Outback Bowl: Need for speed is still indeed

There are three true purposes for playing in a post-season bowl game – to reward your players for an outstanding season (anyone want to believe that held true for the likes of Purdue); to play for the national title (only relevant for two schools) and to be used as a barometer for the next collegiate season.

For Michigan, the latter proved to be the most important factor. In order to move towards the collegiate football elite (which rests in the Southeastern Conference by almost unanimous agreement), you have to play one of that conference’s better team to use as a measuring stick.

Michigan did just that on New Year’s Day, coming up five points and 11 seconds short, falling 33-28 in the Outback Bowl (bloomin’ onions for everyone!). The Wolverines end the season at 8-5, losing all five games away from Michigan Stadium, in what could (but shouldn’t) be labeled as a sophomore jinx for Head Coach Brady Hoke.

It took a last-second touchdown strike by SC, when UM was caught with the wrong (slower) personnel (Jordan Kovacs) on one of the faster Gamecock receivers (Bruce Ellington) for the winning 32-yard play with 11 seconds left. But that actually was the game in a nutshell; South Carolina won via the big play, utilizing its overwhelming speed advantage, to literally run away from the Wolverine defenders five different times. Michigan surrendered eight plays of more than 31 yards on the afternoon, including an early back-breaking 66-yard touchdown punt return by the appropriately named Ace Sanders (can you say NFL first-rounder?).

The clearest advantage (other than an amazing height differential between Michigan’s offensive line and SC’s defensive front) was the quickness and flat-out drag-racing speed possessed by the Carolina receivers and secondary personnel. In fact, that remains the biggest single advantage that almost EVERY SEC schools has over Big Ten squads – the SEC is often a track meet on a football field and the Big Ten still plays plodding scrum ball in the center of the field.

For the Big Ten Conference, its lack of respect against other gridiron powerhouses (mainly the SEC) is still being well-earned. Only Northwestern (beating a second-tier SEC team in Mississippi State) and Michigan State (on a last-second field goal over TCU) earned victories. Georgia throttled Nebraska and Wisconsin seemed unable to handle Stanford.

Actually, Michigan played a much better game against a much better team in South Carolina (yes, Virginia, the Gamecocks WERE the better team with the better personnel, especially on defense where the Wolverines might never play a harder-hitting squad than that).

First, before we get to real pertinent stuff, can we ALL agree on one future absolute: stop SCREWING with the Wolverines’ uniforms! No one watching in television, or in the one-third empty stands at Raymond James Stadium, could see any of the Michigan players’ numbers. All these “special event” uniforms are NOT to commemorate playing in the game; it’s all about merchandizing and it’s bordering on ridiculous (or looking like a drag queen with multiple costume changes).

Credit must go to the Wolverine offense for clawing its way back into the game and snatching the lead twice in the second half (both times coming on Devin Gardner passes to Jeremy Gallon, UM’s best player on the field). It was a shame when the defense, obviously tired from chasing the much quicker Gamecocks, simply couldn’t stop the final SC scoring drive. It was a great effort, but it came up short.

But why? Again, the deficiency in the Michigan running game was made even more stark than ever; Michigan’s leading ground gainer was senior Denard Robinson, playing in this final UM game, with 23 carries for 100 yards. Although UM did not win the game, Robinson went out a “winner,” proving once and for all his unbelievable value that must be replaced (and which will take 3-4 players to do so).

He actually spent more time as a halfback than under center, which is NOT what was needed for Michigan’s future. Between Robinson and Gardner (who is NOT a runner and must improve as a scrambler), they consumed 35 of the 45 Michigan carries (not counting the two fake field goal runs for first downs).

Senior Vincent Smith, playing his final time as a Wolverine (thank God!) and freshman Justice Hayes had all of 8 rushes for 6 yards. Thomas Rawls, Stephen Hopkins or anyone else listed in the Michigan backfield were MIA. Coach Hoke will enter the 2013 season totally dependent on whoever shines in spring practice, wondering if an incoming freshman will step up to the challenge or just how quickly soon-to-be Fitzgerald Toussaint can rehab from his broken leg. It should keep him up for several nights … worrying.

