Craziness! Sports Overload!
The Michigan bye week could not have come at a better time for me. This has been the craziest week I have had in a very long time. Not to mention the craziness that is the BCS and the curse of being #1.
Last week was a huge week in my house for so many reasons. Only one reason was planned in advance, hence, let the craziness ensue. Around here, in DFW, there are these things called Marching Bands. Until my eldest daughter got involved 2 and a half years ago, I had no idea how much work they put in and how much my wife enjoyed being involved. My daughter joined the color guard and my wife became a “Guard Mom”. Well, the UIL, University Interscholastic League, here in the great state of Texas, made the decision that each division would compete for the state tile every OTHER year. Texas is made up of sizes that rum from A to 5A, with 5A the largest schools. So this year is a 5A year and here we go. They have been working so hard and the regional competition was last Tuesday and they made it through that so we go to Area on Saturday. Here comes the craziness.
We have had great weather this summer. It has been nice and calm and dry for a good long time until, Saturday. Marching band, unfortunately, takes place on a football field. So as a Tornado warning and deluge pounds the competition, the schedule gets way out of whack, and I am thanking the sports gods for 2 things, The Rangers finished off the Yankees the night before and that Michigan has a bye week.
Then there is the Rangers, what a distraction and mind boggler. Imagine how we would feel if the Lions made it to the Super Bowl. My brain has been mush for about 2 weeks. Every conversation works it way back to the series. My production is way down in all things. Including my blogs, but here goes and hang on I have a lot to put down.
It would be easy to complain about all this, but I won’t. Isn’t this what being a proud Father and proud sports fan all about! I love having so many things going on and so many ways to remove myself from the day-to-day blah blah blah that haunts us all. For so many years, Michigan had been my lone source of sports joy. They have always been good. Always been there at the top, playing in big games and getting the job done. These last few years have been rough on a fan like me. Putting up with the beating that is Texas fandom. Around here, it seems to be tradition that unless you root for OU or Texas, you root against the team that is succeeding. Some call it band wagoning, some call it douchery, I call it typical. With the failures of local teams, it shows who the real fans are. As the Cowboys are just plain awful, the real fans still go. They are getting tired of the high priced everything and beginning to rumble of rebellion against the Emporer. But they are still there. The Longhorns are struggling and the sea of burnt orange that permeates everything here is fading a little. On the other hand, Claws and Antlers are everywhere. Rangers fans have popped out of everywhere. Filling the ballpark with loud, happy people.
I grew up playing Little League baseball on the fields 2 blocks from my house in Port Huron. We played baseball everyday as kids. We would play with anything we could find on any open space we could find. We didn’t play “organized” baseball until we were 10, but we would ride our bikes up to the fields and jump the fence and play sometimes. We found out a golf ball travels farther than a baseball, but hurts more when the bat hits it. We learned that a Tennis Ball was the perfect ball to use most of the time, and that a racquetball flies well but it is hard to get any distance on it. Life lessons like that. We also learned that no matter what happens, you stayed with your team! I rooted for the Lions and the Tigers. The Wolverines and the Red Wings. The Pistons were an after thought to me since I didn’t really like basketball, but I cheered for them. That is something I am trying to teach my son.
He is only 6 and is beginning to form bonds with his friends at school and on his Baseball team. He likes watching football for a few minutes and then it is on to something else. He does know that Dad is a Michigan fan. He knows that if he sees and Ohio State logo or cap or t-shirt or anything, Dad will not like that. He knows that Maize and Blue are my favorite colors. He knows that my “M” coffee mug is my favorite. He knows that if Michigan is not doing well, Dad is not the happiest guy around.
With the struggle that Michigan has gone through, I have never wavered. I have rooted for TCU to do well because they are the closest team and it would screw up the BCS that I despise almost as much as OSU. I write all this stuff because my sports emotions have been on such a roller coaster these last 2 weeks that I wanted to share a little with you. Remember that being a fan has its rewards. Like being able to go to a World Series game on Saturday. My first sports Bucket List item.
