For those of you who are unfamiliar with Thumbin' Through, I bring my Treo to every game and thumb out my thoughts as the game goes on. This is complete stream of consciousness. The idea is to put you right inside my head as the game goes on, play by play, Being John Malkovich style. Sometimes it's funny. Sometimes it's painful. Often it's obscene. But it's never boring. So if you have delicate sensibilities, I would recommend you skip this posting and continue on to the rest of site. Regards - Ed.

UM Ill!

Odoms deep for KO rtn

Holy crap. Rtn to 37!
1d mcguff buried on rn to rt.
2d minor in - 2&10 - 2 backs - pass rt to mthews hi enf to get ovr lb
perfect thr

1d - I form - mcgf rt mid for 3 bhnd moundros
2d - koger in - pass rt for nthn miss pass
3d - thrt for pass nthn tucks and scrmbls for 20

1d  - zn rd keeper - nthn for
2d - thrt roll out lft mcgf out of bf. Nthn sack whn no one open
3d - thrt read deep ball odoms rds shrt. total mis com. I'm blaming odoms.
4th - fg from 42 - tipped blkd.

Play calling aggressive. Good. lots of time to throw. No one open.

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via mikedesimone.com

It's not getting into space that'll kill you, it's the re-entry.

A week after Michigan's Football team sent its fan base into orbit with a dramatic come from behind victory, things came crashing back to earth in a giant Illini Orange fireball. Michigan had no answer for either Arrelious Benn or Juice Williams on Saturday and any momentum from the Wisconsin game quickly dissipated as Illinois rolled up 28 unanswered points en route to a 45-20 win over the Wolverines, their first in the Big House since 1999.

But, at least for a quarter, the Wolverines gave us a glimpse of what they can be. For 15 minutes the young Wolverines played inspired football. Passes were crisp. Runs gashed the Illini defense. 14 points dotted the scoreboard for the good guys and the defense looked stout. However, from the second quarter on every warning light on the Michigan board started blinking, offensive systems started to fail, and Juice Williams ran and threw wild over an overmatched and over extended Michigan defense.

Last week, it was apparent that the defense would have to carry this squad until the offensive woke up and/or found itself. It wasn't exclusively a play calling or execution issue as much as it was a confluence of offensive issues that led to Michigan's slow start against Wisconsin. But when Michigan took the field Saturday, those issues seemed resolved. 14 quick points and a drive that resulted in a blocked field goal try seemed to tell us the offense was alive and might actually spot the defense a few minutes of rest and a few points in support. Unfortunately, my optimism after 15 minutes of play was misplaced.

After the Wisconsin game I wrote about my disappointment with Michigan's first half play calling. This week I can make no such complaint. Michigan was aggressive, pushing the ball deep and running the routes you have to throw to be successful. The coaches' faith was placed in the hands of their play makers. Unfortunately, on this day those play makers simply weren't able to deliver.

Michigan couldn't run or throw the ball effectively after the first quarter. Running McGuffie almost exclusively, Michigan found no running room against Illinois' active linebackers and aggressive line. The passing game, which was succesful early on, quickly followed the running game into oblivion. Despite having his best day as a Wolverine statistically, quarterback Steven Threet was at best erractic, alternating excellent throws with confusing decisions and poor mechanics.

The target of the majority of these throws was the diminutive Martaveous Odoms. While Odoms statistically led the Wolverines in receiveing, he too had a mixed bag of a day. Odoms turned himself around on a sure touchdown pass and alternated great catches with the wrong route or a dropped ball.

Through three quarters I charted 13 passes to Odoms. Unless you're throwing to a Senior Braylon Edwards, AC, or Mannigham against Notre Dame, that's way too many throws to an unproven freshman receiver. If there was a failure on the part of the coaching staff offensively, it was the overt and obvious focus on one player and the failure to get Greg Matthews or Kevin Koger more involved. But then again it's hard to be too hard on them when just about every one of Michigan's receivers is hurt or playing hurt. And it's even harder when your quarterback is spending the second half on the ground.

The Offensive Line also had a day to forget. Running lanes were hard to come by. Blitz pickups were spotty. Protection in general was questionable. Michigan's Running Backs totalled a paltry 90 yards total rushing. Sweep after sweep met the waiting arms of an Illini linebacker and Michigan couldn't have put a hole in the Illini defensive front with a buzz saw. Nothing worked.

On Defense the Wolverines mirrored their quarterback, alternating moments of brilliance with crushing mistakes, the majority of which occurred in pass coverage. Unlike Wisconsin, which lacks a vertical passing threat, Illinois possessed the ability to stretch the field and did so repeatedly. Using play action over and over again to draw up safeties Stevie Brown and/or Charles Stewart, Illini torched the Wolverine secondary in a manner reminisient of the loss to Notre Dame earlier this season. Simple coverages were blown. No one seemed to know where Illinois' most dangerous receiver, Arrelious Benn, was.

