Much Better

Now that's the way games against over matched opponents are supposed to go: Offensive excellence early and often, defense getting enough stops and turnovers to keep the game out of reach, and lots of young players getting their first substantial action on both sides of the ball. In the long run this game probably means about as much as last week's game -- its a win, read more into the game at your own peril -- but it is certainly funner to discuss and to relive, so here goes:
-The media seems to be overplaying the Denard injury just a little bit. It seemed fairly clear that he was alright, based on the way he was jumping around on the sideline. I still don't get the idea that he would be any more prone to injury as a QB running the ball than a running back carrying the ball.
-Yes, patsy opponent and all, but Tate Forcier looked good. The ovation he got when he took the field was heartwarming, and his comments after the game were encouraging. I know I was ready to write him off after his comments in the immediate aftermath of the UConn win, but his subsequent walk back of those comments and behavior since then show that maybe, just maybe, he's grown up a little bit through this whole ordeal.
-Gardner also looked good, but I think if Denard were to go down for any period of time, we'd be better off with Tate at the helm, even though he doesn't bring Devin's overall athleticism. I think Tate just brings some better reads and more accuracy. Either way, we have some of the better QB backups in the country.
-I liked the new punt formation, with three returners back, Odoms, Gallon, and Dileo, to combat the rugby style roll punts from the spread formation that a lot of teams are running these days. The extra returners allowed us to return a few punts that previously had ended up bouncing 20 yards, or had turned into turnovers when Gallon tried to dive after the ball.
-Not a bad first career carry by Fitz Toussaint, huh? I'd worry more about him being caught from behind if he weren't wearing a knee brace.
-I thought the freshman Ray Vinopal showed a good nose for the ball on his late interception. Now if we could just put a few pounds on him so he doesn't cough the ball up after his interception.

Thoughts from other games:
-I wonder if Alabama's come from behind win in Arkansas was just the first of many such games for the defending champs this year. With the way their schedule is set up, with many teams getting bye weeks before they play them, they're gonna get everyone's best shot, and I wouldn't be surprised to see them fall behind against Florida, LSU, South Carolina, or Auburn. But they just seem to have that Rasputin like quality that they're never dead even after you think you've killed them.
-What the heck has happened to Georgia? Losing to Miss. State? I don't know anything about the situation on the ground in Athens, but from the outside it doesn't look good for Mark Richt -- losing record this year, losing ground in the rivalry with Florida, a new AD, and a gaggle of legal troubles for this players. His only saving grace might be that Tennessee might be worse, and the luster is coming off Paul Johnson at Georgia Tech a little bit.
-Speaking of the Vols, you gotta feel a little for UAB, miss five field goals in regulation and lose in 2OT to Tennessee. Ouch!
-I couldn't help but think in the wake of UCLA's somewhat shocking demolition of Texas that it was the Bruin's 66-3 win in Austin that effectively ended the last Longhorn coach's tenure. I don't think Mack Brown is going anywhere anytime soon, but maybe they shouldn't invite UCLA to town anymore.
-I watched a little bit of the Temple / PSU game. It's kinda a shame that the Big East kicked Temple out, since I think that if Al Golden stays there, they will outgrow the MAC real fast. If they are seriously considering adding Villanova, they should first bring Temple back. Of course, Golden's a Penn State alum, so he might be on their short list if/when Paterno finally hangs them up / kicks the bucket (whichever comes first).
-Odd Stat of the week: Every touchdown scored in Florida's 41-14 win over Kentucky was scored by #8 -- Florida's Trey Burton (who scored six touchdowns), Jeremy Brown (INT returned for a TD), and Kentucky's Chris Matthews (Two TD receptions) all wear number 8. I wonder what the odds are on three different players with the same number all scoring in the same game, let alone scoring nine touchdowns.
-Some more Golden rankings stuff later this week -- conference rankings and a look at a new rankings feature this year, looking at average points scored and allowed vs. the opponents averages.

Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?