When Michigan and Penn State get after it on Saturday night on ESPN I will be a little bit distracted, just as I have been all week. I looked at the stats for each team and thought it over quite a bit and I don’t think they make any difference. This game is all about guts and want to. Does Michigan want to be bowl eligible? Does Penn State want to protect their home field? Does the Michigan Defense have the guts to stop a team that doesn’t score a lot of points? Does the Michigan Offense have the guts to score on a team that doesn’t give up a lot? Bottom line is, I think they do. If RichRod cannot get this team ready to go into Happy Valley, maybe he is not the right guy? There, I said it. Being a fan doesn’t mean you are blind to reality.
Michigan – 35
Penn State – 17
The Worst of Possible Losses
What a weekend! The Rangers lose game 3 and 4, but get it done last night. The Cowboys looked absolutely incapable of beating anybody. Sparty takes the whoop stick out on Michigan and I get to hear it from my little brother. Although it was not nearly as much as it would have been if it weren’t for last season. But the worst, I mean absolute worst loss of the weekend took place far away from here and on the east cost. Alabama gets beat, handily I might add, by South Carolina.
As soon as I saw that, the familiar feelings of dread, pain, and anguish arrived. The GD Buckeyes are ranked #1. My wife’s smugness is almost unbearable. She continually reminds me that they have beaten us many times recently and now that they are #1 she starts paying attention.
On to Iowa, I hate them. I hate hate hate them! Second to OSU, I hate them. Some of my most painful memories are of Iowa beating Michigan. Chuck Long is persona non grata in my mind. The Hawkeyes make me ill. Speaking of ill, our defense is sickening. Can we tackle anybody in the backfield? I know they are young and hurt, but that is an excuse for not tackling? If I am not mistaken they teach that at the Pee Wee level. If we are going to improve on last years performance, now is the time to show it. Homecoming at the Big House against Iowa sets up for a good game. I know we will come out firing and Iowa should be down 14 points before they know what hit them. On the other hand, they had a bye week and probably watch the MSU game with great interest. Now that the weaknesses have been exposed, can they take advantage of it. I feel that they can and will to a point. Michigan is going to be coached up for this one. They have so many things to work on I hope they get to it all. Improvement over last week is not only requested but required. That was an embarrassing game. Not that it wasn’t a surprise, it was still embarrassing. Another season of being told that my boys are overrated and that RichRod must go is rapidly approaching.
That is why they play the games, get after it Blue! Iowa is looking to smack you around in your own house. Step up and lay the Smack Down on them.
Michigan 28
Iowa 24
The MgoTalk Podcast | Season 2 | MSU Post Game
The 59th Battle for Paul Bunyan’s Trophy took place in The Big House on Saturday leaving the Wolverines licking their wounds with the Spartans beating Michigan 34-17.
Jeff and Jeremy try to make sense of what transpired and offer some interesting thoughts as to why Michigan keeps falling short in rivalry games. They offer the goods and the bads and put this loss in perspective as it relates to the rest of the season. The guys take a look at the other games in the Big Ten before they head to the voicemail and respond to listener’s questions and feedback.
UM-MSU: Not ready for prime time just yet (Chuck Bloom)
We live in a society dominated by alphabet references within our language. The Twitter generation has perfected a separate language all its own, thanks to texting and miniscule keyboards on hand-held computers we used to call phones.
Since I am old school, I still don’t fully understanding half of what “lol” or “lhmo” or “bff” or “omg” pretends to represent. I deal in complete words, but I’ll give it a try in summarizing the 34-17 home loss by Michigan to Michigan State (which could WELL run the table and cause a massive controversy in the BCS – Bullcrap Contrived System – since Sparty avoids meeting Ohio State).
Broken down into some familiar three-letter combinations is the analysis of the Battle for that stupid looking Paul Bunyan Trophy (don’t Minnesota and Wisconsin battle for his axe?) How can you have TWO trophies named after one fictional character?
PPT – Piss Poor tackling. It’s been a problem all season and it was in full evidence against MSU – constantly missing tackles because shoulder hits are NO substitutes for wrapping up and bringing down ballcarriers. I’ll need a voicebox transplant from screaming at my TV set about this major annoyance/problem. The defense played well in spurts, actually better than most of the first five games, but it cannot afford to make such mistakes when so obviously lacking in terms of talent.