Second, while South Carolina practiced the kind of thunder-and-lightning attack Head Coach Steve Spurrier is famous for, Michigan moved more like a tortoise against the hare. The Wolverines attempted more passes (by one) but averaged less on every statistical comparison – less yards per rushing attempt, less per passing attempt and less per completion (not to mention less yardage per attempt in the return game). The long-distance “vertical” game was simply non-existent for Michigan because … for most of the season, the longest gains were mainly Robinson’s scampers through opposing defenses.

On the plus side, Hoke got to see future Wolverine stars on defense who had populated much of the second-and third-string positions of the weekly depth chart. Names such as James Ross III, Brennen Beyer, Ondre Pipkins and Joe Bolden (all freshmen except for Beyer) were in the thick of the action more often than some of the outgoing seniors they were replacing. Out of the eight leading tacklers for UM, seven were non-seniors (and tackle Will Campbell, in his last game, never made the stat sheet).

Running back by committee in 2013 will not work; Michigan needs someone with the speed to reach the corner before the opposition and blow past them for long runs. UM also needs a speed burner to stretch defending secondary past the point of breakage; as well as secondary personnel who can run step-for-step with the kind of speed coaches like Urban Meyer at Ohio State will be attempting to recruit from his old stomping grounds in Florida.

The lesson learned for a fine game in Tampa was simple: speed kills and it’s time for Michigan to acquire some of that for itself.

Another year of bowl game overload

They make office polls for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament draw but almost no one attempts to sweep through the holiday period when the BCS bowl game schedule is unveiled. It should be a college football junkie’s dreamscape – to have the remote locked on ESPN and see more football than an advance scout.

But there are problems, as usual, to the choices. First, and as always, there are just too many damn bowl games! I can’t think of ANY one, other than Vegas bookies, which cares one iota about the Belk Bowl, or if Duke even fields a football team. There are 35 post-season bowl games this season and by January 1, there’s a good chance you will need new glasses if you plan to see all the action. It’s simply waters down the competition because college football has a tapeworm inside its internal workings – unable to resist any company wanting to slap its moniker to some matchup in some stadium.

Once the overabundance of these games is firmly established, there are several other factors at play in this season’s bowl matchups to be discussed:

No, no No. Illinois – Regardless of a 12-1 record, putting the Huskies into a prime time BCS bowl game is not a stroke of inspiration; it is an insult to the other conferences NOT named the SEC. Primarily, a team like Oklahoma, which actually tied for the Big 12 title with Kansas State, would have been a far superior opponent for Florida State in the Orange Bowl. This is big boy college football, not the Equal Opportunity Agency.

Seriously, name ONE quality opponent Northern Illinois defeated in 2012! NIU lost to Iowa in the opener and only beat a lousy Army team (by one point) and Kansas (the only Big 12 NOT to earn a bowl berth). A BCS berth should be reserved for QUALITY teams who have come through a season of hard games and tough tests – Northern Illinois fails to qualify on both accounts.

Victims of its own success/hype – Sorry to all those Southeastern Conference fans and schools, but the rules state only TWO schools from one conference can obtain BCS spots; the SEC had six of the top 10 teams in a majority of the final polls. So … that means excellent teams get “stuck” in seemingly lackluster consolation bowls (such as LSU in the Chick-Fil-A, or former Peach Bowl).

The problem this year was the elevation of Florida past Georgia simply because the Bulldogs fought tooth-and-nail before falling to Alabama in the SEC title game. The setback dropped Georgia to fourth in the BCS behind idle Florida; a complete miscarriage of sports justice (those who watched the game know exactly how close a contest it was). Georgia got punished for trying to win a spot in the BCS championship by missing the Elite Eight in its entirety.

So its booby prize is facing Nebraska, a squad that choked SO badly, it allowed a lousy Wisconsin to hang 70 points on its “vaunted” defense.

Draw a line in the sand – It should be illegal/improper/unbearable to allow ANY team at 6-6 to play in a post-season contest. A bowl game was meant, once upon a time, as a reward for a season’s effort; now the 70 vacancies require that conference dip deep into mediocrity to fill commitments. This year, there are 11 schools that should be watching the post-season from their choices (… and yes, that includes Sparty and Central Michigan); it would also mean almost six games less to blur the brain and eyeballs.

