Behold. The Great White Hope. Keep those thunderous dunks coming, homie. And if it's not too much trouble, try not to land on your spine afterward.

We I think I seen about everything, now that I've seen a Gibson fly.... via cache.daylife.com

Go Blue. Beat Indiana.

Or alternatively, Studies in How to Sneak a Double Entendres into your Headlines.

It's been a busy couple of weeks for the Men's Basketball team. They've beaten a top four team. Lost to a top four team. Lost to a good Maryland squad in College Park. Beaten a top four team. Lost to Wisconsin at home. Then beat a 13-1 team that beat #9 Purdue (in West LaFayette), and in the process secured a better record this year than all of last year. They've been unranked. Ranked. And then back to unranked. They've lost a player to a redshirt and gained another.

And all that's in just 14 games.

via multimedia.detnews.com

The transformation of Michigan under Beilein from bottom feeder to a legitimate NCAA bubble team in just one year has been downright staggering. But, as Beilein will be the first to tell you, the transformation isn't complete. The team still lacks a legitimate big man to fit Beilein's offense. The point guard position, while not critical to the offense, is still somewhat up for grabs. There are still way too many forced, bad three pointers. Even so, this is a good basketball team that appears just as capable of shutting down one end of the court as it is lighting up the other.

Tonight Michigan faces its first road test of the Big Ten season when they travel to Assembly Hall to play Indiana at 6:30 Eastern Time. As UMHoops.com points out, Michigan hasn't won there since 1995, so this is a great time to pick up a road win a exorcise whatever demons have plagued the Wolverines in Bloomington.

The reason its such a great opportunity is because, well, Indiana is terrible this year. If you're looking for a traditional power to kick while it's down, Indiana's your team. The Hoosiers currently rate 226 in KenPom's rankings, and have one of the worst turnover ratios in all of college basketball. As a result, Indiana sports an anemic offense averaging just 61.8 points a game, a league low 43% field goal percentage, and a league high 19 turnovers a game. On defense things are just as bad. Indiana gives up nearly 70 a game and allow opponents to shoot at a nearly 47% clip.

This isn't to say tonight isn't a dangerous game. One of the few things Indiana does well is limit three point shooting. The Hoosiers have allowed just 221 three point attempts this season. Part of the reason for that is the Hoosiers are slowing the game down as much as possible. Teams aren't pounding Indiana inside as such low 3 point numbers would indicate. In fact, the Hoosiers are near the bottom of the league in opponent's field goal attempts as well.

For a team allowing 68 total possessions a game, you'd expect higher numbers. Especially when Michigan averages 63 total possessions a game and has given up almost 100 more field goal attempts!!!

What it comes down to is Indiana isn't a particularly talented team right now. If you're looking for an analogy, look at Michigan football. Indiana's going through a purge and transition and will come out stronger for it. But man, oh man, is this year going to suck. Starting four freshman that aren't McDonald's All Americans tends to do that.

Indiana is led by Jr. Devon Dumes (G) and Fr. big name Tom Pritchard (F), who are both averaging more than 12 a game. At this point, Indiana doesn't have a game breaker and relies on a pressure defense to cause turnovers and fast break points. Oddly, there are eight players averaging close to or more than 20 minutes a game, so expect to see a lot of bodies on the court tonight for the Hoosiers.

For Michigan, it seems everyone is fairly healthy. The ankle injury that's been bugging DeShawn Sims is apparently healed and Novak's gash over his left eye, aside from the stiches, is just a bruise. That same Detroit News article echoes a Free Press article on Zack Novak's summers at Assembly Hall for basketball camps. Zach Gibson's dunkeration is apparently helping him get his groove on. Laval Lucas-Perry is apparently just like Illinois Football, he's gettin' better all the time.

via multimedia.detnews.com

Tonight's probable starting line-ups Courtesy Jeff Arnold of the Ann Arbor News:

