They’re not really blues, per se, but bye weeks are always
kind of a pause in the action and you either welcome them for the sweet relief
they bring or look at them like, “Damn, we’re rolling. Don’t stop now!”
Seeing as how Michigan is the latter at this point (but
probably welcomes the break right in the middle of the season), I thought I
would take this opportunity to evaluate the landmines that Michigan has to
dance around in order to have the same amount of success as they did in the first
6 games.
Illinois
– Homecoming. Next
Saturday – 3:30 Kick. Can someone tell
me why this is a 3:30 kick? Anyone? This shouldn’t be much more of a hurdle than
a mix of PSU and Hawaii was. The Illini
isn’t as good as PSU but not as bad as Hawaii.
I think the Illini will threaten, score some points and be a nuisance
for a half and then Michigan rolls…As landmines go, this one is kind of a dud –
level 5 on a scale of 6.
@ Sparty – I
don’t care how bad they’ve looked up to this point, Marc D’angelo will empty
the playbook, hall-closet and throw everything but the kitchen sink at this
game to score on our defense. Also look
for the Sparty defense to take a LOT OF PENALTIES trying to jump the
snap count (which they’ve done on us for years) and also take a lot of Pass
Interference penalties rather than give up the big play. This game still poses the biggest threat in
my mind (remember – Wiscy really only
beat them 16-6 when you take the fumbled punt and the scoop 6 off Wiscy’s score). Therefore, I will say it’s the land mine
ranked number 1 that needs to be diffused in order to get to T-Day weekend
undefeated.
Maryland – I
said in the Pre-Season Spectacular that this game scared the hell out of me and
guess what – it still does. Maybe even
more so now that the Terps have lost a little mo-mo but they aren’t afraid of
anyone. Michigan will need to come off a
big, emotional game (Sparty) and hit Maryland in the mouth….tied for 2nd on the
list of landmines due to where it falls in the season and student (Derkin) vs.
master (Jimmy) thing going on….
@ Iowa – For
some reason, this game has lost a lot of the “scariness” that it had early in
the season. If Michigan’s Defense shows
up, Michigan will win a low scoring affair even though it’s played at night in
the freezing temperatures of Kinnick.
Land mine level: 4. Even though I
had this as a likely and possible loss in the Spectacular. Things change….
Indiana – The
entire blogging and tweeting world refers to Indiana as team “Chaos”
because they can score at will and have your head spinning with respect to how
they do it. Its home, which makes it a
manageable land mine as far as land mines go.
It’s tied for #2 on the list and I would like to take them out of the
game early…but I have a feeling that won’t happen. IU plays everyone close….
@ ohio
– The Game. It will
have some significance on who plays in the CFP, that much is clear regardless
of whether or not both teams are undefeated or if 1 of them has a
loss….Michigan (and Speight – especially Speight) will need
to be better offensively to win this game.
But if I know Harbaugh, he’ll have them improving every game leading up
to this one.
So, rankin’ em:
Worst
Land Mines to No Worries leading up to November 26th (still hard to
remember that it’s not the 3rd Saturday, but I’m getting used to it):
Sparty
Maryland – Indiana (tie)
Iowa
Illinois
…And then there’s WAR!!!!
The
Rest of the Mess
You know how some people dream and have nice dreams about
puppies and fuzzy sweaters and such?
When the MMQ dreams he dreams of seasons EXACTLY LIKE THIS! Michigan
undefeated and two very hated rivals spiraling down the pit of despair! One respected rival is undefeated and while
they may seem impossible to beat, beating them, if it can happen, will be that
much sweeter when the time comes. I
haven’t felt like this since….2006. And
I'm a gonna' keeeep on dreamin’!!!
NC
State @ Clemson: This
game can be summed up in two words: COLLEGE
KICKERS. Ever wonder why the
MMQ in the Pre-Season Spectacular always kind of dismisses special teams and just
asks – actually, BEGS these guys to Kick the Ball and Catch the Ball?? That result is why. Every NC State fan yesterday and this AM is
sitting around the coffee station muttering about their lousy kicker. And how close they were to tasting what it
would be like to defeat an undefeated on their home turf. Yep, College Kickers, man, College Kickers….
BAMA @
Cremesicles: I think
a lot of people thought this game was going to be closer due to the fact that
the Cremesicles had played everyone close this season. I wasn’t as sure based on the first two games
the Cremesicles played and usually a bad sloppy team is a bad sloppy team. Bama is proving to be the measuring stick in
all of college football. A&M will
have their hands full next week, but upsets do happen.….
Stanford
@ Domers: Domer
Record: 2-5. HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! That’s how it is in my dream, almost. I’m actually a little sad. Sad because the Domers somehow got those two
victories (over Tulsa and Syracuse)!