Purdue was so ashamed of its season, head coach Danny Hope got fired because at 6-6, it wasn’t good enough. YET … it was just fine and dandy to get the Boilermakers into the Heart of Dallas Bowl at the “real” Cotton Bowl against another classic underachiever, Oklahoma State (7-5).

And, excuse me! But how in the hell did Georgia Tech, at 6-7, get anything but a trip to The Varsity Drive-In in Atlanta??? Again, it’s a sham selection.

Too many games, too many duplications – No city should hoist more than one game, other than the BCS championship and even then, it should be that city’s bowl namesake. Sorry, but San Diego, you need to choose between the Holiday and Poinsettia Bowls; the same goes for New Orleans and Orlando.

Play football in football places – In three cases, bowl games are slated to be held where football NEVER sees the light of day – Tropicana Field, AT&T Park, Yankee Stadium; one stadium, essentially empty for 364 days has been recruited for meaningless games (RFK Stadium in D.C.) will host the Military Bowl between two non-military teams (San Jose State and Bowling Green). Since the game is in Washington, there will be LOTS of lobbyists working the crowd in favor of their favorite defense contractor, such as sponsor Northrup Grumman. How nice!

Fear the Blue Potato Bowl – Poor Utah State! Its 10-2 record should have earned a nice trip out of town, or the state of Utah, but, no … the bizarrely named Famous Idaho Potato Bowl needs a local draw against Toledo so the Aggies will play on their rival’s ugly blue carpet surface in Boise, instead of some place with … sunshine and warmth. Bowl games need to stop punishing in-state schools because the normal matchup process won’t excite the local fan base enough to produce butts in the seats (Central Florida playing in St. Petersburg, Central Michigan in Detroit, Louisiana-Monroe in Shreveport, as examples).

Games are played on the field – Someone needs to ask the BCS people, or whoever is responsible for the actual pairings, if they have EVER seen half of these schools play, especially in the second half of the regular season. If that WAS the case, Minnesota would never have been invited anywhere and certainly never paired in the Meineke Car Care Bowl in Houston (the old Texas/Astro-Bluebonnet/Bluebonnet Bowl) against a high-powered offense like Texas Tech. Aside from Indiana, Minnesota was actually one of the worst teams in the Big 10 at the end of the 2012 season.

Going old school names – What was wrong with the OLD names for many of these games? The Chick-Fil-A Bowl is the old Peach Bowl, which makes more sense since Georgia is the Peach State and the main drag is Peachtree Avenue. The Sheraton Hawaii Bowl was, for years, the Hula Bowl; the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl was originally the Cherry Bowl; the Outback Bowl used to be the Hall of Fame Bowl and the Capital One Bowl is the former Tangerine Bowl, which first kicked off in 1947! I’d rather have the games follow the stadium names, as was done in the good old days (Cotton, Rose, Orange, Sun, Tangerine, Gator).

First up, first down – For Michigan fans, it might be to take a couple of moments to watch the lidlifter in Albuquerque and to root for the Wolf Pack of Nevada to add to Rich Rodriguez’s post-season blues in the New Mexico Bowl. RichRod’s Arizona squad faltered down the stretch (a familiar refrain, anyone?) and it will simply be fun to root against the man who set the program in Ann Arbor back a few years.

Here is the complete bowl schedule, participants and times:

2012-13 Bowl Schedule

Gildan New Mexico – Nevada (7-5) vs. Arizona (7-5), Albuquerque, N.M. (University Stadium), Dec. 15, 1 p.m. (EST) – ESPN

Famous Idaho Potato – Toledo (9-3) vs. Utah State (10-2), Boise, Id. (Bronco Stadium), Dec. 15, 4:30 p.m. (EST) – ESPN

S.D. County Credit Union Poinsettia – BYU (7-5) vs. San Diego State (9-3), San Diego (Qualcomm Stadium), Dec. 20, 8 p.m. (EST) – ESPN

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s St. Petersburg – UCF (9-4) vs. Ball State (9-3), St. Petersburg, Fla. (Tropicana Field), Dec. 21, 7:30 p.m. (EST) – ESPN

