Do You Believe in Miracles?

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Seriously

So, my plan for the bye week was to write a complicated formula that would somehow result in Michigan playing January 4th in New Orleans. It was really great, really well thought out, and really impossible. Looking at who was ahead of the Wolverines with just 3 or 4 weeks of football left, the outlook was bleak at best, with powerhouses Florida State, Miami, Virginia Tech, and USC looking down upon us and our two losses. Nobody seemed to have a formidable schedule remaining, so it would take a miracle to get us back into the National Championship hunt. I was content with that fact. The last few weeks had me settling on the task at hand, winning our remaining games, including a drubbing of Ohio State, and getting back to the Rose Bowl.

And then it happened. All in one day. A special day, where there was no game to attend, no road trip to plan, no food to prepare. The college football world came crashing down on this day as Miami, Florida State, and Virginia Tech all fell victim to the upset. When the dust settled, there was Oklahoma, USC, Ohio State, LSU, and Michigan. No longer was it a complicated formula to get us to New Orleans, it was a simple one. Win out, and with a slip up by LSU and USC, we're in. LSU's remaining schedule is very difficult, including games @ Alabama, Arkansas, and @ Ole Miss. If they win all of those, they will still have to endure an SEC conference championship game...so that side of the outlook is good. On the other hand, USC has a cakewalk into New Orleans. A win against lethargic Arizona, followed by a win against UCLA on November 22nd, and their season ends on Bourbon Street. (USC also has a game on 12/6 against Oregon State-WM Ammended 11/10/03) But that's why they play the games. USC has shown it can hiccup against a lesser opponent (34-31 loss to the 5-5 Cal Bears) so anything can happen.

But anything can happen to our mighty Wolverines as well. A slip up against the Buckeyes, or worse yet, against Northwestern, and it becomes yet another story of what could have been. Iowa? Oregon? Take away a fun punt or two and we'd be sitting pretty next to the Sooners.

Do We Belong?

That will quickly become the story as things play out. Why should Michigan be the two-loss team to go? Well, Michigan has beaten a top-10 team in the last two consecutive weeks, and if they win out, they will most likely have beaten another. And remember this, a case can be made that the Big 10 is one of the top two conferences. The champion of that conference should represent them in the National Championship game. And don't fret, if we take care of business and things don't fall into place...we still have the Rose Bowl to 'fall back on'.

State Champions

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Welcome to the Big Ten

They say that the game was played in a grind-it-out fashion, just like Michigan-Michigan State matchups of years ago. A world where linemen tell the story, and time of possession is second only to points. Where speed and reverses give way to braun and halfback dives. But that is simply not the story from Saturday...it is but half the story. Michigan State did not play that game, Michigan did.

Michigan, so rich with tradition, not only went back to their traditional ways, but took it to another level. Chris Perry had 51 carries, breaking the previous record by nine, and amassed 219 yards on the ground. Hello John L., and welcome to the Big Ten. No flash, no glamour, just three (or four) yards and a cloud of dust. We run to set up the pass, Mr. Smith, that's what we do. But you and all of your pre-game trash talk about making this a bitter rivalry only made you look as dumb as your predecessor, and you couldn't stop our run. And just so you know, we only passed for fun, Big Fun if you will, because our receivers look so good, we felt they needed camera time.

Michigan State's one-dimensional offense had nothing to offer. The only significant drive was a broken coverage bomb to one of those Michigan State receivers...sorry, I just don't remember any of their names. And by the way John L., I'm not proud of Jeff Smoker, and neither should anyone else there at your land grant college. Michigan State's window of opportunity was last year, when they had at least ONE receiver, and your re-hab hero called it quits, closing that window. It's all downhill from there John L., as you will see when you attempt to recruit, when you see that you will only get what we don't want. This is the Big Ten John L., it was here while you were at Idaho and Utah State, and it will be here after you are no doubt unceremoniously released by the 2nd rate University that employs you somewhere down the road. So, John L., I suggest that while you are here, you attempt to recruit Big Ten players and play Big Ten football. Otherwise, there will be more of the same year after year as we run it RIGHT UP THE MIDDLE and show you just how weak you really are.

