All That's Left is All That's Left

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Sparty was Sparty on Tuesday night, getting run out of the gym in Bloomington, so the only thing left that is out of Michigan's hands is a matchup between two teams, in a place you hate...that will likely cause you to in some way root for a team you have wished painful death upon for the bulk of your life.  The rest is in the hands of the Wolverines. 

#13 Michigan is heading to Champaign for a Thursday night battle with the Fighting Illini.  Illinois has dropped 9 of their last 11, and is spiraling to a point where Bruce Weber has found himself on the hot seat.  At the same time, Michigan comes in carrying the burden of history on its backs, going 0-13 over the last 17 years in Champaign, and will have to deal with a wounded animal in Illinois, who needs to win out and win a couple of games in the Big Ten tournament to make the NCAA's.   Michigan will also have to contain Meyers Leonard, a 7'1'' rebounding machine that has broken out for 43 points in his last two games.

You should anticipate having to deal with the frustration of Leonard keeping possessions alive after Illini misses.  Mix in one or two 3-4 minute Michigan scoring droughts and an emotional Illinois team playing for its seniors and for the beleaguered coach, and well, we're looking at another great night of frustrating Big Ten hoops.

It's a recipe for...well, it's a recipe for something.  

Other previews:

 

 

Be there, 7pm, ESPN

GO BLUE!

The Home Stretch

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Everybody is lining up this week to stand at the buttocks of the Michigan coaching staff and get their noses just a little bit brown, already declaring the current season a resounding success. The Wolverines just grabbed their 8th win of the season, a somewhat decisive victory on the road against a team that 1) squeaked out a 17-14 victory over Western Michigan, 2) is coached by Ron Zook and 3) Had lost three consecutive games while scoring a TOTAL of 28 points. It's a celebration! If you watched that game, you know it was one of the poorest excuses for a football game ever played. The only team in the country that played worse than Michigan on Saturday was Illinois. Michigan would have lost to pretty much anybody else that day. Missed opportunities, turnovers, an embarrassing red-zone offense, and a rotating pair of quarterbacks that are both mediocre at best with regards to passing. I'd like to also add that I think Denard has been pulled a couple times this season, Saturday being one of them, under the guise of injury...when in fact he was not injured. I feel like his injuries have come all too coincidentally after very poor interceptions.

And somehow, holding Illinois (the 78th ranked scoring defense in the nation) to 14 points was the defining moment for the Michigan defense. In fact, depending on who you ask, it turned them into an actual Michigan defense. Listen, they played very well against the run, and as I said last week, Michigan's turnaround on D from last year to this year borders on the miraculous, and it is a testament to just how bad Greg Robinson was, how bad Schafer was before him, and how poor the general defensive direction and communication was in the previous regime. It is also a testament to the quality of opponent we've played, as the Big Ten is worlds worse, team by team, than it was last year. Also, I cannot say enough about how bad Ron Zook's gameplan was. Illinois scored their first touchdown in the third quarter to make it 17-7 on a drive that was all passes, basically a series of completions and pass interference penalties. I thought they had us. I thought they figured it out. Yes, despite JT Floyd being anointed the next Charles Woodson by the blogosphere this week, Michigan is still vulnerable to the deep ball. Throwing deep against us will get you large chunks of yards and/or draw penalties. It's a nearly foolproof plan. And after Michigan countered the Illinois's TD with a three-and-out, I was convinced the Illini were about to make it a three point game. But they went back to running and a sideline to sideline passing game, never throwing the ball more than 5-yards past the line of scrimmage. That got them nowhere. JT jumped a short route and got an interception that set up Devin Gardner to put the game away. 8 wins for the first time since 2007. Bury the demons? A little bit. Still concerned about the future from both a "right now" and "5-years from now" perspective? Most definitely.

 

I'm worried about the last two games. I'm concerned that Nebraska's line will show us the kind of manball we saw at Iowa and MSU. I'm concerned that OSU will find a way to put it all together for that last Saturday in November. But beyond this season, I'm still worried about where we are going. We are going back to building a Big Ten champion, and in the short term that's going to make us feel better because we've endured so much pain in the last 3 seasons. We can very easily dominate this conference. So could the 7th best team in the SEC. As Ohio State has shown in the past several years, dominating the Big Ten does not translate nationally. And ready or not, we are headed to the big stage, because after these two games, our next two games are (likely) January 2nd against an SEC team that we have no business playing...and then Alabama on September 1st.

 

Brady Hoke is well on his way to being the Michigan Man we needed. He is certainly "as advertised." I just want him to be more than that. Even in these rebuilding times, when victory is so much more appreciated, I want to see Michigan moving past being Michigan. I know Brady will get us back to where we were, and I hope he proves me wrong and gets us to where we've never been.

Something

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Me on Wednesday...

A 3rd down stop or two would suffice, or a decent kick return, or even a field goal.  Show me something that keeps the fire lit.

We got all of those things.  We will play 13 games this year.  We will not be home for Christmas.

And once again, winning fixes everything, if only for 7 days.

Pictures from the Thanksgiving Themed Tailgate...

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The Big Fade

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Fandom is predicated on emotion. And these swings are just too much. From knocking on death's door to being back in the hunt, and back again. Five wins in a row followed by three losses. It's taking it's toll on the fanbase, it's taking a toll on me, and it certainly must be taking a toll on these kids that bleed for us each Saturday. Their words say everything is fine, that they're not phased, that they are still going to turn it around, but no matter how you slice it, we're about as close to turmoil and anarchy as we can get. Until proven otherwise, we are safe to assume that this season is the same as the last. Penn State was but another nail in the coffin, and I am just being honest when I say I am still not over the initial nail that was Michigan State. They say that this next game is a must win. They said that about the last game. They'll say it about the next one too. But we're running out of must wins, and are coming dangerously close to having to do what is seemingly impossible...beat the Badgers or the Buckeyes.

What is our hope?  What is our end result?  Grab that elusive 6th victory and go to Detroit? or Dallas?  Hope to win there, snag an extra 15 practices, and move on to installing a new defensive coordinator with a new system and a new excuse as to why we can't stop anybody.

Or worse, lose out.  Suffer the embarrassment of two Big Ten wins in two years, lose the Coach that turned the worst offense in the Big Ten into the best offense in the Big Ten, and ride out a regime change that could set us back another three years.  We're a hair away from becoming Notre Dame.

There are no good outcomes remaining for the 2010 Wolverines...unless you believe in miracles.  Like winning the next two, and stealing one of the last two.  That's the dream scenario.  That's what we've come to, dreaming of beating the likes of Illinois and Purdue.  Praying to be competitive against Wisconsin and Ohio State, hoping that one of them will make enough mistakes so that we might steal a victory.

This is in no way, shape, or form Michigan Football.  And there's no way out.  There's no good solution.  I've become indifferent to the future, to Coach Rodriguez.  I so badly want him to turn this around, and yet I don't see how it is in his hands.  Worse yet, I'm not sure he could do anything about it if it was in his hands.  I'm just not sure about anything...outside of my loyalty.  I will be there when they take the field.  I will be there to watch them fight the good fight.  I will hope for that dream scenario.

On Saturday I just want to see something positive, some kind of progress, something that says we're moving forward.  A 3rd down stop or two would suffice, or a decent kick return, or even a field goal.  Show me something that keeps the fire lit.