SAP – Silly ass penalties. Both of the Spartans’ first two touchdown runs, from long distance, were directly aided by stupid face masking flags. There were also chop blocks, late hits and unsportsmanlike calls – all of which aided the train wreck to come. If it continues, Michigan’s chances of winning its remaining games will dwindle.
DDT – Denard’s damn turnovers. He had three; the D got none. “Nuff said!
INT – Interceptions, not touchdowns. Logically, Michigan should have led 14-0 in the first quarter when the offense was actually controlling ALL the action. But we knocked twice and threw our chances away – both passes were mistakes by Robinson, who had the shine on his Heisman Trophy rubbed off quite a bit. He looked human, which was a good thing in the long run but not in the 60 minutes against the Spartans. For the most part, they contained him.
DPS – Dropped Passes Suck. How many dropped balls? Five? Six? More? Three in a row? Two for potential touchdowns?
NPR – No Power Rushing. Michigan has NO running back capable of getting third-and-short yardage on his own. Michigan State had three. Michigan was outgained on the day 261-160 and again, Robinson outgained the other the four Wolverine rushers.
In fact, so ineffective was the ground attack, that only ONE UM runner (Vincent Smith), other than Robinson, even had a carry in the entire second half. That’s not exactly a vote of confidence.
TNT – T’wernt No Turnovers. Michigan never even came close to producing a Spartan turnover. MSU never came close to fumbling and no pass was ever in a threatening position for an interception.
OCB – Out coached bigtime. Anyone want to counter this fact? Mark Dantonio, despite blood clots and heart attacks, STILL did a better job of coaching his squad than Rich Rodriguez. His offense didn’t look as flashy but it was efficient, capable and well-executed. When needed, he pulled off a trick play and it succeeded.
His defensive scheme bottled up Robinson and basically forced him to become a thrower – the right blueprint for all opposing defenses against Michigan. His halftime adjustments were better than Michigan’s.
MSU – Much Superior Unit. Michigan State dominated most aspects of the game; offensive line, defensive secondary, kicking/return game and ability to avoid mistakes. On this afternoon, they WERE the better team.
TRW – Toxic Rivalry Win. Sorry, but beating Notre Dame is NOT the same as defeating Michigan State. And football is not the same as basketball, so critics, don’t count all the MSU wins on the hardcourt to a once-a-year football game. Apples and oranges only make fruit salad and smoothies, not effective arguments.
However, until Rich Rodriguez scores a major rivalry win (MSU or Ohio State), NO season will qualify as successful – period!
ICE – Iowa Comes Excited. The Hawks have a chance to ruin U-M’s homecoming (which it has done often in the last two decades) and destroy all the good that the first five games delivered to the Wolverine program.
BCS – Before Collapse Begins. Michigan’s entire season is on the line on Saturday because a loss would only stoke the fires of destruction that took place one year ago. After the MSU’s overtime loss, U-M never won another game and, if the same thing happens this season, it could spell the end for Coach Rodriguez, as well as disintegrate all the recruiting victories secured up to this point.
SRT – Sun Rises Tomorrow. There is always hope; there is always tomorrow when practice begins and mistakes can be corrected. Personnel cannot be changed, which means the defense remains porous and the ground game is still one-dimensional (Robinson). But the squad must suck it up and play like there IS no tomorrow; because, in reality, there is no other game on the 2010 schedule then this one (you cannot get to Ohio State or Wisconsin without beating Iowa).
EOS – End of story.
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Chuck Bloom
Plano, TX
www.chuckbloom.blogspot.com
” Where the press is free and every man able to read, all is safe.”
UM-MSU: Time to reverse the revenge (Chuck Bloom)
I guess the season REALLY begins Saturday afternoon for Michigan football – two nationally ranked teams and for the Wolverines, a chance to reverse the recent curse and show that the program has truly matured under Coach Rick Rodriguez.
I call it “Reverse the Revenge.” It’s time for Michigan to use what others have often successfully employed against it in order to win this game – the feeling that payback is due.