R+L Carriers New Orleans – East Carolina (8-4) vs. Louisiana-Lafayette (8-4), New Orleans (Mercedes-Benz Superdome), Dec. 22, noon (EST) – ESPN

MAACO Las Vegas – Washington (7-5) vs. Boise State (10-2), Las Vegas (Sam Boyd Stadium), Dec. 22, 3:30 p.m. (EST) – ESPN

Sheraton Hawaii – Fresno State (9-3) vs. SMU (6-6), Honolulu (Aloha Stadium), Dec. 24, 8 p.m. (EST) – ESPN

Little Caesars Pizza – Western Kentucky (7-5) vs. Central Michigan (6-6), Detroit (Ford Field), Dec. 26, 7:30 p.m. (EST) – ESPN

Military Bowl Presented By Northrop Grumman – San Jose State (10-2) vs. Bowling Green (8-4), Washington, D.C. (RFK Stadium), Dec. 27, 3 p.m. (EST) – ESPN

Belk – Cincinnati (9-3) vs. Duke (6-6), Charlotte, N.C. (Bank of America Stadium), Dec. 27, 6:30 p.m. (EST) – ESPN

Bridgepoint Education Holiday – Baylor (7-5) vs. UCLA (9-4), San Diego (Qualcomm Stadium), Dec.27, 9:45 p.m. (EST) – ESPN

AdvoCare V100 Independence – Ohio (8-4) vs. Louisiana-Monroe (8-4), Shreveport La. (Independence Stadium), Dec. 28, 2 p.m. (EST) – ESPN

Russell Athletic – Rutgers (9-3) vs. Virginia Tech (8-4), Orlando, Fla. (Florida Cirtus Bowl), Dec. 28, 5:30 p.m. (EST) – ESPN

Meineke Car Care of Texas – Minnesota (6-6) vs. Texas Tech (7-5), Houston (Reliant Stadium), Dec. 28, 9 p.m. (EST) – ESPN

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces – Rice (6-6) vs. Air Force (6-6), Fort Worth, Tex. (Amon G. Carter Stadium), Dec. 29, 10:45 a.m. (EST) – ESPN

New Era Pinstripe – West Virginia (7-5) vs. Syracuse (7-5), Bronx, N.Y. (Yankee Stadium), Dec. 29, 3:15 p.m. (EST) – ESPN

Kraft Fight Hunger – Navy (7-4) vs. Arizona State (7-5), San Francisco (AT&T Park), Dec. 29, 4 p.m. (EST) – ESPN2

Valero Alamo – Texas (8-4) vs. Oregon State (9-3), San Antonio (Alamodome), Dec. 29, 6:45 p.m. (EST) – ESPN

Buffalo Wild Wings – TCU (7-5) vs. Michigan State (6-6), Tempe, Ariz. (Sun Devil Stadium), Dec. 29, 10:15 p.m. (EST) – ESPN

Franklin American Mortgage Music City NC State (7-5) vs. Vanderbilt (8-4), Nashville, Tenn. (LP Field), Dec. 31, noon (EST) – ESPN

Hyundai Sun – USC (7-5) vs. Georgia Tech (6-7), El Paso, Tex., (Sun Bowl), Dec. 31, 2 p.m. (EST) – CBS

AutoZone Liberty – Iowa State (6-6) vs. Tulsa (10-3), Memphis, Tenn. (Liberty Bowl), Dec. 31, 3:30 p.m. (EST) – ESPN

Chick-fil-A – LSU (10-2) vs. Clemson (10-2), Atlanta (Georgia Dome), Dec. 31, 7:30 p.m. (EST) – ESPN

TaxSlayer.com Gator – Mississippi State (8-4) vs. Northwestern (9-3), Jacksonville, Fla. (Everbank Field), Jan.1, noon (EST) – ESPN2

Heart of Dallas – Purdue (6-6) vs. Oklahoma State (7-5), Dallas (Cotton Bowl), Jan. 1, noon (EST) – ESPNU

Outback – South Carolina (10-2) vs. Michigan (8-4), Tampa, Fla. (Raymond James Stadium), Jan. 1, 1 p.m. (EST) – ESPN

