maizeandgoblue

With the one-game suspension of Manny Harris on Saturday, Michigan head coach John Beilein essentially waved the white flag on Michigan’s season.

Harris, the Big Ten’s leading scorer at 19.2 points per game, was suspended for Michigan’s game against Purdue as a result of “unsportsmanlike conduct during practice” on Friday.

“Manny has made great strides both on and off the court over the last three years,” said Beilein in a release issued Saturday morning. “Unfortunately he used poor judgment on Friday. It is best for Manny’s future if he stays home and sits out this Purdue game.”

Details on the act of unsportsmanlike conduct have not been released, so we have to trust the coach’s judgment without criticizing his decision.

Regardless of whether the act merited a one-game suspension or not, Beilein decided that suspending Harris and sacrificing a game would pay off in the long run.

Of course, Beilein would never say that. He, as probably every other coach in America, would say he expected the team to beat Purdue even without Harris. But that’s like expecting the Colts to beat the Jets without Peyton Manning.

Don’t be mistaken by the 10-point margin of victory. It wasn’t that close. Purdue built a 27-point lead midway through the second half before Purdue coach Matt Painter started emptying his bench and Purdue’s defensive intensity dropped off.

DeShawn Sims filled Harris’ void early on, but unfortunately, no one else did. Michigan didn’t get a second scorer until Zach Novak hit a three with 7:38 remaining in the first half.

By that time, Michigan was all but out of the game.

The loss drops Michigan to 10-9 overall and 3-4 in the Big Ten with a matchup with rival Michigan State looming.

At this point, anything short of running the table or winning the conference tournament assures Michigan of a postseason date in the National Invitational Tournament at best.  

So, in such a critical game, was Beilein’s decision to suspend Harris the right one?

It depends on what happened, and we may never know, but one thing is for certain: Beilein is a coach that stands on his convictions as much as any other coach. Win or lose, he does things the right way by caring as much about the growth and development of young men than solely wins and losses.

Consider some recent examples from other college coaches for comparison.

In Florida’s football game against Georgia on Oct. 31, linebacker Brandon Spikes, the leader of the team’s defense, viciously dug his fingers through the facemask of Georgia running back Washaun Ealey.

The attempted eye gouge was caught on camera and was a clear act of unsportsmanlike conduct, to say the least. It was an attempt to injure another player that could have significantly impacted Ealey’s life beyond football.

Florida head coach Urban Meyer responded by handing down a half-game suspension of Florida’s next game against Vanderbilt.

Half of a game against one of the worst opponents on the schedule for attempting to maim another player in an act completely outside of the normal course of the game.

Spikes later responded to the backlash from the fans and media by suspending himself for the rest of that game.

Meyer apparently thought standing Spikes on the sidelines for the first 30 minutes of a pretty much meaningless game was justice for blatantly trying to injure another player.

In other words, Meyer cared more about winning a game than teaching a 20-year old kid a lesson.

At Michigan State, running back Glenn Winston spent four months in jail during the offseason for putting a hockey player in the hospital with severe head injuries.

This wasn’t a black eye. This was a fractured skull and a subdural hematoma, or bleeding of the brain.

According to reports, the hockey player, A.J. Sturges wasn’t even involved in the fight. He was just blindsided by Winston. As a result, he missed the rest of the hockey season, and memory loss caused him to drop classes.

Michigan State football coach Mark Dantonio immediately reinstated Winston to the football team when fall practice resumed, and Winston began the season as the starting running back before injuring his knee.

Did he learn his lesson? Apparently jail time wasn’t enough. Winston was involved in another off-the-field incident last November, when he and some teammates stormed into a dorm and assaulted a group of students at a potluck dinner. Only then was Winston dismissed from the team.

Was Harris’ act of unsportsmanlike conduct on Friday as bad as either of those two scenarios? It’s probably safe to say that he didn’t put someone in the hospital with a severe head injury, and it most likely wasn’t as severe as attempting to gouge out another player’s eyes.

Yet Beilein made the tough decision to suspend his best player for a must-win game. He sent a message that no player is bigger than the team, and if a player’s actions undermined the coach or disrespected his teammates, he was going to be penalized for it, regardless of whether he was the star player or the last man off the bench.

If that means losing a game because of it, then so be it, because Harris and the rest of the team will learn from it. Or at least Beilein hopes.

“We will meet with Manny and the team again when we return to determine if he has learned enough from this suspension to rejoin the team for Tuesday’s game,” Beilein said. “I am confident that this learning experience will be valuable in the future to both Manny and our basketball program.”

Now the question is whether Harris will respond as a better teammate and role model, or whether he will harbor resentment towards Beilein for sitting him out of an important game and possibly hurting his chances for Big Ten Player of the Year.

We’ll find out on Tuesday when Michigan hopes to hand seventh-ranked Michigan State its first Big Ten loss of the season.

Michigan (9-7, 3-2 Big Ten) hosts Connecticut on Sunday looking for a much-needed signature win to enhance its NCAA tournament resume.

That Michigan is still in the running for the NCAA tournament is a bit optimistic at this point, given that Michigan’s biggest win so far was a nine point home win over then-15th ranked Ohio State.

But with the Big Ten race wide open, a team that gets hot down the stretch could very well play its way into the NCAA tournament.

Don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying Michigan is as good a team as Michigan State, Wisconsin or Purdue, but if the shots are falling, beating those teams is certainly not out of the question.

Michigan’s main problems this season have been shooting woes and lack of leadership – two things that carried the team into the second round of the NCAA tournament last season.

The leadership issue was lost when senior guards C.J. Lee and David Merritt graduated, and John Beilein’s team has struggled to fill that role.

“We’re better than this,” said Beilein following Michigan’s loss to Northwestern last Sunday – a game in which Michigan led by 17 at halftime.  ”But it’s just a big thing right now, a chemistry we’ve got to develop on this team.”

Perhaps that chemistry was found in the second half of Thursday night’s win over Indiana after Michigan played what was probably its worst half of the season, when it committed 11 turnovers in the first half.

Junior star guard Manny Harris went the first 20 minutes without a made field goal, scoring just four points, all on free throws. His shots were forced and his play was lackadaisical..

The second half began much the same way until Beilein went to perhaps his best coaching move of the season last year – putting Harris on the bench for an extended period of time.

Last year, Beilein sat Harris for the entire overtime period at Iowa. Michigan was out-scored 14-4 in that period and fell to 7-8 in Big Ten play. Fans were outraged at the move as it seemingly hurt Michigan’s NCAA tournament chances.

But four days later, Harris exploded for 27 points in an upset of 16thranked Purdue, and Michigan would win three of its final five games to earn a spot in the tournament.  

This time, Harris emerged from the bench after a few minutes, with Indiana within four, and poured in 17 points the final 12 minutes of the game. Michigan won by 24, outscoring Indiana 21-2 in the final six minutes.

Shots were falling and Michigan looked like it was having as much fun as it has had since the season started. Can it carry that confidence into the rest of the season?

Make no mistake about it; Indiana is not a good team, so to say that this was a big win is an exaggeration. But it was a win that Michigan needed and hopes to build upon.

Enter Connecticut (11-5, 2-3 Big East). The nation’s 15th-ranked team began the season 9-2, but has dropped three of its last five since entering the arduous Big East schedule.

Just looking at the rosters, it seems as if Connecticut has a major advantage: size. Five guys stand 6’9” or taller that see minutes for the Huskies, compared to just one – Zach Gibson – for Michigan, and Gibson only averages just under 10 minutes per game.

UConn had the same advantage last season, along with Hasheem Thabeet, the second pick in last year’s NBA Draft, and Michigan hung with the Huskies in Storrs.

This year’s Connecticut team isn’t quite as good and turns the ball over nearly 14 times per game, which plays right into Michigan’s hands. Michigan forces 15.2 turnovers per game.

If Michigan can carry over the momentum from Thursday’s second half and feed off a frenzied “maize out” home crowd, much like during last year’s upset of Duke, it can earn that signature win for its resume.

For a team so in need of a resume boost, this week is do-or-die.

Following Sunday’s game, Michigan travels to No. 13 Wisconsin on Wednesday and No. 6 Purdue on Saturday before returning to Ann Arbor to host No. 7 Michigan State the following Tuesday.

While a win over Connecticut won’t help in the Big Ten race, it would give Michigan confidence heading into those three key conference match-ups.

Michigan has shown some signs of progress the past couple of weeks, but has yet to put a full 40 minutes together.

A poor first half last week at Penn State preceded a dominant second half comeback in which Michigan outscored Penn State 38-13 during one stretch en route to a nine-point win.

The following game, Michigan raced out to a 17-point lead against Northwestern, but couldn’t hold on in the second half, falling 68-62.

Then on Thursday, Michigan played a poor first half, but exploded in the second to thump Indiana by 24.

 Senior DeShawn Sims is playing the best basketball of his career as of late, carrying Michigan even when Harris is in a funk.

The versatile forward has averaged 20.3 points per game since being held to just 10 against Utah on Dec. 9, and 22.5 points per game in the last four.

His ability to step outside and hit the mid-range jumper and the occasional three has kept Michigan afloat while the guards struggled from the outside.

For Michigan to win on Sunday, it will need another big performance from Sims, and with both he and Harris leading the way, Michigan’s NCAA tournament chances aren’t dead yet.

After two straight losses in the Old Spice Classic and a four-point loss to Boston College in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, is it time for Michigan fans to recalibrate their expectations for this season?

Michigan entered the season ranked 15th in the nation, fresh off its first trip to the NCAA tournament in 10 years, and looking to make a run at the Big Ten title.

Seven games later, Michigan is out of the Top 25 and needed a good second half on Saturday against Arkansas-Pine Bluff to move its record back above .500.