Probable starters
Michigan Wolverines (11-3, 1-1 Big Ten)
P Name Yr. Ht. Wt. Ppg Rpg
F DeShawn Sims Jr. 6-8 235 16.6 8.8
G Zack Novak Fr. 6-5 210 7.1 2.6
G Manny Harris So. 6-5 210 18.8 7.6
G Laval Lucas-Perry R-Fr. 6-3 185 12.0 3.0
G David Merritt Sr. 5-10 170 2.0 1.5

Indiana Hoosiers (5-8, 0-1 Big Ten)
P Name Yr. Ht. Wt. Ppg Rpg
F Tom Pritchard Fr. 6-9 242 12.8 7.3
G Matt Roth Fr. 6-3 186 5.6 1.3
G Verdell Jones III Fr. 6-5 176 7.6 1.9
G Nick Williams Fr. 6-4 211 8.4 4.8
G Devan Dumes Jr. 6-2 188 13.5 3.1

After a little time off we're back to our regular broadcasting. Hope you'll forgive our little lapse over the holidays. In an effort to regain your favor, dear reader, here's a wrap up of the weekend's events.

Michigan Basketball Blows Past Illinois to Even its Big Ten Record and Surpass Last Year's Win Total

Despite a Big Ten season opening loss to Wisconsin, Michigan (11-3 [1-1])returned to its winning ways with a 74-64 win over Illinois (13-2 [1-1]). Surprisingly, the catalysts for the Wolverines' win were not Sims or Harris, but Zack Gibson and Kelvin Grady. Gibson contributed a critical block followed by one comical dunk and a simply sweet baseline drive and finish with two minutes left. Grady sealed the game with a beautiful crossover left to right from the top of the key and drive to the hoop to create, and finish, a three point play. Anyone who thought Michigan was just Sims and Harris is sorely mistaken. Five players scored in double figures, including the recently bloodied Zack Novak who pumped in 11 points and collected six stitches courtesy of an inadvertent head butt from former Michigan commit and current Illini Alex Legion. If there was a downside to the game it was Michigan's spotty defense in the first half and Harris's five turnovers. But the emergence of Novak as an elite Big Ten shooter (reministent of former Duke Blue Devil, JJ Redick) and the consistent contributions of players other than Sims and Harris give this team the potential to be something special down the line. Also, LLP has shown he was worth the wait. A road trip to Indiana is up next on January 7th.

Behold, the second (much slower and vastly whiter) coming of Graham Brown. via mgoblue.com

The Ann Arbor News said Michigan keyed up its defense in the second half, and Gibson and Grady led the way to the comeback win.

The Free Press said after allowing Illinois to shoot 59% in the first half, DeShawn Sims lit into his teammates at half time, sparking Michigan's defensive clamp down.

The Detroit News says that Michigan is finally giving its critics some good answers to the question "how will this team react to adversity during the Big Ten season?"

The Chicago Tribune said the Illini's poor defense contributed to the Michigan win.

IlliniHQ said Michigan played like a team possessed.

The Big Ten Network is declaring Michigan the Non-Conference Surprise Team of the Non-Conference Schedule. Woo. That's like being hailed as the baby that surprisingly didn't stick a fork in an outlet. Thanks BTN!

Gibson's incredible honktastic dunk followed by kick ass baseline drive and dunk can be seen m'ayh.

Football Recruiting Not Inept After All, Campbell Re-Commits to Michigan

Despite some self created drama, the only story about Will Campbell's final commitment was that there was no story after all. During Saturday's Army All-American game, Campbell re-committed to Michigan. Campbell provided one more tense moment during his 30 seconds of airtime, reaching toward an LSU or Miami hat before picking up his Michigan hat and dancing like a man that should never dance. Ever. Notre Dame students dance better than Campbell. But, even with his lack of dance skills, I'm happy to have one of the elite Defensive tackles in the 2009 class in the fold. Will. We love you. Now get your ass in the weight room and beat OSU.

Michigan Commits Standout in Army All American Game

Brendan Gibbons and Justin Turner helped lead the Army All-American East team to a 30-17 victory. Of critical importance to Michigan fans was the play of kicker commit Brendan Gibbons who showed a cannon of a leg and, god bless him, some accuracy. Also headlining the East's victory was Turner, who turned in a team high eight tackles along with a pick in the fourth quarter. Anthony LaLota saw some time as well, notching a tackle for loss. Wideout Jeremy Gallon sat out the game with a pulled groin.