Michigan entered last year’s road game at East Lansing in a similar undefeated mode and lost in overtime to the Spartans (after managing a last-minute drive to tie). And every UM fan knows “the rest of the story …” The team fell apart, didn’t win another game for the remainder of the schedule and criticism fell upon Ann Arbor like a blizzard (not the ones from Dairy Queen either).
For the first five games of this season, it has appeared that Michigan plays with a different attitude (at least on offense; the defense remained as porous as it was one year ago). Quarterback Denard Robinson is the envy and talk of the college football world and except for some corners of Alabama or Florida, this is the marquee game of the weekend. When’s the last time THAT said claimed?
This is THE game on the Spartan schedule; the one East Lansing fans employ as the barometer for success of any MSU program. However, it is not true for Michigan followers; everyone knows the final game in November means more than beating Moo U (I keep asking if that is used these days to label MSU; it was back in my day).
Michigan plays Michigan State and the rest of the schedule follows; Michigan plays Ohio State and you take that feeling – win or lose – and live with it for the rest of the school year … until the next time. THAT defines rivalry importance!
The rivalry between Michigan and Michigan State is not unlike the situation here in Texas between the Longhorns and the Texas A&M Aggies in College Station. Texas, in all its burnt orange glory (I can’t tell you how many people drive cars with that specific color scheme in this state…), IS the big dog; the Aggies have ALWAYS been the little brother. Texas routinely gets the pick of the litter during recruiting and A&M gets hand-me-downs. While many Aggies are, in themselves, outstanding football players, UT is always in the top four nationally for recruiting classes as judged by every major service (A&M is not).
Even the association that controls high school athletics is beholden to the University of Texas; it is called the University Interscholastic League (UIL) and the “U” means UT! If it is not a varsity sport in Austin, it is not a varsity sport in Texas high schools. The inclusion of sports like soccer and girls softball had nothing to do with popularity or Title IX; it had to do with Texas adding them to its roster.
Meanwhile, the folks at A&M seethe at the thought of Texas on its throne. Aggies refer to that campus as “t.u.,” deliberately written in lower case to belittle all Longhorns. It’s written in their beloved fight song, The Aggie War Hymn.”
Good bye to texas university
So long to the orange and the white
Good luck to dear old Texas Aggies
They are the boys who show the real old fight
‘the eyes of Texas are upon you’
That is the song they sing so well
Sounds Like Hell
So good bye to texas university
We’re gonna beat you all to Chigaroogarem
Chigaroogarem
Rough, Tough, Real stuff, Texas A&M.
Now that is a huge chip on one’s shoulder!
So while Texas is A&M’s biggest rival, the same cannot be said in Austin. A&M is an annoyance most of the time but Oklahoma IS the big rival! OU is the major recruiting rival for UT and that annual game (amusingly marketed as The Red River Rivalry) draws more than 80,000 to the ancient Cotton Bowl at the State Fair of Texas in Dallas. Half the stadium is all crimson (OU) and the other half (exactly divided down the middle) is burnt orange.
Despite changes in the upcoming Big 12/(minus-2) alignment, Texas-OU will be played regardless of where Nebraska or Colorado head. It is a separate contract from the conference and stands as the centerpiece of the largest state fair in the nation.
If you had seen the faces of UT fans around 6 p.m. local time last Saturday, you’d know how serious the game’s outcome means to each school. Thousands of Longhorn followers had their weekend ruined by a better Sooner squad; it was a long drive (200 miles) back to Austin down Interstate-35 and I guarantee you much of it was done in silence.
—
It will be difficult to handicap this contest: can Sparty win away from home? Blue has shown it can; can the same be said for Green?
Can Michigan stop State’s strong rushing game and can it run the ball itself aside from Robinson? If you subtract Vincent Smith’s 56-yard touchdown run, he only gained 24 yards on his remaining 8 carries … and no one else touched the ball. Michigan MUST show more versatility and personnel diversity (meaning others must step up and perform) in order to win Saturday.
On defense, I have a feeling that MSU will see different alignments than the 3-5-3 because its strength is up front. The young secondary must get turnovers, knowing it will also surrender big plays. The UM coaches must figure out what everyone else has – the Blue defense is vulnerable in the seams; IU killed Michigan with those type of routes.
