Mass Debate? I Don't Think So

This entire Bowl Season has sucked.  Why?  Because we were not in it.  I've watched, perhaps this year more than any other due to the lack of a bowl trip to manage.  No sightseeing Orlando, Pasedena, or the Riverwalk over the holidays, only the quiet comfort of riveting contests like the Poinsettia Bowl to calm my nerves as we wait for recruits to commit and decommit...and the arrival of a new defensive coordinator.  I think I would have had a better time attending the world championships of beer pong.  I can't figure out how it isn't televised on ESPNU.  Anyway, the season, while over for us on November 22nd, and over for most by Jan 1, ended for everybody tonight.  Florida won the BCS championship game on Thursday 24-14, but in this era of hope and change, some other one-loss schools (USC/Utah/Texas/Boise) have staked a claim.  Here's why no one but Florida has a leg to stand on.

USC: Lost a game at home to Oregon State.  Oregon State lost to Penn State 45-14.  Lose to a team that lost to a Big Ten team...outta here.  Slight conundrum that USC dismantled Penn State in the Rose Bowl...but then again, they are automatically disqualified from NC contention for playing their bowl game against a team from the Big Ten and not winning by 35.  Sucks to be in the PAC-10 with that forced Big Ten matchup.

Utah: Plays in Mountain West Conference.  That should be enough.  But, they also only beat Michigan by 2 points....Toledo beat Michigan by 3 points.  Outta here.

Boise State: Play most games on Thursday nights.  Have a blue field.  Outta here.

Texas: Did not make their conference championship game.  Played a Big Ten team in their bowl game, and won by less than 35.  Outta here.

So, congrats to Florida and to Tim Tebow, who will likely end his career with only one bowl loss...

We Were Merely Freshmen

Michigan decided to replay the Savannah State game on Wednesday night, falling behind by 17 by the half, then 20 early in the second half before climbing all the way back, forcing overtime, and pulling it out in the extra frame.  Abysmal from the floor at 38%, including 25% in the first half...lackluster D that gave up 39 points to an Indiana team that scored 42 points TOTAL in their only other Big Ten game.  Oh, and Indiana just lost at home to Lipscomb.  Lipscomb.  Lipscomb has a huge conference matchup on January 22nd against Kennesaw State.  That's Lipscomb.

But hey, who am I to judge?  We got ran out of Crisler in the first half against Savannah State, and Savannah State would sell their soul to get into Lipscomb's conference.  Anyway...

A win.  A big win.  A gritty, come from behind, against all odds win.  And the first in Bloomington since January of 1995, when I (and many of the fellow UMTailgaters) were freshmen at Michigan.  It was before Ed Martin.  It was Jimmy and Ray's senior year, and the first year of Fab Five II...and the win ended a 56 game home winning streak for Bobby Knight's Hoosiers, their longest in school history.  It was historic, so much so that I saved The Michigan Daily from the next day.  The headline read "Michigan Halts General's March in Bloomington" and I would share it with you from an internet archive...but there was no internet.

Had I known it would take 13 years to repeat the feat, I would have framed it.

Thank You Tulsa...and Some Quick Hits

To my competitors in the Bowl Pool...  Stan Parrish?  Really?  Realllllllly?

For the past two weeks, Brady Hoke has been packing his bags and making daily 5pm dinner plans at Rams Horn with a geriatric Steve Fisher, leaving Stan the man to lead the Cardinals into postseason play for the first time since, well, ever.  So, ya, I took Tulsa, and ya, I clinched the pool regardless of championship game outcome.

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Ohio State kept the momentum going on the basketball court, losing 67-58.  Unfortunately, it came at the hands of Sparty.  So in short, the desired outcome, a release of copius amounts of sarin gas into the Breslin Center, did not occur.

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Scot Loeffler, who is still too cool for that second "t," has been named the QB coach of the Florida Gators.  If this whole Rich Rod thing doesn't work out, we'll give you a coordinator spot on Harbaugh's staff.

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Rosters for the Shine Game on January 17th have been set, TT is on the East, along with Morgan Trent. Look for draft stock to rise on the 3 QBs on the West Roster.

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BIG GAME TONIGHT.  Michigan looks to end a 13-year drought in Assembly Hall in Zack Novak's homecoming.  LIVE 6:30pm, BTN.

This Kid Will Kick Your Ass, Alex

After the home-bed-pooping performance against Wisconsin, all the air was let out of my "let's watch basketball" balloon.  I wondered if this team, which from what we've seen is able to compete with the ACC and the PAC-10, is ready for Big Ten style play.  It's a worry, especially in these transitional times, where we not quite sharp enough for the full Beilein gameplan, and not quite big and tough enough to bang the boards against Big Ten foes on your average Wednesday evening.  Now, bare in mind that a single game does not a conference season make.  But the Wolverines showed a little something that my man Jerry Reed (East Bound and Down) would call "intestinal fortitude."  They didn't back down from Illinois.  They didn't crack under the pressure of what could be construed as the earliest "must win" game in conference history.  They didn't falter when their three-pointer lifeboat left the game after taking an elbow to the eye from the double turncoat turned Fighting Illini Alex Legion.

They played bigger than they are.

Davis, 6-9, was driving and looked to be going for the dunk when Harris, 6-5, jumped and met him in the air.

And if they continue to do that, they CAN compete in this league.  They CAN make a run for postseason play.

Michigan wins, 74-64, on 40% 3-point shooting against the nation's 3rd best 3-pointer defense (25%), ending Illinois 7-game winning streak.  Of note, LLP got the start and poured in 13 and had 5 assists.  Also, big Zack Gibson hit double digits in scoring (10), and Kelvin put up 9, including a nail-in-the-coffin layup in traffic in the waning moments.  Michigan's schedule will allow Novak to avenge his 6 stitches when they play at Illinois on 1/14, after this week's games at Indiana (Wed) and home against Iowa (Sun).

GO BLUE!

William Campbell Goes Blue

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