Potential for an Outdoor Hockey Match-up at Camp Randall?

Courtesy of the awesomeness that is Yost Built and our mutual buddy Marshall:

In today's Detroit News, there was an article about how the Wolverines are primed to make a run in the second half of the year. The bottom of the article has an interesting tidbit:

Officials from Wisconsin's athletic department will be making a formal announcement within the next two weeks regarding an outdoor game played at 80,000-seat Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wis., in February 2010.

The word is, screw everyone else, Wisconsin wants Michigan as its opponent for this game. Maize n Tailgate will be in full effect for this game (should it occur). More updates as they become available.

Around the 'Sphere

OSU plays Texas tonight in the Fiesta Bowl. The Big Ten needs this one after going 1-4 in bowl games. Good luck to the Buckeyes. Don't eff this up like your last two BCS appearances.

Sam McGuffie will enroll at Rice. Good luck Sam. We wish you the best.

I thought nothing could top Llamar Woodley's stiff arm at Notre Dame in 2006. I was wrong. The Kentucky East Carolina Dog Food Bowl provided the greatest stiff-arm-slash-knock-out-jab I've ever seen. Defensive Linemen Ventrell Jenkins just knocks the holy hell out of ECU QB Patrick Pinkney en route to a game clinching fumble return TD for Kentucky. Just watch Pinkney's head snap back. AFLAC! My congrats to our buddies over at A Sea of Blue, SBN's simply awesome Kentucky Blog. If you're looking for SEC and Kentucky related basketball and football knowledge, go there now.

Ventrell, your name and your stiff-arm will live in glory for eternity. Or at least until ESPN yanks this off YouTube.

Another thing that struck a chord here at Maize n Brew was the sensational butt-whuppin' Utah delivered to Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. I mean, holy hell. 21 points in less than 11 minutes on the nation's (then) number one defense? Makes that two point loss to Utah back in September look a little better, don't it? Well. Not really. It's just one less obvious piece of corn in the stoolly turd that was our season. Even so, congrats to the guys at Block U on a perfect season. On the other side of the coin, I can't help but have some symapthy for Nico and Todd over at Roll Bama Roll on the loss and the basting, carving and serving of John Parker Wilson's mangled body during the game. If anyone can identify with an almost MNC season ending on an inexplicable beating at the hands of a team you were supposed to throttle, it's Michigan. I do, however, endorse their method of dealing with the loss.

via assets.sbnation.com

Finally, a nod to the guys at Black Shoe Diaries on an outstanding season that unfortunately can to an inauspicious end against the USC Buzzsaw in the Rose Bowl. Perk up guys. Lord knows it's happened to us. Recently. However, the Polar Bear on the last remaining ice flow on earth was a nice touch. Congrats to the Trojans and Conquest Chronicles on (yet) another Rose Bowl win. We hate you.

Report: William Campbell takes Michigan off his list

Hat tip to Mark Snyder at the Free Press. Dammit. Sure it's never over until a recruit signs on the dotted line, but this is not good news. I don't have a clue what to make of this. Two days ago Campbell's name showed up on the Michigan Registry, according to Snyder, along with Forcier, Vladimir Emilien, Brandin Hawthorne and Vincent Smith.

All this means is that predicting what an 18 year-old male will do at any one given time is damn near impossible.

I met Scott Shafer a couple of months before the 2007 season started. He was funny, fresh faced for a college football coach, and sort of a contradiction squeezed into a blazer that was a size too small. Schafer was obviously a pent up ball of kinetic energy waiting to explode at any second, but at the same time he was somewhat quiet, speaking in soft tones while trying to emphasize how hard he wanted his players to hit the opposing quarterback.  He was so excited about this opportunity that you almost expected him to have some kind of nervous tick or twitch in between sentences, but still, he talked in a polite conversational tone when you could see he'd be happier yelling.