And hopefully, practice has concentrated on the difference between hitting and tackling. Big hits potentially look good on “SportsCenter,” but tackling is as old as the game itself and it wins ballgames. Tackling is NOT Michigan’s forte at the moment and MUST improve … dramatically … starting Saturday.
There has been a lot of talk about the imbalance in terms of ball possession last week, which was eschewed by all those one-play scoring drives by Michigan and slow, methodical marches by Indiana. The UM defense CAN help by stopping offenses once in a while – playing ball-control defense – so it can get off the field and rest (if only for a minute or two while Robinson and Company put more points on the scoreboard).
If UM goes to something it has not done all year long – such as a four-man front with strong run-support from the linebackers – it’ll force MSU to adjust on the fly and that’s when a team secures turnovers (when it deviates from its game plan because of opposition adjustments).
And if MSU wants to blitz Robinson and concentrate all its attention of him, Shoelace has shown the ability to throw that little “run/jump” pass to his receivers in the same exposed zone seams (just ask Indiana).
My prediction is influenced by the home crowd, which should set yet another NCAA attendance record, for a 42-38 Wolverine victory. It’s time … to show the cynics this team is for real … for this coaching staff to gain the respect it has sought for three years … and for a little revenge by the home team.
Lots of people will be watching.
The MgoTalk Podcast | Season 2 | MSU Pre-game Show
The 59th Battle for Paul Bunyan’s Trophy occurs in The Big House on Saturday between the 17th ranked Little Brothers (aka Moo U; aka Michigan State Spartans aka the East Lansing Correctional Institution) vs the #18 ranked Michigan Wolverines.
The guys mix it up a little in this show. Jeff and Jeremy spend some time breaking down Michigan State, and discuss their keys to victory on Saturday. They breakaway to an interview with MGoBlog’s Recruiting Analyst Tom Van Haaren to get caught up on recruiting and offers a nugget about all-purpose back Demetrius Hart. Tom stays with the guys as they are joined by former wide receiver Ron Bellamy. Ron shares some funny stories from his days playing against the Spartans and spend some time talking about the Michigan program, Denard, Mike Barwis and the difference between the wide receiver position now versus then. The guys offer their score prediction and head to the mailbag/voicemail to discuss listener feedback. You don’t want to miss this latest edition!
Download “Season 2 | MSU Pre-Game Show” via iTunes
Download “Season 2 | MSU Pre-Game Show” via MP3
Little Brother? Not Really.
This week is always very difficult for me. I have mixed emotions about many things because I think of my little brother. I love him very much and wish nothing but great things for him. He has been there for me when I needed it and I will be there for him when he needs it. And, believe it or not, he is a fan of Sparty which adds even more emotion into the whole thing. “Little Brother”, in my mind, is not an accurate description of my feelings toward MSU. The last few sentences describe what I think when I hear “Little Brother”. When I hear Michigan State, I think of “Red-headed step child”!
This is more of a forced relationship. Both parties try to be respectful but wish nothing but pain and agony on the other. I have no love for Sparty. I acknowledge their place at the reunion and will sit down for a spirited debate anything and everything. They try so hard to be the one that gets primary attention and sometimes does. They have produced some good things and it is OK to commend them and actually be proud of them on occasion. But this weekend is not that time.
The only thing that I can find that resembles the “Big Brother- Little Brother” relationship is this. When we were growing up, my brother was good at a lot of things that I wasn’t and still is. Conversely, I was good at some things that he wasn’t. But, there were some things that we both wanted to do well and the idea of him beating me was unbearable. It really isn’t a big deal when you are a kid to beat your little brother at stuff, but the shame of shames was to publicly lose to him. (I hope he is reading this and understands what I mean).
That being said, it would be no shame to lose on Saturday. MSU has a good team and is a worthy opponent. But, they have had enough success in the recent past. It is time for UM to put a good old fashioned butt kickin’ on “the Red-Headed Stepchild”. The Sparty demons need to be exercised and let’s get back to the head of the table. The emotion of this game is going to be high and I am not sure how I am going to survive Saturday. UM v MSU, Game 3 of the Rangers v Rays ALDS, and my daughter competes in a marching band contest. I need to find some WiFi near that football stadium to keep up with it all. If you see a guy in a high school football field parking lot screaming at the dashboard, move along, nothing to see here, thank you.
