10 years, $40 million

That's what Charlie Weis signed for a contract extension after one year on the job. After seeing what happened to Notre Dame against Georgia Tech on Saturday, I've got another holiday weekend post in me.

Nearly two years ago, I made what I thought was a meaningless little comparison between Charlie Weis and Ty Willingham after one season of play and found it a little odd that Charlie got a mega contract when his inaugural season was very similar to that of recently fired Ty Willingham. Turns out it got linked on CNNSI's On Campus and I got deluged with angry emails from Notre Dame fans. Well, here we sit in year 3 of the Charlie Weis regime and I'm still smirking just a little bit. How about another comparison?

Through 26 games, Weis vs Willingham:

Overall record: 19-7 vs 15-11 (edge Charlie)
# of 20+ point losses: 4 vs 6
record vs teams in final AP top 25: 1-5 vs 4-7

Gotta give a slight edge to Charlie on overall record and fewer blowout losses, however Ty faced tougher competition. Now one of these coaches was on the verge of getting fired and the other has what amounts to a near lifetime contract. What's the difference between the two? Willingham went 6-4 the rest of the way in 2004 to finish his ND career with a record of 21-15 including a 6-9 mark against teams ranked at the end of the season. Charlie has 7 consecutive losable games coming up and ND starting 2-6 on the season is not an unreasonable expectation (@PSU, @Michigan, MSU, @Purdue, @UCLA, Boston College, Southern Cal).

Is the Notre Dame administration sweating even a little on this one? Should they be?

The Grand Daddy of 'em All

What others are saying...

The Detroit Free Press notes that speed (or lack thereof) is still a topic of discussion

According to Lane Kiffen...""When you look at the Big Ten as a whole, there is not a lot of speed". "We go for speed," he said. "That's just our philosophy."

The Free Press also mentions how next year starts on Monday for Ron English

The answer will be heard throughout the off-season. If Michigan's defense stops USC's offense, English will keep his reputation as a bright young defensive mind and Booty will face major scrutiny next August. If USC overpowers Michigan's defense, U-M fans will wonder whether English is just a younger, more charismatic version of maligned former defensive coordinator Jim Herrmann.

On the calendar and in perception, next year starts Monday.

According to the Free Press, the Michigan defense will be ready

Since then, English said he's seen improved intensity and crispness. "We've picked it up," he said. "The preparation has gone well."

The Detroit News says that USC is ready to score some points against Michigan

They have a solid defense, but you definitely see they can be exposed at times," USC star receiver Dwayne Jarrett said. "It's exciting to see things like that."

The News also quotes another USC wide receiver licking his chops

"The other corner, No. 14, he's a good player, but I don't know, we feel like we can make some plays on him," Smith said of Trent. "The safeties, if they're starters, they have to be good, but we feel like we can make some plays in the secondary."

The LA Times quotes Leon Hall on Dwayne Jarrett

"Ohio State didn't have a Jarrett-type of receiver," Hall said. "Jarrett can put himself between the ball and the defender and, if he gets that position, then it's almost 100% that he's going to get the ball."

Another gem from Lane Kiffin in the LA Times

Lane Kiffin, USC's offensive coordinator, said the Trojans hope to slow that up-field push by running at Woodley, whose size raises questions about his ability to stop the rush.

The Orange County Register says Chauncey Washington is back for USC

The Trojans do, however, have one implement they had to leave in the toolbox against UCLA. They have a healthy Chauncey Washington.

"I believe I can be a difference-maker," Washington said.

The San Gabriel Valley Tribune says Leon Hall is up to the challenge

His sophomore year he got caught up in the B.S. of being a Freshman All-American," said English, who was defensive secondary coach before taking over as coordinator this season. "But the last two years he's been the type of kid that's really bought into being technically sound."

The SGV Tribune also has a bit on a wiser Chad Henne

A year wiser and more polished, Henne looks to lead the Wolverines past the disappointment of not reaching the Bowl Championship Series championship game and to their first bowl win four years.

"We were definitely disappointed with the (BCS) outcome at first, but we're at the Rose Bowl," said the Henne, a 21-year-old junior. "We're playing a great team, and we can be the second team in Michigan history to go out with 12 wins.

