Prior to the 2008 season, I read an article by a beat writer for Michigan basketball and it was just his prediction on how the season would go. I was shocked to find out that the prediction he had made projected the Wolverines at a lowly 4-8.

My thoughts were that this writer was clearly out of his element and that he should stick to his main focus (basketball), but… now that the season has almost concluded I cannot help but notice that he just may be right. I once again have that feeling that I had after the loss to Appalachian State (foot in mouth) so… my apologies do go out to the wise basketball guru for the maize and blue.

Honestly, I never saw this type of outcome….

The season is not over yet, though. The Wolverines now sit at 3-8 and have already clinched their all-time worst record in 129 years of football. Their last game is essentially their bowl game in Columbus this weekend and they can either fulfill the guru’s prediction OR finish as bad as Notre Dame last year (3-9). It is indeed realistic to believe that the Wolverines have heavy odds to overcome in order to pull off a win against the Buckeyes, but I never take anything for granted in the rivalry and I assume that fellow Buckeye fans feel the same way.

I have observed that the Wolverines have showed the capability of playing toe to toe with any team this season. However, with the exception of Minnesota, they have lacked the ability to put together a full game. There have been games in which the offense starts out smooth, but then it stalls or turns the ball over. I expected the offense to be erratic with mediocre QB play and a lack of leadership, BUT… the defense has also been inconsistent… more so than the offense in certain respects.

The defense has been the most disappointing factor this season because I thought the veteran leadership would be more opportunistic and cause turnovers. A dominating defense would help a young offense by creating a short field. Instead, there has been poor secondary play and a huge amount of blown assignments (poor tackling, out of position, lack of proper speed, being overly aggressive, etc.)

I believe the only way that Michigan has a chance in Columbus is if the defense is indeed opportunistic and causes turnovers. Stopping Pryor and Beanie Wells are also important factors and it is possible (see PSU), but … it is quite unlikely to eliminate both. If Boeckman was still the QB I would feel a bit more optimistic, but that is not the case.

The offense needs to have a solid plan and that must include running the ball effectively. That has been the main problem in the rivalry of recent. The Buckeyes have been winning on the ground (especially during the Hart years). If the Wolverines come out and run the ball like they did against Penn State then I will be very happy. All that would need to happen then is smart and consistent QB play and that’s where the doubt begins. With Threet being hurt recently and… Nick Sheridan seeming to be the best option… is great cause for being nervous. We have yet to see Feagin throw the ball so… you never know. He could be a wild card for coach Rodriguez.
This year’s game is no different than any other against the Buckeyes; I think the team will play inspired football. The only thing that I question is for how long they will do so….

Go Blue! Beat the Buckeyes!

Yanks at it again, a local idiot over at the scout board.

I have been one of the biggest advocates of putting Feagin in from the beginning, and everyone kept on bashing me and continues to. They cant admit that they were wrong, so they use that he only had 35 yds and then 6 carries for 15 yards. The problem with saying that is that the offensive line didnt block at all today. Most of the yards on the ground were because of the big plays by Minor, Shaw and Feagin. If the o line actually blocked today, Feagin would have probably had 70-80 yards, seeing how bad Minnesota was when the guys got through the defensive line.
People bash you because of the things you have said about Nick Sheridan....you know...that guy who won the football game today? Are you ready to "admit you are wrong"?

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You called Nick Sheridan childish names and then you come out and try to lecture people about saying how right you are. Look at how wrong you are, Nick played the best of any QB this season who you bashed. You said the oline played awful, that is so wrong it's not even funny. They pushed the Minn line around all day, even dumb ass Pam Ward saw that and commented on it. When the team has a big day on the ground it isn't because the line sucked... They had their best game of the season.

The Whole Justin thing is dumb too.. Dominated? Are you serious? He came in and had a few nice runs. Juice Williams dominated us, when you throw for 300 yards and run for 100 yards and a handful of TDs. Justin came in and played well for about 6 snaps? No one owns you anything. You're contradicting yourself all the time. Instead of this dumb thread you should have made one about how wrong you were about Nick Sheridan.

Keep digging that hole Justin. I hope you eat yourself to the 2nd unit. You will be lucky if that happens when you come to AA in 09.

The Michigan Wolverines have slipped into a horrendous 2-6 record here in 2008 and things are a bit upside down in the world I know as college football. The past two weeks were quite disappointing, but as the losing streak goes along… one tends to be desensitized to a certain degree. Numb or comatose could also fairly describe the postgame feelings of a Michigan football fan ever since the win over the Wisconsin Badgers back on Sept. 27th.

I would say that this season has been long due to the losing, but I would be lying. The truth is that the 2008 season has been too fast in general and believe me- that's fucking great! I would rather a season such as this go by as quickly as possible. I'm still rooting heavily for the maize and blue as always, but the loss to MSU last week was a will breaker to say the least because I know that the Wolverines are most likely not heading to a bowl game. The PSU loss was expected I guess, but still a disappointment and yes… the same ole shit.

Same ole shit consists of:

1. Teams inability to put a complete game together.
2. Lack of consistency on offense.
3. Failure to score more than 7 points in a 2nd half.
4. Erratic QB play
5. Turnovers
6. Poor tackling by a supposed veteran defense.
7. Horrendous secondary play (worst I've seen ever)
8. Stevie Brown
9. Stevie Brown
10. Lack of solid leadership.

I guess that the best thing that we fans can hope for is a BIG win to end the season and I don't even have to say who that opponent is. Let's just say that it would be the equivalent to a Super Bowl victory. However, I'm somewhat of a realist so hopefully the Wolverines at least keep that little ugly jug in Ann Arbor. Umm… wait… I'm looking ahead past Purdue this weekend and I shouldn’t, especially since the Toledo debacle.

Go Blue! Beat Purdue!