Perspective

Michigan football is 5-1.  That was about my expectation at the beginning of the year.  I expected Michigan to lose one of the Notre Dame and Michigan State games and win the rest.  So, despite how much it sucks to lose to Michigan State, I am completely satisfied with Michigan’s results through six games.

Now, I know people are going to point to 2009 and predict an imminent Michigan collapse.  But, I don’t quite see it that way.  Sure, Michigan lost yesterday in ugly fashion.  But, the loss resulted from unforced, correctable mistakes.  The sky is not falling.  Denard Robinson struggled yesterday.  It was bound to happen.  But, WHY Denard struggled is a whole different story.

The Offense

Watching yesterday’s game, it was quite clear to me that Michigan knew that Michigan State was going to sell out to stop the run.  Michigan threw the ball more as a result.  Denard made the right reads in the passing game.  He and his receivers just failed to execute.  On the first drive, he threw late into the endzone resulting in an interception.  He did the exact same thing later in the game.  On both plays, he had an open receiver.  On the second drive, Denard missed a wide open Darryl Stonum in the endzone.  Michigan settled for 3 points.  That is 18 points left on the board due to missed throws.

Denard Robinson started only his sixth game on Saturday.  He has made those throws in the first five games.  Maybe he was nervous on Saturday, maybe he just had a bad day.  Everyone has bad days.  The encouraging part to me is that the errors were not caused by the defense but rather a few poor throws to open receivers.  That is correctable.  Denard is as hard a worker as you will find.  He will get into the film room and correct his mistakes.

The Defense

I was actually encouraged by some of what I saw from the defense yesterday.  The offense lost the game, not the defense.  When the offense controlled the ball in the first half, the defense played relatively well.  They fell apart when the turnovers piled up.  Two of MSU’s big plays came when the back-ups were in for a couple plays.  There’s several glaring issues with the defense.

Tackling has to improve.  Stop trying to hit the guy with the ball and start tackling.  The missed tackles continue to plague the defense.  They are often in position, but they need to finish the plays.

Get Obi Ezeh off the field.  He is horrible and he was directly responsible for both of Michigan State’s long runs.  I hate calling a specific player out, but Obi has to be replaced.  His replacement can’t possibly be worse.  My solution?  Move Jordan Kovacs to MLB.  Put Marvin Robinson at safety.  Kovacs is one of the best players on the defense and he can tackle.  Kovacs lacks safety speed, but he’ll be fine at linebacker.  Marvin has the safety speed.  If you don’t do that, just do something.  Obi Ezeh provides no value to this team, whether it be in the present or in the future.

Outlook

So what does all of this mean?  We are who we thought we were.  I said at the beginning of the year: Michigan will be successful this year if they control time of possession and limit turnovers.  The defense is not good enough to put them in bad position.  The offense is awesome, and it’s only going to get better.  Control time of possession and stop turning the ball over and all will be fine.  I still see 8 wins like I did from day one.

 

Keepin’ Chick’s Dream Alive

Chick Evans' dream has been realized through the Western Golf Association.

If you didn’t watch the BMW Championship last weekend, you missed more than just a golf tournament. You missed one of the true feel good stories related to sports. A few years ago, the BMW Championship replaced the Western Open, one of the longest running tournaments on the PGA Tour. The mission of the tournament, however, remained the same. That mission: putting caddies through college.

That mission is accomplished through the Evans Scholarship, a scholarship that is funded in part through proceeds from the BMW Championship. The Evans Scholarship is aptly named after its founder: Chick Evans. Evans was one of the greatest amateur golfers ever. Evans was himself a caddy, but could not afford to pay for college tuition. To prevent the same fate for other young caddies, Evans remained an amateur and set aside his winnings to the creation of a scholarship for caddies. Chick’s dream was eventually realized in 1930 when the two first Evans Scholars started their education at Northwestern University.

We, as Evans Scholars, strive for ideals of the ideals of the community leadership – achieved not necessarily through popularity, but through character.

Today, Chick’s dream is alive and well. The Evans Scholarship is the largest privately founded scholarship in the country. The scholarship covers full tuition and housing for up to eight semesters contingent on maintaining good academic standing. There are over 850 Evans Scholars currently enrolled at 18 different colleges, mainly centered in the Midwest.

We cherish the ability to set aside pleasurable activities until the necessary ones are accomplished.

In college athletics, certain people transcend normal popularity to become legends for their respective programs. John Wooden at UCLA. Bo Schembechler at Michigan. Woody Hayes at Ohio State. Chick Evans is as big of a legend within Evans Scholars circles. In fact, he’s a bigger legend. You see, he’s not just a coach who started a rivalry or brought a program multiple national championships. He’s a man who is directly responsible for graduating thousands of young men and women. Without Chick’s vision, many of these young people may have never graduated.

We strive for group unity and loyalty through an interaction and appreciation of varied backgrounds and personalities.

The Evans Scholarship is not just a random scholarship awarded to anyone who can pick up a golf bag and last eighteen holes. It is rewarded to young high school seniors who show an outstanding academic record, excellent leadership and character, and legitimate financial aid. Many of these kids would not be able to afford tuition at schools like Michigan and Northwestern without the scholarship.

We strive for public esteem based upon the demonstrated ability to achieve and maintain positions of respect in our community.

