Cheesy: Michigan 20, Wisconsin 17

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Behold the Power of Special Teams

I had more fun grasping the udders of a 20 foot tall cow with my mouth full of cheese curds than I had watching the brutal performance of the Wolverines on Saturday. Two blocked punts and a bouncing ball gave the game to the 8-2 Wolverines, 20-17. The post-game catch phrases included 'a win is a win' and 'we were owed one'... sounds like BCS material to me. The Wolverines were leap-frogged by the Illini in both polls, and we just are not the same team that beat up the Illini 45-20 in the Big House back in September. Are we getting worse every week? Or is just John Navarre getting worse every week?

In any case, we need to take everything we know about the 2001 Wolverines and throw it out the window. It's Buckeye week, and a little rookie coach made a prediction 10 months ago. Time to take care of business.

GO BLUE!

Owning the Jug: Michigan 31, Minnesota 10

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Little Brown Jug
The oldest trophy in college football remains in Ann Arbor as the Wolverines beat the Golden Gophers 31 to 10 in front of 110,000+ fans at the Big House. Michigan 'established the run' gaining 300 yards on the ground as Coach Carr played a little game of musical quarterbacks bringing in Jermaine Gonzales for several plays, including one where one of the slowest men in college football, John Navarre, went out for a pass.

New Inductee
UMTailgate.com inducted its 2nd member into the tailgating hall of fame as Dennis "The Godfather" Moore was selected by the secret board of directors. The updated UMTailgate.com flag was unveiled ceremoniously on the golf course. We went on to celebrate the induction and the birthday of the Godfather at the private invitation-only annual UMTailgate.com dinner.

GO BLUE!

Fuct

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DSC00094.JPG

MSU 26, Michigan 24 (In Magical OT)

How can I screw thee?...let me count the ways
The game ended at Spartan Stadium in dramatic fashion. The weird thing is that the game actually ended more than once. The Spartan's game winning drive included controversial penaties, game clock fraud, and possibly the most terrible no-call on a holding penalty ever on a play that shouldn't have even occurred. In the end, the Michigan players walked off the field disgusted, cheated, and unsatisfied. Lloyd Carr on Michigan Replay said he expects a call from the Big Ten apologizing for the disgrace.

The horrible thing about it is that it should have never been that close. The Wolverines were out-rushed and basically out-played by their weaker neighbor. TJ Duckett ran for over 200 yards on a defense let up an average of 54 yards for the first 7 games of the season. Even more stomach turning is that fact that Michigan State has the class of an XFL franchise... several times during the game, the Spartans put on a dancing exhibition both on the sidelines and on the field to the early 90's cult-favorite, "Jump Around". In the end however, they prevailed, throwing a short pass to TJ in the end zone as the clock expired (again). Reached for comment, Daris Dewberry of Phoenix, AZ said "I hope he didn't lob... did he lob?".

Field Passes Marred by Upset
Just want to drop a quick thank you to Bill, or MTraveller as he likes to be called, for acquiring sideline passes for the game. I must admit, I have never been closer to the action and felt closer to the Michigan team. The downside of that is the fact that I had to accept this loss from that new perspective...and it sucks real bad.

Where we stand
Essentially, this just takes away the possibility of the Rose Bowl and the National Championship...which isn't good. However, Michigan still controls its own destiny as it pertains to the Big Ten Championship and a BCS bid. They hold the tiebreaker against Illinois, and if they win out, they will get the Big Ten #1 slot in the BCS....again....if they win out.

Happy Birthday
UMTailgate.com would also like to wish a happy birthday to the little girl that got lost in East Lansing... We hope the rest of your birthday week goes a little better.

GO BLUE!


North Until You Smell It...West Until You Step In It

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Sparty Awaits

It what is typically known as one of the biggest rivalries in the college football, the Michigan vs. Michigan Agricultural College game is upon us. Michigan, looking to stay in BCS contention, travels into East Lansing this weekend looking to make yet another statement. Here are some of the famous dates in the series history, courtesy of the Detroit News...

  • 1898 : First game between schools: Michigan 39, Michigan Agricultural College 0.
  • 1902: Fielding H. Yost's first game against Michigan Agricultural College. It was played at Regents Field in Ann Arbor. Michigan won 119-0, scoring 20 touchdowns worth five points each.
  • 1927: A crowd of 27,864 showed up for the first meeting between the teams at Michigan Stadium. Three-time All-American Bennie Oosterbaan led U-M to a 21-0 win.
  • 1947 : Michigan State discarded its familiar gold and black uniforms and wore green and white for the first time. Michigan's "Mad Magicians" won, 55-0. It was the first time the game had been on television, with Paul Williams at the microphone for WWJ in Detroit.
  • 1954: Duffy Daugherty's first year as MSU coach, but Michigan's Ron Kramer dominated the game as a sophomore, blocking two punts, and the Wolverines won, 33-7
  • 1964: On the way to the Big Ten championship, Bump Elliot had his finest day against Michigan State with a 17-10 victory.
  • 1989: Bo Schembechler's last game against Michigan State resulted in a 10-7 victory.
  • 1990: U-M Coach Gary Moeller's first game against MSU was spoiled by a controversial call on Desmond Howard, who was tripped in the end zone as he tried to catch a pass for a two-point conversion. MSU 28, U-M 27.
  • 1997: U-M, on its way to a national championship, beat State, 23-7, with Charles Woodson making two interceptions, one in spectacular style in front of his bench.
  • 2001: U-M, favored by six, leads the series 61-27-5.

Party With Sparty...and the UMTailgate.com Crew

Looking for us? The crew from UMTailgate.com can be found from 8:30am 'til kickoff at the University Lutheran Church, 1020 South Harrison Road, just a few blocks from the stadium. We hope to see you all there. Bring food and alcohol.

GO BLUE!

Hawkeye Halloween

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Victory From the Jaws of Defeat

Stephen and Bubba remained calm throughout as the Wolverines came back from a 20-7 third quarter defecit to defeat the Iowa Hawkeyes 32-26. It was the smallest tailgate since OSU 2000, as five hungover stragglers stumbled into Iowa City for the game. Click here for the post game recap and pictures.

Just the Good Ol' Boys

Friday's pre-game festivities were located in Chicago, as old friends united for a Halloween party known as "Boo Ya". For $25, guests were loaded up with a buffet of spirits. Mike provided gourmet snacks, and Bizzaro Jerry Sprague provided the music. Most came in costume, from angels and devils to the cast of The Dukes of Hazzrd, and most left drunk. 


Again...I apologize for the brevity...Sparty's up next...