Nebraska and Michigan have quite a lot in common, and Saturday we will get to find out which team can keep it’s Big Ten title hopes alive. We will also find out if a new rivalry will be born of these two teams with so many similarities.
Big Ten Game of the Week: #16 Nebraska at #18 Michigan – Preview, Prediction, Poll and Point Spread
November 18, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Big Ten Game of the Week: #11 Michigan Wolverines at #23 Michigan State Spartans – Preview, Point Spread, Prediction and Poll
October 13, 2011 By 3 Comments
Last week, Brady Hoke did something Rich Rodriguez never could during his 3-year tenure as Michigan’s head coach – start a season 6-0. This week, Hoke will attempt to succeed again where Rodriguez couldn’t.
Michigan State won all 3 meetings against the Wolverines under Rodriguez, but there is no doubt that this 2011 Michigan team is much different than any the Spartans faced the last 3 years. This rivalry, which many regard as the fiercest in the Big Ten, means a little more this time around for both teams.
East Lansing’s Spartan Stadium will host a battle for first place of the Big Ten’s Legends Division. #11 Michigan (6-0, 2-0 conference) and #23 Michigan State (4-1, 1-0 conference) can each take the inside track to the Big Ten Championship Game with a win this Saturday.
Which Big Ten player has the best chance to win the 2011 Heisman Trophy?
June 22, 2011 By 3 Comments
Recently bodog released their odds of the best college football players’ chances to win the 2011 Heisman Trophy.
There were seven players from the Big Ten on bodog’s list, and you can place bets on who you think will win college football’s highest honor.
Here is a look at all the Big Ten players odds to win the 2011 Heisman Trophy. [Read more...]
Here’s hoping Denard Robinson gets to finish what he started
October 5, 2010 By Leave a Comment
You probably know the overall gist of the situation at this point. In fact, you’ve more than likely heard the numbers packaged up in a variety of fancy ways, a weekly effort to try and explain exactly what the hell is going on here.
67 for 96 (a 68.9 percent completion rate), 1,008 yards, seven touchdowns, one interception.
98 carries, 905 yards (an average of 9.2 yards per rush), and eight touchdowns for a grand total of…
1,913 yards of total offense and 15 touchdowns through five games.
Even in Rich Rodriguez’s wildest dreams of the perfect spread optioning, dual threat scoring behemoth, he could not have imagined his niche quarterback position to be executed at the level Denard Robinson has taken it to so far this season.
Great Moments in College Football Photography: Denard Robinson Heisman Pose Edition
September 13, 2010 By 6 Comments
No name is hotter in college football right now than Denard “Shoelace” Robinson.
Michigan football has been mired in mediocrity for a while now, but Robinson and his blazing speed have single-handedly vaulted Michigan back into college football relevance and removed some of the heat from Rich Rodriguez’s seat.
While it’s still early, and while Robinson has yet to face a top-notch defense or beat a good team (sorry Notre Dame fans), the Heisman talk is inevitable. What makes it even more compelling is that, should Robinson ever win the award, be it this year or in the future, a photograph by Sam Wolson from The Michigan Daily may well go down as one of the greatest and most iconic college football photographs of all time.
Irish Beat Themselves, Michigan Happy to Take the Credit
September 13, 2010 By 9 Comments
The Michigan Wolverines marched into South Bend on Saturday and came out with a hard-fought victory over the Fighting Irish. All you’ll hear about the game from the national sports networks and talking heads is how great Michigan played, and how Denard Robinson is better than Michael Vick and Vince Young combined.
But anyone who actually watched the game knows the real story. Notre Dame was the better team, and simply beat themselves. [Read more...]
Michigan v Notre Dame In the Big House: Preview and Prediction
September 11, 2009 By 2 Comments
Michigan and Notre Dame meet in Ann Arbor on Saturday and this year it will actually be a game worth watching. It will also be a game played in one of the only stadiums — The Big House — that is large enough to hold both schools’ massive football egos.
The last two meetings between these teams were sloppy blowout games and neither team ended up having a good season. But this year both squads look to be back on track and the rivalry is being revived.