"That's what we've set our hearts on and we're coming out here to go out with a win."

One Last Time

Whereever it says "Kyle's Mom", just insert "Urban Meyer"




Whew, now I think I finally got it out of my system.

Gary Danielson is the Anti-Christ

I bet Urban Meyer still feels dirty from the rim job that Gary Danielson gave to Florida on Saturday, though Urban was begging for it at the time.

Here's a link to the CBS feedback page where you can let them know what a douchebag you think Gary is and ask for his termination.

Go nuts with it. If Gary never says one word on TV again, I will be happy. He disgraced himself.

God Save Us All

Jim Walden, the former coach of Iowa State, apparently has a vote in the Harris Poll. As you probably know, this gives him a say in who plays in the BCS national title game. Well, not only does Jim have a vote, he had an interesting vote. He was the one and only person in the country to vote Florida #1 ahead of Ohio State. Here are some quotes from this weekend and a few months ago that put this man's logic in perspective.

From Whole Hog Sports:

But Walden said Texas would still deserve to be rated higher than every other one-loss team if it wins out because the Longhorns’ only loss was to No. 1 OhioState.

“You’re never going to get me to vote for one team ahead of a team that’s only lost to the best team in the country,” Walden said.

OK, got it? Seems simple enough. Now this little nugget from the New York Times:

“If you look at the Big Ten conference, it is a joke,” Walden said in a telephone interview late last night. He added: “I voted my heart and I voted my strength of what I believe in. In my opinion, Florida is the No. 1 team in the nation.”

Interesting. Any other thoughts on Florida and their coach Urban Meyer? Let's check the Des Moines Register:

“I have always thought the SEC was the whiniest bunch, who are under the mistaken belief that they have invented football and I have never met Urban Henry,” said Walden, mistakenly confusing Florida coach Urban Meyer for a Lombardi-era Green Bay Packer defensive lineman. “I have been drinking a lot of Alka-Seltzer today.”

Must be the Alka-Seltzer making him loopy. Do you really want a man so hopped up on Alka Seltzer helping decide the national championship? He was sold every week of the year that Ohio State was the best team in the country, including after their final victory over Michigan. Every other person in the country with a vote gave it to Ohio State for number one. But not slick Jim. Was he just trying to avoid his own logic from earlier this year in which he unequivocally said the team that lost to #1 would have to be #2? Is he that smart? I don't know.

I do know that the Harris poll really needs to step up the quality of people voting in the poll because it is a flat out joke right now.

Facts

Florida, Michigan....Michigan, Florida, etc.

• One of these teams played a tougher schedule than the other as based on the cumulative winning percentage of their opponents
• One of these teams best win was in South Bend by 26 points while the others best win was by 13 points at home over LSU
• One of these teams lost on the road to the #1 team in the nation by three points while the other lost by 10 points on the road to 2 loss Auburn
• One of these teams only had 2 games decided by 7 or fewer points while the other had 7 games decided by 7 or fewer points
• One of these teams had a coach that refused to bitch and moan about what his team deserved, while the other had a coach that cried like a little girl.
• One of these teams was far better against their one common opponent (Vanderbilt) than the other

And, one of these teams got snubbed from the national championship game because people don't want to watch a rematch. How sad is that? Just 2 weeks ago, the college football nation got treated to one of the greatest regular season games of all time. It was the highest rated game in over a decade. It featured the greatest rivalry in sports. It came approximately 27 hours after Bo Schembechler passed away. It was a 3 point game that came down to the final minutes. We had a chance to watch it happen again. It was Ali-Frazier II waiting to happen.

But alas, it was all for nothing. Instead, we get to watch Ohio State beat up on an inferior Florida team that is no real threat to them and Michigan gets to work on their tan in Pasadena for the 3rd time in 4 years.

But imagine what could have been if people had voted for who they thought was best, instead of what game they wanted to see. (HT MGoBlog)

George Lapides, a Memphis sports radio talk host, said he believed Florida would lose to Michigan if the teams were to play. But he jumped the Gators from No. 4 to No. 2, past the Wolverines, after Florida beat Arkansas.

