Eight.

It's such a simple thing to say and to read. It's a number. It's arbitrary. It has no significance by itself other than its place between seven and nine when you learn to count as a child. But when put in the proper context, eight means so much to Michigan, and in particular to this Michigan senior class.

Think about it. It's been four years since Michigan reached eight wins. The last time anyone on this team, anyone, saw eight wins they were a red-shirting freshman. But for almost all of this senior class, they've never really been close to eight. As freshmen, they won three games. As sophomores they won five. As juniors they had three cracks at eight, but ended up getting thumped by Wisconsin, Ohio State, and Mississippi State consecutively. As juniors, they finished at seven with eight never truly being a legitimate option. But as seniors... as seniors, it's different.

Eight.

On Saturday, the 2011 Michigan football team did what its three previous incarnations could not. Win an eighth game. And unlike this team's previous incarnations, they won it on the road, with defense. A defense that for the three previous years couldn't stifle a sneeze, much less the offenses that lined up across from them.

The transformation of this defense has been astounding. Through 10 games Michigan has 21 sacks. This compared to a paltry 18 sacks through 13 games last season. Over the past three years Michigan's defense has allowed Juice Williams, Justin Siller, and Matt McGloin to torch it. Read that again and try not to cry. But today... man... it's just amazing. This is now a defense that corralled a mobile, talented quarterback to the tune of four sacks and a pick. Even more impressive, they held Illinois to just 37 yards rushing. 37 yards. That's almost a 10th of the 315 rushing yards they gave up a year ago. The difference is night and day. And the difference is shown in the win column. Eight.

I think the surprising thing about eight is that this isn't a particularly dominant team. It's an offense that is deeply flawed, with an electric quarterback who is just as capable of frying his own team as he is the opposition. This isn't a team that knows for sure whether it has a primary back. Not because Fitzgerald Toussaint hasn't earned the starting job, it's because no one knows if he can remain healthy. Then there is the offensive system, or lack thereof. Al Borges is still struggling to figure out how to use his best, but most erratic player. It's a team in transition from one philosophy to another, replete with the speed bumps just a transition entails.

Just not as many as we saw over the last three years.

And that brings us to Saturday. Eight. Eight was the number of wins that Michigan reeled off in 2007 after two embarrassing losses to start its season. Eight was the combined win total for 2008 and 2009. Eight was the number the 2010 squad could never quite reach. Eight is the number we're at today.

As I think about this season compared to the last four (2007 included) there is a different feeling going into Michigan's final two conference games. Since 2007, the last two games of the season have been a death march into the offseason. In 2007 Michigan was manhandled by Wisconsin and Ohio State. In 2008 Michigan was manhandled by... well... everyone. 2009 closed with five straight losses, and the last two to Wisconsin and Ohio State weren't even close. 2010... more of the same. Over the last four years Michigan has been a ship taking on water when the eleventh game finally rolled onto the calendar. Defense, offense, special teams, and (especially) coaching, all seemed to be collapsing on themselves.

But not this year. For all of Michigan's struggles they still hung 31 points on Illinois. This despite turning the ball over three times on Illinois' side of the field, missing a 38 yard field goal, and gacking up a fourth and goal. If Michigan's offense had executed they could've hung 50 on the Illini. But, let's be honest here, 31 was more than enough because of Michigan's defense. The Defense is the no longer the reason Michigan isn't winning games. The Defense IS the reason Michigan has eight wins to its credit. The Defense is the strength of this team right now, and it's clear that it takes that role and responsibility seriously.

As times have changed so have we. Eight used to mean something different to Michigan fans. Eight used to mean a back slide. A step toward mediocrity. At one point we looked at the 7-5 2005 team as the benchmark for how bad Michigan could possibly be. Times have changed.

Today, Eight means a step back toward the lofty goals Michigan holds for itself. Eight means the last four years are finally, mercifully, over. Eight means Michigan has three more games to play and the chance, mind you the chance, to finish the season with more wins than any Michigan team of this century save the 2006 squad. And also keep in mind that if they match the 2006 squad it means they'll do something the 2006 team wasn't able to do, end the season with a win.

