On my old site, SCM and I would run through each Big Ten team applying the same template of questions. It was a preview of sorts, and the questions were as follows:
- One thing the media will harp on that is ridiculously off base:
- One thing the media will completely ignore that is integral to this team's success
- Most important contributors on each side of the ball:
- Area that scares you as an opponent:
- Area that makes you salivate as an opponent:
- Random factor that you think will come into play this season:
- Overall Record:
- Final Big Ten Standing:
- Bowl Destination:
Champ (SCM) and I got about 3 quarters of the way through the conference before football season started. Dedication. We live it; breathe it every day. Now that we're not hiding behind some sort of shroud of objectivity (SCM never really hid, but that's another story), I feel that we can safely change the word "opponent" to "Michigan Wolverines" in those questions:
- Area that scares you as the Michigan Wolverines:
- Area that makes you salivate as the Michigan Wolverines:
In effect, we're after the aspect of a particular team over which Michigan will have the greatest advantage, and the area that keeps you awake a night in a cold, clammy sweat. There will be the mentioning of safeties aplenty, I presume. I've already said, in my last post, that predictions in college football are more a wild guess and is an activity best engaged in by those who enjoy banging their heads into the wall, or singalongs to "the song that never ends." In short, our predictions are no better than yours, or your grandmothers, just as Lee Corso's aren't any better than ours. We'll make them, oh yes, we'll make the shit out of them because they're fun and they generate discussion. But don't mistake the fact that we enjoy banging our heads into the wall for hubris. We're just some guys, you know?
We've already had LTP stop by for a discussion on Northwestern, who doesn't play Michigan this year, so consider that one done. Illinois is on deck, with Indiana in the hole. You've been warned.