“I liked the idea of a conference champion playing a conference champion,” he said. “I think that’s more appealing than a rematch. I think you try to pick something as appealing as possible.”

Midweek Miscellany

It's Election Day! The results are in: Ohio State still sucks! I kid because I care. It's the week before the week of the Ohio State game, which I guess is referred to by some as the week of the Indiana game. Honestly, though, it's Indiana. I know they beat Iowa, but so did Northwestern. I also know Indiana just lost to Minnesota by some God forsaken score of a bajillion to fourteen or something like that.

I gotta say that the best thing I saw on TV this weekend, was the last 23 seconds of the first half of the Wisconsin-Penn State game. It was sheer comedy on so many levels. First you have Wisconsin just blatantly abusing the clock rules which was funny on it's own. Then you get to see JoePa torn between disbelief and sheer anger as he comes onto the field and rips into the ref. Then on Wisconsin's third kickoff, a squib, PSU fumbles and it is actually recovered by Wisconsin but the half had run out by then. Finally, as JoePa is walking to the lockerroom, he threatens to go postal on the camerman. It is probably the longest last half minute of a half ever, but it is one of the best 6 minutes of TV you will ever see in a college football game. See for yourself...

Doogie Howser is gay?!?!?!?!?! I wonder if CBS will keep up the Barney's Blog. No, not the purple dinosaur. It's the blog of Neil Patrick Harris' character on How I Met Your Mother. I just find it a little amusing when Doogie is gay and his character is the horniest heterosexual guy on TV. The titles of some recent blog entries: "Huntin' Coug", "The Amazing Morning-After System", "Occupation Stimulation", etc.

It's also sad to see Britney and K-Fed calling it quits. I had such high hopes for the cute couple. If they can't make it, what hope do the rest of us mortals have? Although I have to wonder if this is just Britney fulfilling her life long destiny as trailer trash. Hand her some menthols and she can be a nice 24 year old single mother of two living back home with mommy in Louisiana. And yes, this was techinically her second marriage. Do we have an Elizabeth Taylor rival in the makings? She could hit four marriages by age 30 with no trouble at all.

Sorry for going off topic. I am still dazed and confused by Ohio State's 7 point win over Illinois and how bad the Buckeye offense looked in the second half. I don't make much of it, though, just strange to watch and wonder exactly what might be possible for the Michigan defense.

2006 BTPR, week 9

All work and no play make Homer something, something. Go Crazy? Don't mind if I do!

Way, way, way, way, way too much work this week. I think my conference power ratings have to stay the same for another week, however, because the higher ranked teams just keep on winning every game. Hopefully I don't close out the year with these same rankings.

1) Ohio State
2) Michigan

3) Wisconsin - these first 3 are getting boring

4) Penn State - nice shutout of the Boilers and they get a crack at #3 this week
5) Iowa - not a good team without Drew Tate
6) Purdue - blah

7) Minnesota
8) Indiana - will fight for #7 this week
9) Michigan State

10) Illinois
11) Northwestern


I'll see if I can't swing a preview of Ball State in the morning.

College Football Thoughts and Musings

Quite a weekend of college football, though Michigan didn't have much to write about. The Trojans were denied by the Beavers, West Virginia and Louisville are looking ahead to Thursday night's showdown, Ohio State rolled on. Some thoughts...

