oh look at you <t>playing the shy, apprehensive, wide eyed Michigan fan just wondering what may face your striped helmeted warriors in Northern Indiana.<br/> <br/> I'm not buying it.</t>
I'm not buying that Michigan is going to be better than 9-3 at best in the regular season this year and this figures to be one of those three losses. ND 31 Michigan 27 bet the over Check this out from CFN: "5. Florida (2-0) W, UCF 42-0 next game: at Tennessee Florida couldn’t have looked more impressive than it did against UCF. If the running game is there and Chris Leak plays like he has over the first two games, Tennessee is in big trouble. 6. Notre Dame (2-0) W, Penn State 41-17 next game: Michigan Is there any room on the bandwagon? There’s still a question over just how good Penn State is, but an impressive win over Michigan would prove once and for all that this is a top three team. The defense might not be all that great, but it can really, really pop. There’s no better coached team in America. Seems CFN has only a question about the ND defense as I do (albeit a fairly small question). Win impressively over UM and ND jumps in CFN rankings to match where they are in AP....#3.
Is it Michigan week already? I've lost track of things a little bit with all the beer I drank this past weekend. Although late in the game when it was no longer in doubt at Austin a Buck fan a row or two above me shouted out Michigan Sucks!! Well I have to admit that inspite of the lack of faith exhibited by MCG, I fear Michigan. They have a great coaching staff, with terrific players. They are not a team to be taken lightly. Our own erudite Michigan Man, Bobdawolverweasel, usually is very conservative when describing the juggernaut that annually comes out of Ann Arbor. In fact Ann Arbor Bob, refuses to lord over us poor lads from South Bend the current 12 game winning streak that the Wolverines currently have over the Irish, or that since 1893 the Mighty Wolverines have never lost in South Bend. I appreciate his sportsmanship in this endeavor. What else to those of us in college football steerage have besides hope for the future, a man of honor such as Mr. Wolverweasel could do nothing to dash that hope for a better football future. Some of our poor lads are even forced to work for the Cubs in the summer or to fight in New York, just to earn enough to patch the worn spots in their dungarees and work boots for school. If it's in fact true that Michigan will be coming to town it's a grand opportunity for our lads to show their mettle against the best. We don't have much hope to win, the lads have to share helmets and I hear some won't even have hair dryers in their lockers. Tis a grand day when the lads get to step on the pitch with the likes of Michigan. I hope the do us proud and play hard till the end.
I'm pretty confident about our Irish team, but I do have two concerns: the linebackers and the field goal kicker. I still see Travis Thomas going to the wrong area sometimes or taking a poor angle and getting himself out of position. On the other side, I'm worried about everybody. Has anyone seen Mitchell Thomas or Anthony Vernaglia actually make a play? They're invisible against the run, although they have done a good job of guarding the tight ends on the pass... BTW- speaking of disappearing...where was David Grimes last Saturday? He was replaced in the WR rotation by Anastasio and on the kickoffs by Walls. Did he do something wrong to lose all of his jobs? Is he hurt? ...................JO'Co :?:
ND/Mich <t>Well I'm not sure how good this year's um team is just yet but you can bet they are on a mission to beat ND this year. The Irish have gotten the best of them the past couple of years and they ain't happy!! <br/> <br/> The Irish will have to play a grest game and put plenty of points on the board if they are to win this one cause I gotta a feeling um is gonna put a few scores up too. It may turn out to be a close one with both teams scoring a lot. I don't think um has as good a defense as GT or PSU though. <br/> <br/> Hopefully the boys will find a way to pull this one off.</t>
Grimes rotated in a few times during the game, but CA got most of the snaps as the 4th option WR behind JS, RM, and the tight end. Maybe CA just outpracticed Grimes this week.
I'll go far out on a limb and say that Henne is not as good a QB as the first two we faced. BUT both UM RBs are far better and their receivers are very, very fast. It definitely will be the most balanced offense we've faced. No doubt Henne will have a career day following my bold statement.
This is no act. I watched in horror as a very good Penn State team got dismantled by Charlie's legion. And my thoughts turned to poor AJNJ, fellow B10 soul-brother. I pictured him in my mind at his vacation cabin, staring in shock at his television as the carnage unfolded. No doubt the beavers that he has fought off for so many years seized upon his shock and launched a surprise attack on his trees around the time the third quarter rolled on for when darkness strikes, it does not strike at a single location; rather, it wraps the tentacles of its death grasp upon all one holds precious. And as I watched the game, I felt the premonition that AJ's fate will next week be mine. But, at least I have the benefit of an advance warning. I'll make sure Lloyd the Goldendoodle is securely tied up so he does not wander off and get run over by a car as I sit in drunken. helpless silence in front of the television set on Saturday afternoon. I'll move my 401k and savings into cash before Friday so that when the stock market crashes on Monday, Lloyd, Anne, and I will not have to spend our greying years on the streets living in a cardboard box heated by a sewer grate. I'll spend the rest of the week reading from the great Stoic, Epicetus, who wrote movingly how decent men can endure in silence and with dignity intact, suffering. abuse, and humiliation dealt out by a cruel and unjust world. I know what is coming is going to be painful. I just hope I have the strength to survive the blows....
A concern for this weeks game. The fact that Big 10 refs are working this game is a major conflict of interest as an ND win could cost the Big 10 from getting a second team in the BCS (millions of $ in the balance). Those refs are paid, graded, hired and fired by the Big 10 office. The stats after two games with Big 10 refs: penalties / yards ND 17/144 opponents 9/53 holding calls on: ND 5 opponents zero
Before the "critical" clipping call on PSU I was wondering why they had officials in the BT. It seemed to me that their teams never committed any penalties.
Scene at the Skybox Oscar Awards Night: For best performance in dramatically predicting defeat during the week before the game: And the winner is....(drumroll)............BOBDA!!
Mich has blazing speed at the WR position and a strong armed veteran QB in Chad Henne, add in the powerfull running game and our defense will be severely tested by the Wolverines. We will find out if the Fighting Irish defense is really improved. I'm esp concerned about our defense against the run. If Michigan gets it's running game going then the passing game will just explode in our faces. It could be ugly gentlemen. Lloyd has been scheming and planing for this game all summer, he didn't have to worry about the 1st two games on his schedule, just get ready for the Irish.
Bob, I always enjoy reading your posts. You always make me laugh. Actually I am down in Cape May at this time every year. The PSU game was painfull. I usually chase my wife away when a big game is on, because she is always bad luck. So I throw her a few $ 100 extra to go shopping. When I got rid of her the score was 6-0. Then it's 13-0,20-0, now I'm thinking that maybe she was bringing me good luck not bad. Now I'm calling her on the cell to come back and she's not answering. She's not much of a sports fan, but for some strange reason she likes the Wolverines and when she watches them, they seem to win. I think it's her favorite sports team. She loves their helmuts and uni's and calls them the Bumblebees. Michigan has a tall task this weekend. No doubt you will play a better game than we did, but it's on the road, so that's a slight disadvantage. I would suggest asking my wife Lou Ann to take a moratorium on shopping ( female disease) for about 3 hours and watch UM if I were you. It may be the only chance you have. Good Luck brother Bob :lol:
Attention ND Skyboxers! We are taking up a collection to send AJ's wife on a shopping spree Saturday afternoon. We need enough $ to rent a limo to pick her up at 3:00 and drop her off at home after the game.