Air Force: A Busy Man's Preview

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So, I've been working on a project.  It's for the tailgate.  It was a huge undertaking, and because of circumstances beyond my control, it has continued to be put off...and now there's a chance it won't appear at the first game, at least not in its finished state.  But it is a work in progress, so I'm not too worried about it.  Regardless, I'm going to give it my all for the next couple of days...and there you have it, an excuse for brevity.​

History:  Despite my historical recollection that Michigan had played Air Force like 50 times in the middle of the 20th century, they have not.  They've played once.  I must be confusing them with Navy or Army.  In 1964, Michigan beat Air Force 24-7.  1964 was one of just a few bright spots in an otherwise shitty decade of Michigan Football, as Michigan went 9-1.  They had won only 5 games in the previous two years combined.​  Suck on that RichRod haters.

System:  ​Air Force runs a triple-option offense, which is super-effective when you are in high school.  It's a sort of a gimmick, and yet it is also a throwback.  So I'm not sure what to make of it, other than that it scares me...like when a baseball team has to face a knuckleballer.  On paper, it can look like this mess...

​Basically, you have four blockers in the backfield....that can also get the ball.  Seems like a pain in the ass to cover.

Last Week:  ​Air Force had 490 rushing yards, and 628 yards of total offense in a 49-21 rout of Idaho State.  RB Cody Getz had 218 yards on 17 carries.  That's YPC FTW.

Why You're Scared:  ​1) We knew very little about ourselves going into the season, and now we know we shouldn't play the SEC...and very little else.  The unknown scares us.  2) This is going to be a season-maker for the Falcons, and probably the most money they'll get for a day's work all season.  3) Their weird offense could pose problems.  4) Denard is not a very good passer.

Why You're Already Celebrating: ​ 1)  Fitz is back  2)  Alabama is the 33rd NFL team.  3) Michigan is undefeated against the Mountain West conference 4) Denard is a very good runner.

Tailgate Theme Alert:  ​The All-American theme commences at 8am...I will be there to start setting up at 7:30 if you'd like to join me (please....someone?).  It's going to be a long day so pace yourself!  Don't forget some American flag garb, a dish to pass, and your own drinks.  If you need to review the rules, they're right here.

GO BLUE!​

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The Big UMTailgate in Big D: Eat, Drink and Be Merry Before Kickoff

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It seemed like everybody decided with about 3 days before kickoff that they wanted to be a part of the Cowboys Classic, and somehow something I spent six months planning took these people a couple of hours and a couple of layovers to accomplish.  Cheers to you bastards, as we all experienced the same fun (and the same hurt).  So much for being proactive.  We had an amazing...absolutely AMAZING...turnout at the tailgate.  It was bigger than a Gar homegame by noon.  A huge shout out to Bernie, Vik and Manny (the men with the plan) and to our buddy Chris​ and his locally based crew for squatting at the wee hours of the morning so we had enough room for all the tents.  I think we had more tents than we usually have at our home space.  And with the sun baring down and 100+ on the thermometer, we needed all of them.

The tables were filled with BBQ, the glasses were filled with cocktails, and there was enough cold beer to satiate an army.  And an army is what we had.  The guys in charge made Dallas feel like home.  As we tailgated in the shadows of the house that Jerry built, ​we were all filled with hope of something magical.  It sucks when the tailgate ends and reality sets in.  Pictures from the long weekend are below, and are also available in the game recap page.

Weekend Roundup, Sticking Around Edition: September 4, 2012

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​

Penn State played football on Saturday.  They lost to Ohio.  They're in a place, mentally, physically, and as an institution, that is so horrific, that you wouldn't wish it upon your worst enemy.  But they had a packed stadium​.  They probably will continue to have a packed stadium for some time.  People in Happy Valley will ride this out.  And someday, someway, Penn State will have some semblance of a comeback as a football team.  And yes, this has nothing to do with Michigan.  And yes, this whole idea of sticktoittiveness having some link to where we are as Michigan fans now that we got our necks stepped on is way too dramatic, if not borderline inappropriate.  Ours is a football problem...but a problem nonetheless.  Alas, we have reached the point in the season (and this won't be the last time) where I bash the team soon after the game, then sleep on it, then look for reasons to make corned beef hash next Saturday morning by citing homer data.

Maybe Alabama is that good.  I give you this from MGoBlog:

Various recent Alabama scores:  2011 Citrus Bowl: Alabama 49, MSU 7...2011 Arkansas: 38-14...2011 Florida: 38-10...2011 Tennessee: 37-6...2011 Auburn: 42-14...National title game: 21-0 over LSU, LSU never crosses midfield.