• West Virginia - yes, I get it. You are now up to number 3 in the BCS with USC's long regular season winning streak snapped. You are playing Louisville in a battle of unbeatens that very well might be a national semifinal of sorts along with the Michigan-Ohio State game. But please, spare me the no respect card. West Virginia just hasn't proven anything this year. They are 7-0 against simply putrid competition. What kind of a non conference schedule is this? Marshall, Eastern Washington, Maryland, Eastern Carolina, and Mississippi State? Yes, Steve Slaton is a phenomenal talent and Pat White can make plays. Do not, however, try to tell me that West Virginia would put up numbers against a team that can stop the run. But what about the Sugar Bowl against Georgia? Yeah, I saw it. I saw WVU get up 28-0 in a hurry and then hang on for dear life only scoring 10 points in the last 44 minutes and 10 seconds of the game against the crappy 52nd ranked rushing defense of Georgia. The Bulldogs rushing D was bad last year and they had a horrible matchup with West Virginia. The Mountaineers exploited it and got a big lead and held on for the W. Congrats. However, that was last year. And as relatively unimpressed as I am, it still counts for squat this year. West Virginia very well could be one of the top five teams in the country. However, they have done nothing that 35 other teams in the country couldn't do against their schedule so far. I'm praying that Michigan meets West Virginia in a bowl game.
• Michigan - That was one ugly 17-3 win over Northwestern. Do you think Lloyd liked it? Check out this quote from his press conference today: "I love that kind of game Saturday. I love that environment. I think you find out a lot about your team. I'm not concerned in terms of margins, point spreads. In most cases I don't even know them." I swear he's happier playing a close low scoring game against a bad team than he is if they would've won 42-0. And the playcalling shows it when Michigan runs the same play over and over and over and refuses to test the other team deep. Is it that they are saving something for OSU, or do Carr/DeBord just prefer to win a game by running it on nearly every play? I'll bet on the latter.
• Mike DeBord - hmmm, is he really the brains behind Lloyd Carr's operation? He was offensive coordinator for 1997 to 1999 during which time Michigan went 12-0, 10-3, and 10-2. Now he's back calling the plays this year and Michigan is 9-0 and counting. Some people say he is the beneficiary of having great defenses backing him up (I'm looking at you Brian), but I say no way. Michigan's defense gave up more points in 1999 than they did in 2005, yet Michigan managed to go 10-2 in 1999 compared to 7-5 in 2005. 1998's defense wasn't spectacular either. Michigan with DeBord calling the plays managed to go 20-5 over 1998 and 1999 which is the best two year stretch since the mid 1980s not counting the 1997 season. Doesn't he deserve at least a little credit? I mean his offense is a defense's best friend (not to mention Lloyd's best friend). He emphasizes rushing the football, minimizing turnovers, and time of possession. He makes it easy on a defense by not putting them behind the eight ball. It says something that Michigan is 38-0 when the defense holds the opponent under 30 points with DeBord calling the plays. Any takers on whether Ohio State will be over or under 30 this year? I tend to disagree with some of the boring, predictable methods of DeBord's offense. However, he has shown a willingness to open up the gameplan in big games and is not afraid to do so on the road. Think about it. Over the last decade of Michigan football, which big road games did the offensive gameplan make you go WOW and which ones made you cringe. 1997 Penn State? 1999 Penn State? 2000 Orange Bowl against Alabama? 2006 Notre Dame? Not too shabby in those games. Now how about 2000 Purdue? 2002 or 2004 Notre Dame? 2003 Iowa or Oregon? The more you look at it IMHO, the more DeBord looks like a genius when it comes to winning games. Is he the reason Michigan is 9-0 this year and went 12-0 in 1997? No. But he's a part of it. His offense helps the defense out. And the fact that Michigan had successful seasons in 1998 and 1999 despite defenses that were as bad as anything from 2000-2005 shows me that it isn't just the defense.
  

9-0 v 9-0

We have now officially moved up to the TOO EARLY Ohio State segments of blogging.

Quite a contrast in styles yesterday. Michigan beat Northwestern 17-3 in cold (<> 50 mph gusts) conditions in a game that can best be described as ugly. Ohio State had a little better conditions and hammered Minnesota in every facet of the game winning 44-0. Style points awarded to Ohio State.

But does it matter? Did Michigan even try on offense? I'll argue that they didn't. They played without Mario Manningham, Tyler Ecker, Rueben Riley, Mike Massey, and Adrian Arrington sat on the sidelines for most of the game. The conditions were brutal and all they tried to do was run. Northwestern knew this but still couldn't stop it, merely slowing them enough to hold them to 202 yards on the ground. That's the third time in the last 5 games they've topped 200 on the ground for those keeping track at home. Northwestern played an 8 man front the entire game and Michigan plunged right into it. Henne was 10/20 on the day, but was betrayed by Steve Breaston's hands at least once or twice.