Is it too early to write off the season? Absolutely not. John Beilein is a great coach who can turn things around.

But, although these early-season struggles raise some concerns, they aren’t as surprising as they seem.

This is still a very young team. Yes, it’s led by senior DeShawn Sims and junior Manny Harris, but 75 percent of the team is underclassmen.

Aside from Sims and Harris, only redshirt senior Zack Gibson and redshirt junior Anthony Wright have more than a year of playing experience, and the two combine for just 20 minutes of playing time per game.

So it should come as no surprise that the team’s main problem is its shooting so far this season. Michigan seems to be struggling with its confidence.

Through seven games, Michigan is shooting just 29 percent from three-point range, though even that number is inflated from the first three games against weak competition.

Against Northern Michigan, Houston Baptist and Creighton, Michigan shot 36.2 percent from long range.

In the three subsequent losses, Michigan shot just 21.8 percent from downtown, including a miserable 3-for-20 outing against Marquette and 9-for-34 against Boston College.

Talk about living and dying by the three.

No one has looked comfortable shooting the ball the past four games (including Saturday’s 67-53 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff).

Michigan’s best three-point shooter so far this season (percentage-wise) is true freshman Matt Vogrich, though he is just 6-for-11.

Sharp-shooting sophomores Zach Novak and Stu Douglass are just 31 and 22.6 percent, respectively, while Harris has made just 7-of-33 attempts from long range.

For a team that relies heavily on guard play and three-point shooting, that’s certainly not a recipe for success.

But that’s also why I’m hopeful that the season is not lost. Surely the team will gain its confidence and the shooting will improve.

Douglass, Novak and Harris each shot about 34 percent last season from three-point range and will eventually find their shot this year. And when that happens, Michigan will be a dangerous team capable of beating anybody.

So far, Harris has been every bit of the pre-season co-Big Ten player of the year, averaging 21.1 points and 8.7 rebounds per game, despite his poor shooting.

He had just the second triple-double in school history in Michigan’s season-opening win over Northern Michigan, and was a rebound away from another against Creighton.

Sims has also played well, averaging 15.3 points and 7.4 rebounds per game, and had his best game of the season on Saturday against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. He scored 15 points in the first half on his way to a 19-point, 10-rebound performance.

The surrounding cast hasn’t given Harris and Sims much help and Michigan needs a third scoring threat to emerge in order to live up to the preseason expectations.

It makes me wonder if the losses of guards David Merritt and C.J. Lee to graduation really did affect this team more than I thought it would.

Merritt and Lee averaged just 4.7 points per game combined, but they were the leaders. They played tough defense, dove for loose balls, and held the team together.

Early this season, Michigan has lacked those qualities. Novak vowed to fill that role, but hasn’t been a consistent scoring option so far.

True freshman Darius Morris took over the point guard duties, but has just as many turnovers as assists and doesn’t look to shoot enough.

Douglass is a defensive liability when he’s on the court, which is acceptable when he’s hitting threes, but he hasn’t found his shot yet this year.

As the season progresses, Michigan will grow to fill that void, but it’s running out of time.

With non-conference games at Utah and Kansas remaining, as well as a January match-up with Connecticut, Michigan probably has to win two of those three to have a shot at postseason play.

Utah certainly looks beatable, having losses to Idaho, Seattle, and Weber State on its resume, but it did beat Illinois, and the game is in Salt Lake, so it’s not a given.

Michigan ended its three game losing streak by beating Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Saturday and seemed to find its rhythm in the second half.

If it can carry over that confidence into Wednesday’s game at Utah, Michigan will be on track to enter the Big Ten schedule.

It’s not time to panic yet, but Utah could be the game that makes or breaks the season. A loss will probably mean Michigan needs to beat Kansas and UConn or fare far better in the Big Ten than expected.

I expect the shooting will turn around, but it better do so on Wednesday in Salt Lake City.

With another losing season in the books, the Michigan football program appears to be in disarray to many outsiders, as well as a fraction of the Michigan fan-base.

But is everything doom and gloom for this squad, or is there help on the way? Is head coach Rich Rodriguez in over his head in the Big Ten, or has he already laid the groundwork for success?

On this Thanksgiving day, as we visit with loved ones, stuff our faces with turkey and pumpkin pie, and watch the Cowboys and Lions, let’s take an early look at what the 2010 version of Michigan football will look like.

Certainly a lot of questions have to be answered, and I believe it starts with the players Rodriguez already has in the program.

Freshman quarterback Tate Forcier played the entire season and at times looked like a confident veteran, but at times looked every bit the 18-year old freshman he was.

He enrolled early at Michigan last January, a move that greatly helped earn him the starting job over last year’s returning starter, walk-on junior Nick Sheridan.

Forcier led comeback wins over Notre Dame and Indiana, brought the team back from 14 points down to force overtime at Michigan State, and performed well in late-season conference games against Illinois, Purdue, and Wisconsin.

But he was also prone to throwing the ball up for grabs, not securing the ball when scrambling, and making the wrong reads on zone option running plays.

These mistakes speak more toward his youth and inexperience than his true talent level. His solid performances showed he has the talent to be Michigan’s quarterback for the next three years.

The good thing is that the mistakes are correctable and will be cured by more time spent on the practice field, in the film room, and in the weight room. In short, we have a bright future ahead at the quarterback position.

Another off-season under strength and conditioning coach Mike Barwis will help Forcier add muscle to his slight frame and help avoid injuries. Many forget that Forcier played most of the season with a sprained AC join in his shoulder – the same injury Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford suffered, albeit to a lesser degree.

As Forcier gets more practice time and learns more of the playbook, his understanding of Rodriguez’s complicated “spread-n-shred” offense will grow.

Many of those misreads when he kept the ball instead of handing it off, or when he handed it off and should have kept it, will be fixed next year and in the years that follow.

In addition, he will improve with his passing reads, as he gets more comfortable in the system. This season, he tended to pull it down and scramble the instant he sniffed pressure. His creativity and ability to throw on the run covered up some of these problems, but it also led to turnovers or a failure to throw the ball away.

You can’t fault the kid for trying too hard. Some of the ill advised throws were a result of just trying to make something happen, but will be fixed with experience. Some of the plays he made in the comeback against Notre Dame were the same type of plays that resulted in turnovers down the stretch, as was glaringly evident against the great defense of Ohio State.

Forcier’s background leads me to believe he’ll be a fantastic quarterback. He was groomed to play the position, trained under Marv Marinovich, and has two older brothers that play quarterback as well. The mechanics are there, as is the quarterback mentality. Now, he just needs to develop in Rodriguez’s offense and he’ll be fine.

Michigan’s other quarterback, fellow freshman Denard Robinson has a lot further to go in his development, but is also a great fit for Rodriguez’s offense.

Robinson didn’t enroll early, so he had only about a month of practice prior to Michigan’s opening game against Western Michigan. The majority of the action Robinson saw was designed runs to utilize his athletic ability.

Early in the season it worked. He scored four rushing touchdowns in Michigan’s first seven games. As the season progressed and the meat of the schedule was reached, opposing defenses caught on and stacked up to stop the run whenever he entered the game.

It was frustrating at times to see Robinson come in, knowing he was going to run, and get stuffed for little gain. Yet, we have to remember that he had very little practice time and doesn’t yet possess the passing ability needed to be a quarterback for a major Division 1 quarterback.

Unlike Forcier, who already possesses the mechanical skills, Robinson will take more work to develop. But his upside is his athletic ability, which is much greater than Forcier’s.

His touchdown run against Western Michigan left Michigan fans salivating for him to be used in a Percy Harvin-type role.

Late in the season we saw more plays in which Robinson lined up in the backfield next to Forcier or spread out wide running a fly pattern. Against Ohio State, he was thrown to deep a couple of times, although neither was completed, and one was intercepted.

I think we were all a bit impatient throughout the season, assuming that it would be easy to thrust him into plays at running back or receiver. However, with the dire need of quarterback depth in case of a Forcier injury, and merely the fact that Robinson was a true freshman, time spent practicing plays at other positions meant time spent not developing at quarterback.

In the future, when Rodriguez adds to the quarterback depth, he will have more flexibility in using Robinson in other roles. But during the course of this season, I think we overlooked the need to keep him where he was.

Next year, that depth will be added to by Inkster, Mich. quarterback Devin Gardner. The dual-threat quarterback fits the mold of Rodriguez’s ideal quarterback perfectly and his arrival in Ann Arbor is highly anticipated.

In his senior season at Inkster High School, Gardner has thrown for 1,472 yards and 14 touchdowns to just three interceptions, and rushed for over 700 yards and 15 touchdowns. He has led his team to the state championship game against Lowell on Friday.

Scouts compare him to Penn State’s Darryl Clark former Auburn (and current Washington Redskins) quarterback Jason Campbell. They are high on his size and strength, as well as his arm strength and running ability.

An ideal situation would be to redshirt him next season and allow him to develop and learn the system until Forcier and Robinson graduate and then take over for his junior and senior seasons.

But with his talent, will he be patient enough to wait in the wings for three years? In order for Rodriguez’s system to succeed, I hope he’s unselfish enough to do so.

Granted, there’s always the possibility of Gardner coming in and beating out Forcier and Robinson for the starting job next season or the year after, and if that’s the case, then by all means, the guy that gives Michigan the best chance to win should play.

Whatever the case, the centerpiece of Rodriguez’s system is in place and the future looks bright at the quarterback position.

The backfield is where Michigan loses the most talent, but due to the nature of Rodriguez’s system and the injuries that Michigan suffered this season, the stable is not empty.

Seniors Brandon Minor and Carlos Brown will be big losses, and certainly their absences in many of the games hurt Michigan’s chances for success, but it also allowed young guys to gain experience.

