Maize n Brew gives you your daily (or semi-daily) rundown of all the Michigan Football, Michigan Basketball, College Football, and College Basketball news you need to get through the tedium of your boring desk job. For good measure we'll throw in a little irreverent information, comedy and commentary to help you salt away the time until the clock strikes 5pm. If you want Maize n Brew in 140 characters or less, follow us on Twitter! Or you can friend us on Facebook and become a fan of Maize n Brew on Facebook for more links. Here's what's ON TAP:
Stuff You Should Read Right Now
Michigan RBs Struggle - In one of the more obvious pieces on Saturday's loss, AnnArbor dot com points out a disturbing stat- backs not named Denard averaged 2.8 YPC. Where was Shaw? More Hopkins would be nice, though he did have some trouble securing the ball. Vinny Smith is not the answer. This really highlights the importance of Denard to the running game (obvious), but M still has one of the best rushing offenses in the country despite having subpar play from the RBs.
Irish are Tumblin' - With Dayne Crist out for the season, where will the Irish turn for QB help? It can be argued that Michigan beat ND this year because Crist got hurt, so what happens next for the horribly foundering Irish?
Upset Special - Lots of Top 25 teams fell this weak. Take your pick for some schadenfreude, M fans.
More after the jump.
Michigan Football
Shockingly, Defensive Issues - Pete Bigelow's recap points out some serious defensive problems in Saturday's loss. Nothing new at this point, but Martin's injury concerns me. It was pretty clear how valuable he was before Saturday night, and I can't help but think a few of those plays would have gone M's way had he been able to play more. Not to pile on, but Michigan is squandering Denard. With the way he and the offense have been playing, M should be winning these games. It'd be one thing to have a bad offense, but this is ridiculous.
No Moping for Michigan - That's okay, I'll do it. Michigan hasn't won a game in a month. I'm officially calling for Greg Robinson's horrible tenure at defensive coordinator to end. I agree that the talent on D hasn't been great, but I assume tackling can in fact be taught, and that once in a while, a team of three-star recruits will still beat a WALK-ON at QB. Credit McGloin for taking advantage of the worst defense Michigan has had in decades, if not ever.
Let the Movie References Begin - Great piece by Nick over at Our Hemets Have Wings. A little heavy on the metaphor, but he says exactly what you and I are both thinking:
The offense is simply window dressing for what is a serious issue on this team: the defense. Do all you want, but the ship is still sinking, no matter what you do.
I know there is a lack of talent. I realize all that. I’m not asking for miracles. I’m asking for you to hold a walk-on QB under 40 points.
At some point you have to adapt, you have to change.
How Much Denard is Too Much? - Touch The Banner asks if Michigan is running Denard too much (probably, but it's kind of a necessary evil) and joins me in calling for GERG's head on a pike. Note: Image isn't quite NSFW, but heads up.
Big Ten Football
Big Ten Recap - Sparty NOOOO! leads the Big Ten stories for this weekend. In a weekend where not much else went right for Michigan football fans, it all went to you-know-where for Sparty. Bonus: remember when Tulsa "was the biggest game of the season" for the Irish? How'd that turn out? Spoiler: 28-27 Tulsa.
Iowa Hands MSU Theirs - As mentioned above, this was fun to watch. The Maize and Blue were maize and black for three hours Saturday. Big thanks to Kirk Cousins for having a whale of a game passing to open Iowa defenders. Where was this three weeks ago?
College Football
What Can't Oregon Do? - After stomping a weak Trojans team, Oregon seems poised to cruise to the BCS title game. The video of the Ducks player's catch is just icing on the cake.
Army Goes Camo - Bored with actual substantive reporting? Then just check out the pics of the digs Army wore this weekend in their victory over VMI. This author humbly suggests that turf camo would have been far more effective, but, hey, a win's a win.
GameDay Reaches New Low - Violating a key commandment of journalistic integrity, ESPN decided to hide most of Erin Andrews in a Packers uniform. Corso's upgraded, though. Happy Halloween, all!
Michigan Basketball
Michigan To Lean on Novak, Douglass - The extremely young Wolverines hope that their two snipers can will them through some games this year. Basketball season is fast approaching, Michigan faithful. Zack on where the team is right now:
Michigan Hockey
Wolverines Grind Down Ferris State, 3-2 - A very solid win for the Michigan hockey team. A few weeks ago, Red emphasized the importance of winning Friday night games, and a few breaks and solid defensive play carried M Friday night. Via AnnArbor dot com.
Incredibly Important YouTube Clip of the Moment:
Nostalgia for good defense.
Until next Sunday, Michigan Faithful. Cheers!