Maybe Denard wasn't under orders, but instead was reading the impossible-for-Denard-to-run run coverage.  From the Labor Day presser:

Their nickel or their safeties, you could action the other way, they weren’t moving. They were waiting. It could have been the backer, depends if they dropped the safety down or the backer out, drop the safety inside -- they weren’t moving.  -  Brady Hoke

​Fitzgerald Toussiant will play against Air Force.  From MLive...

Toussaint's loss was particularly impactful against the Tide, who held Michigan (0-1) to 69 yards rushing. Tailbacks Vincent Smith and Thomas Rawls combined for just 42.  Toussaint surpassed 100 yards rushing in four of his six games last year as the Wolverines' designated featured back. He finished with 1,041 yards on the season, Michigan's first 1,000-yard tailback since Mike Hart in 2007.

​We are far from being "back," but the building blocks are here.  From Freep / Maize and Brew:​

The only thing to take away from this game is a deeper understanding of what greatness really looks like. Michigan got a glimpse of a truly great team, losing completely and in every aspect of the game. But U-M is also slowly building its program in the image of an Alabama or an LSU. Strong defense matched with an efficient pro-style offense. It may not be there yet -- Saturday showed just how far away things really are -- but if there is hope for Michigan, it is this: The kind of team the Wolverines hope to build exists already.

​The goal is still intact.  Angel writes...

What the effect of that loss might be was hard to tell in the moments following the loss. But at least one player, senior safety and team captain Jordan Kovacs while disappointed with the Wolverines' showing, knows that in the end, a loss to Alabama does not have to derail their overall season goals.  Michigan coach Brady Hoke has called last year's 11-2 season with a Sugar Bowl victory a disappointment because the Wolverines did not win the Big Ten title.  Kovacs' point after the Alabama loss was this: The Big Ten championship is still on the table.  "Oregon lost this game (last year) and did the same thing," Kovacs said, referring to the Ducks reaching the Rose Bowl.

Other links:​

  • Mark Snyder: U-M Can Recover From Drubbing [Freep] - Not as nice as the article title
  • It's Been A Tad While Since [MVictors] - Amazing​ historical stat
  • Michigan Basketball 2012-13 Schedule [UMHoops]​ - Feels so Sparty to put this up
  • What We Learned in Week 1  [ESPN Big Ten Blog]​ - Very Few Positive Things Regarding Michigan...especially compared to the rest of the Big Ten

Not Ready for Prime Time

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As the first quarter came to an end, and the usher came over and gave me a warning that I was going to have to leave if I continued to bellow out f-bombs, the game had already long since been over.  This was not a day where you could pretend to be in the hunt for three and a half quarters and then turn Denard loose​ for the 1:30 to try to sneak away with a win.  This was not Notre Dame.  This was not the Big Ten.  This was not Virginia Tech.  This was the defending national champions.

Those who continue to chastise RichRod for not creating an offense for the players that remained from Lloyd's tenure and praise Al Borges for letting Denard's talent dictate some of the gameplan need to check themselves.  We chose to move forward with the shoehorning of Denard into the mold of a passing quarterback.  From the not-so-cheap seats, I watched as he tried to throw the football, and let me leave no doubt on what my opinion is....Denard Robinson is easily the worst passing quarterback that has ever played at Michigan.​  He had a decent amount of time to make passes.  He had open receivers.  But unfortunately, he refuses to throw the ball without his little backwards hop-step.  Back-footed.  Inaccurate.  The one and only throw from Denard's hand that truly hit the numbers hit the #32 of Alabama linebacker CJ Mosley.

Michigan had a very slim chance of winning on September 1st, but every bit of that chance resided in the abilities of Denard to be Denard, to find some holes, get into the open, and be the direct-snap running back that he truly is.​  We chose to not waiver from our goal of winning the Big Ten, save Denard from himself and from injury, and in turn literally chose not to compete in this game.  Unfortunately, the powers that be must not understand the damage that was done on Saturday, and the unique opportunity we had to plant a flag for Michigan in the college football landscape.  And the bitch of it is....we didn't even have to win.  We needed only to NOT get blown out.

Of course, we now will have the typical Michigan recovery period.  Denard​ will have some kind of huge game on Saturday against Air Force, and we will pretend all is right with THE world.... unfortunately, it will only be alright in OUR world.  On a good note, I think this loss and the way we lost maybe increases our chances to beat Notre Dame.  We might even carry this fake chip on our shoulder through the MSU game.  And fear not, it won't be long before we're overrated again.  Because we play in the Big Ten.  We're built for the Big Ten.  And our goal is the Big Ten.  We might even get ourselves so overrated that we can meet an SEC team in a Bowl Game!  That way, we can get knocked back down to Earth on New Year's and have something to work on for the Spring!  And the cycle continues....

​As long as we stay in this little cocoon of ours, we can continue to pretend we're relevant to the world.  But we're not.  We were the punchline again Saturday, and just in case ESPN didn't remind you enough....we were the punchline on the five-year anniversary of the day the world laughed at us hardest.