The most impressive runner late in the season was freshman Vincent Smith. His performance in Michigan’s spring game last April gave Michigan fans a glimpse of what he is capable of, but he didn’t see much action through the first half of the season.

But in Michigan’s final two games, against Wisconsin and Ohio State, Smith emerged as Michigan’s go-to back, displaying quickness and pass-catching ability.

He figures to enter 2010 as Michigan’s starting tailback.

Sophomore Michael Shaw has also shown some ability and as his vision for the field improves, could develop into a nice complement to Smith.

His main problem has been that he doesn’t cut through the gaps quick enough, instead always relying on getting around the outside.

Redshirt freshman Michael Cox got some playing time as Michigan’s fifth running back and still has some time to grow. He’ll certainly get a chance to prove himself and earn some more playing time with the graduation of Minor and Brown.

True freshman Fitzgerald Toussaint is a guy that many Michigan fans were excited about coming out of high school. He redshirted this season and will also get a chance in the off-season to earn a role in the offense.

Incoming freshmen Tony Drake, Stephen Hopkins, and Austin White (all three-stars) should give Michigan plenty of options in the backfield.

Receiver is a position that Michigan certainly isn’t lacking talent. A go-to guy emerged in the second half of the season, in redshirt freshman Roy Roundtree. He caught 30 passes for 390 yards and two touchdowns in the final four games of the season.

Though he lacks elite speed, Roundtree showed great hands and a willingness to go across the middle. He should enter 2010 as Michigan’s number one receiver, but it will be interesting to see if he stays in the slot or moves to the outside to replace senior Greg Mathews.

By the time next season rolls around, Michigan will have a lot of experience with sophomore Martavious Odoms in the slot. Odoms started as a true freshman in 2008 and was one of Michigan’s lone bright spots, leading the team in receiving with 49 catches for 443 yards.

Injuries forced him to miss a couple of games late in the season this year, but that could be a blessing in disguise as it opened the door for Roundtree’s emergence.

Also in the slot, sophomore Kelvin Grady showed good speed early in the season, but dropped balls caused him to lose playing time. The former Michigan basketball player definitely has the athleticism to be effective; he just needs to work on catching the ball and he could develop into a weapon in the next couple of years.

A freshman that redshirted this season, Jeremy Gallon could factor into the equation as well. He was highly regarded coming out of high school last year, and a year learning the system should allow him to see some playing time next season.

A wild card in the slot could be incoming freshman Drew Dileo. A 5’9” 170 pound white guy, Dileo committed to Michigan over Tulane, Stanford, and Rice. I mention “white guy” only because of the inevitable Wes Welker comparison. If he can fit that mold, Michigan has itself a steal, but if his low rankings hold true, he could get lost in the mix.

On the outside, redshirt sophomore Junior Hemingway and sophomore Darryl Stonum bring a couple years of experience to the table and have at times shown considerable promise.

Hemingway started 2008 with a bang, catching a 33-yard touchdown pass in Michigan’s game against Utah, but an injury caused him to miss the remainder of the season.

This season, he came out hot again, catching five passes for 103 yards and two touchdowns in the season opener against Western Michigan. But he didn’t catch a touchdown pass the rest of the season, and barely matched the yardage output in the rest of the games combined, finishing with just 16 catches for 268 yards.

Stonum started 10 games as a freshman in 2008 and had his best game against Purdue, scoring on a 51-yard catch and run.

This season, he hauled in only 13 receptions for 199 yards and a touchdown, though the touchdown was a thrilling 60-yard play to ignite Michigan’s comeback in the fourth quarter against Michigan State.

Je’Ron Stokes is a freshman that played primarily on special teams this season and could have an impact in 2010. The 6-0 181 pound speedster out of Philadelphia was a top-100 recruit and was rated the eighth-best wide receiver in the nation last season according to Scouts, Inc.

Stokes caught two passes for 16 yards against Delaware State in the only real action he saw this season.

Four-star receivers Ricardo Miller and Jerald Robinson and three-stars Jeremy Jackson and D.J. Williamson make up a solid group of incoming freshmen will help bolster the ranks of what should be the deepest position on the team.

On the offensive line, Michigan returns nearly everybody and should get a big boost from a group of redshirt freshmen that fit Rodriguez’s system.

Left tackle Mark Ortmann and right guard-turned center David Moosman both graduate, but neither is a huge loss. Ortmann was serviceable and Moosman was a solid guard, but struggled at the center position when David Molk went down with an injury.

Getting Molk back next season will provide Michigan a solid, experienced center who started every game in his redshirt freshman season in 2008 and would have this season if not for a broken foot. He was rated the No. 1 center in the nation coming out of high school.

Redshirt junior Steven Schilling will probably be Michigan’s best offensive lineman in 2010. Schilling was ranked as the second-best guard in the nation coming out of high school and has started for three seasons, counting this one.

Perhaps the most surprising player is redshirt freshman Patrick Omameh, who earned a starting spot towards the end of the season and played pretty well. Omameh is a Rodriguez recruit who was just a two-star, mostly due to a lack of size compared to the typical offensive line recruit.

His performance has earned him strong consideration to start next season, probably at either right guard or right tackle.

Redshirt sophomore Mark Huyge started much of the season at right guard and figures to start next season either there or right tackle.

True freshman and highly regarded recruit Taylor Lewan is perfect for Rodriguez’s offense, rated as one of the most athletic and versatile linemen in the nation as a senior. He should get a chance to start at left tackle next season.

Another freshman that could get some action next season is Quinton Washington. He was a four-star recruit and the sixth-rated offensive guard as a senior.

Redshirt junior Perry Dorrestein, who has seen some action, should battle for the left tackle spot, while redshirt freshmen Ricky Barnum and Elliott Mealer will have a chance to earn a spot as well.

Incoming freshmen won’t help next season, as offensive line is a position in which recruits need time in a college strength and conditioning program to develop, but the future looks pretty good with last year’s haul. Only one offensive line commitment is secured for this year’s class unless Rodriguez is able to snag the nation’s top recruit, Seantrel Henderson, but that seems unlikely at this point.

At tight end, Michigan is stacked with experience in sophomores Kevin Koger and Martell Webb.

Koger finished fifth on the team in receiving this season, catching 16 passes for 220 yards and two touchdowns. He caught an important touchdown pass against Notre Dame, but had some problems with drops midway through the season and didn’t see as many balls thrown his way in the last few games.

Webb caught just four passes for 44 yards and a touchdown, but got a lot of playing time and was a fairly effective run blocker.

Webb was a junior this season and Koger just a sophomore, so the tight end position should be a strength for Michigan next season.

Overall, the Michigan offense made some strides this year, averaging nine more points per game and 95 more yards of total offense per game than last season.

In addition, the offense showed that it could sustain drives this year, and although turnovers were a problem, those are mistakes that are fixable.

We didn’t see all the negative yardage plays that we saw last year when the offense just completely bogged down.

Next year we can expect even more improvement as the Rodriguez system enters its third year. The losses of Minor, Brown, Mathews, Ortmann, and Moosman should not slow this team down very much, since their replacements all got a lot of experience this year.

Most importantly, the core is in place, and there won’t be fresh blood needing to play a crucial role, as there was this season.

So on this Thanksgiving, let’s be thankful for the seniors that stuck out the coaching change and put forth their best efforts. Let’s also be thankful for the young guys that got their feet wet this year and will pioneer our maize and blue back to prominence in the years to come.

And let’s be thankful for an offensive innovator as our head coach – someone who is a proven winner and cares as much about getting the Michigan football program back on track as anyone else does. He will take Michigan to a place far beyond what we have seen if we afford him the time to do so.

The offense is certainly on track. Stay tuned for my defensive preview in the next few days.

As the 130th season of Michigan football comes to an end, it’s time to reflect on what we saw and look forward to next year and beyond.

2009 yielded some highlights and some lowlights, some controversy and some challenged loyalty. A legend was made and some buds blossomed. Records fell, both good and bad, and a system started to show some promise.

No one knew what to expect from this year’s version of Michigan football in Rich Rodriguez’s second year at the helm.

The overly optimistic among us predicted a breakout season of nine or ten wins.

Realistic optimists pointed to Rodriguez’s penchant for second-year turnarounds and predicted a record of 7-5 or maybe, if luck goes the way of the maize and blue, 8-4.

Realists pointed to the true freshmen quarterbacks and lack of overall talent on the squad and predicted a 5-7 or 6-6 finish.

As it turns out, the realists were right, but the realistic optimists weren’t too far off.

The fact of the matter is, Michigan fans were so shell-shocked from the worst record in 46 years in 2008 that we were looking anywhere we could for hope.

We ignored comments that Rodriguez made in the preseason such as, “There’s still going to be some transition. We’re going to play a lot more freshmen and redshirt freshmen than we would like to.”

We thought, sure there will be a lot of freshmen playing, but Tate Forcier and Denard Robinson are surely better options than Steven Threet and Nick Sheridan. Or, yeah, but it can’t get any worse than last season.

In this space, I offered some words of caution: “Coming off a season that resulted in the most losses in school history, and pinning all hopes on a true freshman quarterback, this seems to be the window of opportunity before Rodriguez’s system begins to take hold and terrorize the Big Ten.”

But then I followed it up with an overly ambitious response: “However, I think we’re going to see a very fast, well-conditioned and much-improved Michigan team playing with a chip on its shoulder to avoid being put to rest again.”

While that may have held true for a while, reality eventually sunk in that this team was indeed loaded with youth and razor-thin on the depth chart.

What began in August as optimism and eagerness to forget the epic disaster of 2008, quickly turned to scorn as the Detroit Free Press brought into question allegations of NCAA infractions on the part of Rodriguez and his coaching staff.