Screen passes went for 57 yard touchdowns. Michigan would bury the pitch man a half second after he made the pitch then grasp helplessly as Illinois picked up 12 yards after the initial hit. First and second down were dead ends, yet third down was a freeway.

It's easy to point to any aspect of the game and find flaws and fault to dish out. But there was something different about this game that makes it different from its predecessors. There are a number of reasons I can't get upset about this loss. First, Illinois was the better team on Saturday. They played better. They defended better. They exploited Michigan's weaknesses and played to their own strengths. That is something to be commended.

Second, and most importantly, this was the type of game I expected to see out of Michigan a couple of times this season. A game where a few things go right, but the majority don't. A game where we show our age, show that we're still a work in progress and remain a bunch of kids learning new systems on both sides of the ball. This wasn't the hopeless, pit of despair feeling I got against Wisconsin during last week's first half. It was different. It was a feeling that if execution was there, we've been in it. If that pass hadn't sailed. If we'd picked up on Illinois' offensive set earlier. If we just had that extra half second. If, if, if... things might have been different.

These are things that come with age and experience. And they will come to the team as the season rolls on. It's impossible for a team like this to stay in orbit too long. They're too young. Too inexperienced. Just a hair too slow to maintain the velocity they need to remain on top of the Big Ten.

This isn't to say they'll never get there. They will. It will just take time. For every successful rocket launch during the 50's and 60's, NASA must've blown up six more on launch pad. This stuff isn't easy. Maybe as fans we've gotten to the point where we believe the difficult is routine, even a given, when in fact those things we took for granted are more difficult than we'd ever imagined.

Last week Michigan showed us they were capable reaching the Big Ten stratosphere. This week they showed us they're still kids who haven't learned how to deal with success, let alone stay in that orbit. And so it's up to the coaching staff to pick up the pieces from this humbling crash back to earth, learn what they can from it, and build a better rocket out of the parts they have.

It's a difficult process. One that won't be completed quickly and one that will envetiably result in a few more launch pad explosions before the Wolverines finally take flight. But even when that happens it'll be up to the coaches to remind their players that once you're up there your work isn't complete.

Because when you reach that height, it's a long, very hot way to fall.

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Sure, it's Wednesday, time to move on. But there are still things to discuss. Like what we can take away from the game and the things we need to work on. With that in mind I dish out a few Celebratory Brews and a couple of Wags of my finger!

Celebratory Brews:

The Defense:  There aren't enough superlatives to do justice to the job they did on Saturday. Aside from a few missed tackles (more on that later), one of the best defensive performances the Big House has seen in quite some time. Taylor, Johnson and Max Martin get massive props for Standing up Wisconsin's massive line, and winning. Also, while Taylor and Johnson were great, I hope everyone is paying attention to just how good Mike Martin has been (as opposed to Max Martin, who's name I erroneously used before). And he's a freshman. But a freshman who shed a double block on the failed two point conversion to smash Evridge as he threw on the game's final, and most important play. If he continues to play like this we're going to be memorializing his name in song very shortly.

Halftime Adjustments:  Until this year I'd only heard of them. When the coaching staff realized the horizontal game plan wasn't working, they changed it. I back sets. Some traditional power game. The deep ball. The offensive coaching staff should be commended for an excellent second half.

Jonas Mouton:  Just an outstanding game by the young linebacker. Mouton was all over the field from my vantage point; in a good way. He seems like a hybrid DE/LB in the Shawn Crable mold, except without the constant penalties that make you want to break things. Mouton routinely shed his blockers to make a play, blitzed his way into Evridge's helmet, and took down backs in space when he was the only thing between them and 30 yards. That added up to 8 tackles, a sack, and a boatload of props. Monster game.

Brandon Graham:  Defensive POW in the Big Ten. I still maintain my prediction that he's going to break someone in half by midseason. He saved the game sacking Evridge at the six. Leads the Big Ten in TFL.

Brandon Harrison:  Quickly becoming my favorite player on the 2008 squad. I've never seen someone his size hit like that. Cus D'amato once said of Mike Tyson, "He hits with bad intentions." So does Harrison. Harrison laid a hit on PJ Hill halfway through the second quarter that made my teeth rattle, and it should be noted that Hill sat out the rest of that series. Harrison also lit up Wisconsin's receivers whenever they touched the ball. At five foot nothin' he plays like the biggest guy in the defensive backfield.

All your conciousness are belong to Brandon Harrison. via mikedesimone.com

Donovan Warren:  Served notice that the left side of the field is his, and his alone. Throw there at your peril. Best corner in the Big Ten at this point in the season. Warren also showed he can play some run defense, as he took down a handful of stretches to his side and made a touchdown saving tackle on Clay when he busted contain in the second.