Shafer was supposed to be everything Ron english wasn't. Aggressive. Blitz happy. Willing to play man. And most importantly, able to coach players up to their peak. His defenses at Western Michigan terrorized the MAC and in his season at Stanford his defense pulled one of the biggest upsets of the 2007 season by topping then No. 2 USC in a game where his team was a 41-point underdog. These are the things that make for promising futures and bring coaches with limited D1 coaching resumes to major power programs.

And so Shafer was hired. He made the rounds. Said all the right things. Talked about getting after the quarterback. Knocking him out of the game. Then knocking out the backup. Etc. Etc. Aggressive. Rah! Get fired up!

Unfortunately what we saw was anything but. The aggressiveness Shafer promised never really appeared. And when it did, it quicikly disappeared in a slew of safety mistakes, a void at linebacker, and an inability to to teach his system effectively to a relatively veteran group of players. The square peg round hole analogy may be overused, but it is apt. Shafer's schemes never seemed to fit the players he had. Adjustments were few and far between, and when they came, they made matters worse.

A quarter of the season in, Shafer began to roll out a 3-3-5 defense that was far more confusing for his players than opposing defenses. At one point Brandon Graham told reporters "we're through with the 3-3-5." There was good reason for that. Michigan simply didn't have the personnel or the experience in the system to play the defense effectively, especially mid-season. Worse, the defense took two of Michigan's best defensive players, Taylor and Johnson, off the field for extended periods of time. No one has offered a suitable explanation for why this was a good idea. But then again, no one could offer a good explanation for why Michigan couldn't tackle anyone all season either.

When all was said and done, the end result was the worst defense in the 129 year history of Michigan football. Irrespective of how new you are to a program, that's not a good sign.

This blog has been fairly critical of Shafer's performance since day one. Several of our more distinguished colleagues in the blogosphere expressed surprise over the firing or disappointment at it. I am not one of them. While I personally feel bad for Mr. Shafer and his family, losing a job is never a good thing, I also feel this is the right move for Michigan football.

Something that was widely speculated at, and more or less confirmed throughout the season, was that Rodriguez and Shafer wanted different things out of the defense.

First, this is a bad sign coming into a situation, even if that situation is Michigan. If Shafer knew from the start that he'd eventually be coaching a system he wasn't comfortable with and/or didn't believe in, I'm at a loss as to why he left Stanford. Michigan or not, if he knew this from day one, he set himself up to fail. Second, if the head coach wants to move in one direction and one of his head coordinators is not on board, that's bad news.

While I am no fan of the 3-3-5, it appears to be the direction Rodriguez is leaning, and as I've bought my tickets to ride whatever roller coaster he's decided to pilot, I'd support his decision on this one even if I wanted Shafer to stay.

But, the fact is, I didn't. Nothing from the defense this season indicated to me that next year's defense would be any better. Nothing in his schemes indicated to me that they were anything other than predictable. Nothing from the players indicated to me that they really bought in to what he was teaching.

No matter what profession you're in, someone is always in charge. Unless you're that .0001% of the populace lucky or gifted enough to be in a position to make the rules, you've got a boss. And that boss takes the credit, and the blame, for your successes and failures. When you succeed, good bosses reward you. When you fail, they try to raise you up. But in a season where Rodriguez spent at least six of twelve games explaining why the gigantic hole in our secondary hadn't been plugged yet, a pattern becomes apparent. Rodriguez was happy to take the blame for things he felt he could control or affect. He would put it on his own shoulders if he could say after a game, "look, this got better" even a little bit. But in a season where a historic program flatly collapses on defense, shows little improvement, and takes two steps backwards for every forward step, something in the system is broken.

This time, at least according to the Free Press, the portion of the system that was broken was the communication between Rodriguez and Shafer, and perhaps between Shafer and his players. As a result, Michigan is looking for a new defensive coordinator.

"We want to stay focused and play every game like it's a national championship game."

Just another reason why Manny Harris is the best thing to happen to Michigan Basketball since Glenn Rice was rainin' three's twenty years ago. Just like Rice, Harris led the way again with 16 points and 15 boards in Michigan's runaway victory over the Norfolk State Spartans Tuesday night.