Michigan 35
Sparty 30
You Cannot Contract a Rivalry (from Chuck Bloom)
Here’s a hard-and-fast rule in life and college football: a contract does NOT make a football rivalry. It MUST come naturally and exist for multiple decades, usually through conference alliances, or traditions that stretch back to when football fields actually LOOKED like gridirons.
Michigan has held its 38th meeting with Notre Dame in what is considered a “storied” rivalry. In truth, however, it is NOT all that “storied” – the contract to play Notre Dame didn’t begin until 1978 after a 34-year absence. What you have are marquee matchups involving two major Midwestern schools.
Michigan and Notre Dame only played 11 times up to 1943 when the two institutions contracted to face each other, starting in 1978. And … there have been periods since then when the game wasn’t played (1983-84, 1995-96, 2000-01). Rivalries don’t take that many games off.
Each school will point fingers at the other as the reason for the prolonged gap in between encounters, but it doesn’t matter. A rivalry might have developed but there’s no guarantee it will continue far into the future (pending on upcoming expanded conference scheduling and the uncertainty of the Irish’s TV contract).
Still, these schools should have met on an annual basis throughout the ages, and the truth is that Michigan and Notre Dame did NOT play each other for decades.
Michigan has three natural “rivals” – Ohio State, Michigan State and Minnesota. All are long-time members of the Big 10/12 conference and these teams have been playing each other for nearly 100 years.
Ohio State is obvious as is Michigan State (do they still call the school in East Lansing “Moo U”). They are on-field challengers as well as recruiting rivals.
But … Minnesota??? You might not realize it, but Minnesota and Michigan contest the oldest football trophy in NCAA history – a piece of crockery affectionately called the Little Brown Jug.
Sadly, this is the second year in a row – thanks to the non-wisdom of the Big 10’s unbalanced conference scheduling – that the Gophers and Wolverines will NOT play one another.
The rivalry was created on Oct. 31, 1903, when an earthenware water jug, originally used by Michigan coach Fielding H. Yost, is painted with the victories of each team.
It is speculated that the name of the trophy originated from Joseph Winner’s song in 1869 (not the Glenn Miller tune which was probably based on the trophy).
In the turn of the century, both schools had great football programs – Michigan was led by legendary coach Fielding H. Yost, the architect of the modern Michigan sports program (construction of Michigan Stadium and Yost Fieldhouse – the first indoor facility for football). Starting in 1901, the Wolverines reeled off 28 straight victories and face the Golden Gophers, who were seeking to upset Michigan in Minneapolis.
Prior to the contest, Michigan student manager Thomas B. Roberts was instructed by Yost to purchase a water container, showing a tad amount of paranoia about possible water contamination by Minnesota fans. So Roberts bought the five-gallon jug for 30¢ from a local variety store.
On old Northrop Field, before 20,000 rabid Gopher fans, Minnesota stopped Yost renowned “point-a-minute” team to just a single touchdown (back then you scored by “touching down” the ball in the end zone) but did not score a touchdown of its own until late in the contest – which ended in a 6-6 deadlock.
According to legend, with two minutes to play, a thunderstorm exploded over the field, the fans rush the turf and the contest was halted at that point. Michigan left the field, and the jug behind in the University of Minnesota Armory locker room.
The next day, armory custodian Oscar Munson found the darn thing and took it to Minnesota athletic director L.J. Cooke. No one knows for sure what happened, who got it and how. In 1956, Roberts wrote that the jug was a throwaway and he deliberately left it on the field (so much for recycling in 1903).
But the Minnesota people were happy to have something that belonged to Michigan and went ahead painting the putty-colored flask Minnesota brown, with the inscription, “Michigan Jug – Captured by Oscar, October 31, 1903” with the score “Michigan 6, Minnesota 6.” Since possession was still 90 percent of the law, the Minnesota score was several times larger than Michigan’s.
Learning of this, Yost, never one of waste anything, wanted the thing returned back, and sent a letter to that effect. In response, Cooke wrote, “We have your little brown jug; if you want it, you’ll have to win it.”
