s actually the second-youngest coach in America, only to conference foe Pat Fitzgerald of Northwestern.

Bowl eligibility might be little harder to come by if you face a schedule featuring four preseason top-25 teams, as well as another receiving votes, as Illinois and Michigan State must do (Minnesota and Northwestern miss only Penn State). Despite this, Illinois will probably be bowling. At least 5/11 Big Ten teams are mortal locks to go to bowls, and 2 or 3 more likely will. 4 Big East teams will be bowling, and it is unlikely that 6 make it, despite the fact that all but 2 Big East teams (Syracuse and West Virginia) play a 1-AA opponent.

Is it fair to say that the Big East is hot while the Big Ten is not? Certainly not. The real reason peopel are “jumping off the Big Ten bandwagon” is your moronic “journalism.”

Posted under Coaching