I don't understand why everyone seems to think the SEC is all that great. Every time we play them we win (13-4-1 all time now, including 7-3 in bowl games) Don't know why the Buckeyes seem to have so much trouble;-)

All kidding aside, what a great win against a very dangerous offensive team. The coaching staff gets all the credit in the world for coming out swinging, and not letting up on the offense all game. While fans around the country might think this was something radically different for Michigan, this is actually something that Michigan fans recognize. For a long time Michigan fans have lamented Lloyd Carr's "two offenses" philosophy. Carr has admitted in the past that the offense has two purposes, one is to score, the other is to possess the ball to keep it away from the other team. This philosophy manifests itself most of the time in a conservative, run or die trying offense that is the dinosaur that most fans associate with Michigan. But sometimes when Michigan gets down big, or needs to score late in a game, they will come out in four or five wide and will throw the ball all over the field. The difference in this game is that they played the entire game as if they were down 14 midway through the fourth quarter.
-They also added a number of trick plays, or variations of things that they normally don't run. The attempted a pass to tackle Jake Long. They ran a number of WR sweeps to Manningham. They ran a throw back pass where Manningham threw it back to Henne who threw it down field. They ran a beautiful throw back screen to TE Carson Butler that went for big yards. Basically they left no stone unturned, and tried everything but the kitchen sink. It was a thing of beauty, and something Michigan fans have been clamoring for for a long time. I wonder if Rich Rod offered any help with the game plan.
-Henne and Arrington probably made themselves a bunch of money today. There will be other QBs taken ahead of Henne, but he could be a real steal for some team. His performance today was the best by a Michigan QB since Tom Brady's 3-TD, 369 yard game against Alabama in the 2000 Orange bowl. Hopefully Arrington will be back next year, but he looked like the next great Michigan receiver. It would be a huge plus for us if Rich Rod can convince him and Super Mario to return.
-I think today's game, and the preparation leading up to demonstrate why Scott Loeffler and Erik Campbell should be rehired.
-If anyone tries to tell you that this was a win for midwest muscle over southern speed, tell them to go back and check the tape. Michigan was the faster team. Yes, Harvin is very fast, but Michigan's receivers ran circles around the Florida DBs. The Michigan Dline dominated the Florida offensive line by stunting and blitzing them to death.
-So what does this win mean in the grand scheme of things? They broke their bowl losing streak, showed an exciting, dynamic offense, and beat one of college football's "golden boys" in Urban Meyer. It means that we aren't as stuck in the stone ages as had been talked about. The transition to Rich Rod might not be as painful as we thought. The Michigan personnel isn't as incompatible with the spread as some in the media suggested. The next month or so should be very interesting, with new coaches, and new recruiting news almost every day.
-Finally, this win just feels right because of Lloyd's departure. He's a real mensch who always cared about developing men as much as developing players. It just wouldn't have been right for him to leave with a three game losing streak.

Other Stuff:
-Memo to the *uckeye fans who were congratulating Michigan fans on the win Thanks, but don't go thinking that our win tells us anything about your game with LSU. The team that played today was totally different than the one you beat in November: focused, healthy, and loose. If they played against you the way they did today, you'd have lost to Florida today, while we would have been subjected to another loss to USC in the Rose Bowl. And of course, LSU doesn't the same weaknesses Florida does on defense.
-Too bad the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl couldn't have switched opponents to create USC-Georgia and Illinois-Hawaii match-ups. Those would have been a lot more compelling. I like that the lower conferences have a shot at the BCS now (albeit a slim one). Hawaii deserved a BCS bid, just like the champion of the Atlantic Sun deserves a spot in the Big Dance. The fact that they were blown out doesn't change that. Illinois, on the other hand, didn't belong in the Rose Bowl. Certainly not when Missouri was available. I wouldn't be surprised if they a big disappointment next year and miss a bowl game.
-As an outsider, I like the Neuheisel hire by UCLA. Despite his past transgressions, he will bring a an excitement to the program, and might be just the guy to match Pete Carroll's youthful exuberance. If he gets Norm Chow as his OC, things could get real exciting in the City of Angels.