Michigan did exactly that when the teams met up again in 1909, and repeated the performance in 1910. Oddly, in 1919 when Michigan rejoined the Big Ten Conference, it was the first time Minnesota won the Jug outright.
The Jug has not always been treated with such reverence. While I was on the Daily staff, one of our co-horts (nameless to protect the innocent), who also doubled as a student manager, played some tricks of his own with the trophy, as he reminisced with me recently.
“Remember the year I kept the Little Brown Jug in my apartment after we got home from Minnesota? Then Bob Ufer came over one night with a tape for me and just looked at the Jug and said, ‘What the hell is that doing here?’ We (my roommate and I) just laughed and kept it until the end of the semester.”
It sits today, I’m sure, in Schembechler Hall, in a trophy case, for all the world to see. When I was in school, it sat in the back of the equipment staff’s area in a locked box; it was just something else to haul out when Minnesota came to town. Such are the things of rivalries; at least it’s better than playing for some metal pig.
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When the new Big 10/12 alignment takes place, most of Michigan’s rivalries will be preserved (unlike the current unbalanced scheduling which has Michigan and Minnesota bypassing each other for the second year in a row).
Nebraska was been a red-headed stepchild for the longest time since the Big 8 ceased to exist 16 years ago. The people in Lincoln have never been comfortable playing second-fiddle in the Big 12 to Texas, Texas A&M and Oklahoma.
But exactly WHAT does it bring to the new Big 10/12? What automatic rivalry is sparked by having the Cornhuskers on anyone’s schedule? The college football world is not clamoring to see Iowa-Nebraska, Minnesota-Nebraska or even Ohio State-Nebraska.
For U-M, I’m not sure losing 32-28 in the 2006 Alamo Bowl is a major revenge factor when Nebraska travels to Ann Arbor (when the first visit will BE the first visit).
Missouri, I believe, would’ve been a wiser choice as the 12th conference institution. There is already an instant, intense rivalry with Illinois and Mizzou would have been a major competitive plus in other sports (basketball, baseball). Besides, St. Louis is a better media market to add than Omaha.
It also has a larger enrollment than Nebraska; only Oklahoma State and Kansas State (by a few hundred students) are smaller public Big 12 schools than Nebraska.
One thought on the alignment: In the Big 12-minus 2 (they are going to have to arrange for new conference names to accurately reflect the movement), the football divisions were grouped geographically. The Big 12 South has the four Texas schools plus the two Oklahoma universities. The North division consisted of the remnants of the old Big 8 (Iowa State, Nebraska, Kansas, Kansas State, Colorado, Missouri) and with a few exceptions, the South was ALWAYS superior to the little sisters of the north. That’s one of the reasons Colorado AND Nebraska boot-scooted as fast as they could to “greener” pastures.
The Big 10 followed no similar pattern and what has resulted doesn’t make much sense… at least to me.
Having written ALL of the above, the best part of playing a team like Notre Dame is beating a team like Notre Dame – rival or not. Can’t say the same about UMass or Bowling Green or even Indiana or Northwestern. Hopefully it will continue.
—
Chuck Bloom
Plano, TX
www.chuckbloom.blogspot.com
” Where the press is free and every man able to read, all is safe.”
The MgoTalk Podcast | Season 2 | IU Post Game Show
Picture submitted by @MaizeNBlueJ on Twitter.
UM vs IU Recap Podcast Available on iTunes and MgoTalk.com NOW!
UM opened their 105th Big Ten Conference season with a thrilling, last second shoot out over the Hoosiers in Bloomington on Saturday. The offense looked explosive; the defense was porous; and Jeff and Jeremy chew both in this latest podcast. They continue their Bromance for College Football’s most exciting player Denard Robinson, the play/ execution of the offense and a realistic discussion about the defense and their performance against the up and coming Hoosier offense.
Brian Jeff and Jeremy take a tour around the other Big Ten games and discuss what UM’s keys will be heading into Little Brother week.
Podcasts available at http://www.mgotalk.com or http://mgotalk.libsyn.com/RSS
All previous and new podcasts also available on iTunes for FREE