Things are really starting to come off the rails in South Bend, and
while it wasn’t talked about during the game (as near as I could tell) some of
the student body did leave the game in uniform fashion. I read that protest lost some of its luster
as it was walking out on fellow students and that was wrong. Never the less, $warbuck$ has some explaining to
do after last season’s contract extension of 6 years, a pay increase,
and probably a hefty buy-out. I’m not
that shocked that the Domers keep doing this with substandard coaches. It’s what they do. Here’s a nice little link to the Stanford
strength coach telling Kelly “Bye-Bye”…Hee-hee….
Vandy
@ Georgia: Losing to the worst
Vandy team that they’ve put on the field in a long time has to be close to a
fire-able offense in the land of the SEC.
And to lose in the fashion that you lost – domination of the Commodores
and losing by a point…I know an SEC team wouldn’t can a coach in his first
season…Right? I mean, Right? Anyone?
Anyone? Hello Georgia fans???
Furry
rodents @ Maryland: Claeys
righted the road ship and got one against Derkin, which I have a feeling won’t
get any easier to do to the Terps as time marches on. Looked impressive on the road. Are you guys trying to make Nebraska and
Wiscy nervous?
Huskers
@ Hosers: Again, Indiana in this game RIGHT TO THE FRIGGIN’ End, but
the Huskers prevail to get to 6-0 for the first time since I don’t know
when. And I’m still not sure how good
this team is, but 6-0 is 6-0. I respect
ya’, Huskers. And you’re making the B1G
look good again. And I’m more and more
nervous about the Hosers….They’re good enough to spoil someone’s season…
Northwestern
@ sparty: SOS – SOS – SOS – SOS – SOS –
SOS – SOS – SOS – SOS
First time ever in East Lansing that Donaltonio gets 53
hung on him….This almost isn’t fun anymore…it’s slightly embarrassing to watch
(small tear wells up in my eye and slowly falls down my cheek)…I almost feel –
Nope,
Nope, Nope!!! I can’t even fake it!
HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! Oh, how sweet the misery looks on all those
faces whenever I see anyone wearing that hideous green and white crap out in
the street and I have on the Maize and Blue! If I see them
eye-ball me, I simply give ‘em a “Go Blue!” and keep right on walking
with a little spring in my step! Yes –
there’s two programs whose fans I love to kick when they’re down. And this is one of ‘em. Has there been a better stretch to love
hating Sparty in recent memory? The
Hoops team losing to a 15-Seed and now the “football” team sitting at 2-4,
looking at a 5-7 season, more than likely?
Dantonninni simply doesn’t have any more rabbits he can pull out of his
hat at this point. That’s a bad team in East
Lansing, folks. A Bad Team. Yes, they’ll be pumped on October 29th
with the “Save Our Season” adrenaline flowing in their veins, but the
reality of 3-4 or 2-5 (after Maryland) will still be bitter. Perhaps the Pride
got to Sparty before the fall? Is little
brother feeling abused again? Michigan is a very complete team, Sparty Fan, and
I have this feeling it won’t be pretty in East Lansing.
Colrado
@ Arizona State: Colorado
– remember that nobody Michigan played back in September, somehow has beaten
what was in some places a dark horse to win the Pac12 South and sits at 5-2 on
the season. And they DESTROYED the
Sundevils 40-16. Hmm…..maybe Michigan has
played some good teams! Speaking of
which….
suckeyes
@ Wiscy: Oh, we were so
close to the big ole Wet Dream of the Wolverine Fan’s Trifecta of
all three hated rivals falling on the same Saturday!!!! Wiscy revealed the suckeyes for what they
are: A BEATABLE team that an
efficient offense can move the ball on and a good to great defense can shut
down. Wiscy played great football for
about 52 to 54 minutes on Saturday night and then the somewhat inevitable
happened. They let the Suckeyes back in
it, couldn’t get down for a possible game winning FG, and went to OT. How you lower Wiscy in the national standings
is beyond me (I think they dropped from 8 to 10). If anything I’d have moved them up for owing
the stat line (313 yards of offense in the first half alone!) And then you’ve
got Urban Legend (why is he always got his hands on his knees - does he have
heart issues, too?) with this 15 yard
penalty.
It’s funny how different people can look at the same set of
facts and come to entirely different conclusions. I was asked Saturday who I wanted to win in
this game and I said, “Wiscy”. Of
course, a Sparty spoke up (so, you know, always look at the source of education
and such) and stated it was better for Michigan if the suckeyes won. I asked why and he stated that beating an
undefeated suckeye team in Columbus would be better for Michigan’s ranking in
the event they lost the B1G Championship.