That is what Eight means. Eight means Michigan is no longer fighting to escape its demons, "Three and Out", Rodriguez, Bill Martin, the "Process". Eight means Michigan has more important things to worry about than its own mental roadblocks. Eight means Michigan is on even footing with Nebraska and Ohio State when the Cornhuskers and Buckeyes come to town in consecutive weekends.

Eight means the question is no longer "can they win eight games?" Eight means the question is "how many more can they win!?" Eight, all by itself doesn't mean a lot. But when you put it in context it becomes something else. Eight becomes something special.

Just like this team. Just like these seniors.

Now that we're finally back to football after a scandal-filled week, Michigan got out to a fast start in Champaign this weekend and (mostly) coasted to a 31-14 victory over the Illini.  Two quick TDs and a stifling defense kept Michigan in front the whole time, and a dominant rushing attack combined with QB pressure sealed the victory.  Red zone issues continued to plague the Wolverines, however, and turnovers kept this game closer than it should have been.

The First Half

Michigan got the ball first, marched down the field, helped by a 65-yard rush from Fitzgerald Toussaint, who had a whale of a game.  Two plays later they hit pay dirt with an easy Denard rush TD.  After a few trades of punts and a Denard fumble, Michigan pressure again set up an Illinois punt at the end of the first, and eight straight rushes later, Michigan scored again on the legs of Denard.  

The rest of the first half was pretty stagnant, as Michigan was able to get down all the way to the 1 yard line but was again stoned on 4th-and-goal for the second straight week, with Denard being stuffed on a play everyone in the stadium could have called.  Kovacs promptly forced a Jason Ford fumble on the very next play, but Denard handed it right back with an interception on Michigan's third play of their new short drive.  Again, offensive woes.  Michigan, however, didn't let the momentum swing too far toward the Illini, as they forced two three-and-outs to keep Illinois off the board and out of Michigan territory in the first half.  Gibbons missed another field goal, but what else is new?

The Second Half

Michigan again forced a punt to begin the second half with excellent QB pressure and run defense, but a fumbled snap doomed Michigan's first possession to a punt.  Another Illini three-and-out was followed by Michigan's longest sustained drive of the day, unfortunately punctuated by a Denard injury that forced him out of the game.  Devin Gardner seemed fine at the reins, leading Michigan to a field goal.  Again, though, Michigan was unable to punch it in after having a first-and-goal at the nine.

Illinois answered with a sustained drive and scored on a Nathan Scheelhaase scramble, and Michigan was forced to punt on the following possession.  Just when Illinois seemed to be gathering strength, J.T. Floyd had a beautiful interception and long return to set up a short field for Devin Gardner and Michigan, who capitalized a few plays later with a 27-yard touchdown pass to Martavious Odoms.  Illinois responded again, this time completing a 4th-and-26 (Iowa, anyone?) to bring the score to 24-14.  Luckily, Toussaint came to play and quickly rushed for 40 yards on Michigan's final scoring drive, scoring a touchdown and putting the game out of reach at 31-14.

After the jump, we'll take a look at The Good, The Bad, and the Links from the game and a few other thoughts.

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Steal? Steal.

Since we didn't have time to put together a quality guide to Iowa City, we'll instead rely on the experts at Lonely Planet for their expertise. Enjoy.

At a Glance:

Though at first glance it may not appear to merit a traveler's attention, Iowa City boasts a cornucopia of delights for the traveler willing to make the trek into the middle of hell nowhere Iowa. Iowa City is a place trapped in a bygone era yet thoroughly modern at the same time. Where else can you see a meth addicted Amish carpenter putting 20 inch dubs on his buggy? Only in Iowa City.