Capital One – Georgia (11-2) vs. Nebraska (8-4), Orlando, Fla. (Florida Citrus Bowl), Jan. 1, 1 p.m. (EST) – ABC

Rose by Vizio – Wisconsin (8-5) vs. Stanford (10-3), Pasadena, Calif. (Rose Bowl), Jan. 1, 5 p.m. (EST) – ESPN

Discover Orange – Northern Illinois (12-1) vs. Florida State (11-2), Miami (Sun Life Stadium), Jan. 1, 8:30 p.m. (EST) – ESPN

Allstate Sugar – Louisville (10-2) vs. Florida (11-1), New Orleans (Louisiana Superdome), Jan. 2, 8:30 p.m. (EST) – ESPN

Tostitos Fiesta – Oregon (11-1) vs. Kansas State (11-1), Glendale, Ariz. (University of Phoenix Stadium), Jan. 2, 8:30 p.m. (EST) – ESPN

AT&T Cotton – Texas A&M (10-2) vs. Oklahoma (10-2), Arlington, Tex., (Cowboys Stadium), Jan. 4, 8 p.m. (EST), FOX

BBVA Compass – Pittsburgh (6-6) vs. Ole Miss (6-6), Birmingham, Ala. (Legion Field), Jan. 5, 1 p.m. (EST) – ESPN

GoDaddy.com – Kent State (11-2) vs. Arkansas State (9-3), Mobile, Ala. (Ladd Peebles Stadium), Jan. 6, 9 p.m. (EST) – ESPN

Discover BCS National Championship – Notre Dame (12-0) vs. Alabama (12-1), Miami (Sun Life Stadium), Jan. 7, 8:30 p.m. (EST) – ESPN

Now here are my pre-game selection for all 35 games: Nevada (we root for anyone against RichRod), Utah State, San Diego State, Ball State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Boise State, Fresno State, Western Kentucky, San Jose State, Cincinnati, UCLa, Louisiana-Monroe, Rutgers, Texas Tech, Air Force, West Virginia, Navy, Oregon State, TCU, Vanderbilt, USC, Tulsa, LSU, Northwestern, Oklahoma State, Georgia, Stanford (in the Rose Bowl), Florida State (in the Orange Bowl), Florida (in the Sugar Bowl), Oregon (in the Fiesta Bowl), Oklahoma (in the Cotton Bowl), Ole Miss and Kent State.

Michigan has the most unique perspective towards the national championship game of ANY team in the nation. Not only did the Wolverines play both, on the road (and lost) but also faced the number three-ranked team in the AP (Ohio State). In fact, aside from Iowa, Illinois and UMass, every U-M opponent earned a bowl bid.

The Irish, despite SIX Michigan turnovers, could’ve lost the 13-6 outcome to Michigan, but escaped. There is NO escaping Alabama’s speed, talent and offensive line. It will be a double-figured victory for Roll Tide.

Michigan, for itself, will be involved in one of the three best matchups of the bowl season (Cotton and Fiesta being the others) and might have to play for conference pride as only Northwestern could be considered a viable choice to win over Mississippi State.

The strengths and problems for the Wolverines will still be in place – lack of a consistent running game and the unknown status of Denard Robinson as a passer. This will be a game-winning field goal outcome in the making with … Michigan winning 27-24.

But be smart about your bowl game viewing to avoid the chance to simply having your head explode from ESPN Bowl Week overload.

2013 Baseball Hall of Fame nominees on the ballot

The candidates for the Class of 2013 to enter the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. has officially been announced and the debating on sports TV and talk radio has already begun. I know I will get the same arguments, made annually, about one player’s stats, another’s eyeball tests and someone else’s computerized statistical analysis – none of which means a hill of beans!

In the end, it’s up to the likes, dislikes and prejudices of the Baseball Writers of America – the arbiters of this decision.

My list falls into 5-6 categories (absolutely, gotta think about this one hard, sorry, but no, hell no!, I thought they were still playing? And then the Less-than-Fab Five).