And while I understand that rationale, a one loss suckeye team becomes a
TWO
LOSS suckeye team if Michigan beats them in Columbus. And if Michigan would lose the B1G Championship,
they’re still sitting with just one loss…vs the two that the suckeyes would
have who would be completely out of it at that point. And that would possibly make Michigan that
much more attractive in the 4th play-off spot with only 1-loss. Way
too many carts before horses, I know.
Stop thinking that way. One game
at a time….
The 5
Stages of Slappy Fan Grief
- Denial and Isolation –Clemson. While it was a close victory, all the fans will breathe a sigh of relief and be like, “Hey, were fine. We just have to keep winning and everything will be fine.” Sure. The CFP Committee (if they’re doing their job) will notice sucky wins (losses) and say that you were lucky to win that game to a completely unranked team. Any other 1-loss team will look more attractive than Clemson right now and everyone knows it.
- ANGER –Oh, let’s see. Probably easier to just list ‘em and get it over with: Domers, Sparty, Puppy Dawgs, Ducks, Boilermakers. I’m probably forgetting somebody….But those fans are all angry for various reasons – some that their school hasn’t fired their coach and others that they hired a guy that can’t coach a win and still others that fired a coach that could have easily been canned last season if you were going to do it anyway…more on the Boilers in a minute….
- Bargaining –Wiscy. 2 losses to the teams that you are supposed to lose to ranked 2 & 3 in the country does not make you a bad football team. In fact, I think most fans are thinking that Wiscy might be better than one of those teams, they just couldn’t close the deal. ….
- Depression – Domers and Sparty…Just you two this week. Nobody else to share your misery with. The pit of despair and depression knows no final depth or bottom and it can and will continue downward into a black and numb nothingness that leaves you feeling completely empty and hollow inside. No hopes or reasonable goals left for the season. These teams might come out swinging in the next couple of games, but at the first sign of adversity, they’ll fold like a lawn chair… There’s no joy in South Bend or East Lansing, friends of the MMQ. And that makes me HAPPY!!!!
- Acceptance – Purdue. This is the 2nd time you’ve earned the spot this season and I wasn’t going to put you down here, but your school fired Hazell. At least now, you can move on and hopefully, this is the bottom….
Idle
Thoughts from Saturday
-Apparently, I, like many others, stated I
was going to get to “a lot of Crap” during Michigan’s first bye week.
-To give you an idea – I was 5th in line at the
boat launch to yank out the ski boat on Saturday morning.
-And there were a half a dozen guys behind me.
-Summer’s officially over.
-And the guy in line in front of me said, “Did we all wait
for Michigan’s bye to do this?”
-I guess so…
-Saturday’s just aren’t the same when Michigan’s
not playing.
-I feel more objective and less connected to the
action.
-I mean, there’s games I wanna’ watch to see how
they play out, but it’s different.
-The week prior seemed longer, too.
-NC State hanging with Clemson!
-This game is tied!!!
-Oh, would this be sweet.
-All right little kicker dude – Keep your head
down and follow through!
-OMG! 33
yards and you MISSED IT????
-College Kickers, man….They rip your heart and
soul out…
-Clemson losing would have been nice
-But this might be just as good.
-I think they might be the biggest fraud in the
Top 5 right now.
-And that’s good if your team makes the CFP as
they’re beatable.
-Sparty is not good.
-Uh-oh.
Northwestern rolling.
-Hey – Sparty’s making a comeback!
-Oh, Wait – Nope. Wildcat Kick-Off return to the HOUSE!
-35 points in the 3rd quarter
alone? Sparty nor the Cats
understand the concept of Defense.
-Cats hang 53 on Sparty. Wow.
Nice….
-Bama abusing the Cremesicles now.
-Bama’s abusing them Bad. That Defense is for real…
-Yikes. The
CFP Champ will have to go through the Team from Tuscaloosa
-Not that I’m looking ahead.
-I have to keep reminding myself that the
transitive property does not apply.
-Meaning: A&M
has a chance…
-Not much of a chance, but a chance….
-Here we go.
-Wiscy hanging tough!
-Taking the lead and all the stats into half time!
-I know, the TRANSITIVE PROPERTY DOES NOT APPLY!!!
-Meaning:
Wiscy only had a little over 200 yards of total offense on Michigan.
-The TRANSITIVE PROPERTY DOES NOT APPLY IN COLLEGE
FOOTBALL!
-I need to keep reminding myself of that.
-Come On CHEESEHEADS! Shut them down!
-Whoo-Hoo!
Domers lose! It’s FINAL!!! The Domers are 2-5!! HAHAHA!!!
-Back to Wiscy beating suckeyes.
-Oh Crap.
-Double Crap.
-All Right, OT at home is what you want, but it
shouldn’t have gone to OT.