From a fourth rate college band playing Abba to the sounds of Culture Club blaring from a local watering hole, it's just like taking a time machine back to the early Eighties. Visitors will be able to tour the plethora of John Deere and International Harvester tractors wrecked parked on the roadsides, many of which date back to the 1920's, and go trinket hunting in the mucky remnants of whatever flood that's sure to strike the area while you're there. Marvel at Iowa City's skyscraper. See the old people that have moved there to die (it is the 3rd best place to retire according to Money Magazine!). Tour the pig farms and see where most of your tax dollars go as you tour the ethanol plants and poorly run family farms. Only in Iowa City!

When to Go:

Iowa City is blessed with two spectacular seasons: Winter and Flood. Both provide ample opportunity to see some local flare.

Ranging from late October through late April, Winter in Iowa City is a site to behold. Buried in a storm of hot ash, sulfur, freezing rain, blizzards, and residual flood damage, the local color (a dull gray) really comes out. Depending on the mood of Melxtulycial, the resident demon spawn, county board chairman, medicine man, and mayor, you may actually see all of the above at once (Warning: this is usually fatal and if not requires the signing over of your soul in exchange for survival). The predominant precipitation in Winter is, of course, snow. Lots of it. The largest benefit for travelers is that the freezing temperatures and six feet of snow buries the smell of the rancid pig farms and ethanol plants. It also has the benefit of being quite pretty when the town is buried in snow, meaning you can't really see it. It is much like a very, very flat Planet Hoth, except replacing the Empire with roving groups of the local inhabitants looking for food and things to burn for warmth.

For the more adventuresome, the Flood season has all the charms and thrills of white water rafting without the raft. Excitement for all! Bring the kids. They'll get plenty of exercise running from ritualistic beatings and escaping the molten eruptions of slag from the fire pits just below the city streets. Everything is in perfect balance in Iowa City, as whenever the streets get too hot all that snow from the Winter melts and cools the place off in four feet of water. All that snow's gotta go somewhere. You never knew how much fun it was to swim with farm animals and their fecal matter! Intermittent with the melting of the snow, there are brief unpredictable period of dryness where visitors can see the barren fields of corn husks, the deforestation, and local meth labs in all their splendor.

If you're going to visit, keep a copy of the Iowa Hawkeyes' College Football Season Schedule nearby. The ideal time to visit is during the run-up to the Iowa Penn State home game in Iowa City. The locals are usually too transfixed by the prospect of beating a team ranked ahead of them to notice a tourist snapping photos and dodging the chupacabres behind them. That said, a visitor's presence at game time or immediately thereafter is strongly discouraged. Should Iowa win, it starts what is known as the "Rut", or breeding season, in Iowa City where everything not nailed down or locked away in a safe is fair game. A correspondent recently recanted a weekend of terror huddled under an overturned garbage truck as the backpack she dropped outside to escape the mob was repeatedly molested. She left what was left of the backpack in Iowa. On the flip side, an Iowa loss sends the populace into a menacing spiral of grain alcohol and prescription drug consumption worthy of a night with Keith Richards, circa 1968.

Background Info

Incorporated in 1973, Iowa City was previously a collective of mud farming, sheep rapists that banded together for low cost health insurance. With the expansion of Medicare and Medicaid, the locals figured it was better to incorporate in order to begin the bilking process, and thus a city was born.

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With six minutes and change left in a football game that the Michigan Wolverines had equally given away and forcibly taken from them, Denard Robinson and Company sat inches away from a 1st and goal and mere yards away from a tying score...  Momentum was draped in Maize and Blue; a simple Denard dive was all that separated Michigan from storming back to tie a game that had largely been dictated by Michigan State to that juncture.  The march towards the tying score was already casting a pall over the crowd in Spartan Stadium that had watched their team stake itself to a two touchdown lead with equal parts toughness and idiocy.   It was the defining moment of the football game...

Michigan had arrived at this point with a struggling offense that had seemingly decided to eschew any sort of adjustment to the constant up-the-middle pressure that State brought throughout the day.  This was coupled with a collection of misfires in downfield passing in the midst of a wind that would've been at home at St. Andrews.  The ratio of "TAKE OFF DENARD!!!" screams to snaps was far greater inn this game than any other this season, which usually is an ominous forecast of the result.  More on this later.  