Despite a cold start, Michigan ran away with Tuesday Night's game halfway through the first half.  When all was said and done, Harris was just one of five Wolverines in double figures and the Wolverines had led by as many as 35 points in the blow out. Anthony Wright, Zack Novak, DeShawn Sims, and Air Canada himself Jevohn Shepherd all pitched in double digits.

Another encouraging sign was the play of the defense. Michigan held the Spartans to 30% shooting from the floor and forced 15 turnovers, including 7 steals. Equally important the Wolverines only turned the ball over twice. I'll repeat that. Equally important the Wolverines only turned the ball over twice. Wow. That mixed with stifling defense = awesome.

via detnews.com

If there are concerns, it's three point shooting. Anthony Wright posted double digit points but went 2-6 from three, and Stu Douglass went 2-5 from beyond the arc. Equally concerning is that Kelvin Grady hasn't seemed to find a shooting rhythm yet, going 1-4 from beyond the arc and only taking two shots inside it. These are, of course, minor nit picks in a blowout win. Wright shot 40% from the floor. Douglass was 3-7 overall. Grady dished a team high 5 assists.

Michigan is firing on all cylinders following its outstanding run in New York. They'll look to keep the momentum going on Saturday, November 29, 2008, when they welcome Savannah State to Crisler Arena for a 2pm tip off.  Get your tickets here.

Momentum is going to be key over the next two weeks. Michigan travels to College Park, Maryland to take on the Terrapins on December 3rd in the ACC/Big Ten challenge. Then on Saturday, December 6th, the host Duke to close out the tournament.

While the UCLA win was a nice start to the season, Maryland will be the true measuring stick of how far this team has come and where it fits in the NCAAs, the NIT, and Big Ten. Maryland draws No. 5 ranked Michigan State in the Old Spice Classic on Thanksgiving Night. The Terps have started relatively strong on the season, going 3-0 and posting a blow-out exhibition win. The only oddity on the score sheet is a 89-74 overtime win over Vermont. It was a game Maryland probably should've lost before the Terp's Greivis Vasquez hit a three pointer at the buzzer to force overtime. The Terps then proceeded to run the holy hell out of the Catamounts, allowing only a single bucket in the extra session.

Maryland is also a lot like Michigan; they are really, really young. There is only one senior on the roster, a grand total of four upperclassmen, and nine underclassmen (6 sophomores and 3 freshmen). Like Michigan they're a bubble type team that will go as far as their best player and their coaches' abilities to get the most out of their young talent. Like Michigan, the Terps lean on a special player, Greivis Vasquez, whose name I challenge you to pronounce correctly on the first try. Vasquez is Maryland's unquestioned leader and most dangerous player. Vasquez is 6-6, shot 43% from the floor and posted 2nd team all ACC honors last year. Another thing to keep in mind, Vasquez is a member of the Venezuelan National Team and led the ACC in assists. If there's a better one-on-one match-up for Manny Harris, I can't find one. This guy will be a true test for Michigan's defense all by himself.

But it's not just one player, the Terps are getting balanced scoring out of their starting five. The Terps have four players averaging 10+ points on the season, and the fifth at 9 a game. Like all Gary Williams teams, this year's Terrapin squad shoots the ball well, with all five starters over 40% from the field. For more Maryland related info, check out SB Nation's outstanding Maryland site The Testudo Times and their Vermont wrap up.

So with that in mind, Savannah State will be a good tune up for the Terps and for a lurking Duke team that looks as good as it's No. 4 ranking. I expect the Terps to give Michigan State a fairly good run on Turkey Day, so watch it and take note of how they play the Spartans. The Maryland/Michigan matchup promises to be a great test for both young teams.

Go Blue!

As Monday came and went a strange calm settled over me. Normally at this point in the season I'm all atwitter with various scenarios for bowl bids, watching the polls fevorishly for highs and lows, and generally over hyping my expectations of Michigan's bowl chances. But on Monday my head was clear of these things. It should've been. After Saturday, for the first time since the '60's, Football season ended in November rather than New Year's day or late December. So it appears I've got some time on my hands.