-Crap. All
right Wiscy, You know what you need to do.
Score and get to 2OT.
-Awwww….Dammit!!!!
-Okay, Michigan still gets a shot and Wiscy showed
us a WHOLE BUNCH OF STUFF!!!
THE MMQ’s “I DON’T NEED A COMMITTEE!”
7 Weeks into the season known as the College Football Play-off and I know
who the frauds are. AT least
I THINK I know. And I know who’s
large and in Charge:
Top 4 teams in the Country and if the play-off were played today: Without a Doubt: Bama. Michigan and the suckeyes. (just cause
they won.) and Clemson only because they won.
Who’s still got a shot:
- B1G Champion: Nebraska and I can honestly see the argument for a 2 loss Wiscy team if they can somehow get a re-match with either Michigan or the Suckeys and win.
- SEC Champion: Bama, Texas A&M, LSU or
Tennessee. I had Tennessee in there, but there’s just no way an SEC East team is going to do anything to an SEC West team this season in the Championship. - ACC Champion: Clemson. This is on very shaky ground right now. 1 loss and Clemson will be on the outside looking in with that pathetic win Saturday. Regardless if they win the ACC.
- PAC 14 Champion: Washington. Just keep playing….
The Hot Seat
Week #7’s
Hot Seat Mascot. This
week’s Hot Seat Mascot is ring girl Jessica Storie!!!! 
ZAPPED List
We’ll keep track of who’s gone as the season progresses….
- Miles and Cameron – LSU Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator.
- VanGorder – Domer D-Coordinator.
- Ron Turner – FIU.
- Hazell – PURDUE! He was number 1 on last week’s Hot Seat, but I didn’t have him on the ECD because I figured the AD would ride this out and have less of a buy-out to deal with. So, while this is somewhat surprising, it’s really not that surprising. The TIMING is surprising, but that’s not really either if you know that Purdue hired a new AD last August from Texas Tech and probably saw the apathy, lack of fan and student support and said to himself, “All right – Enough of this!” Anything to get people back to the stadium. And don’t forget that Purdue has the new upgrade of the stadium to pay for in a couple of years. Prediction for new Head Coach: Les Miles, Turnaround Master!
Electric Chair of Death Seat!
- Kelly and $warbuck$ - Kelly lost, so he’s back in the top spot. As usual, when things turn this ugly in any program, everyone and anyone who supports the program wants to fire anyone and everyone associated with it (see the MMQ Post: “Rutgers – It’s FIFE Time” from 2014 - And it’s hard to believe were only TWO YEARS removed from what had to be the lowest point in the Michigan program). The message boards are now lighting up with fire $warbuck$ and Kelly. I really don’t know how much longer this can go in South Bend, but it’s going to be one hell of a lot of fun to watch from the cheap seats vs. having to live through it!
- Charlie Strong – Texas. While they plastered Iowa State, I think Charlie even knows that the writing is on the wall. Nobody wants to miss out on the latest hot-shot in Hermann, and Texas has more money than anyone else. Maybe not LSU, but they’ll both go as high as needed to get the guy they want.
The
Hot Seat – Guy’s that have Hot Seats but Won’t get Canned, Immediately
- Helfrich – Oregon. I think this one is only a matter of when, also.
- Kirby Smart – I don’t THINK the SEC would fire a guy after one season, but damn, this is NOT a GOOD LOOK for Georgia with Richt winning games at Miami. The SEC may just start renting coaches vs. putting them on long term contracts.
- Muschamp - first season, but still….you never know.
- Adazzio - Boston College
- DANTONIO, MARK – MSU. I’m not saying that Hollis would ever even consider firing this guy…but the seat is warm, none the less. Sparty’s season has spiraled into the only thing left to play for is beating Michigan and the suckeyes. Just like old times…
- Franklin – PSU.
- Whoever’s coaching USC
- Malzhan – Auburn.
Short List of Available or
Desirable Head Coaches
- Jimbo Fisher – now sitting with 2 ACC losses, is probably taking phone calls from anyone that’s looking….
- Kiffin – Still here and worth the risk
- Hermann –Who’s going to get him?
- PJ Fleck – Western Michigan is still undefeated and Rowing the Boat!
- Willie Taggart - USF
- John Bonamego – Central Michigan
- Les Miles – AVAILABLE FOR HIRE – Purdue, is that you calling????
Side
NFL NOTE: The
Lions win a squeaker and sit at 3-3.
I’ve heard that 0.500 in the NFL after 6 games is pretty good and
possibly keeps the door open for the play-offs???
Of
course, the Patriots are a healthy 5-1 and Touchdown Tommy is back doing mean
things to other NFL teams…with fully inflated balls, too!!! Just sayin’….
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