The opening game against Western Michigan couldn’t come soon enough. We cursed Michael Rosenberg and Mark Snyder for the timing of their article and the witch-hunt that ensued and we promised to get revenge on Justin Boren, who transferred to Ohio State, for his comments that seemed to be the centerpiece of that article.

And then the season began and practice time was forgotten and the story of Shoelace became one we would hear every game the entire season (as my wife would roll her eyes every time the announcers felt compelled to tell the story of why Denard Robinson doesn’t tie his shoes…every…single…game).

Robinson thrilled us with a 43-yard touchdown run, Tate Forcier showed promise in his first game by throwing for three touchdowns, Junior Hemingway caught nearly half his season total in receiving yards (103) and all of his touchdowns (two), and the defense shut down what many thought would be a high-powered offense.

We saw a show of solidarity for Rodriguez, Michigan won easily, and the season started off with a bang.

The came Notre Dame, fresh off of throttling Nevada, and riding preseason BCS bowl (or national championship game) predictions.

This will go down as the game that raised all of our expectations, mostly because no one knew at that time how mediocre Notre Dame really was.

It appeared to be Rodriguez’s signature win, as Michigan matched Notre Dame score-for-score and Forcier stunned the 18th-ranked Irish with 11 seconds left.

Forcier looked as veteran and composed as ND junior quarterback Jimmy Clausen, completing 23-of-33 for 240 yards and three touchdowns (one rushing). It’s hard to imagine that that would be the high point of his season, in just his second collegiate game.

Of course, there was the Armando Allen out-of-bounds play, which, despite the evidence , Notre Dame fans will carry to their graves in contempt.

The win over Notre Dame vaulted Michigan into the Top 25 heading into week three against Eastern Michigan. Former Michigan defensive coordinator Ron English brought his Eagles to Ann Arbor and didn’t provide much of a test.

Michigan showed off its running game this time, going for 380 yards on the ground, and getting 163 yards and two touchdowns on just eight carries from Carlos Brown in the first half alone.

Robinson scored two more touchdowns to enhance the unrealistic expectations for a guy that arrived on campus less than two months earlier.

Michigan then opened the Big Ten slate with Indiana in what would eventually be the battle for last place. At the time, though, Michigan was hoping to get to 4-0 heading into its intrastate rivalry battle in East Lansing.

This game provided our first glimpse of what the rest of the season would hold, as Michigan struggled to beat the Hoosiers, needing a 26-yard touchdown pass from Forcier to Martavious Odoms with 2:29 remaining to get the win.

The Indiana victory prompted me to draw a comparison to the New York Jets, who like Michigan, started off hot with a rookie quarterback: “Following Sunday’s Jets-Titans game, Vic Carucci of NFL.com asked Jets safety Kerry Rhodes if he thought the Jets’ style of play was sustainable. Rhodes replied that he thought it was because having such a good defense allows rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez to make some mistakes.

“Unfortunately, that won’t exactly translate to Michigan. While I think Michigan’s offense is further along in its development than Sanchez’s Jets offense, relatively speaking, Michigan hasn’t faced its toughest opponents yet.”

I provided the last part of that quote because I knew we were in for a tough go the rest of the season. I didn’t know, however, that that would be our last win over a FBS team all season. Ironically, Michigan’s fall has mirrored the Jets’ collapse.

At 4-0, a return to a bowl game looked assured, and Michigan entered “Little Brother” week seeking to avenge last season’s 35-21 loss to Michigan State.

It was the first road game of Forcier’s career and we saw the fist true test of the season, as the Michigan offense was shut down much of the game. But Forcier continued his early-season magic, leading a 14-point comeback to force overtime with a touchdown completion to Roy Roundtree with just two seconds left.

In overtime, Forcier was intercepted on a tipped pass that never should have been thrown, and Michigan dropped its second in a row to Michigan State for the first time since 1967.

Michigan Streaks Broken in 2009
First back-to-back losses to Michigan State since 1967
First home loss to Penn State since 1996
First home loss to Purdue in last 17 meetings
First back-to-back losing seasons since 1963-62

This began a run of snapping streaks right and left.

With its first loss of the season under its belt, Michigan traveled to Iowa for a prime-time night game against the nation’s 12th-ranked Hawkeyes.

Brandon Minor had his breakout game of the season, scoring two touchdowns against a defense that hadn’t given up a rushing touchdown in 33 quarters.

The game started out as well as one could ask, as Donovan Warren picked off the first pass of the game and returned it for a touchdown.

Michigan hung around until a muffed punt (hello 2008!) gave Iowa the ball at the Michigan 16. Iowa punched it in and took a 30-21 lead.

Robinson led the offense down the field for a touchdown to narrow the gap, but on the next possession, threw an interception to end the game, beginning the Wolverine-faithful’s love-hate relationship with Denard.

Despite a second-straight loss, Michigan fans were encouraged that the team was able to hang with undefeated Iowa until the last minute of the game, and a return to the Big House to face an FCS school was just what Michigan needed to regroup.

Michigan was able to set numerous school records in the win over Delaware State that week and give many starters a week off.

Five Wolverines scored their first career touchdowns and Robinson was able to get a lot of work at quarterback.

Michigan fans even got the treat of seeing Nick Sheridan on the field without the game on the line.

Many fans didn’t like the idea of playing an FCS school, but following the game, I proclaimed, “I have no problem with Michigan playing Delaware State this year. With a roster comprised of mostly underclassmen, and a complete overhaul in progress, playing an FCS opponent was better than a bye week in my opinion.

Michigan Records Set vs. Delaware State
727 total yards of offense
442 yards in the first half
28 points in the first quarter (ties record)
57 point margin of victory (most since 58-0 win over Indiana on Oct. 14, 2000)
461 rushing yards (most since 480 vs. Iowa on Oct. 3, 1992)
49 first half points (most since 55 vs. Chicago on Oct. 21, 1939)

“I would love to see Michigan start scheduling another tough out-of-conference game every year, but at this point in the development of Rich Rodriguez’s scheme, it’s not time for that just yet.

“Once the team grows up and the spread-n-shred is fully ingrained, I hope the schedule will be strengthened. But when you have Florida, arguably the nation’s top team and reigning national champion, playing Charleston Southern, Troy and Florida International, one must look that way first before pointing fingers at the baby Wolverines.”

I still believe it was okay to play Delaware State this season, but obviously with the way Michigan finished the season the benefits weren’t as great as I thought.

At 5-2, Michigan looked primed to make a bowl game, needing just one more win in its final five games.

Penn State came to town and dominated Michigan, racking up 396 yards of offense, and handing Michigan its first true beating of the season.

For really the first time all season, Forcier looked like a true freshman, completing just 13-of-30 passes for 140 yards. The offense couldn’t get anything going in the cold, rainy conditions.

Michigan wasn’t expected to win this one, and despite the 25-point whooping, I considered this result somewhat of a fluke and still didn’t believe the team was as bad as the final record would eventually indicate.

Following the Penn State game, doomsday headlines abounded, and I cautioned fans not to listen to them.

As it turns out, they were right.

Michigan traveled to Champaign, Ill. for a match-up with 1-6 Illinois, a game that looked like a sure-win.

This one will forever be remembered as the epic collapse, and probably the turning point of the whole season. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bigger turnaround before.

Michigan was firmly in control with a 13-7 lead and first and goal at the Illinois one-yard line in the third quarter. After stuffing Michigan on four straight rushes, Illinois took possession and seized the game.

Six plays later, a 70-yard touchdown run put Illinois ahead 14-13 and Illinois never looked back, out-scoring Michigan 24-0 the rest of the way.

At this point in the season, confidence in a bowl game turned into hoping to squeeze out a win in one of the final three games. The best hope was the following week against Purdue.

Perhaps hope is the wrong word against Purdue, as Boilermaker head coach Danny Hope carried a grudge into the game, blaming Rodriguez for getting one of his players suspended for a game earlier in the season – nevermind that the player deserved to be suspended just as much as Michigan linebacker Jonas Mouton did the week before that.

This game was much like the Illinois game, where Michigan was in control and let it get away. Michigan led 24-10 at halftime and pushed it to 30-17 in the third, but a 91-yard touchdown drive, an on-side kick, and a 54-yard touchdown pass later, and Michigan found itself trailing 31-30.

Michigan missed a 43-yard field goal and failed to convert a two-point conversion attempt that would have tied the game, and Michigan fell by two.

Michigan traveled to Wisconsin for its final road game of the season, still needing a win to become bowl-eligible.

This game followed the mold of the past couple, as Michigan hung around through three quarters, but faded down the stretch.

Forcier bounced back from some poor outings to complete 20-of-26 passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns, but it was the defense that couldn’t hold up against a powerful Wisconsin running game.

Although Michigan knew Wisconsin was going to run it in the second half, it still couldn’t stop the Badgers.

The bowl hopes all came down to the final week of the season against Ohio State, as Michigan looked to end its five game losing streak to the Buckeyes.

Though many around the nation talked of the lack of luster in the rivalry, the game still had plenty of storylines with Michigan needing a win to make a bowl and avoid a second straight losing season, Ohio State needing a win to capture the Big Ten title outright, and Justin Boren playing against his former team in the Big House.

The Michigan defense played inspired and turned in its best performance of the season, holding the Ohio State offense to just 14 points.

However, it was the youth of Michigan’s offensive leader that doomed the Wolverines’ chances of playing through the holidays.

Forcier turned the ball over five times, including a fumble in the end zone on Michigan’s first possession, which Ohio State recovered for a touchdown.

Michigan moved the ball most of the day against an Ohio State defense that ranks as one of the best in the nation. But it was unable to capitalize on trips to the red zone, turning the ball over too many times.