Yet despite those struggles, there was Michigan yards away from a tying score and wrestling control of the football game away from the Spartans in a manner that would've made Mike Hart and Chad Henne proud.  In a time where the situation screamed THROW ROCK, Michigan threw out a pair of safety scissors.  Urban Meyer described the aftermath of Al Borges calling a slow-developing play action when Michigan hadn't politely given either of its running backs the ball the entire half as: "part of the game" and that it would've been a great call had the corner blitz not been on.  With all due respect to a great former coach and a coordinator who both clearly dwarf my football knowledge in an embarrassing way, it was the wrong call on the wrong place on the field at the wrong time.  That's three wrongs when even one should raise an eyebrow in the calculus of play-calling.  When your offense all day has been predicated on Denard, and everyone in the stadium knows that Denard will be the guy with the ball on the play of the game, running a play action where Denard turns his back to the play on 4th and inches, not 4th and goal, but 4th and inches, just doesn't make much sense.  All that was needed was a first down, this wasn't a score or go home situation, you have a quarterback who picks up five yards by simply catching the snap and you don't give him the ball with a chance to read the defense and make a play.  Didn't make sense at that time and it certainly doesn't make sense now.  Guh.

More after the jump...

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When you start tailgating at noon for a 6pm game, you know what you're getting yourself into.

On Saturday twenty fellow Michigan fans and I gathered in Evanston for a pre-game tailgate on Lake Michigan. It was glorious. The sandy beach. The open space to throw the football. Meats grilling on the Webber. Cold, cold beer in the cooler. Good conversation, good friends, and a beautiful day allowed time to simply glide by. In some way, the game itself became ancillary to the good time that was being had. Even everyone there had arrived with tickets and the intention of going to the game, for a while at least, it seemed like the game really didn't matter that much. Such is the power of a good tailgate. It frees you from your nervous anticipation. Dispels your game time jitters. And it replaces them with a belly full of meat, cheese and beer, and fills you ears with the sounds of good friends.

Still. When you fill yourself with meat, cheese and beer, there's always a price to pay later. Whether its a handful of Tums to quell the roiling caldron of your stomach or a mid-game hangover at 8pm, you live and die with the noon tailgate. But you'd do it again in a heartbeat. The same can be said about Denard Robinson. You live a little, die a little with every play. And despite the heartburn a lot of Denard can cause, you still can't stop needing more.

With about two minutes left in the first half I, and most of the seemingly 30,000 Michigan fans who had turned Northwestern's Ryan Field into a Michigan home game, were nervous. Michigan was down 21-14 and was beginning to remind everyone present that the team really wasn't that far removed from 2010. But, after surrendering a touchdown to the Cats' with two minutes and change on the clock, Michigan's offense trotted onto the field. I turned to a friend and muttered that I had a bad feeling about this drive.

My friend turned to me a said "Yeah, but with Denard Robinson anything can happen," or something to that effect. He meant it in the best possible way and I took it as such. You see, my friend hasn't watched as much Michigan football as I have, nor has he been a keen observer of Michigan's electrifying signal caller, but he was right. Anything can happen. A minute later Denard tossed his third interception of the half to a wide open Northwestern safety and I turned to my friend with a wry smile and simply said "Anything." We both laughed, but the point remained. As a Michigan fan in 2011, you live and die by Denard's appendages.

Now, if we're being honest, Denard's first half was not good. Aside from an opening game drive to put Michigan up a touchdown, he was off. Something wasn't quite right early on. It's a tough thing to say as a Michigan fan because Denard's personality and athletic ability seem to have afforded him a near infallible status in certain corners of the Michigan fanbase. I can't tell whether it's a blind allegiance similar to Packers' fans who left the fold when Brett Favre went AWOL, or whether it's some kind of concern that the kid can't take criticism so every mistake must be placed on the shoulders of someone else. I don't know. Personally, I think the kid can take it. I think he knows the weight of the mantel he carries, and the grace he does it with throws some of us off. Regardless of which, his first half sucked.