Minor/McGuffie/Grady/Brown:  All of them chipped in something big. Minor busted the "holy crap we can win this" run. Grady gave us hope with the "this is our season" 4&1 conversion. Brown gave Threet his first passing first down and seemed to settle Threet with that effort. McGuffie capped the comeback with a ballsy, 3& goal cut to the endzone. Sure some longer runs would've been nice, but these guys provided consistent effort and great pass blocking all day. They also provided 14  points.

Steven Threet, Version 2.0:  Not to be confused with the Version 1.0 that spent the majority of the first half flailing about the backfield like a trout on dry land. While V2.0 wasn't perfect, he was pretty damn good and showed himself to be an above average college level quarterback on Saturday. He showed some touch, threw a couple of outstanding deep passes, and made the proper decisions at crucial times in the comeback. Plus, that pass to Koger was beautiful. His intermediate, middle of the field passes still need work but the majority of what he showed us from the 30 minute mark onward was outstanding.

The Offensive Line:  While this group wasn't terrific during the opening half, they were more than serviceable. The fact Michigan couldn't run the ball had more to do with 9 man fronts more than anything else. Even on the rare occasion someone got to Threet in the backfield, it was usually on a broken play or that infamous late hit. Face it, they controlled the line of scrimage the second half of the game. Threet may have been hit from time to time, but the line didn't give up a sack. Not bad for a bunch guys the media called no-names, back-ups and underachievers at the beginning of the year. Steve Schilling, at least from where I was sitting, looked pretty impressive.

Wags of the Finger:

First Half Offensive Play Calling:  When your wife is describing the the play calling as Weis-esque, you know something is wrong. She alos mockingly asked when we hired Bob Davie to run our offense. That may have cut to the bone, but, damn son, I married a good woman. While I will grant you Threet V1.0 was terrible, even that shouldn't have handcuffed the Michigan offense to the extent we saw. Wisconsin was stacking the line, over pursuing, and locking in on the totally obvious screens we were running. A little misdirection, mabye even a single deep ball in the first half would've helped to keep the defense honest. It wasn't pretty.

Throwing to the Shortest Guy on the Field in the Middle of the Zone:  I may be in the minority on this, but the continued attempts to get Martavious Odoms the ball on these little run to the hole in the zone pass plays are driving me crazy. Yes, Threet was inaccurate on a majority of those throws, but if there's a linebacker anywhere between Threet and Odoms that's a tough throw. It's also going to be a throw where an extra 6 inches in height and arm span come in handy. If the backer's in there, there's got to be height on the throw, and its got to be a hard throw because otherwise the safety will knock it away or intercept it. We tried it at least four times and got one completion. Two bad passes, one drop, and one completion. Those numbers scream "Don't Ever Use Me Again," at least until Threet proves he can make the throw and Odoms proves he can catch it.

Martavious Odoms:  I'll be honest, this is a stretch, but Odoms looked a little lost. He failed to turn around for the ball twice on passes to him. He dropped a ball or two that should've been caught, and looked a little tentative. He's here because of the misunderstandings on the pass plays. We're lucky those didn't get intercepted and run back.

Morgan Trent:  Maybe I'm being too harsh, but Trent had a rough day. The fumble on the kick off was just maddening. On the second quarter Clay near-touchdown run, Trent blew the tackle that allowed Clay to scamper an extra 20 yards before Warren pushed him out of bounds. On the game's last touchdown, he got beat, stumbling on his own two feet, on a single move to the middle of the field. Sure Brown had the inside of that play, but Trent's stumble allowed the free release before Brown could get there. In his defense, one of the bright spots was an absolutely wicked hit he put on Jefferson. Even so, I'm sure this is a day #14 would like to have back.

Steven Threet Version 1.0: Horrid. Bad decision making. Bad option release. Bad arm mechanics. Bad throws. I think he'd agree with me on this.

Officiating: These guys were terrible. Failure to review plays that warranted it (Mathews fumble). They missed, at a minimum two blantant Pass interference calls in one series, a dozen obvious holds, and blew at least on call on replay (the completion on UW's final drive).

Hi, I'm Bobo, and I'll be the lead Big Ten Official for your game! 

Special Teams:  Two more fumbles and an anemic return game. WHY?WHY?WHY?WHY?WHY?WHY?WHY?WHY?

All Things Inbetween:

The Linebackers: Great game from Ezi and Thompson. Under normal circumstances they'd be at the top of the Celebratory Brews list, but I ran out of space. One thing that deserves special note is Thompson's individual effort to string out a stretch play while being blocked by a fullback and tackle, and still make the stop during UW's second possession of the Second half. He was the only thing between UW and a big gain, and he made things happen. Quietly, these guys played great.