So as Michigan’s season came to an abrupt end for the second year in a row, many want to know where do we go from here?

Indeed, there are many questions that need to be answered, but I’m in the minority who still believes the program is on the right track.

Stay tuned for part two where I will look at the future of the football program, both short-term and long-term, as well as the recruiting class Michigan has coming in and who is still out there that Rodriguez needs to land.

There was a time when Michigan-Ohio State was all you heard about during the third week of November. It was all over the airwaves, all over the television, all over the newspapers, and all over the Internet.

That time was not a long, long time ago. In fact, just three years ago, it was called “the game of the century” when both teams entered undefeated, ranked first and second in the nation.

This week, however, the game has been somewhat of an afterthought.

Headlines read “Once-mighty Michigan-Ohio State rivalry now just another game,” or “Ohio State-Michigan series has slipped in stature.”

Sportscenter teased a segment of Kirk Herbstreit talking about the weekend’s big Oregon-Arizona match-up.

Staring a sixth straight loss to Ohio State and a second straight losing season in the eye, Michigan hasn’t done its part to dispel the notion that the rivalry is dead.

Cheer up, Michigan fans. And lighten up, national media. Remember that things were the other way around last decade when Michigan went 10-2-1 against Ohio State from 1988-2000.

Ohio State wasn’t exactly in the doldrums that Michigan finds itself in at the moment, but maybe that makes Michigan’s run all that more impressive.

But it doesn’t mean the rivalry isn’t as big as it used to be.

Whether Michigan has the right coach or not, Michigan fans better show up loud and in full support of him and the rest of the boys in maize and blue on Saturday. Because there’s a group of Michigan men in Ann Arbor this weekend that know a thing or two about pulling off a major upset.

In 1969, Bo Schembechler’s first season as Michigan head coach, Michigan hosted the undefeated, first-ranked Buckeyes, led by Woody Hayes.

Many people regarded that team as the greatest college football team of all time. It had pounded Michigan 50-14 the year before in Columbus and Hayes’ crew had a 22-game winning streak riding into the ’69 meeting.

Michigan had struggled through six losing seasons in the last 10 years and brought Schembechler in from Miami of Ohio.

Bo was an outsider. He brought a tough love coaching style to Ann Arbor in the summer of ‘69 and vowed to have the most well-coached, well-conditioned team in the Big Ten. Many players jumped ship and left the team, because they were used to the old way of doing things. But Bo issued a challenge: Those who stay will be champions.

In that first season, Bo’s squad got off to a 3-2 start, including a loss to its other rival, Michigan State. It entered the Ohio State game a 17-point underdog.

In the previous year’s meeting, when Ohio State scored its final touchdown, Woody Hayes went for two. When asked why, he replied, “Because I couldn’t go for three.”

Battered and humiliated, Michigan was hungry for revenge. And on that fateful November day in 1969, Michigan got its revenge and ushered in a new era of Michigan football. An era that spanned 40 years and ended last season when Lloyd Carr retired and Michigan athletic director Bill Martin hired the first man from outside the program since the man who began that era.

Rich Rodriguez, just like Schembechler, was brought in to resurrect a stagnant Michigan football program.

Rodriguez didn’t coach under Jim Tressel at Ohio State as Schembechler coached under Hayes, but he brought a high-octane offensive system to Ann Arbor that promises a new and exciting brand of Michigan football.

Somewhere in the past two years since Rodriguez was hired, he got portrayed as an outsider who doesn’t care for the Michigan tradition and doesn’t embrace its rivalries the way Bo and Woody and Carr and Tressel did.

Yet this week, the members of that 1969 team that pulled off that big win will be in attendance to help motivate the present squad.

Earlier in the week, leading up to the biggest game of the year, a sound was heard emanating from the practice field. That was the sound of legendary Michigan broadcaster Bob Ufer.

It was Ufer who wrote the following poem in the aftermath of that game 40 years ago from Sunday.

“They came to bury Michigan, all wrapped in Maize and Blue
The words were said, the prayers were read and everybody cried.
But when they closed the coffin, there was someone else inside!
The Bucks came to bury the Wolverines, but Michigan wasn’t dead!
And when the game was over, it was someone else instead!
Twenty-two Michigan Wolverines put on the gloves of grey,
And as Rivelli played ‘The Victors’, they laid Woody Hayes away!”

Those who stayed in 1969 became champions, just as Bo said. They won the Big Ten championship and represented the conference in the Rose Bowl.

Rodriguez’s entrance to Michigan was eerily similar to Bo’s, in a 21st Century kind of way. Players left because they couldn’t handle the demands. But some stayed. Good players stayed and endured the worst season in over 40 years. And they came back again for a senior season to try to right the ship.

Senior defensive end Brandon Graham will most likely be a first round draft pick next April, but on this day, all he cares about is capturing the magic of that ‘69 team. He spoke to the team during the week in a players only meeting. You can bet he has these young guys fired up and ready to play.

Can Graham will Michigan to a win on Saturday and give Rodriguez his signature win? The one that ends this two year run of futility and truly ushers in the new ear of Michigan football? No one gives Michigan a chance, but it’s time to add the intrigue back to the rivalry.

The boys in the winged helmets will certainly be juiced up and ready to go. The inspiration will be there, but the problems that have plagued Michigan all season won’t go away.

Michigan must play a perfect game to win. It must hope the Terrelle Pryor from the Purdue game shows up instead of the Pryor from every game since.

If Ohio State plays anywhere near perfect, it will win easily, just like it handled Penn State and Iowa.

I’ll split the difference and say that emotion and inspiration will carry Michigan early and Michigan will hang around much of the game, but fade down the stretch.

Prediction: Ohio State 26 – Michigan 17

But hey, they said the same thing 40 years ago, so I hope I’m wrong.

Michigan and Ohio State square off on Saturday for the 106th time in college football’s greatest rivalry.

Ohio State has already wrapped up at least a share of the Big Ten title and a trip to Pasadena for the Rose Bowl.

Michigan leads the all-time series 57-42-6, but enters this week’s matchup needing a win to extend its season through the holidays and take some heat off head coach Rich Rodriguez.

Will someone step up with a historic performance to lead Michigan past the 10th-ranked Buckeyes?

Or will a Buckeye deliver an all-time great showing to capture a sixth consecutive victory over Michigan and send Michigan to its second straight losing season?

There have certainly been some performances for the ages in the past 105 meetings, so we’ll take a look at the top individual performances in its storied history.

Bear in mind that this is the top performances in the Michigan-Ohio State game, not necessarily the best players on each team or the best performances for each team against another team.

This list will go position by position and take into account game implications and past history in addition to pure stats.

Make sure to read all the way through to see who is most likely have a breakout performance this Saturday.

Michigan Quarterback – Jim Harbaugh

*Jim Harbaugh Harbaugh completed 16-of-19 passes for 230 yards and three touchdowns in Michigan’s 27-17 win over Ohio State in 1985. Ohio State had won three of the last four meetings and five of the last seven. Michigan entered the game 8-1-1 and had just drubbed Minnesota 48-7. Ohio State came in 8-2 and ranked 12th in the nation. After sitting out the previous season’s matchup with an injury, Harbaugh would lead Michigan to two straight victories over the Buckeyes, earning first-team All-American honors.

Ohio State Quarterback – Troy Smith

*Troy Smith, photo taken from foxnews.com While there have been many great quarterbacks at Ohio State, perhaps none have turned in a better performance against Michigan than Troy Smith. In the game dubbed, “The Game of the Century,” Ohio State and Michigan ranked first and second in the nation entering the Horseshoe. Smith proved unstoppable, completing 29-of-41 passes for 316 yards and four touchdowns in leading Ohio State to the 42-39 victory. The win sent Ohio State to the BCS National Championship game against Florida, while Michigan was relegated to the Rose Bowl against USC. Additionally, the performance wrapped up the Heisman Trophy for Smith.

Michigan Running Back – Tshimanga Biakabutuka

*Tim Biakabutuka, photo taken from thewolverineblog.com Tshimanga Biakabutuka, nicknamed “Touchdown Tim,” recorded one of the best all-time performances in the rivalry in 1995. Ohio State entered the meeting undefeated and ranked No. 2 in the nation. Michigan came in 18th with a record of 8-3, hoping to knock off the Buckeyes. Biakabutuka gashed the Ohio State defense for 313 yards on 37 attempts, out-doing eventual Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George and leading Michigan to the 31-23 upset. His 313 yards are the second most in a single game in Michigan history (behind Ron Johnson’s 347 yards against Wisconsin in 1968) and helped Biakabutuka secure the school’s single season rushing record. He went on to become the eighth overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft and spent six seasons with the Carolina Panthers.

Ohio State Running Back – Bob Ferguson
*Bob Ferguson In 1961, Ferguson rushed for 151 yards and four touchdowns to lead Ohio State to a 50-20 win over Michigan, and helping Ohio State win the national championship. The win was Ohio State’s 400th victory all-time and the second of four straight over Michigan. Ferguson finished second in the Heisman Trophy race that season, behind Syracuse running back Ernie Davis.

Michigan Halfback – Tom Harmon

*Tom Harmon Michigan’s first Heisman Trophy winner, Tom Harmon, produced an all-around performance for the ages against Ohio State in 1940. “Old 98,” as he is known, rushed for 139 yards and two touchdowns, completed 11-of-12 passes for 151 yards and two touchdowns, kicked four extra points, intercepted three passes (and ran one back for a touchdown), and booted three punts for an average of 50 yards per punt. The performance led Michigan to a 40-0 drubbing of Ohio State. After his playing career, he became a pilot in the Army Air Corps, where he earned a Purple Heart and a Silver Star.