Denard tossed three interceptions inside the Northwestern twenty. Two horrific overthrows that sailed yards above their intended, wide-open targets, and one throw into a sea of black and purple jerseys that no one I've talked with seems to be able to understand. Put simply, he was responsible for all three of the redzone interceptions that were tossed. Ironically, just before Denard's first pick, he completely an NFL level throw into a tiny window of space that led my wife to exclaim "Oh! So we've got that Denard today!" I chuckled. I married so well. Then he sailed a ball six feet over a wide open Junior Hemingway right into the waiting arms of the back side safety. Sigh....

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Some days you're the nail. Some days you're the hammer. Then, occasionally you're neither, you're a giant ass bulldozer and you run right over the the hammer, the nail, and whatever fool school has gotten in your way.

Saturday was cathartic. After three years of watching Michigan struggle to put away bad teams and stop even the most mediocre of offenses Michigan finally, wonderfully, mercilessly rolled over the hapless Minnesota Golden Gophers 58-0 in a game that wasn't as close as the final score indicates. On offense Michigan did whatever it wanted. On defense Michigan held the Gophers to 86 total yards in the first half and just 177 total yards on the day, without giving up a score. Sure we've seen the Wolverines do this to Delaware State over the last three years, but we've never seen them do this to a conference opponent. The only thing that comes close is the epic 2007 yackety-sax of Notre Dame, and Michigan only scored 38 points that day.

What made it even better was that Saturday was beautiful. The clouds gave way to the sun and clear blue skies. The temperature rose to a comfortable 60+ degrees and the rain faded out with the dispersing clouds. The hot dogs were grilled to perfection, the donuts were hot and gooey, the beer was cold, and that was before the Michigan Wolverines ran through the Golden Gophers like a bulldozer through a pile a of solo cups.

For the first time since his magical fourth quarter against Notre Dame, Denard Robinson looked every bit of the Heisman candidate quarterback we thought he'd be this season. His passes were crisp and on target, his reads were good, and he was explosive in the running game. Maybe it was comfort. Maybe it was a switch going on. Who knows? Bottom line, Denard looked great, he didn't turn the ball over, and looked comfortable. That can only mean good things going forward.

More importantly for the season, Michigan finally appears to have a running game not named Denard Robinson. Fitzgerald Toussaint ran for 108 yards on 11 carries. Vincent Smith ran for 27 on 5 carries and a TD, caught a 28 yard screen pass that he turned into a touchdown, and threw a touchdown. Michael Shaw got back in the groove, running for 60 yards on 8 carries. And finally, freshman Thomas Rawls was impressive running for 73 yards on 10 carried. Amazingly, Michigan racked up 363 yards on the ground with Denard accounting for only 51 of them. And to top it off Michigan had its second 100 yards tailback of the season in Fitz.

On the other side of the ball, the difference between the 2011 and 2010 teams is night and day. Five games in Michigan has given up 51 points compared to 137 through five games last season. Michigan picked up three more sacks and five more tackles for loss (all of which came from different players), and even returned a fumble 83 yards for a touchdown. At NT, junior William Campbell looks like the light has finally gone on. At times during the game he was downright dominant. At one point, Campbell literally bulldozed his blocker in a single move, ran right over him and hammered Minnesota's Max Shortell as he released the football. Then there was the play of freshman Blake Countess who seems to legitimately know whatever route the receiver is running before the receiver does. Countess put up two more PBUs on the young season and spent his entire day in the hip pocket of whatever poor sap he was assigned to guard. More on him below.

Want to know something even more impressive? Jordan Kovacs had one assisted tackle. That's it. One. In two years of football with Kovacs as our starter, that's the lowest output he's had on the stat sheet since he came in against Western Michigan in 2009. He could've spent the day in a lawn chair if he wanted to. That's how good the front seven were today.