The Booing:  Meh. Everyone's chimed in on this. Brian hates it. Varsity Blue's annoyed. M Victors didn't like. Maize and Blue Nation had an anurysm over it. On the other hand, Michigan Sports Center and I have owned up to being among those who voiced their displeasure. To each their own. In hindsight I wish I'd kept my emotions a little better in check and not done it, but I don't blame people who did. That was the worst played half of football Michigan's ever played in the Big House, and to paraphrase Chris Rock, "I'm not saying you should've done it, but I understand."

Block M in the Student Section: Wooooooo!

via mvictors.com

Kevin Koger:  Welcome to the show kid. From the looks of things Koger will be Michigan's starting tight end for the foreseeable future. Mike Massey tries, God bless him, but unfortunately isn't as good as the effort he puts forth. Carson Butler, much to my reget, can't stay out of anyone's doghouse and was benched for the game, despite suiting up. Blocking wise Butler is probably the best tightend on the team and he certainly adds an offensive deminision you love, but if Koger can get open like he did Saturday Butler's playing time may go out the window until he proves he can stay out of trouble and in the good graces of his coach.

Greg Mathews: Good and bad day for #13. Bad fumble on his punt return. Great and crucial catches throughout the second half.

Stevie Brown and Charles Stewart: Good game boys. Keep it up.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Thumbin' Through, I bring my Treo to every game and thumb out my thoughts as the game goes on. This is complete stream of consciousness. The idea is to put you right inside my head as the game goes on, play by play, Being John Malkovich style. Sometimes it's funny. Sometimes it's painful. Often it's obscene. But it's never boring. So if you have delicate sensibilities, I would recommend you skip this posting and continue on to the rest of site. Regards - Ed.

Thumbin Through Michigan Football v. Wisconsin!

UM UW
Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

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via mikedesimone.com

Maturity is something that, by definition, comes with age. It's something you get as you go through life's little challenges and emerge from them with a little scar to remind you of the things you're really not supposed to do. Maturity takes time. I mean it's not like you can learn what to do and what not to do in an afternoon. You grow into things. You take your knocks. You eventually emerge from it stronger, and sometimes victorious.  But it doesn't happen in an afternoon, does it?

Saturday afternoon started the same way the last three have. Fumbles. Mistakes. Fumbles. Mental errors. Fumbles. Poor play calling. Fumbles. So, as Michigan left the field at the end of the first quarter, the Michigan faithful, men and women, rose to their feet and voiced their displeasure. Could you blame them? Five turnovers. One first down. Negative seven yards passing. And the fifth turnover was an end of the half interception that nearly found its way back into Michigan's endzone. And as the chorus of boos rained down on the field, much to my surprise, I found myself riding this wave of frustration and anger and let loose a good hearty "Boo!" 

It was a first for me. I'd seen worse beatings inflicted on Michigan during an opening half, last year's Oregon game for instance. 2002's Iowa/Brad Banks' delivered butt-whuppin'. This year's Yackety Sax in South Bend. But as I glanced back through my treo at my thoughts on the first half, I'd used more expletives than a longshoreman's convention and used the word "criminal" in describing the play calling more than once. I wasn't mad at the kids on the field. I was mad at the situation they'd been put in. And, well, honestly, I was a little mad at the kids who kept fumbling. Human nature being what it is, right? How could we spend two weeks "getting better" and do the same damn thing we'd done against Notre Dame? Why was our offense so damn inept?

Seriously? The offense was a disaster. Wisconsin stacked the line, keying on any movement by McGuffie or anyone else in the backfield. It was as if the two coaches were in a staring match and Michigan kept blinking, determined to not blink first and run the ball until it found success. Student body left. Student body right. Those were Michigan's two plays for the first half. That and the 15 yard scamper by Stephen Threet that resulted in him both getting plastered by Wisconsin's safety and losing the ball. Michigan's passing game was strictly horizontal, even more so after Threet sailed every down field pass into geostationary orbit. The running game was predictable. The line was getting beat. Nothing was going right. It was as if DeBord never left. And what the hell was with the constant fumbling?

via mikedesimone.com

Buried in the specactular, steaming turd the offense left on the field was a diamond of a performance by the defense. Despite spending the entire first half on the field the defense held Wisconsin to just 19 points. 19 points when three Wisconsin drives started inside the Michigan 40, and their own touchdown drive of the first started at the Wisconsin 40 yard line. For the first time this season Stevie Brown and Charles Stewart weren't just serviceable, they were actually pretty good. Even more important, Jonas Mouton was a force at Linebacker. Making plays in the backfield, pressuring the quarterback, tackling and wrapping up. And the line, oooh boy, the line, was just awesome. Both Jamison and Graham were in Evridge's face the entire day and the Taylor/Martin/Johnson rotation was simply dominant against a line that they were giving up an average of 30 pounds to. More on this later.