A few costly mistakes made the game look good for the overmatched Spartans, as Michigan outgained them 216 to 36 on the ground with one touchdown and added three touchdowns through the air. Michgan wins 27-20.

Destiny Revisited...Revisited

Now you can officially get yourself worked up, because barring a collossal flub up in Evanston, November 22 will once again be a red-letter date in Michigan history, as the Wolverines will be aiming to end a Rose Bowl drought with a win over the Buckeyes.

Boiling the Boilermakers

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Three Turkeys, Then a Team Full of Them

40 pounds of turkey. Deep fried in all of their splendor. That's what was digested at the tailgate on Saturday in the 7+ hour marathon prior to the game. Fried mushrooms and fried dill pickles on the side, plus the Schaffer dumplings with bean soup, the Goodell family's barely soup, mashed potatoes, cheesy potatoes...and countless other delicious delights. It all filled the tables to capacity as we tried to stay warm and stay dry.

Then Michigan jumped out to a 14-0 lead, and you couldn't have been warmer or dryer. Not enough to call it a game, but that feeling was there. That dominating the Big Ten feeling. The team was back, led by a terrific hard hitting defense that lacked its most storied player, Marlin Jackson. In his absense, the defense stunted and confused the outmatched Boilermakers, scoring on a fumble recovery to close out the rout, and letting up only 3 points to the Big Ten's #3 offense. Michgan wins 31-3.

Don't get yourself all worked up just yet. Better yet, hold off on your Pasendena reservations. Purdue, as is normally the case, is not a great team. The only Purdue win you pointed to going into this game was against Wisconsin, who just this week lost to Northwestern. NORTHWESTERN? PLEEEEASE DON'T MAKE ME WORRY ABOUT NORTHWESTERN! Purdue had excelled against the weakest of the Big Ten with wins over Illinois and Penn State, and non-conference wins against Pac-10 bottom-feeder Arizona, Wake Forest, and Notre Dame...and don't forget about their loss to Bowling Green. So, let me be as clear as I can about this: The fact that we spanked Purdue to give them their first Big Ten loss DOES NOT mean anything with regards to the impending game against Michigan State. Simply put, we are not going to beat Sparty based on the fact we beat Purdue.

Destiny Revisited

First of all, why didn't anybody call me out for misspelling "destiny" on last week's page? No matter, step one is done, and 2 and 1/2 steps remain on the way to a Rose Bowl bid. When the BCS standings come out on Monday evening, you can expect Ohio State, Michigan State, and most likely Michigan to appear there. As if a round-robin tournament, all three of these teams play each other, with the winner most likely headed for the Rose Bowl. Stay tuned...it doesn't get any better than this.

Up Next...Sparty

Michigan Agricultural College and its band of thugs invite us into their crap-hole city to help settle the Big Ten Championship. This week's theme is : The "You Want Fries With That?" tailgate. Bring the fast food of your choice, breakfast, lunch, White Castle...whatever floats your boat. UMTailgate.com will be well represented and in our usual Sparty spot. For information on where we will be parking, contact me at frank@umtailgate.com. Hope to see you all there!

The Final Four: Just Four Games Remain In Quest For Championship

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Goodbye Illini

What happened to the fight in the Fighting Illini? Illinois looked as if they may have been the worst team we've faced all season. Michigan got its ground game and defense back in order, punishing the Illini 56-14 in front of 110K+ at Michigan Stadium. It was good to be home and in our regular tailgate spot, as Italian cuisine filled the tables and Yucca killed our brain cells.

Destiny

Michigan faces a tough test next week, as the 6-1 Purdue Boilermakers come to town. But this is just the first of three remaining tough tests for the Wolverines, who after Purdue's victory over Wisconsin, now control their own destiny with regards to the Rose Bowl. That's right, if Michigan wins out, they will get at least a share of the Big Ten title, and without getting into the tiebreaker specifics, they will be the Big Ten's representative in the Rose Bowl. The Wolverines control there own destiny...but so does John Navarre.

