In Memoriam

There are several things I really wanted to blog about this week. I wanted to comment on last week's elections, about Rumsfeld's resignation, about President Bush's ridiculous claim that the replacement of Rumsfeld followed the elections so as not to impact the outcome of elections -- as if they would have held off even if they thought it would help them. I wanted to comment on Notre Dame fans' crazy dream of playing in the national championship game, pointing out that they would have to jump ahead of a Michigan team that destroyed them early this year, or an Ohio State team that destroyed them in last year's bowl game. Not that it couldn't happen, but should it? And should ND fans really hope to face either team, and have their sorry secondary exposed again?? However, all week, my main focus has been on the Ohio State - Michigan game coming up tomorrow. Then today, I was driving along the highway and heard the news of Bo Schembechler's death. What a sad day for the entire Michigan family. He was a great coach and a great man. I hope the University of Michigan goes out on the field tomorrow and honors his memory, not necessarily by winning (although I'll be rooting for that too), but simply by putting forth their best effort, and respecting the game and the rivalry to which he contributed so much.

Ohio State's Defense

Sure, Ohio State has the number one scoring defense in college football this year. But what does that mean? Will they be able to dominate Michigan defensively the way they've dominated their other opponents? Let's take a look at what they've done, and who they've played. Their non-conference schedule included Texas. Sure, Texas was a big win, but look closer at the game. Texas had a true freshman starting at quarterback, and the game was their second of the year. Obviously, you would expect Texas to play conservatively, and run the ball. OSU should have been able to load the line of scrimmage and shut down Texas's running game right? Wrong. Texas outgained OSU 172 yards to 79 yards on the ground! Okay, but at least they were able to shut down Texas's passing game, right? Again wrong. Texas was able to complete 60% of their passes, and averaged 8.1 yards per completion. Not too shabby. Although OSU won by three scores, they only outgained Texas by 22 yards, even knowing that OSU had all of their offensive weapons back from last year, and Texas had a true freshman leading them.


Okay, but OSU destroyed all of the other non-conference opponents, right? Yeah, they crushed Cincinnati, Northern Illinois, and Bowling Green... Whoopie. But wait... Northern Illinois rushed for 151 yards against the vaunted OSU defense? How could that be?


Well, at least OSU performed well against the Big Ten this year... ...except that they have yet to play EITHER Wisconsin or Michigan, the two best teams besides OSU in the conference. Ohio State's schedule has been mediocre at best, and they are still giving up over 90 rushing yards per game. I'm looking forward to a good game for Michael Hart.

Oh How I Hate...

...Ohio State.

For people who don't live in this part of the country, it's hard to understand how big Saturday's game is. When I was a student at Michigan, there was a game between #2 Michigan and #1 Florida State. That game was insignficant compared to this one.

In fairness to OSU, I'm showing the video below. Okay, it isn't really about fairness, it's really just because it demonstrates how much this game means to both sides...



There, they got some air time on my site. Now...

Go Blue!

Top 10 Reasons to Root for Michigan this Saturday

A non-partisan friend asked me to give him two reasons why he should root for Michigan over Ohio State in the big game this coming Saturday. Following is my response:

10. Michigan's players' rap sheets aren't nearly as long as OSU's

9. Jim Tressel is 4-1 against Michigan. It's his turn to feel some pain.

8. Michigan is a better academic institution than OSU.

7. Michigan doesn't have a nut as it's mascot.

6. Better fight song, better uniforms.

5. OSU is in Ohio. Enough said.

4. Henne, Hart, Breaston, and Manningham!

3. OSU has a top 5 Basketball team this year. Michigan's team is unranked. OSU can't hog all the accolades.

2. Native Americans used buckeyes to make an anti-hemmoroidal creme.

...and the number one reason to root for Michigan...

1. You want to be rooting for the team that wins, don't you?

Insights into Toiletpaper

This post is hilarious. Check it out.



I may have to change my brand of TP.

One versus Two

The matchup we've all been anticipating for weeks is now only days away. I like Michigan's chances for a few reasons. First, take a look at last year's game. The two teams played a tough game at the end of last season with Ohio State winning 25-21. Ohio State had an explosive offense, and a bruising defense last year, and struggled to a narrow victory over a mediocre (7-5) Michigan squad that underperformed all year. This year's OSU squad is equally explosive on both sides of the ball. They replaced nine starters on defense, but haven't missed a beat. Their offense looks about the same as last year's, with all of their primary weapons back and another year of experience under their belts. Michigan, on the other hand, is a completely different team. Their defense is one of the best ever at UM, perhaps on par with their tremendous 1997 championship year. Their offense is also considerably improved, with Henne and Hart more experienced, and with the emergence of a tremendous deep threat in Mario Manningham.