But defense wins championships and offense wins games, and without any signs of life from the offense when Michigan went into the locker room everyone in my section looked as though they'd just seen Seven Bells not only euthanized but thrown on the barbeque.

Unbeknowst to those of us in the stands or at home, the defense not only controlled the first half, but the locker room as well. At halftime, apparently before the coaches reached the locker room, Terrance Taylor went off. Not-fit-for-print went off. He teed off on everyone, challenging them. In my head I imagine it went something like this:

Reggie Dunlop: Goddamn lard-ass Barkley Donaldson, I'm tellin' you he jumped us!
Steve Hanson: [nodding head] Mm huh.
Reggie Dunlop: Gloves off, stick down, no warning, he challenged the Chiefs!
Steve Hanson: Called us names!
Reggie Dunlop: Called us names! But Dave was there.
Steve Hanson: Dave's a killer!
Johnny Upton: Dave's a mess.
Reggie Dunlop: But Dave's out. Who's gonna take his place?
Ned Braden: Is the answer Jesus?
Reggie Dunlop: [looks at the Hanson brothers] Ok guys. Show us what you got.

via mikedesimone.com

Whatever he did, it worked. Michigan's offense was entirely different in the second half. Maybe it was effort. Maybe it was emotion. Maybe it was the fact Michigan had to throw the ball vertically. But things were different out of the locker room.

The most notable difference was Stephen Threet. After his first half performance I was fairly certain we'd see Nick Sheridan in the game. In hindsight there's no way in hell Sheridan would've been put in, but it's difficult to describe the level of despair that settled in following his first half performance. But there he was. And he looked pretty good.

His passes were where they were supposed to be. His deep balls were Henne-esque (and I mean that when I say it), and he managed the game within himself rather than trying to win it with every throw. A couple of quick sideline passes to Mathews and Brown and Threet had finally found his rhythm. And then, after a bulldozer performance by Kevin Grady on 4&1 picked up five, Threet lofted the perfect 20 yard pass to a streaking Kevin Koger over two linebackers right down the middle on his third read. It was an incredible thing to watch, really. Even from the other side of the field I could see his head turn from read to read, finally settling on Koger. It may be hyperbole to say you saw a quarterback grow up before your eyes, but that may be what we saw.

Then the defense stepped up again, forcing two punts in quick succession and giving the offense the opportunity to make something happen. They did. If there's one thing the Michigan coaching staff isn't calling enough of, it's the deep pass. Threet has an amazing ability to put the ball into a bucket 40 yards downfield. On the same series he launched to moon scrapers that found the hands of his receivers 30 plus yards away only to have one dropped on a circus catch and the other batted away by excellent coverage. Even though they fell incomplete, they left Wisconsin just enough time to do something stupid, like nail Threet two seconds after his throw and pick up a personal foul for roughing the passer. After that, it was Threet making things happen, even when things went wrong. A couple of drops and a third and long later, Threet scrambled for a first down on an obviously broken play. It was his show now.

The next two plays were all Threet. On a quick read he found Minor to his right on a short pass that went for 11. And then, obviously arguing with the play calling, Threet gave the sideline the bird (though it had to be a signal or something, but it sure looked like the ole' eff you), caught Wisconsin in an obvious blitz, checked off to a run, and Brandon Minor did the rest, sprinting 36 yards to paydirt right before my eyes.

via mikedesimone.com

Minor's run was beautiful to watch. Sitting in the corner of the endzone has tremendous advantages. For one, it gives you and excellent vantage point to observe the whole field, including the holds, gaps and lateral issues you can't really see on TV or at a direct or perpendicular view. Second, when Minor blew threw the gap in the line and broke right for the endzone, he was running right at us. Legs churning, eyes darting for the safety he knew he could beat, showing us why we got so excited about him as a freshman/sophomore, and why we expect so much from him today. When he crossed the goal line, highsteping away from a diving safety, all of a sudden it was real. Michigan could run this spread thing we'd heard so much about. Michigan could win this game. Some how, some way, despite the half from hell, Michigan was the better team and they were playing like they spotted Wisconsin 19 points just to make it fair.

A play later this suspicion was confirmed. For some reason offensive coordinators feel like it's a good idea to keep challenging Donovan Warren. I haven't figured out why. Even on a three step drop, when Warren is in tight coverage throwing at him is simply asking for trouble. Seemingly oblivious to this, on Wisconsin's first play after the Minor touchdown, Evridge took the snap at UW 20, took three steps back and fired a bullet to his left. It was a good pass. Really. It sure looked it. the only problem was Warren read the play and got the the ball and the reciever at the same time, deflecting the ball skyward and eventually into the happy hands of Johnny Thompson.