A complete season wrapup would probably be a good idea, but that's going to take some time. There are lots of other things to do. For instance, the new Bond movie is out and I hear Judi Dench is doing partial nudity. Wait... no. I mean player evaluations. How well the coaches faired. Who's staying. Who's going. Who's replacing whom. Who's walking through that door with the expectation of starting. And what we can expect from a MAC heavy schedule, a Notre Dame club that will be substantially better than its loss to Syracuse indicates, a slate of Big Ten games against steadily improving teams, and of course Ohio State in 2009.

There are also other sports to celebrate. For the first time since the early '90's Michigan basketball is relevant and not just a case study in fan masochism. The Wolverines are 3-1 with a win over No. 4 UCLA to pin on their resume, as well as a runner up trophy in a tournament they were supposed to be fodder for. Manny Harris is absolutely on fire, scoring 96 points in his last four games and was named to the 2K Classic all Tournament Team. DeShawn Sims has given Michigan an inside presence on both ends of the floor, Anthony Wright has been surpriingly effective distributing the ball, and freshman Stu Douglass and senior David Merritt have contributed both defense and much needed scoring. All the details on the season so far can be found here.

This is a fun team to watch. And they're playing tonight as the Wolverines host 1-1 Norfolk State.  The Spartans are led by senior guard Michael Deloach, who is averaging 25.5 points per game. The Spartans are new to DI basketball, existing on the big stage for just eight seasonsas a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). Tip off is scheduled for 8:30 EST and will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network. Enjoy.

Another team worth tipping our cap to is the Women's basketball team who just posted win over No. 13 Vanderbilt, the biggest win of second year Coach Kevin Borseth short tenure at UM. The Lady Wolverines are 2-2 on the season and head into the Southern Mississippi Thanksgiving Tournament starting on November 28, 2008.

For you hockey fans, Michigan's Hockey team continues to pull in the country's top talent, inking three members of the US National Development team to scholarships. New commits Chris Brown (Flower Mound, Texas), Kevin Lynch (Grosse Pointe, Mich.) and A.J. Treais (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) will lace up their skates for the Maize n' Blue come 2009. So the future remains bright. On the ice, Michigan's had some tuff sledding, dropping two games to Miami this past weekend despite strong games from Billy Sauer and Brian Hogan. The team stands at 8-6(5-5) on the season and is preparing to face Minnesota and Wisconsin in the 16th Annual College Hockey Showcase in Minneapolis and Madison. Puck drop 7:05 CST in Minneapolis on November 28, 2008.

So there is plenty to grab our attention as football fades into the baskground until March and spring practice roll around. And we'll get to wrapping up the Football season in due time. But for now, enjoy a little peace and quiet on the gridiron front and let yourself enjoy a pair of resurgent Basketball program often forgotten about until mid February and a preinial power in our Hockey program. They'll help you transition from football to back to normal life.

There are only so many variations of words and phrases that can describe the all 'round butt whuppin' Michigan received this past Saturday in Columbus. To save you the trouble, just use Maize n Brew's trademarked Michigan post-game column Mad Libs:

On ______, 2008, Michigan dropped another (horrid, close) game to ______. The offensive was ineffective in the red zone despite (Minor, Shaw, McGuffie, Brown) running for over 100 yards. (Nick Sheridan, Steven Threet) looked lost running Rodriguez’ spread offense. The majority of (Sheridan’s, Threet’s) passes were under thrown or over thrown, and of the passes that found hands only Greg Mathews seemed capable of holding onto the ball. Drops by (Odoms, Stonum, Clemons) killed several drives. Michigan managed only (one, two) conversions in the Red Zone and looked out of sorts the entire game.