Ohio State was brutally efficient yesterday. They scored in every quarter. They ran the ball for 266 yards, threw for 218 yards, and flat out beat up Minnesota's offense holding them to 182 yards on the day. If you care to peruse the Buckeye's numbers this year, you might notice that Penn State is the only Big Ten team to hold them under 38 points this year (28 for that game), though you might remember that 14 points in that game were off late "pick 6s" by the Buckeye defense. But they have been shredding Big Ten opponents this year. 38 points at Iowa, 38 at MSU, 44 points against Indiana, 44 against Minnesota. Michigan's defense will certainly have their work cut out for them against a Buckeye offense that is rolling.


We are now less than 3 weeks away from perhaps the Biggest Regular Season Game in the History of College Football.

2006 BTPR, week 8

Well, last week's rankings worked out pretty good with the higher ranked team winning every game. Let's keep it the same this week.

1) Ohio State
2) Michigan - it's lonely at the top for these 2

3) Wisconsin - still the king of the midgets as the drop from #3 to #4 is large

4) Penn State - not too impressive over Illinois, but a win is a win
5) Iowa - hung tough for a little while as expected in Ann Arbor
6) Purdue - nothing special against the Badgers

7) Minnesota
8) Indiana
9) Michigan State - largest comeback win of all time that begs the question, how the hell can you fall behind by 35 points to Northwestern?

10) Illinois
11) Northwestern - soon to be cupcake #1 on the Wolverines road to Columbus


We'll see if it can hold true for another week. Tomorrow we will return to some gratuitous WAY TOO EARLY Ohio State related preview type stuff.

2006 BTPR, week 7

1) Ohio State - another boring week atop the college football world for the Buckeyes
2) Michigan - convincing win in a tough environment have cemented Michigan as the number 1 challenger to the Ohio State coronation

3) Wisconsin - and then there was one. Losses by Iowa and Penn State leave Wisconsin as king of the munchkins behind the Big 2

4) Penn State - well, they've lost to #1 Ohio State, #2 Michigan, and #8/10 Notre Dame. Other than that they have beaten lesser opponents.
5) Iowa - Indiana? Yikes. If they don't have a good game in Ann Arbor they are dropping
6) Purdue - missing Michigan and Ohio State on the schedule helps their record

7) Minnesota - the Gophers have started their 2nd half slide into mediocrity a little early this year
8) Indiana - Nice victory over the Hawkeyes propels them above MSU for this week
9) Michigan State - pucker, pucker, pucker

10) Illinois - Ohio? Man, they suck.
11) Northwestern - putting them behind Illinois tells you how bad they are


Big 2 and Little 9, huh? Looks like a home game for Michigan this week against a reeling Iowa Hawkeye team is all that stands between a November showdown of undefeated Big Ten behemoths in Columbus. It's been over 30 years since these 2 powers sat so far ahead of the rest of the conference (and ahead of the country).

2006 BTPR, week 6

1) Ohio State - ho hum as they keep rolling
2) Michigan - rolled past Michigan State, but might be without Manningham for a while

3) Wisconsin - dominating crappy teams like they should, but still no good wins
4) Penn State - needed OT against Minnesota and still no good victories
5) Iowa - nice bounce back W over Purdue

6) Purdue - they have a nice passing game
7) Minnesota - they have a nice all around offense
8) Michigan State - they have a funny coach

9) Indiana - with a win over Illinois, they are the tallest midget this week
10) Illinois - a fall from grace after their win over MSU 2 weeks ago
11) Northwestern - Randy Walker must have been a miracle worker

Hey Drew!

Congrats on a fine career against Michigan!

Pucker, Pucker, Pucker

Yeah, if that was the least surprising game of the college football weekend I'm not sure what you've been watching the last few years. Michigan strolled past the Spartans 31-13. Let's recap, shall we?