All of a sudden, there was Thompson, surrounded by a sea of blue jerseys running right at the same spot Brandon Minor had recently christened as comeback corner. In front of him was the entire Michigan defensive line, looking for someone to block and/or inflict pain on. It was like the whole thing was in slow motion. As Thompson dodged the first defender, Taylor lined up an offensive lineman and drove him halfway to Philadelphia. Behind this wall of Thompson rumbled into the front right corner of the endzone, setting off jubilation in the stands.

Good lord, we're winning.

The next possession for Wisconsin ended nearly as quickly. Three short plays and a punt to the Michigan 23. Everyone was thinking the same thing. We're up a point 20-19. We're running the ball.

A year ago this would've meant Hart running into a line stacked with Badgers three times before punting the ball away. Maybe after the first half when Michigan showed no ability to disguise its runs or any ability to move the ball in an unconventional way, Wisconsin thought they'd figured things out. That's when Threet showed us he's more than capable of making the other team pay for underestimating him and his offense. On the first play following the punt, Rodriguez sent in Minor, seemingly signifying that Michigan was going to run the ball down Wisconsin's throat and chew up the clock. You could see the linebackers key on Minor as Threet went into his cadence and lock onto him as he darted to the right following the snap, taking a quick step toward and away from Threet behind a wall of blockers.

Only Minor didn't have the ball.

via mikedesimone.com

Reading the over aggressiveness of the defense, faking the hand off to Minor, Threet tucked the ball under his right arm and darted through the open gap vacated by the linebackers and weakside DE. This type of manuever you expect to gain 10 or 15 yards with a guy like Threet in the ball game. But just like with the passing game, Threet showed everyone he's got a lot more in his system than measureables. With a quick first step, Threet seemed to be at full speed by his second stride, he blasted through the linebacker contain before the LB even completed his dive at Threet's feet, and simply outran the Wisconsin safety for a 58 yard gain before he was finally hauled down by a cornerback. Describing the visual of a 6'6" quarterback, whose pre-season mobility was likened to office furniture, outrun Wisconsin's hyped linebackers and safeties is as difficult as it was remarkable. Threet may not be Pat White, but goddammit he is one competitive sonofabitch who is full of surprises. 

Five plays later Sam McGuffie, who'd been kept in check all game, rumbled into the endzone behind increasingly impressive roadgrader Mark Moundros. All of a sudden it's 27-19 and everyone, coaches, players, fans, and more importantly, Wisconsin, knew Michigan was a legitimate football team. 27 unanswered points will do that to you.

Then it was time for the refs to try to screw Michigan out of a victory and for the Defense to say to Hell with it and win it anyway. Despite the referees awarding a first down on a juggled, trapped first down catch and finding Wisconsin on 6 yard line, Brandon Graham and his buddies stiffened and knocked the holy hell out of Evridge forcing a fumble that Taylor recovered.

To Wisconsin's credit, they forced a punt, then caught Michigan off guard on several plays, before beating Morgan Trent to pull within 2 points. On the two point conversion somehow Brandon Harrison got matched up on Travis Beckum, and Wisconsin seemingly tied the game with 14 seconds to go. But this time the officials got one right. Bekum lined up improperly, negating his game tying catch. The next play, negative five yards later, saw Michigan in a three man rush and Max Martin beat a double team to smash Evridge just as he released the ball, forcing it high and harmlessly into the stands.

Then, it was over.

A kneel down by Threet followed by a jumping chest bump with Mathews, and Michigan's greatest home comeback was complete.

Everyone in our section stayed. Shaking. Unbelieving but believing at the same time. No one could believe the turnaround. No one could believe that the team we saw during the first period was the same team we saw in the second. But we'd seen it with our own eyes. We'd seen the comeback. We'd seen a young team mature in 30 minutes and dominate the 9th or 8th ranked team in the country. Hell, we'd seen them post 27 points in 18 minutes.

From a todler to a full grown team in 30 minutes. That doesn't happen, does it? We'll know for sure next week when Illinois comes calling. But for a day, we saw a team grow up before our eyes and pull off the greatest comeback in Michigan Stadium history.

via mikedesimone.com

All photos courtesy the Detroit Free Press, Detroit News, Wolverine Photo, the Associated Press and Mike Desimone, who put all these together.

We've all got our favorite place to watch Michigan football. That place where the beer is cold, the food is good and the TV's are plentiful. For some of us, we're lucky enough to watch it from a tiny seat in a crowded Michigan Stadium. For others, we watch it on our couch with friends and family (or sometimes by ourselves so no one gets hurt by the projectiles we throw with each bad call).