Sure, Jim Tressel is 4-1 versus the University of Michigan since his arrival in Columbus, but that only strengthens my case for Michigan's chances. Every streak ends at some point, and in this rivalry, Michigan is due. The Michigan players have an intangible edge over Ohio State, because of their poor performance last year, and their inability to beat Ohio State under coach Tressel.

Coach Carr has had some mediocre years at Michigan -- years when the football team has underperformed, and skeptics have called for his head. It seems to me that Lloyd Carr struggles to motivate his players when they've had continued success, but easily rallies his troops when they've felt disappointment. Prior to the start of this year, the last time Coach Carr's critics were so vocal was at the beginning of the 1997 season, after two consecutive 4-loss seasons. People started suggesting that the block "M" stood for "Mediocre." Spurred by such disappointment and criticism, the team responded with an undefeated season and a National Championship. After last season, critics again were calling for Lloyd Carr to be fired. His team has again responded, playing an inspired season of football. One game stands in the way of playing for another National Championship, and it is the hated Buckeyes who will feel the anger that builds from a disappointing year.

Figures don't lie, but liars can figure?

Imagine a football game in which one team outgains the other 507 yards to 297 yards, with an advantage of 352 yards to 47 on the ground. Imagine that the first team has 15 more offensive plays, and 10 more first downs. Imagine that the yards per carry are 7.7 versus 2.1. The ability to run the ball gives the first team a 10 minute advantage in time of possession. They are able to sustain drives because they convert 50% of their third downs, as opposed to 17% for their opponents. They are 100% on fourth down conversions, while their opponents are 0% on fourth down. The first team converts every opportunity in the red zone into points, while their opponent converts on only 50% of its red zone opportunities. The turnover margin is even, with each turning the ball over only a single time. Normally, the result is a blowout victory. Yesterday, it was a narrow victory for Michigan over Ball State, for which Michigan was criticized for underperforming. Sometimes it's possible to dominate a game and still lose. In this case, it was a dominant performance with a narrow victory. It just goes to show that, while liars can figure, sometimes figures also lie. The only thing that really matters is that the Wolverines maintained an unblemished record with the Ohio State game looming ahead.

2 Weeks...

...until Ohio State!

This video from the ND-Michigan game is titled, appropriately, "Domination".

(Warning: Includes acts of extreme violence. Not intended for small children or Notre Dame fans.)

Conservative Criticism of Bush Policy

George F. Will, conservative columnist, journalist, and author, has been accused in the past of ethical lapses for failing to remain neutral in his role as a journalist. One of those cases involved aiding Ronald Reagan in preparations for a debate against Jimmy Carter, and then failing to disclose his role in the preparations when appraising the results of the debate on National Television. A second instance came when he failed to disclose his wife's involvement in the Dole presidential campaign in 1996, while reporting on the race. In each case, the criticism against him was for being too attached to the Republican party to present an unbiased account, yet failing to disclose his connections when commenting.

I mention this background as a precursor for presenting his latest comments. It is one thing for a liberal member of the media to condemn Bush's Iraq war policy. It is an entirely different matter when a staunchly conservative journalist denigrates the policies of the current administration. This week, in an article in Newsweek, George Will makes the following statement:

"A surreal and ultimately disgusting facet of the Iraq fiasco is the lag between when a fact becomes obvious and when the fiasco's architects acknowledge that fact. Iraq's civil war has been raging for more than a year; so has the Washington debate about whether it is what it is."

George W. Bush mistakenly believes that admitting mistakes shows weakness, and that by showing weakness, we are more vulnerable to terrorism. I would argue that refusal to admit mistakes is a much truer sign of weakness, and ultimately makes us immensely more vulnerable. It takes a bold, confident, powerful leader to stand before the electorate and admit that previous decisions were flawed. This sort of leader wins the admiration of his followers, and the fear (and often respect) of his enemies. George W. Bush is not the bold, confident, powerful leader that he attempts to emulate, and his sub-40% national approval rating is evidence of his weaknesses as a leader. George W. Bush needs to quit pretending to be a strong leader, and start acting like one.