Ohio State Fullback – Jim Otis

*Jim Otis Jim Otis is widely regarded as one of the top 50 Ohio State players of all time. In 1968, for what some regard as the greatest team of all time, Otis led Ohio State to a 50-14 win over Michigan. He rushed 34 times for 143 yards and four touchdowns in the game, the final of which set up a two-point attempt. After the game, when asked why, Ohio State head coach Woody Hayes replied, “Because I couldn’t go for three.” Otis’ four touchdowns gave him the school’s single-season rushing touchdowns record of 16, which has since been eclipsed.

Michigan Wide Receiver – Marquise Walker

*Marquise Walker In 2001, Marquise Walker had the best receiving day for a Michigan receiver against Ohio State. Although Ohio State won the game 26-20 in Jim Tressell’s first season as head coach, Walker was unstoppable, catching 15 passes for 160 yards and two touchdowns. His 15 receptions were enough to pass Anthony Carter on the career receptions list, although that record would be broken by Braylon Edwards in 2004. The performance helped Walker earn first-team All-America honors in his senior season and was John Gruden’s first draft pick at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2002.

Ohio State Wide Receiver -David Boston

*David Boston David Boston is one of the most prolific receivers in Ohio State history, but turned in a fantastic performance in 1998. A year after being humbled by Michigan cornerback Charles Woodson, Boston got revenge with 10 catches for 217 yards and two touchdowns. Boston responded after the game saying, “There were some things said last year after the game, that one of their players was chastising me or something. I didn’t really understand the message there. But today, I just went out and proved that I’m human.” His performance led Ohio State to a 31-16 win over the defending National Champions. Boston was drafted eighth overall by the Arizona Cardinals in the 1999 NFL Draft and spent eight seasons in the NFL.

Michigan Tight End – Eric Kattus

*Eric Kattus While Michigan has never really had a great performance by a tight end against Ohio State, Eric Kattus claims the spot. In 1985, he helped Jim Harbaugh beat Ohio State 27-17 after dropping three of the past four and five of the past seven to the Buckeyes. Kattus, a Cincinnati, Ohio native, caught six passes for 83 yards and a touchdown in the game, one of the best performances of his career.

Ohio State Tight End -Bruce Janowski
*Bruce Jankowski, photo by Sports Illustrated A year after Michigan upset undefeated Ohio State in Bo Schembechler’s first season at Michigan, Ohio State was looking for revenge. Both teams entered the match-up undefeated, but Ohio State tight end Bruce Jankowski helped that cause. His 26-yard touchdown pass gave Ohio State the lead, and it never trailed, beating Michigan 20-9.

Michigan Defensive Lineman – Glen Steele

*Glen Steele Defensive end Glen Steele was the leader of Michigan’s front seven, helping the Wolverines win the National Championship in 1997. Against Ohio State that year, Steele recorded five tackles (three for loss), two sacks, and a fumble recovery. The constant pressure on Ohio State quarterbacks Stanley Jackson and Joe Germaine helped Michigan win the game 20-14, and secure a spot in the Rose Bowl against Washington State. Steele earned first-team All-America honors that season and played six seasons in the NFL for the Cincinnati Benglas. His 24 career sacks rank third on Michigan’s career list.

Ohio State Defensive Lineman -Vernon Gholston

*Vernon Gholston Vernon Gholston terrorized Michigan quarterback Chad Henne in 2007, racking up five tackles (four for loss) and three sacks. Michigan’s offensive line, including the first overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft, Jake Long, couldn’t stop Gholston as he was always in the backfield. His four tackles for loss are an Ohio State single game record. Ohio State won the game 14-3, earning another trip to the BCS National Championship game. Gholston now plays for the New York Jets.

Michigan Linebacker – Ron Simpkins

*Ron Simpkins Ron Simpkins recorded 20 total tackles (15 solo) in Michigan’s 14-6 win over No. 4 Ohio State in 1977 to help the Wolverines capture the Big Ten title. Just a sophomore at the time, Simpkins recorded the third-most tackles in a single game in Michigan history at the time. Simpkins would finish his career as Michigan’s all-time leading tackler, with 516, and played seven seasons in the NFL with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Ohio State Linebacker -Chris Spielman

*Chris Spielman One of the greatest linebackers ever to play for Ohio State, Chris Spielman was a one man wrecking crew in 1986. Although Michigan won the game 26-24, it was at the fault of Spielman, who recorded a school record 29 tackles. Ohio State entered the contest 7-0 and ranked seventh in the nation. Michigan came in 6-1, needing a win to share the Big Ten title. Ohio State missed a field goal with 1:08 to play to spoil Spielman’s career day. Spielman went on to enjoy 12 seasons in the NFL with the Detroit Lions, Buffalo Bills, and Cleveland Browns.

Michigan Defensive Back – Charles Woodson

*Charles Woodson, photo by Damian Strohmeyer/Sports Illustrated/Getty Images Charles Woodson became the first primarily defensive player to win the Heisman Trophy in 1997, and his performance in the Ohio State game that year helped cement the trophy over Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning. Woodson intercepted a pass, caught a 37-yard pass to set up Michigan’s only offensive touchdown of the game, and returned a punt 78 yards for a touchdown. He also held Ohio State receiver David Boston in check, allowing just three passes for 68 yards and a touchdown. Woodson also picked off two passes against No. 2 Ohio State in his freshman season in 1995. He became the fourth overall pick of the Oakland Raiders in 1998 and has 41 career interceptions (seven returned for touchdowns).

Ohio State Defensive Back – Mike Doss

*Mike Doss, photo taken from ncaafootball.com Mike Doss proved pivotal in Ohio State’s 26-20 win over Michigan in 2001 during Jim Tressel’s first season as head coach. Doss picked off a pass and ran it 36 yards to the Michigan four to set up Ohio State’s first touchdown. In the fourth quarter, Doss intercepted another John Navarre pass to set up a field goal. The interceptions were critical in helping Ohio State win its first game in Ann Arbor in 14 years.

Michigan Defensive Back – Barry Pierson

*Barry Pierson Michigan defensive back Barry Pearson helped Michigan capture one of the biggest upsets of all time in the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry. In Bo Schembechler’s first season as Michigan head coach, the Wolverines entered the 1969 meeting ranked 12th in the nation. Ohio State came in undefeated and ranked first in the nation. Pierson picked off three passes in the game and also returned a punt 60 yards to the Ohio State three-yard line to set up a Michigan touchdown. His performance helped Michigan upset what many believe to be the greatest college football team of all time.

Ohio State Defensive Back – Chic Harley

*Chic Harley In 1919 Chic Harley returned from World War I, where he served as an Army pilot, to pick off four passes in Ohio State’s 13-3 win over Michigan. It was Ohio State’s first ever win over the Wolverines, and Harley’s four picks (still a school single game record) helped lead the way. He earned first-team All-America honors that season and also played halfback, punter, and kicker. His number 47 was retired by Ohio State five years ago.

Michigan Punter – Chuck Ortmann
*Chuck Ortmann Chuck Ortmann may not have been the best punter to ever wear the maize and blue, but he holds Michigan’s career single game punting records thanks to Mother Nature. The 1950 “Snow Bowl” between Michigan and Ohio State was played in the worst blizzard in 37 years to hit Columbus. Ortmann punted 24 times for 723 yards, helping Michigan win the game 9-3.

Ohio State Punter – Vic Janowicz

*Vic Janowicz Ohio State punter Vic Janowicz also gets credit for Ohio State’s career single-game punting records thanks to the blizzard of 1950. In the “Snow Bowl,” Janowicz booted 21 punts for 685 yards and scored Ohio State’s only three points of the game on a field goal. After the game, Janowicz said, “It was like a nightmare. My hands were numb and blue. I had no feeling in them and I don’t know how I hung onto the ball. It was terrible. You knew what you wanted to do, but you couldn’t do it.” In addition to punter, Janowicz served as Ohio State’s halfback, kicker, and safety, and won the Heisman Trophy that season.

Michigan Kicker – J.D. Carlson

*J.D. Carlson There have been many great Michigan-Ohio State games, but only one has ended as a result of a Michigan field goal. In 1990, 15th-ranked Michigan needed a win over 19th-ranked Ohio State to secure a share of the Big Ten championship. Late in the game, tied 13-13, Michigan kicker J.D. Carlson missed a short field goal attempt that would have put Michigan ahead. But after getting the ball back, Carlson got a chance for redemption, and nailed it with no time remaining to give Michigan a 16-13 win. Bouncing back from the miss to win the game changed Carlson’s life. “I will forever be prepared for the rest of my life because I have experienced some of the biggest swings in emotion in a short period of time,” Carlson said of the game. “Not much fazes me now.” Carlson holds Michigan’s single game field goal record, as well as the highest career PAT percentage record.

Ohio State Kicker – Tom Klaban

*No pictures of Tom Klaban were available In 1974, Michigan and Ohio State entered the annual showdown ranked third and fourth in the nation, respectively. The game proved to be all about the kickers as Michigan kicker Mike Lantry missed a field goal that would have won the game as time expired, but it was Ohio State kicker Tom Klaban who stole the show. Klaban booted four field goals to account for all of Ohio State’s points in the 12-10 victory, the only time Ohio State has beaten Michigan without scoring a touchdown. The win sent Ohio State to a Rose Bowl battle with USC.