But for the majority of Michigan alumni and fans throughout the country, Michigan football is viewed somewhere away from home and away from Michigan Stadium. But where do you go? What about that stupid family wedding that's not scheduled until after the game's over, but is taking place in Atlanta when you live in Dallas? What about the fan who's stuck in New York for business over the weekend, while her friends head out to their favorite bar to watch the game back home. How about the fan who just moved to St. Louis after five years in Florida, where does he go to catch the game?

Where do people go to watch their beloved Wolverines kick the crap out of their opponents? How do they know where to go? For most of us trapped in an unfamiliar City or even in one we've lived in for twenty years, it's hard to find a place to watch the Michigan game. It's even harder to catch a Michigan basketball or hockey game unless you know the right spot.

Well, Maize n Brew is endeavoring to give you that information. I am calling upon you, loyal readers, casual visitors, and people who hate me, to help compile a list of all the Bars, Restaurants, or gathering places that Michigan fans outside of Ann Arbor can go to catch Michigan Athletics and join up with their fellow alumni and fans to Cheer the Victors after every score.

I don't care where it is. If it's a place in Detroit, Islamabad, Tokyo, Tulsa, or Las Vegas, I want to know about it. In an attempt to start us out here are a couple of the places I know of:

Chicago:

Mad River - 2909 N Sheffield - Lots of TV's decent food, high ceilings give it the allusion of extra space, even when it's jam packed. Blimpy Burger references too. Nice eye candy.

Duffy's Tavern - 420 1/2 W Diversey Parkway - Always packed. Great food. Total meat market. Wear protection, you're going to get spilled on (mind out of the gutters, people). TV's everywhere. As a plus they show Michigan basketball AND Michigan Hockey on request.

Washington, DC:

The Pour House - (upstairs) - 319 Pennsylvania Avenue - An old haunt of mine. Totally redone around 2001, decent food and always a spot to sit and watch the game on their pull down HD projector.

Come on folks, help us out. Put your favorite Michigan bar in the comments below so every Michigan fan, no matter where they are, can catch the Wolverines on Saturday!

To help us compile the list, please provide us with:

• The Name of the bar or gathering spot;
• The Address;
• Some factoids about the place;
• And if you feel so inclined, a web address, specials, and other fun facts.

Thanks for your help everyone! We'll get the sidebar link up soon with the ever-evolving results.

One of the truly wretched stories this young college football season is how the wheels haven't just come off the Rutgers Football program, they've flown off in the direction of a busload of metaphorical orphans.  Not only is Rutgers 0-3, but they're being booed at home, the team seems to be in disarray, and their starting quarterback Mike Teel is taking swings at his teammates.

The Knights' embattled quarterback did what a lot of Rutgers fans probably want to do at this point: He took a swipe at a teammate after his latest interception -- his sixth this year against one touchdown pass -- sealed Navy's 23-21 victory with 1:34 to play at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium and sent Rutgers to its first 0-3 start in nine years.

Fittingly, the way the season is going, he missed.

It's scary to think how quickly Rutgers has gone from out of nowhere BCS contender to train wreck. And it's not just Teel's play that's concerning. Schiano's press conference after the game was a small disaster by itself when Schiano couldn't explain why the team's leading rusher didn't even see the field.

"That was unfortunate,'' he said. "For him not to get any touches, that wasn't the plan. Sometimes the game gets going and you have a hot hand and you keep riding that hot hand. But we wanted to use three backs.

"I would have to investigate further. and look - there was no padlock on my headset, I could have said, 'Put mason in there.' It was just, we had guys that were hot and we kept going that way.

This isn't to suggest that the iceberg has finally struck the SS Rutgers. Schiano built a program out of nothing with his bare hands, determination, and what I can only guess is a deal with some form of otherworldly power/diety. But to continue playing a quarterback who has obviously lost his mojo, while admittedly forgetting who was available to play that afternoon is concerning to anyone who follows college football.

Despite this, you can't lay the blame solely on Schiano. This is not an easy way to open a season for ANY team. A quick glance at Rutgers schedule reminds you the Scarlet Knights first three games are among the toughest season openers in the country. Take a look: a home opening loss to a very good Fresno State team; a thumping at the hands of an extremely talented and deangerous Tar Heel team; and a road loss to a Navy squad that went 8-5 last year. These are tough games.

But they're also games you expect a team with a fifth-year quarterback to win. Especially when the Knights have won 26 games in the last 3 years (7, 11, 8). But, frankly, they're not as good as they we're last year, especially with the departure of workhorse tailback (and second round draft pick) Ray Rice.

Schiano's got his work cut out for him. Some will speculate that maybe it's all the offseason nonsense surrounding the offering and refusal of the Michigan job that Rich Rodriguez eventually took. Maybe it's the distraction of the soon to be availability of the Penn State job he's long been rumored to covet with Paterno's health beginning to become a question as he sits in the press box. Maybe it's the play calling or simply the execution by a team that isn't used to carrying a bulls-eye on its back.