And while the financial burdens relieved by the scholarship are certainly significant, the Evans Scholar program is a lot more than just about free tuition and housing. These Evans Scholars live together in the same house for four years. They see each other every day, go to class together, and eventually develop respect and lifelong friendships with each other. If you ask any Evans Scholar their favorite part of the program, the answer will be resounding and simple: the people. These people, for one reason or another, could not have made it through college on their own. But, working collectively, they graduate at an impressively high rate. Bo Schembechler would be proud. “The team, the team, the team.” Evans Scholars realize that their goals are best achieved through the collective efforts of their friends and house mates… a concept that Bo preached for years during his tenure at Michigan.

We represent an educational institution seeking to teach men and women to live and work with each other and instill in them the ability to embrace individual differences and to respect individual freedoms.

The impact that the program has on its beneficiaries cannot be overstated. The appreciation of Evans Scholar alumni can be seen in their generous donations back to the program (more than $4 million annually). Convinced yet? For more information on the Evans Scholarship or to donate, visit the Evans Scholarship Foundation website. I promise your money will be better spent there than it was on the Virginia Tech money line last weekend. How would I know, you may ask? Well, I am just another Evans Scholar alum who could not be more proud to be associated with the program with friends who can still benefit from your donations. You will not regret it.

Personal growth is our goal; group living is our means.

Mealer Brothers Provide Plenty of Inspiration

Walking through the tunnel at Michigan Stadium has never meant so much.  The tunnel leading to the football field in Michigan Stadium has seen hundreds of Hall of Fame players and coaches.  It has been the entrance to tens of ESPN Classics.  It has led to the field several Heisman Trophy winners.  This Saturday, however, the walk through the tunnel will provide inspiration to the Michigan football family unlike ever before.

Funny enough, despite the troubles of the Michigan football team the past two years, the inspiration has nothing to do with getting a win against UConn Saturday but everything to do with the person leading the team through the tunnel: Brock Mealer.

Michigan Memories: #1

1. Touchdown Manningham!

It was my freshman year at Michigan.  Early losses to Notre Dame, Wisconsin, and Minnesota had ruined my expectations of going to the Rose Bowl as a freshman.  Penn State was ranked in the top 10 and expected to roll Michigan in Ann Arbor.  Penn State took the lead with 54 seconds left and it looked like Michigan was going to lose another heart breaker.  Chad Henne and Mario Manningham had other ideas.

Michigan Football Memories: #2

2. The Braylon Show

Another year, another crushing of Sparty’s dreams.  One of the finest individual performance you will ever see.

Michigan Football Memories: #3

3. Dreisbach to Hayes

Another last second win, this was the first game for Lloyd Carr as the head coach of Michigan.  In dramatic fashion, Mercury Hayes capped off a 17 point comeback to make sure Carr’s career started off with a win.

Michigan Football Memories: #4

4. Redemption for a Kicker

This is one moment where I really wanted to turn the TV off I was so nervous.  Phillip Brabbs and Troy Nienberg missed what seemed like 12 field goals against Washington in 2002.  With one last chance to make a field goal to win the game, Lloyd Carr sent Brabbs out to try to change Michigan’s luck.  He did just that.

Favorite Michigan Football Memories: #5 and #6

Numbers five and six on the list of our favorite Michigan Football memories involve one player: Chuck Woodson.

6. He jumped how high!?

Quite simply, the greatest catch I’ve ever seen.  This may be the moment that Charles Woodson’s Heisman campaign began.

5. Woodson matches Howard

If number six began the Heisman campaign, number five ended it.  When a Michigan football player returns a punt for a touchdown against Ohio State in a game called by Keith Jackson, his odds of winning a Heisman are pretty good.

Michigan Football Memories: #7 and #8

The next two plays come from the first half of the last decade.  One of the them comes from one of my favorite players, Marquise Walker.  #8 comes from one of my least favorite players, but even I can’t deny the impact he had on this game.

7. Walker does it again!

Marquise Walker made remarkable catch after remarkable catch.  But nothing will ever top the touchdown catch he made in 2001 Iowa game.  I still can’t believe he caught this ball.

8. Shazor makes the play!

Michigan had just taken the lead from Purdue in 2004.  Purdue is driving back down the field and a Purdue receiver runs free across the middle of the field.  Then he meets Ernest Shazor.

Favorite Michigan Football Memories

As college football season approaches, fans can’t help but recall their favorite memories of the past.  ThirdandBlog has compiled its favorite Michigan football memories.  There will be notable omissions; only plays I was old enough to remember made the list.  No Hello Heisman.  There were other notable omissions simply because it was very difficult to limit a list of favorite Michigan football memories to 10.  We will reveal them two at a time.  Here’s my best effort at numbers 10 and 9.

10. JoePa kicked to Breaston AGAIN!?!?!

This kick return in the 2005 Penn State game set up a play that you will see later in the list.  Michigan had less than a minute to go the length of the field.  Steve Breaston made that task a whole lot easier.

9. There’s a jock strap on the field and it belongs to Darius Fleming.

Michigan’s lead against Notre Dame is only four early in the fourth quarter.  Rich Rodriguez decides to go for it on 4th and 3 and the Notre Dame 32.  Tate Forcier does the rest.