Last week, Michigan coasted to an easy 31-7 victory over Western Michigan, scoring all of their points in the first half. Freshman quarterback Tate Forcier solidified himself as the starter for the Wolverines while fellow freshman Denard Robinson flashed the speed and big play ability that quarterbacks in Rich Rodriguez’s system are known for having.
Rich Rodriguez’s spread option offense was effective against the Broncos, as Michigan racked up 242 rushing yards from 8 different ball carriers. The problem for the Wolverines is they are currently without a go-to running back. Backup quarterback Denard Robinson was the leading rusher with 74 yards.
In Notre Dame’s season opener, the Irish shut out Nevada 35-0 with Jimmy Clausen throwing for 4 TD’s. Claussen showed poise in the pocket, completing 15 of his 18 attempts.
Charlie Weis and the Fighting Irish look ready to make it back to another bowl game this year, and possibly even compete for a BCS bid. The offense that was in complete disarray two seasons ago is now finally coming together.
Saturday’s matchup between these two bitter rivals is an intriguing one. Both teams have shown vast improvement from last year, but this will obviously be the first real test for each squad with Rodriguez and Weis both seated firmly on the hot seat to bring their teams back to the elite level of college football.
Before we get into an analysis of the matchup, let’s take a quick look at the particulars:
#18 Notre Dame (1-0) at Michigan (1-0)
- Notre Dame-Michigan Date: Saturday, September 12th
- Notre Dame-Michigan Time: 3:30 ET
- Notre Dame-Michigan TV: ABC
- Notre Dame-Michigan Location: The Big House in Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Notre Dame-Michigan Point Spread: Notre Dame -4.5
- StubHub: Michigan-Notre Dame tickets for as low as $95
- StubHub: Michigan football tickets
- StubHub: Notre Dame football tickets
- StubHub: all College Football tickets
Notre Dame-Michigan Preview and Analysis
Notre Dame comes into the game a slight favorite and rightfully so. Clausen is starting to fill in the void that was left when Brady Quinn left for the NFL draft. (Side note to Notre Dame fans: please don’t treat Claussen like the “golden boy” as you did with Quinn. Thank you.)
To win the game, the Irish must provide strong pass protection for Clausen and allow him to spread the ball around. Michigan, on the other hand, needs to pressure Clausen and limit his ability to locate WRs Golden Tate and Michael Floyd down the field. If Michigan tries to get in a shootout with Notre Dame, the Wolverines won’t be able to keep up with the Irish’s high-octane offense.
If Claussen can put up 300-plus yards passing Michigan won’t have a chance. Tate, a speedy and talented young receiver, could be the X-factor with his big play potential.
Michigan needs to control the pace and the clock by running the football over and over. Forcier looked good passing the ball last week, although he only put the ball in the air 20 times. He completed 13 of those passes for 175 yards and tallied 3 TDs. You might look at those stats and think the Wolverines should throw more.
On the contrary, Forcier’s efficient passing was set up by 50 rushing attempts at 4.8 yards per pop. Michigan would do well to follow attain a similar run:pass ratio. Forcier will have to be smart with the ball again when passing plays are called. An improving Irish defense picked off two passes last week and will be licking their chops going up against a freshman making only his second start.
Notre Dame-Michigan Prediction
This game can go either way and will likely be decided by one or two key plays. Notre Dame comes in ranked #18, but when playing in the Big House all rankings go out the window. [Editor's note: as do Division 1-A and 1-AA classifications...right App State?]
Rich Rodriguez will have the Wolverines amped up to start the game and the Irish will have to take the fans out of the game early. Luckily for Notre Dame fans and the embattled Weis, the Irish have an experienced quarterback to rely on in Jimmy Clausen, who is no stranger to pressure, expectation, and hostile environments.
In this high profile matchup between two of the all-time giants of college football, Clausen’s experience will most likely be the difference.