Michigan State's stupid penalties? Check. They came through in fine form again yesterday. What was the final total? 11? I particularly liked some of the dumber ones, but it's hard to choose a favorite. Was it the late hit out of bounds on 3rd down about 3 seconds after an incomplete pass? Maybe it was the 3 or 4 times they jumped offsides when Henne backed out to call an audible. It's like asking who your favorite child is when discussing boneheaded MSU penalties.

Michigan State's "special" teams Check. Do they ride the short bus to school every day? The missed field goal was nice, but not quite as nice as when they decided to return the kickoff from the endzone after thinking about it for 3 or 4 seconds. I'll give them a free pass on the running into the punter penalty since it allowed us to watch Zoltan the Destroyer unleash a 64 yard bomb.

John L. Smith's "coaching" Check. Nice use of a challenge on Michigan's first touchdown. Your mastery of the system is something to be worshipped. Then again the way his defense play it wouldn't have mattered anyway.

Drew Stanton as the loveable loser Check. The kid who proclaimed that he was born to beat Michigan and it was the University of Puke etc. was once again left hanging his head in despair having finished his career 0-5 against the Wolverines.

Jehuu Caulcrick as Stanton's sidekick in stupidity Check. This kid decided he'd proclaim that Michigan's rushing defense wasn't that tough and it wouldn't be much of a challenge was held to 29 yards on 14 carries. Here's some news for you J-Who?: Michigan is still #1 in the nation in rushing defense after throttling you.


Do I even need to recap Michigan's offense? It's really the exact same thing they have done for weeks. Come out gunning in the first half with a dynamic balance of rushing and passing while opening a big lead. Then they ease up in the 2nd half and just run the ball while coasting to a victory. Mike Hart got 122 yards on 22 carries. Chad Henne was 11/17 for 130 yards and 3 TDs and 0 INTs. Mario Manningham scored on 2 long touchdowns (again).

Anybody with a pulse in Michigan spent the 2nd half of the football game watching the Tigers dismantle the Yankees.

2006 BTPR, week 5

Once again, by tiers:

1) Ohio State - they are really good and they smacked Iowa around in Iowa City
2) Michigan - probably the 2nd best team in the country right now

3) Penn State - no great wins, but only 2 losses were to top 10 teams
4) Wisconsin - same as above, except only 1 loss to top 10 team
5) Iowa - is OSU just that good? Maybe

6) Purdue - great passing offense, crappy defense
7) Minnesota - they can still run the ball and Cupito is underrated
8) Michigan State - LOL

9) Illinois - is Michigan State just that bad?
10) Northwestern - thud
11) Indiana - double thud

Who Does #2 Work For?

This is the first time in a long time that I can remember such a clear cut choice at #1 nationally and such a huge group of teams all with sizeable support for the #2 spot in the polls. Ohio State is #1. I can live with that. They had a great team last year and are off to a fantastic start. They've got a good coach and a great quarterback who is a Heisman favorite. What I'd like to do is break down the race for #2 as it stands right now. Who's in the discussion? Five teams by my count: Auburn, Florida, Michigan, USC, West Virginia. Others like LSU and Texas and Louisville are on the outside looking in at this point. So, in alphabetical order:

Auburn
2005 record and ranking: 9-3, #14 in polls, lost to Wisconsin in Citrus Bowl
2006 record: 5-0
Best win: 7-3 at home against #9/10 LSU
Worst performance: 24-17 nailbiter over unranked South Carolina at home
Gestalt: They've got a great D, a great running back, and a decent passing game. Signature win over LSU is hard to quantify. LSU is a very good team, but that was not a great performance and it was at home.

Florida
2005 record and ranking: 9-3, #12/16 in polls, beat Iowa in Outback Bowl
2006 record: 5-0
Best win: 21-20 win at #13/14 Tennessee
Worst performance: 26-7 against Kentucky at home
Gestalt: Very good defense and an up and down offense. Very difficult schedule coming up, so they will prove on the field where they belong. Nothing spectacular yet.