It's tough not to be excited about the most complete game you've seen your team play in almost two decades, even if it was a horrible Minnesota squad. Frankly, if the game didn't put a smile on your face, you're probably watching the wrong game and reading the wrong website. Saturday was wonderful. In the long run it may not mean much. Minnesota is an awful team. The hardest part of the schedule is staring Michigan in the face. I don't care.

For one Saturday it was nice to be the Bulldozer again.

Notes (more notes tomorrow, but I figured since the column was short I'd add some thoughts)

• We made three field goals. I'm not kidding. Even more amazing? Brendan Gibbons kicked them at progressive distances. 25, 32 and 38 yards. What a difference a year has made for this kid.
  

More after the jump.....

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ADDED TO THE BOARD

Tampa (FL) Middleton wide receiver Richard Benjamin (class of 2013) has been offered by the Wolverines. He's a 6'1", 180 lb. receiver with offers from every powerhouse program in the country. He had 19 receptions for 528 yards (27.8 yards per catch) and 4 touchdowns as a junior last season.

OFF THE BOARD

Exton (PA) Downington East running back Drew Harris committed to Virginia Tech. Harris is the third running back to commit to the Hokies in the class of 2012. He's a 6'2", 215 lb. power runner without a whole lot of shake. Virginia Tech has done a good job of producing running backs in recent years, but Harris is kind of a change from the speedy, shifty backs that have had success there lately.

MINNESOTA VISITORS

Several more high profile visitors were expected at Michigan for the Big Ten opener against the Golden Gophers on Saturday, but reports of bad weather seem to have kept several players away. They missed a fun one. Here are a few of the notable unofficial visitors:

Muskegon (MI) Muskegon running back Juwan Lewis was in Ann Arbor. He's a 5'11", 208 lb. high school fullback, but I could see him bulking up and turning into a combo fullback/tailback in college. Michigan's coaches want to take at least one running back in this class, and while they've got their hopes pinned to Canton (OH) Glenoak's Bri'onte Dunn - which is looking more and more possible - Lewis might be a late addition to the class of the Dunn recruitment goes south. Lewis doesn't have an offer, though, and Erie (PA) McDowell's Greg Garmon is still a possibility, too; Michigan is in Garmon's top six.

Birmingham (MI) Brother Rice linebacker John Reschke, a 2013 prospect, visited once again. This was his second visit to Michigan for a game day experience this season. The other two "favorites" on his list are Michigan State (who played in Columbus, OH) and Notre Dame (who played in West Lafayette, IN), so it makes sense that he would visit Ann Arbor. I was recently told that Notre Dame seems to be the frontrunner, partly because of all the talent that Michigan is bringing in at linebacker for the class of 2012.

Mentor (OH) Mentor defensive end Tom Strobel was there to support his future team. Strobel and his Mentor team moved to 6-0 on Friday night, and it looks like he wanted to celebrate at the Big House. Strobel is a 6'6", 245-pounder that I like more and more as I see and hear more. He was bothered by an injury last year, but he's going full speed this season and his production has picked up.

Mansfield (OH) Mansfield defensive tackle Raheem Washington is a 6'3", 280 lb. prospect for the class of 2013. I've only seen a little bit of film on Washington, who didn't look particularly impressive in the few highlights. He's not consistently aggressive and doesn't manhandle opponents like a 280-pounder should. I doubt Michigan will get involved at any point.

Holland (MI) Holland wide receiver/defensive back Corey Willis was in Ann Arbor, too. Willis is a 5'10", 170 lb. high school quarterback who will almost certainly change positions in college. He hasn't been offered by anyone yet since he's just in the middle of his junior season, but judging from his highlights below, he seems like he'll be getting offered by some mid-level schools sometime soon. I'm a fan of high school quarterbacks due to their understanding of the game, so I anticipate a fairly high ceiling for him.

MagnusThunder is the author of Touch the Banner, a Michigan football blog.