But either way, Schiano's got to get things turned around or the Michigan job may be the only high profile job he'll ever be offered. Worse, if he doens't fix things, Rutgers may sink back into the college football obvilion from whence it came.

Life can’t be easy for Carlos Brown right now. While playing time is scarce for any back not named Sam McGuffie right now, and no one on Michigan’s team can be happy with the first three weeks of the season, I have to believe the 2008 season has been far more grating on Brown than any other upperclassman on Michigan’s roster. This season was supposed to be his shot. His team. His backfield. A season after racking up 75 carries, two 100 yard games, and 382 yards, Brown sits at the bottom of Michigan’s tailback committee with 2 carries in three games, and a grand total of four yards. This isn’t how it was supposed to be for Brown. This isn’t what he signed on for. And it’s certainly not what he deserves.

via cache.daylife.com

For some reason Carlos Brown has always been one of my favorite players. Even while Hart was carrying the load, brashly predicting success, and leading the Michigan for four years, Brown, for some reason, captured my attention. Maybe it was the fact he was everything that Hart wasn’t. He wasn’t a 5 foot nothing superhero. He didn’t cut on a dime, pick up the blitzer, or scream at the top of his lungs. Brown was fragile, uncertain, and seemingly lost in a world he thought he could handle before he set foot in it.

I remember his commitment to Michigan because it was, bluntly, shocking. He was a highly touted Georgia running back who could’ve gone anywhere, especially a place without a sophomore incumbent in his way. He was confident, polite, and southern in those endearing ways rather than in the stereotypical strokes that we Yankees so often paint with. He was different than any back Michigan had played or recruited in 10 years. And most importantly, good lord was he fast.

During his first spring practice Brown was electrifying, tearing off one long touchdown run after another. He was going to be the lightning to Hart’s thunder, to be that change of pace, home run hitter Michigan had lacked for so long. If you were a Michigan fan, you were excited about this kid.

But life simply doesn’t work that way. After starring in Spring Practice Brown was hit with a string of injuries that have never seemed to go away. Little injuries. Injuries you can play through because your legs still work in perfect form, but injuries that cripple your effectiveness as a running back. Hand and finger injuries. Shoulder injuries. Injuries that only the coaching staff seems to know about.  Injuries that let you practice but embarrass you when you play.

Over the course of Brown’s short career at Michigan he has constantly been put in a position to fail. Called on to return kick-offs or take snaps when he can barely grip a glass of milk let alone a football. Called on to play cornerback because he’s "Not shifty enough" to be in the zone running game but too fast not to use somewhere. Called on to back up guys he’s just as good as.

The hand Brown’s been dealt is both a dream and a nightmare at once. He is an incredibly gifted athlete who is receiving a world class education at one of the finest collegiate institutions in the world. He gets to play college football for Michigan. He has the potential at 6’0" 215 to play football for a living and not just as a hobby. But in spite of that he rarely sees the field. His body betrays him seemingly every six months. He backs up slower backs that are even worse than he is at holding onto the ball. Despite all that talent, that drive, that desire, he watches his friends on Saturday rather than playing with them.

Brown deserves better. Say what you will about Michigan’s win over Illinois last year, but Carlos Brown is the reason Michigan won. Taking the ball 25 times, Brown rushed for 113 yards as Michigan’s primary tailback, picking up tough yards when it mattered and seemingly willing Michigan to a win despite the chaos surrounding his team. He followed it up the next week with a 132 yard day against a horrible Minnesota team. But that would basically be it for Brown. He saw 11 carries over the next two games and didn’t see the field in Michigan’s finales against OSU and Florida.

via www.mgoblue.com

And now, despite the regime changes, the fact he is better suited to this offense than the one that preceded it, despite the fact that he’s kept his nose clean, despite the fact he’s got as good a chance of holding onto the ball as the next guy in front of him, he’s back where he was at the end of last season. Nursing injuries. Wondering why the hell he chose Michigan over schools that might actually play him. Wondering why he didn’t pull the plug on this experiment a season prior. Wondering when, if ever, he’ll see the field again.

Unfortunately there aren’t easy answers to those questions. The man in charge doesn’t seem to have them, other than to say "we’re aware of the situation." And so a junior running back who still harbors dreams of the NFL must wait for the answers to come to him. Wait and hope that the pressure from sources outside Schembechler Hall help to convince Coach Rod to give the kid a chance. To let him touch the ball in a formation other than "Obvious QB Draw." To let him prove himself all over again.

Carlos Brown deserves better. But life is not fair and somehow I think he’s aware of that.