Michigan
2005 record and ranking: 7-5, unranked, lost to Nebraska in the Alamo Bowl
2006 record: 5-0
Best win: 47-21 blowout at #12 Notre Dame
Worst performance: 27-7 win at home against Vanderbilt
Gestalt: Take your pick of Ohio State or Michigan as the most impressive team in the nation thus far. Their dominance in South Bend is the best performance of any team in the nation thus far and they've had a 3 score lead midway through the 4th quarter in every game this year meaning they haven't broken a sweat.

USC
2005 record and ranking: 12-1, #2, lost to Texas in the Rose Bowl
2006 record: 4-0
Best win: 28-10 over #22 Nebraska at home
Worst performance: Toss up between 20-3 at Arizona or 28-22 at Washington State. LSU beat Arizona by 6 TDs and Auburn beat Wash State by 26.
Gestalt: No Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush, or LenDale White, but there is plenty of talent to go around for Pete Carroll. Not terribly impressive thus far, but would you bet against them? Lack of experience might come back to to bite them at some point.

West Virginia
2005 record and ranking: 11-1, #5/6, beat Georgia in the Sugar Bowl
2006 record: 4-0
Best win: 45-24 over Maryland at home
Worst performance: 27-10 win at East Carolina
Gestalt: They play a horrendous schedule this year and might not play a team that ends up above .500 until November. The one and only reason they are ranked this high is because of the Sugar Bowl last year.


So how do I rank it? I think it's obvious that Michigan has the best resume thus far but is handicapped by their horrible 2005 season and lower start in the polls this year. I'd put Auburn and Florida just behind because they each have a quality win. USC is on a great run, but their best win is at home against an overrated Nebraska squad that just needed OT to beat Kansas at home. West Virginia? Get back to me when you play a team with a pulse.

I Love College Bands

The marching variety, not the Dave Matthews variety. Although there is always a place for Dave when you are drunk out of your mind on somebody's couch at 1 AM. I really love college football and nothing sets the mood like a bunch of kids that used to get beat up in high school dressed up in nice uniforms and playing the same music they've been playing for years. It's tradition. I kid, though, because I actually do love listening to college marching bands play on a fall Saturday.

Why did this come up now? I actually like Michigan State's band. They've got some catchy tunes in their repetoire and it's a shame they will only get to play them before the game and at half time on Saturday because ain't no way in hell they will have anything to celebrate during the game.

I went digging around and found some of my absolute favorites. I'm sure rivals of these teams can hate some of these from hearing them over and over, but I don't play favorites. You'll find some Michigan State, Ohio State, and Notre Dame in here because they are part of what makes college football great. When I hear one of these, it instantly lets me know that college football is being played and their team just did something good. We'll go by conference with some of the stuff I like.

Big Ten

Only the greatest fight song of all time
What you won't be hearing much of on Saturday
I've got some great lyrics for this one
Catchy jingle
Drinking music

ACC

Give 'em the Chop
This one has a nice beat
Poor imitation of the Michigan hockey band, but you get the point

Big Twelve

This still makes me chuckle

Not much from the Big Twelve bands get me going.

Big East

Not a real football conference.

Pac Ten

Repeat over and over. It's still good, though
You know you want to make a V and nod your head
Just picture hot women in minimal clothing that aren't interested in the game

SEC

All this ditty is missing is a big F-U
Roll Tide
Go Tigers
Lord Vader
Upbeat stuff
Get out of the water
Too bad their offense sucks
Pretty song for a pretty place to watch crappy football
Duhhhhhhhh, duhhhhhhhhh, duhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
The only song they know
Space, bitches, space

Independents

Classic college football


Who said that the game was the only reason to show up? I love listening to college marching bands. "Ladies and Gentleman, presenting the 235 member Michigan Marching Band...Band, take the Field"

That Thing Got a Henne?

In the case of Michigan's offense, that thing does have a Henne. For anybody that missed the Minnesota game, Chad Henne put on a show. It was easily the finest passing performance of his career. He put the ball on the money with every type of throw in the book and all over the field. Money. The fun part about it, though, is that it wasn't just one game. It's years of practice and hard work that are now coming together into the total package at QB. The kid looked off safeties like an NFL vet. He repeatedly audibled into the correct play over and over and over. It was a beautiful sight to behold and should scare the living bejezus out of future opponents.

