Suspended Michigan players Fitz Toussaint, Frank Clark cleared to practice - Looks like Clark and Toussaint will be back on the practice field, but no official word has come down yet as to when they will be back for games. Don't expect that to happen anytime soon, either.
What Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson has to do to win the Heisman - CBS Sports CFB Blog is looking at what the Heisman contenders have to do to win the statue. Denard gets a turn:
Even though Robinson has the ability to win the Heisman by virtue of his play on the field alone, part of what will make him appealing to voters is the overall narrative of Michigan's 'return to glory'. The Wolverines were 19-22 under Rich Rodriguez, but rebounded last year with an 11-2 record, thanks in part to Robinson's leadership and playmaking savvy. If Michigan wins the Big Ten title, Robinson will be seen as the on-field catalyst who made it happen.
The level of difficulty is high this year, but you have to figure that if Robinson A) cuts down on his turnovers B) goes 1000/2500 in yards and C) the Wolverines win the conference, that he will at least be one of the guys with a seat in New York.
With Junior Hemingway gone, does U-M have big-play threat? - Over at the Freep I take a look at Michigan's search for a big play threat in the passing game now that Junior Hemingway is gone, and how Devin Gardner could fill that role.
Sizing up Alabama's defense after nine days of preseason camp - The secondary is looking like the weakest unit but the front seven looks as impressive as ever.
SB Nation Preseason All-Americans 2012: Barrett Jones, Sam Montgomery Headline Linemen - Taylor Lewan gets honorable mention on the offensive line. Meanwhile, William Gholston makes the first team on the defensive line over John Simon, which like, how?
The Mahatma - Lately things have been pretty quiet over at the great Michigan blog Genuinely Sarcastic, but the other Brian shows he is still very much worth reading when he does post. On Hoke's recruiting success in Ohio:
One of the best fallacies they always and will continue to cling to will be that it doesn't matter who Michigan lands, Ohio State will still land their own stars; as if this has not been the case for 60+ years. Ohio State has always landed the lion's share of talent from their home state; what changed in the last 10 years to swing the rivalry in OSU's favor was the failure of Michigan to land high-level state of Ohio talent.
A premature send-off for Tyrann Mathieu, the most exciting player in college football - Matt Hinton on the frenetic brilliance of Tyrann Mathieu:
Consider that, unlike an RG3 or Andrew Luck, Mathieu's team does not have an entry in the playbook designed to put him on SportsCenter, or YouTube. True, from one down to the next, he was just another reliable cog carrying out his assignment in a talented, well-oiled defense, which is a critical part of any discussion of his success. But his ability to stand out from arguably the deepest, most athletic pack in college football was not a matter of simple execution. It was inspired solely by his instincts, ingenuity and knack for chaos. Mathieu's big plays weren't a result of a great offensive line working in concert, or a receiver racking up yards after catch. They didn't arise from superior Xs and Os or relentless drilling of coachable techniques. Those factors may have been present, but the moments that made him a star were a product of Mathieu creating on the fly, with unmatched frequency and flair. Great players on offense get the ball by design — it comes to them intentionally, as a matter of course — but a defensive player doesn't have that luxury. To emerge as a big-play threat of the same rank, Mathieu had to be a peerless ballhawk, and then find a way to take the ball.
Rash of dismissals in college football enough to field All-Castoff Team - Given the level of play that some of the dismissed players of this year are at, this could be a pretty impressive football team. Michigan even has a representative here in Darryl Stonum.
/looks at wide receiver depth chart
/sobs
COUNTDOWN: 20 - EDSBS proves once again that when it comes to writing about college football on an emotional level, there is no one better than Spencer Hall.
You say you want to become a college football fan, Dan. I honestly don’t know how to tell you to begin other than with you. You probably think you define who you are as a fan, and even if you stumble over it in the night and nurse it along seemingly by accident. This is probably what you think. It is wrong, but it is probably what you think.