Up Next...Halloween

The Italian Theme went over very well. Thanks to all that participated. Next week, we will celebrate Halloween with a turkey fry. So, wear your best Michigan costume, and we'll see you all there.

Driving Us To Drink

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Can't Lose Them All

The Cubs and Red Sox are in the league championship series. Ohio State lost a close game to Wisconsin. Arnold Schwarzenegger is the Governor of California. Northern Illinois is ranked in the top 20. Translation: The sun shines on a dog's ass now and then. And even on a Friday evening, in a dome, a tiny ray peaked through and hit #16 in the ass, if only for one quarter.

Make no mistake, the Wolverines may have been the lesser of the two teams on the field on Friday, or at least they were playing that way. There were no major miscues, no huge special teams foul ups, and the only turnover was an interception that looked as if it just may have been a great play by the defensive back. And yet, Michigan found itself down 14-0 at the half. They were down because they were out-played. They had no answer for the Minnesota offense, and the Wolverine offense mustered up less than 100 total yards. The third quarter wasn't much better, as Minnesota added another 14, while the Wolverines only score came on a trick play where Steve Breaston tossed a touchdown pass to none other than John Navarre. At the end of three quaters, the Wolverines were in the middle of a drive down the field, but trailed 28-7. I won't lie to you, the four of us that made the trip considered leaving. I received a text message on my cell phone that read "Leave now and beat the traffic." A voice mail said, "Is it really all worth it?" referring to the 20-hour round trip to Minneapolis to see this anemic performance. We decided to hold our decision to leave until after the Wolverines current drive.

A ten-yard touchdown pass from Navarre to Perry made it 28-14, which at that time seemed to just be delaying the inevitable. Faith is not something that appears in a thought that contains John Navarre, so the 14-point differential still seemed insurmountable. But then, just one-minute later, Jacob Stewert intercepted an errant pass and returned it for a touchdown...28-21. Maybe? No, still Navarre. But we're not going anywhere. C'mon defense!

Minnesota then got the ball to mid-field, and a 52-yard run right up the gut by Minnesota QB Abdul-Khaliq was the dagger. I want to leave...but there's so much time left. 11:11 to go...isn't 11:11 supposed to be lucky? I make a wish. Stephen curses the fact that we stayed. One-minute later, Navarre to Edwards for a 52 yard touchdown, 35-28. Maybe? No, still Navarre. DEFENSE!!

A much needed and rare stop is followed by an 8-play, 60-yard drive, which ends with a 10-yard TD run by Chris Perry. TIED? 35-35... and I'm convinced we can't put together back to back defensive stops. But we do. Maybe? No, still Navarre. Pray for overtime. For god's sakes John, don't throw an interception that gets returned for a touchdown. Run it Lloyd...run it. Then time stopped. It was one of those quick moments that seemed to last forever, where you hear your heart beating, as the ball popped out of Chris Perry's hands and bounced up field...right into the hands of a diving Tim Massequoi. Kick it now! Good god, kick it now. Navarre takes a knee, Minnesota burns it's last time out, Rivas lines up and splits the uprights. 38-35. Maybe? YES...MAYBE? Colorado? DEFENSE!!!!!! DEFENSE!!!!!! Then Abdul-Khaliq's hail mary falls short, and into the hands of Markus Curry. And it's over. Michigan wins 38-35? 31 fourth-quarter points?!? A Navarre win against a ranked team on the road? Ahhhh yes, a dog's ass my friends, a dog's ass.

Sans Tailgate

If you recall from last year's trip to the Twin Cities, there is no substantial tailgate at Minnesota, so we actually tailgated on the road...literally. Open container laws aside, we created a theme on the fly (Fried Foods) and our tailgate was catered by Culver's and included fried cheese curds and breaded pork loin sandwiches. I am mentioning this makeshift tailgate in order to explain why there are very few pictures from the trip. To fill in the blanks, I've included some choice pictures from the Godfather's family trip to New York City which occurred in between the trip to Iowa and Minnesota... and created the monniker "Hell Week" to describe the activities of the last 7 days. Enjoy!