My prediction for this game: Notre Dame- 31 Michigan- 24
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* – Notre Dame / Michigan helmets image credit: The Onion
* – Charlie Weis photo credit: AP Photo/Carlos Osorio via WSBT-2
* – Denard Robinson / Tate Forcier photo credit: Said Alsalah/Daily via Michigan Daily
* – Jimmy Clausen in high school photo credit: Pre Pro Sports
Wolverine Freshmen QBs Forcier, Robinson Impress In 31-7 Win
September 7, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Rich Rodriguez kicked off the 2009 campaign with an impressive showing from his true freshmen quarterbacks in the Wolverines’ 31-7 win over Western Michigan.
Tate Forcier is only the third freshman quarterback to start for Michigan in the school’s history, with the others being Rick Leach and Chad Henne. He looked sharp and passed for three touchdowns in his debut.Â
Even better than his three touchdowns, he had no completions to the other team, finishing 13-20 for 179 yards. He also rushed for 37 yards on 11 carries.
Denard “Shoelace” Robinson was 2-4 for 18 yards through the air, but his running game was more impressive. Robinson rushed 11 times for 74 yards, with an impressive touchdown run of 43 yards. The video of Robinson’s incredible debut run is below.
Denard “Shoelace” Robinson Runs for TD Against Toledo
The only letdown in this game was Rodriguez’s thought that putting Nick Sheridan into the game was a good idea. Sheridan continued his stellar quarterbacking abilities that he so finely displayed last year by going 0-2 with a completion to the other team. I had instant flashbacks to every game he played in last year. It seems that some things will never change.
This win was nice, but basking in the glory of a Week 1 victory is something that Michigan cannot afford to do, as they have a real test at home next week against Notre Dame, who rolled Nevada 35-0.
Kurt Fraschetti
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* – Denard Robinson / Tate Forcier photo credit: Said Alsalah/Daily via Michigan Daily
Has the Next Pat White Come to Michigan? Florida QB Denard Robinson Signs with Wolverines
February 4, 2009 By 1 Comment
Rich Rodriguez’s newest version of Pat White may have just landed. The buzz came this morning from Deerfield Beach High School in Florida when their senior Quarterback Denard Robinson announced his intentions to play college football for the University of Michigan.
Deerfield Beach Head Coach Art Taylor stated that Robinson picked Michigan over the University of Florida, and other schools as well. Robinson was described by Taylor as a 6-foot, 179-pound quarterback with a 40-yard dash time of 4.3 seconds. Taylor stated that playing in a spread offense was something that Robinson really wanted, adding that the chance to compete for time as a freshman was appealing to Robinson as well.
Taylor was also quoted as saying, “Oh my god, Michigan is going to get an explosive, explosive quarterback. He is a leader, he pushes his will to win on others. I’ve never seen a kid so competitive.”
Robinson will face competition from Tate Forcier from California, who is currently enrolled in classes at Michigan. Both of these guys should be a huge upgrade at the quarterback position for the Wolverines from last year.
This news should be pleasing to every Wolverine fan who had to endure the mess we called an offense last year. Last year’s offense looked like they were in a constant race to punt the ball as fast as possible. I have never seen a team go 3-and-out with the speed that the Wolverines pulled it off in last year. My heart went out to the Wolverines defense that played its ass off, only to have to go back onto the field 45 seconds after forcing a punt.
I have faith in Rich Rodriguez and his system. This was a talented football team last year that was missing, in my opinion, only one key element: a quarterback. Yes, Steven Threet grew on me over the year, but was way too inconsistent. Nick Sheridan just grew on my patience. His uncanny ability to complete passes to the other team with great regularity that made me want to gouge my eyeballs out every time I saw #8 take the field. The only time #8 did not offend me was when Michael Phelps wore a #8 jersey and walked onto the field.
At any rate, I am looking forward to the Wolverines returning to the top of the Big 10 in the near future so I can walk the streets of Ohio again with my head up high. God I miss John Cooper in Scarlet and Gray.
Go Blue!
Kurt Fraschetti, fraschetti@midwestsportsfans.com
Robinson signing information courtesy of John Heuser at annarbornews.com.