Let's recap a bit.

Chad's last 3 games (@ND, Wis, @Min): 48/71, 67.6%, 715 yards, 8 TDs, 4 INTs. That's 10 yards per pass attempt and an insane 15 yards per completion. 4 INTs? Well, one was a pop fly quasi hail mary against Wisconsin and another was off a deflection that should've been caught. He is flat out dealing right now.

Henne didn't do much of anything in the first 2 games this year, but that was more because Michigan didn't even try. He totalled 248 yards passing through 2 games while the running backs AVERAGED 250 yards per game.

But wait a second, this didn't come out of nowhere. Don't forget Henne had a very good finish to last year including a phenomenal game against the Buckeyes. Check out his numberes from the last 8 games he has played (including OSU, Neb, ND, Wisc, etc):

132/215, 61.4%, 1630 yards, 17 TDs, 5 INTs.

Yikes, that's starting to get scary good for a kid that has a year and a half left to improve at Michigan. As a freshman, people said all he did was chuck it deep to Braylon. As a sophomore, he didn't get much credit either. What the hell can his critics say now? Wisconsin has one of the best passing defenses in the NCAA right now and he lit them up. Now he gets to set his sights on the porous Michigan State secondary.

What exactly are opposing defensive coordinators supposed to do other than cry themselves to sleep at night? It's called pick your poison. Would you like to get beaten by the most productive quarterback in the history of Michigan football? Or would you rather get gashed by the most productive running back in the history of Miichigan football? Quite the deadly combination as both Henne and Hart will likely leave Ann Arbor with every record in the books.

Mario Manningham is getting all the national attention from Michigan's passing game right now, but Chad Henne is the engine that makes it go. And yes, it's got a Henne.

The 2006 Revenge Tour continues

2005 was such a painful year for Michigan football. It's hard to even count the ways. 5 losses, numerous painful moments, a horrible bowl loss, etc. Heading into 2006, the Michigan football team had a lot of goals to make up for last year. They wanted to beat the teams they lost to last year, they wanted to drop some pounds and be fresher in the 4th quarter, etc.

Well, they've just rolled off 3 straight wins over teams that defeated them last year. But I think I found another measure whereby they are atoning for last year. My Sanity! Any Michigan fan that thinks back to last year cannot help but remember the number of nailbiters that the Wolverines played. It seemed like every game came down to the final minutes. This year? Not so much. The final minutes of every game have been pleasantly uneventful. Just to compare...

2005
Northern Illinois: 33-17 (Win) - this would be considered one of the easiest wins of the year
Notre Dame: 10-17 (Loss) - close loss to what would turn out to be a good team
Eastern Michigan: 55-0 (Win) - nice boring blowout
Wisconsin: 20-23 (Loss) - Stocco's run with 24 seconds left won it
Michigan St: 34-31 (Win) - OT thriller

Five of Michigan's next 7 games would be decided by 4 points or less including 3 losses.

How about 2006?
Vanderbilt: 27-7 (Win) - it wasn't this close
Central Michigan: 41-17 (Win) - boring
Notre Dame: 47-21 (Win) - amazingly and completely boring in the 2nd half
Wisconsin: 27-13 (Win) - tight in the first half, one sided in the 2nd half
Minnesota: 28-14 (Win) - the Gophers tried to make it close but failed


It has been a joy to watch so many football games that didn't involve me being on the edge of my seat in the last minute. Last year, Michigan had a total of 2 games decided by more than 16 points (Indiana and EMU) and a total of 2 games decided by 16 points (Northwestern and Northern Illinois). Every other game was 4 points or less. This year? Nobody has been closer than 2 touchdowns.

So while Michigan cannot get revenge on a team that they lost to in 2005 again until the Ohio State game, they can continue to prove that they do not need to go down to the wire every week.

What else can I find time to talk about this week? Maybe a little bit about the growth of Chad Henne as a quarterback who had perhaps his finest passing performance of his career against Minnesota. I'll probably also find just a little time to touch on Michigan State and the rivalry. I might even find my way to looking at the resumes of the teams chasing Ohio State for #2 in the polls.