Defensively the Wolverines generally stood firm, but their problems with 3^rd and long continued. Michigan gave up (1^st downs, Touchdowns) on 3^rd and (6, 8, 10, 15, 25, 30, 31, 75) on (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10) occasions. While the Line was stout, the Wolverines’ pass coverage was victimized again, surrendering (40, 50, 60, 70, 80) yard (touchdown, touchdowns) in obvious passing downs. Making matters worse the Wolverines problems on special teams continued, as (Shaw, Odoms, BooBoo, McGuffie, Minor, Trent) fumbled (a punt, multiple punts, the kickoff, multiple kickoffs) resulting in (3, 7, 10, 13, 14, 17, 20, 21, 24) points for __________. The loss (damages, puts in serious peril, digs a deep hole and buries, continues to make a mockery of the passing of) Michigan’s bowl hopes.

Sure this leaves some things out, but it's pretty accurate.

As much as I'd love to pen some heart felt opus about the trials and trivails of this team, my heart truly isn't in it. Like so many in the Michigan blogosphere, this blog has attempted to explain the problems with the Michigan offense, defense and special teams over the past three to four months. It's attempted to bring some solace to the disenfranchised fan and bring a little sanity to the fan ready to climb the bell tower with a .22. This is, after all, just a game.

The issues that put Michigan in its 3-8 tailspin were evident and well chronicled prior to Saturday's game. Saturday just reinforced what we already knew. This season Michigan possessed a good, not great defense. Michigan had a horrifically bad offense. An offense so bad the Captain of the Exxon Valdez probably could've piloted it with the same level of success. Michigan had a good punter and a gigantic question mark in the return game. A question mark that basically turned into a giant meat cleaver that cut Michigan off at the knees more often than it inflicted any pain on the opponent. 

So on Satruday, another chapter in the Ohio State Michigan rivalry as well as another chapter in the history of Michigan football was concluded. These will not be pleasant chapters to re-read. But they are part of the story, and sadly they are more memorable than any of the mid-tier bowl seasons of the past twenty years.

The next chapter will begin with the fall out from this season. Who left. Who didn't buy in to the system. But it will also begin with optimism. Optimism for the new players on their way to Ann Arbor. The guys that are returning with a chip on their shoulder.

The Game is over. Michigan lost. The season is over. Michigan finished 3-9. You can talk about the historical firsts, all the bad things that happened so you make your deadline, the question marks, the problems that never got fixed. Or you can move on. You don't have to forget the past year, ignore it, or pretend it didn't happen. You shouldn't. There are lessons to be learned. But you don't have to dwell on it.

The most recent chapeter in Michigan's storied history concluded Saturday night. The newest chapter starts today. You can be a part of it.

All you have to do is turn the page.

Game notes:

For Michigan Nick Sheridan starts at QB, Feagin is second string, Threet is out. Brandon Minor, Carlos Brown, McGuffie and Mike Shaw will all play at tailback. Perry Dorrestein will start in place of Steve Schilling who is out with a bum knee.

For Ohio State only DB Jermale Hines is doubtful. Beanie Wells has a tight hamstring but it isn't expected to be an issue.

On to the Game! Go Blue!

Now for a cheer they are here, triumphant!

Here they come with banners flying,

In stalwart step they're nighing,

With shouts of vict'ry crying,

We hurrah, hurrah, we greet you now, Hail!

Far we their praises sing

For the glory and fame they've bro't us

Loud let the bells them ring

For here they come with banners flying

Far we their praises tell

For the glory and fame they've bro't us

Loud let the bells them ring

For here they come with banners flying

Here they come, Hurrah!

Hail! to the victors valiant

Hail! to the conqu'ring heroes

Hail! Hail! to Michigan

The leaders and best!

Hail! to the victors valiant

Hail! to the conqu'ring heroes

Hail! Hail! to Michigan,

The champions of the West!

We cheer them again

We cheer and cheer again

For Michigan, we cheer for Michigan

We cheer with might and main

We cheer, cheer, cheer

With might and main we cheer!

Hail! to the victors valiant

Hail! to the conqu'ring heroes

Hail! Hail! to Michigan

The leaders and best!

Hail! to the victors valiant

Hail! to the conqu'ring heroes

Hail! Hail! to Michigan,

The champions of the West!