Well, week 1 may not have been what many of us had hoped. I know none of us are expecting a conference title of Rich Rodriguez in his first year and I think most Wolverine fans would probably forgive him if he didn't beat Tressel's Buckeyes this November. None of us were sure what Michigan would look like this year, but we knew it was Michigan. Last year's opener was considered to be exactly what it was: a fluke. Saturday's performance may have been an even worse showing than last year. At least we could say the Wolverines beat themselves, at least they generated some offense, at least they could run the ball!True, Rich didn't have all the tools he wanted to run his spread offense, but it's Michigan! He's going to have some talent to work with. But it seemed like he either snubbed or failed to utilize the talent he has. Yes, Rodriguez is trying to develop the players that will fit into his system later this season and in the years to come, but you've still got to win the game! Instead of using guys like Minor and Brown to move the ball, Rich is giving these untested freshmen the call who start running the other way as soon as they see the defensive line.
I don't really like all the extra motion and gimmicks in the offense. They didn't fool anybody. I miss just giving the ball to the running back and telling the O-line to make a gap for him to hit. They did that once with Minor in the 3rd quarter. However, he didn't help his cause by later fumbling the ball and killing the one decent drive Michigan had all game long. It'll be interesting to see what adjustments are made next week.Standings for week 1:
| W | L | |
| A True Blue Husker | 12 | 4 |
| Dr. L | 12 | 4 |
| Kenny Pickett | 12 | 4 |
| O-knee-der | 12 | 4 |
| Tornado Beast | 11 | 5 |
| The Guvna | 10 | 6 |
| The Rev | 10 | 6 |
| Chief Justice | 9 | 7 |
Most of us rose and fell on the same games. The only ones who went against the majority and won were Nate (A True Blue Husker), Doug B. (The Rev) and Clyde (Chief Justice) who picked Stanford. Then Clyde was the only one to pick UCLA. But did he actually stay up in the Eastern time zone to watch the thrilling conclusion of that west coast game?
This week's games:
8:30 PM ET South Carolina (-7.5) at Vanderbilt
Friday, September 5th
7:00 PM ET Navy at Ball State (-3.5)
Saturday September 6th
12:00 PM ET Georgia Tech at Boston College (-7.0)
12:00 PM ET Miami (OH) at Michigan (-14.5)
12:30 PM ET Southern Miss at Auburn (-17.5)
12:30 PM ET San Jose State at Nebraska (-21.5)
3:00 PM ET Brigham Young (-6.5) at Washington
3:30 PM ET Cincinnati at Oklahoma (-21.0)
3:30 PM ET Oregon State at Penn State (-11.5)
3:30 PM ET Mississippi at Wake Forest (-7.5)
3:30 PM ET San Diego State at Notre Dame (-20.0)
3:30 PM ET Air Force at Wyoming (-2.5)
4:30 PM ET West Virginia (-10.5) at East Carolina
6:00 PM ET Buffalo at Pittsburgh (-14.5)
6:30 PM ET California (-10.5) at Washington State
7:00 PM ET South Florida (-8.5) at UCF
7:00 PM ET N. Illinois at W. Michigan (-7.5)
7:30 PM ET Minnesota at Bowling Green (-7.0)
8:00 PM ET Miami (FL) at Florida (-18.5)
10:00 PM ET Stanford at Arizona State (-14.5)
5 comments:
I hate to say it and don't mean to just bash Big Blue, but I have serious questions about RichRod. Why does he run plays where his offensive linemen don't move at all? Why does he run crazy rugby punts (sometimes with his fullback at WVU) that end up being shanks? Why when his offense is struggling does he not pound the rock with a reliable back (Slaton last year with the 'Neers)? It seems to me the guy is overthinking. I also think that his version of the spread is set up to create opportunities for elite players. If you don't have them (and they are few and far between...not just two recruiting classes away) I think the offense is susceptible to struggling against good, well-coached teams and is susceptible to a clunker here and there. It seems proven in the past, and I question if RichRod can ever get Michigan to the level of Ohio State. For the sake of college football, I hope so, but after a losing season so Nebraska's streak of consecutive bowl games (33) is not matched or passed :-)
Somebody wake me up when September 13 and all the good football games rolls around.
Oh, Mark, who's who with all these monikers?
"Moniker" key:
A True Blue Husker - Nate, my brother-in-law
Dr. L - my dad/Uncle Tim
Kenny Pickett - yours truly
O-knee-der - Grant
Tornado Beast- my cousin Alex
The Guvna - my cousin Derek
The Rev - Doug Birr, my father-in-law
Chief Justice - my Uncle Clyde
Does anyone else give ECU a chance? I have never been impressed with West Virginia, and they were actually outgained by Villanova last week? I'm going out on a limb and picking the Pirates. Va Tech is no WVU, but that wasn't a fluke last week. I'll take them at home, if Hanna allows.
Oh, and as much as I want Miami to be a power in college football (because like Samuel L. Jackson says in Unbreakable, you need a villain) I want to see Florida beat the ever-livin' snot out of them Saturday. Nothing would please me more than to see my oldest of foes ground to cornmeal by Saint Timothy. And the Swamp in primetime should be rocking too!
Well Nate, it turns out you're not alone after all. The Doctor hopped into the Pirate ship with you. "I think he's a nut!" But none of us started off the weekend well as we all missed the South Carolina pick. I guess we all thought the Gamecocks could tackle a little better than that. Oh well, on to Navy @ Ball St. Go Midshipmen!
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