Most Likely Michigan Breakout Performer

*Brandon Graham, photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images For Michigan to win the game on Saturday, it will need a great performance from its defense. The defense has been much of the reason for Michigan’s second half collapse this season. One player who has stood out all season is defensive end Brandon Graham. The senior had perhaps the best game of his career last week against Wisconsin, recording 11 tackles (five for loss), two sacks, and a forced fumble. Last season, Graham had three tackles (two for loss) and a sack against Ohio State. If Michigan wins on Saturday, expect a big day from Graham in the Ohio State backfield. Other possible breakout performers: Michigan running backs Brandon Minor or Carlos Brown, Michigan receiver Roy Roundtree

Most Likely Ohio State Breakout Performer

*Terrelle Pryor, photo taken from uweekly.com Every great quarterback has a career defining game that cements his spot in team lore. For Ohio State sophomore quarterback Terrelle Pryor, this Saturday could be that game. Pryor received much criticism from Buckeye fans early in the season after losses to USC and Purdue, but has played much better in the second half. A great showing against Michigan, who hasn’t shown it can stop a mobile quarterback, or anybody for that matter, could sell even the most incredulous of Buckeye fans on his abilities. If Pryor makes the same mistakes he did against Purdue, Michigan has a shot, but if Pryor uses his legs effectively and makes the throws he needs to, he has a great shot at being 2-0 against Michigan. Other possible breakout performers: Ohio State receiver DeVier Posey, defensive back Kurt Coleman

With the calls for Rich Rodriguez’s firing growing louder each week, and the threat of a second straight losing season, Michigan enters Ohio State week in what could be the most important game for the Wolverines in the history of the rivalry.

Sure, there was the “Game of the Century” in 2006 when both teams entered the game undefeated and ranked 1st and 2nd in the nation.

Sure, there was 1997 when Michigan needed a win to advance to the National Championship game.

Sure, there was the huge upset of No. 1 Ohio State in Bo Schembechler’s first season in 1969, a year after Ohio State drubbed Michigan 50-14, to claim a share of the Big Ten title.

But Saturday could be more important for the future of the Michigan football program than any of those.

No, there isn’t a Big Ten title on the line or a BCS berth to play for.

But for a young Michigan team struggling to find its identity in the midst of the most dramatic change to the program in decades, a win over Ohio State on Saturday would have huge ramifications for the future.

First and foremost, a win would make Michigan bowl-eligible. Though not guaranteed a bowl invitation with a 6-6 record, Michigan is almost certain to get one given its prestige and fan following.

Even if it is the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl (formerly known as the Motor City Bowl) it would be a tremendous boost to the program for the extra practice time and national exposure.

The regular season ends this Saturday, Nov. 22. The Little Caesars Pizza Bowl is held on Dec. 26, so Michigan would essentially have an extra month of practice. For a young and developing team, that extra practice time would be invaluable.

Many of the freshmen only had a month of practice time before the season started. Tate Forcier and a few others left high school early to enroll in January and participate in spring practice.

But most, including quarterback Denard Robinson, arrived just in time for fall camp on Aug. 10 and opened the season against Western Michigan on Sept. 5.

During the season, there isn’t much the team can work on as it prepares for each opponent week-to-week. Much of Rodriguez’s system was installed in fall practice to get ready for the season.

During game weeks, the practices are spent working on getting ready for that week’s opponent and fine-tuning certain details. Various players miss practices every week because of injury, stinting their learning ability and practice time.

New wrinkles may be installed or specific plays that the coaching staff thinks can exploit the opponent can be put in, but the vast majority of what the players learn (the schemes, the playbook, the fundamentals) is learned during fall practice.

That’s why many times a team can look quite different in a bowl game than it did during the regular season, because that month of practice serves as another fall camp.

Injured players get healthy, new plays and schemes are installed and practiced until they become second nature, and confidence is gained while the losses of the season are forgotten.

Look no further than Michigan in 2007, for example. The team, in Lloyd Carr’s final season, sputtered to an 8-4 regular season record. It endured a humiliating home loss to Appalachian State, a blowout at the hands of Oregon, and got shut down by Ohio State.

In the bowl game, the Capital One Bowl against a 9-3 Florida team led by Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow, Michigan showed a much more dynamic and diverse offense than it had all season, winning 41-35.

It left Michigan fans wondering what could have been had Michigan played that way all season and also excited about the future of that style of offense once Rodriguez was hired.

And while Rodriguez’s offense has shown great promise and flashes of brilliance at times this season, it’s still plagued by inexperience.

A bowl game and the extra month of practice time would do wonders for this young and developing team.

In addition to the extra practice time, making it to a bowl game will give Michigan exposure on a national stage during the holidays at a time when everybody is watching, and a chance to finish on a high note heading into the off-season.

Nobody wants to endure eight months of misery like what followed Michigan’s 3-9 season a year ago. By finishing the season with a win over Ohio State and a bowl game, Michigan fans will be excited about 2010, and the players will be confident heading into the off-season.

The second reason Saturday’s game is so important is that beating Ohio State would help with recruiting. Michigan has quite a few visitors coming to Ann Arbor for official visits.

A chance to see Michigan beat its major rival in the Big House on the final week of the season would go a long way toward helping a recruit tip the scales in Michigan’s favor.

Eight of Michigan’s 24 commitments in the 2007 class were in attendance for the Michigan-Ohio State game in the Big House that year.

And while Michigan didn’t win that game, it wasn’t quite in the dire situation it is in now with a need for talent, especially on the defensive side of the ball.

If Michigan lays an egg against Ohio State and boos rain down from the stands, the attending recruits won’t have as good an experience as if Michigan pulls off the big win.

Some of the visitors expected to be in attendance on Saturday include: Chula Vista, Calif. four-star linebacker/safety Tony Jefferson; Pittsburgh four-star cornerback Cullen Christian; Jacksonville, Fla., four-star safety Rashad Knight; Detroit four-star cornerback Dior Mathis; and Eagle Lake, Fla., four-star safety/linebacker Marvin Robinson.

Robinson is already committed to Michigan, but has talked in the past few months about visiting other schools. A big win and a great experience on Saturday could help solidify his commitment.

Jefferson is currently committed to UCLA, and is visiting Florida next weekend, so showing him what it’s like to beat Ohio State in the Big House could go a long way toward stealing him.

Christian is also a prized recruit, since he’s a cornerback, a position Michigan really needs to fill, due to the dismissal of Boubacar Cissoko and possible departure of Donovan Warren to the NFL.

He has already visited UCLA and West Virginia (and possibly Pittsburgh), so Michigan has a chance wrap up his commitment with a great showing on Saturday.

Michigan needs to make this weekend special with a glimpse of what the future holds for the program and show these kids that despite the recent struggles, the program is heading in the right direction.

The third reason a win over Ohio State on Saturday would be huge for Michigan is for the support of Rodriguez and a reward for the senior class.

A win won’t completely erase the anti-Rodriguez sentiment, but it will at least quiet down until next season and win back some of those who have turned against him.

His 8-15 overall record and 3-12 Big Ten record includes just one win over Michigan’s big three rivals (and that was Notre Dame this season).

That stat alone has caused much of the friction among Michigan fans, since one of their main charges against Carr was that he couldn’t beat Ohio State once Jim Tressel arrived in Columbus in 2001.

Winning on Saturday would make Rodriguez 2-4 in that category, but more importantly, give Michigan its first win over the Buckeyes since 2003.

In addition to helping quell the Rodriguez detractors, a win would give the senior class its first win over Ohio State.

Guys like Brandon Minor, Carlos Brown, Brandon Graham, Stevie Brown, Greg Mathews, and Zoltan Mesko, who hung around through the coaching change, deserve a big win to cap off their careers.

Some of them (Graham and Mesko, at least) have bright futures ahead of them in the NFL and have played hard without complaining all season, despite not being Rodriguez’s recruits.

While “deserve” might not be the right word, since nothing in life is deserved, it would be a major disappointment for those guys to go their entire career without beating Ohio State.

A loss would end Michigan’s season at 5-7 (its second straight losing season) and give Ohio State its sixth straight victory in the rivalry.

It would send Michigan home for the holidays and keep the senior class winless against the Buckeyes.

It would leave feelings of despair and depression among Michigan fans worldwide until next fall.

It could prevent some highly-touted and much-needed recruits from choosing to play football at Michigan, and therefore, stunting the growth process even further.

So while many of the previous 105 games in the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry have featured higher stakes in terms of championships, this Saturday’s game could be the most important game in the history of the rivalry for Michigan.

So let’s hope that everyone is all in for Rodriguez and the senior class when toe meets leather at high noon on Saturday.

Last Saturday we learned the truth behind the slow start to Rich Rodriguez’s career as head coach of Michigan football.

It’s not a matter of getting the right players to fit the system or the cupboard being left bare by the outgoing staff. It’s not that he’s forced to start a true freshman quarterback or two walk-ons on defense.

It’s all part of Rodriguez’s master plan: to stop every streak Michigan has going so that he can start them all up again himself.

Then, decades from now, when Michigan is enjoying another long bowl streak or when Michigan nails down its 20th straight win over Purdue, folks will look back and say that streak was started by Rich Rodriguez.

He will be revered the way Bo Schembechler is now.

OK, so maybe not. But it’s a good conspiracy theory anyway.

It seems that every week another Michigan streak falls. Last week it was Michigan’s first home loss to Purdue since 1966.

If Michigan fails to win one of its final two games, it will be the first time since 1973 and ‘74 that Michigan missed a bowl game two years in a row.

That streak is one that Michigan desperately needs to start anew if for no other reason than the added month of practice time and recruiting.

So how does it get to a bowl this season? It’s simple, at least in theory: win one of the next two games.

It starts on Saturday with a trip to Madison, Wisc. to battle the 20th ranked Badgers – a team hot for revenge after filling one of the three win slots on Michigan’s schedule last season.

In that game, the first Big Ten game of the season for both teams, Wisconsin entered 3-0 and No. 9 in the nation. Michigan fell behind 19-0 at the half before battling back with four second-half touchdowns to win 27-25.

At the time, it seemed to be a signature win for Rodriguez, but it started a streak of four straight losses (and five of six) for the Badgers.

And Wisconsin head coach Brent Bielema hasn’t forgotten.

“To be in the situation we were at half and to finish that game out the way it did, leaves a very bad taste, and then we all know what happened after that,” Bielema said. “We’ve battled our tails off to get to where we are right now, and Michigan is the next opportunity.

“I’ll talk about the opportunities that you have in front of you, and this is our next step to get to where we want to be, and Michigan is that team that we have to focus on.”

This season, Wisconsin has avoided the letdown and boasts the conference’s second-best rush offense and best running back in John Clay.

Clay averages 108.1 yards per game (5.1 yards per carry) and leads the Big Ten with 11 touchdowns. He scored one of Wisconsin’s touchdowns against Michigan in last season’s match-up.

The redshirt sophomore has rushed for five 100-yard games this season and is just 27 yards short of 1,000 yards on the season.

Stopping Clay and getting some push back against the very big offensive line has to be priority number one for Michigan if it wants any chance of winning this game.

Redshirt junior quarterback Scott Tolzien has a good passer rating 132.6 (third in the Big Ten), but he’s much more of a game manager than a quarterback that will dominate the game.

He has thrown for just 1,717 yards, 10 touchdowns and eight interceptions on the season, which is very comparable to Michigan freshman quarterback Tate Forcier’s numbers so far (1,636 touchdowns, 10 touchdowns and five interceptions), though Tolzien isn’t a threat to carry the ball like Forcier is.

That’s the type of team Michigan typically hangs tough with. Though not exactly the same, see the Iowa and Michigan State games, in comparison to teams with mobile quarterbacks and big-time passing attacks that Michigan struggle with like Penn State and Purdue.

In its two losses this season, to Ohio State and Iowa, Wisconsin’s run game was essentially shut down. Ohio State held Clay to just 66 yards on 20 carries, while forcing Tolzien to throw 45 times. Iowa held Clay to 80 yards on 21 carries.

If Michigan lets Clay run all over, it will be a very long day for the maize and blue.

The biggest problem for Michigan’s defense this season has been the secondary.

Junior quarterback Donovan Warren has played well all season, while Troy Woolfolk began the season at safety and moved to the other corner position when sophomore Boubacar Cissoko was dismissed from the team.

Woolfolk has fared well, but the safety position has been vulnerable with sophomore Mike Williams and walk-on redshirt freshman Jordan Kovacs struggling.

Kovacs is good at blitzing and run stopping, but doesn’t have the speed to cover and Williams has seen the ball sail over his head more times than outfielders did in Yankee Stadium this season.

The fact that Wisconsin’s receivers aren’t huge threats leads me to believe Michigan has a chance to at least hang in this game.

Redshirt sophomore Nick Toon, the son of former NFL receiver Al Toon, has been stellar, leading the team with 37 catches for 535 yards. Last week against Indiana, he had a career high 123 yards, so Warren will be tasked with keeping him at bay. He has only reached the end zone twice this season.

The team’s second leading receiver is tight end Garrett Graham. A fifth-year senior, Graham is arguably the best tight end in the Big Ten with 30 receptions for 342 yards and four touchdowns. He could have a big day, given Michigan’s inability to cover tight ends this season.

Defensively, Wisconsin ranks in the top 20 in rush defense, surrendering 102.8 yards per game. Throw out the non-conference match-ups and the defense is even stingier, allowing just 72 yards per game.

No team has featured a 100-yard rusher against Wisconsin’s defense all season, and only seven rushers have found the end zone through nine games.

The last time we heard a stat like that was against Iowa, which hadn’t allowed a rushing touchdown in 33 quarters dating back to last season. Michigan scored three rushing touchdowns in the game and hung with the 12th-ranked Hawkeyes before ultimately falling 30-28.

Michigan’s rushing attack has been its strength this season, with seniors Brandon Minor and Carlos Brown combining for over 1,000 yards and quarterbacks Forcier and Denard Robinson combining for another 750.

Wisconsin also boasts a great pass rush, led by O’Brien Schofield. The fifth-year senior leads the Big Ten with 18.5 tackles for loss and ranks second with 7.5 sacks. Redshirt sophomore J.J. Watt has 10.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks as the other defensive end.

Michigan’s offensive line has been a disappointment this season, especially after losing center David Molk midway through the season.

Last week it got an encouraging sign when redshirt freshman Patrick Omameh started at right guard and played well enough to keep the spot.

Unfortunately, Michigan’s only option at right tackle seems to be Mark Huyge, who got dominated by another great rush defensive end, Ryan Kerrigan, all day last Saturday.

Michigan has to be able to control the ball, which isn’t exactly the forte of a Rich Rodriguez offense. Wisconsin leads the Big Ten in time of possession, with 32.58. Michigan ranks last at 26.34, though still leads the conference in scoring.

Time of possession isn’t as big of a key as taking care of the ball, another category in which Michigan finds itself in the cellar.

If Michigan is able to hold onto the ball and capitalize on its possessions, it will have a chance. I find it hard to believe it will be able to hold Wisconsin to a low-scoring game, so Michigan has to take advantage of its opportunities.

Michigan hasn’t won in Camp Randall Stadium since 1999 and I don’t think that trend will be broken this year.

I do think it will be a closer game than many expect, but in the end, Wisconsin is just too much for Michigan to handle.

Prediction: Wisconsin 34, Michigan 24

Following last week’s Halloween horror in Illinois, Michigan returns home with its best remaining chance to become bowl eligible.

Any other season, that wouldn’t be a big deal, but after missing a bowl for the first time in 34 years last season, Michigan needs to get back to post-season play. It’s important, not only for the prestige of playing in a bowl, which isn’t what it was the last time Michigan missed a bowl, but also for the extra few weeks of practice.

The extra practice time will give the team more room to grow and prepare for the bowl game and beyond.

But the only way to be assured of that extra practice time is to beat Purdue on Saturday.

Purdue is an interesting team – one that beat Ohio State and came within two of Oregon and three of Notre Dame, but one that also lost to Northern Illinois, Northwestern, and got throttled 37-0 by Wisconsin last week.

In other words, the Jekyll and Hyde team reminds me of, well, Michigan.

Michigan upset Notre Dame and came within two of Iowa, but lost to Michigan State and got pounded by Illinois and Penn State.

So the question is: which team will show up…for both teams?

If the Michigan team from the beginning of the season shows up, Michigan should win this one fairly easily. But if Dr. Hyde returns in the form of the Salvation Army, it could spell another long day, and another long off-season for Michigan.

Michigan has turned the ball over 7 times (and gained none) in the past two games and has a minus-10 turnover differential overall.

The biggest key to this game is stopping the big plays, and actually creating turnovers, which for this Michigan defense is much easier said than done.

Michigan gave up eight plays of over 20 yards last week against Illinois, a problem that has plagued the team all year long.

Purdue has a quarterback, Joey Elliott that ranks third in the Big Ten in passing, at 231.2 yards per game and second in touchdowns, with 14.

Receivers Keith Smith (60 receptions for 757 yards and 4 TDs) and Aaron Valentin (45 receptions for 535 yards and 7 TDs) will be a problem for Michigan’s secondary to contain.

Add in the fact that the Purdue offensive line has given up just 14 sacks through eight games, and Michigan could be forced to put up big numbers on offense to win the game.

Michigan has to be able to put pressure on Elliott to keep him from burning the secondary.

Purdue has also shown a knack for turning the ball over. In six losses, it has given up the ball 20 times, and Purdue has only one game (against Illinois) in which it had no turnovers.

This might just be the game Michigan needs to re-gain its confidence heading into the final two games against Wisconsin and Ohio State.

The second key to the game for Michigan is running the ball. Senior Brandon Minor is expected to play, and possibly start on Saturday, which should give Michigan its best running game possible.

Purdue ranks ninth in the Big Ten in rush defense, giving up 168.4 yards per game. Michigan should be able to run early and often, but must even that out with some resemblance of a passing game.

Purdue boasts the conference’s best pass defense and that doesn’t bode well for a Michigan team that lacks a polished receiving threat and will be without its top slot receiver, Martavious Odoms for the second straight week.

Freshman quarterback Tate Forcier has to be able to connect with tight ends Kevin Koger and Martell Webb over the middle to keep the Purdue defense from stacking the box.

That will allow Michigan to run the ball, which is even more important given that Purdue has one of the top defensive ends in the conference, in Ryan Kerrigan. He ranks first in the Big Ten in sacks this season, with nine, and ranks third in tackles-for-loss, with 14.5.

If Michigan can’t keep the Purdue defense honest with occasional passes to open up the running game, Forcier could be running for his life a lot.

Finally, Michigan has to play with confidence.

Last week, Michigan took a 13-7 lead into halftime and marched the opening drive of the second half down to the Illinois six-inch line. But then it failed to get into the end zone in four plays, and everything went down-hill from there.

Illinois out-scored Michigan 31-0 the rest of the way and Michigan was unable to respond.

This week, if something happens, the team needs to be able to pick itself up and bounce back. I know this is a very young team without much senior leadership, but it has to be able to pull itself off the mat and keep fighting.

With all that said, I’m skeptical about this game. At first glance, Purdue seems like an easy win, but when comparing the match-ups, it’s a lot closer.

Both teams are coming off bad road losses, but Michigan has the luxury of returning home to the friendly Maize and Blue-clad fans. And thankfully, Purdue’s quarterback isn’t the mobile-type quarterback that gives Michigan fits.

With its back up against the wall, I think Michigan will respond with one of its best outings of the season to at least give Michigan fans hope for the final two games.

Prediction: Michigan 36 – Purdue 21