Here’s my breakdown:

Absolutely – Craig Biggio, Jeff Bagwell, Jack Morris, Mike Piazza, Lee Smith, Alan Trammel;

Gotta think about this one hard – Bernie Williams, Curt Schilling, Dale Murphy, Larry Walker, Edgar Martinez, Don Mattingly;

Sorry, but no – Tim Raines, David Wells, Steve Finley, Fred McGriff, Julio Franco;

Hell no! – Royce Clayton, Jeff Conine, Shawn Green, Roberto Hernandez, Ryan Klesko, Kenny Lofton, Jose Mesa, Reggie Sanders, Rondell White, Woody Williams, Sandy Alomar, Jr.;

I thought they were still playing? – Jeff Cirillo, Mike Stanton, Todd Walker, Aaron Sele;

Less-than-Fab Five – Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Rafael Palmeiro, Sammy Sosa.

In my mind, “no brainer” votes go to Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell of the Houston Astros (the only TRUE Astros to have qualified), Mike Piazza (greatest hitting catcher in MLB history), Jack Morris (stop this nonsense about ERA; he was a four-time World Series champion with 254 wins and 1991 World Series MVP and if that isn’t good enough to get it, NO ONE should ever be voted in), Lee Smith (478 saves over 18 seasons and only one man has more and Trevor Hoffman WILL be in the Hall), and Alan Trammell (played the hardest position at an All-Star caliber for one team – six-time All-Star, four time Golden Glove winner, three Silver Sluggers and 1984 World Series MVP). ‘Nuff said!

Under “gotta think about this one,” each player, in his own way, has the numbers and performed very well (even past the point of excellent to greatness at times) to deserve serious consideration. The problem stems from proper value and how does one adjust roles within the game from league to league.

Seattle’s Edgar Martinez was the premier designated hitter of his time (perhaps of ALL-time) yet it (technically) is not a full-time role since it does not involve fielding. Now, whose fault is that? Certainly, not Martinez; he played where he was told to be and was a standout at it. For several years, he was THE best at HIS position – major criteria (in the past) for induction.

Yet he is down-graded as a baseball “player” because of the major difference between leagues. It’s not fair and the argument will grow even louder when Boston’s David Ortiz becomes eligible. His dominance is undisputed and his numbers are more than worthy.

If Curt Schilling is voted into the Hall, it will be based, for the most part, on post-season excellence; his career numbers are very good, but other hurlers, never to be considered, have better (David Wells is such an example). Should Schilling get the call, then Bernie Williams, who played as well as anyone in World Series history, should be right behind him for a notification. And HIS regular season numbers are far better than many of those enshrined.

I believe two-time recipients of the Most Valuable Player award should get far more serious consideration than Dale Murphy has been accorded. And Don Mattingly was a premier player of his day – multiple All-Star, batting champion, leader, icon.

I’m sorry, but really good players, like Timmy Raines and Fred McGriff, are just NOT Hall of Fame worthy and numbers don’t count here. They are more in line with the kind of Fantasy Baseball choices one would make today; you want their stats but they are NOT your first, second or even fifth-round draft selections.

Obviously, the last grouping is the five players, in recent baseball history, with more than enough credentials to enter Cooperstown except for their admitted, or judicially-disclosed, use of steroids. As more and more and more players are being “outed” for continued usage, the question to be asked is how can anyone simply ignore the numbers that remain in the record books (without intentional footnotes),produced by these individuals, in an era when usage seemed to be the norm, not the exception.

It’s fine to be all “holier-than-thou” sitting in the cheap seats, or in the case of the BBWA, in the press box, but the danger becomes losing an entire generation of the sport without irrefutable, conclusive proof of complete guilt, and that others already enshrined weren’t as guilty. Since its ALL perception, it’s a trap door waiting to be spring upon the fans.

This discussion is like anything else – it fills time and kills brain cells, but …is ALWAYS interesting. The new members will be announced (on MLB Network) on January 9.

Michigan v. Ohio State: Dr. Fickell and Mr. Hyde

One year ago, Luke Fickell, carrying the tag of interim coach, was the victim of Michigan’s emotional win in Ann Arbor, beating Ohio State for the first time in several years.

On Saturday, returning to his old job as defensive coordinator under a new regime (led by former Florida coach Urban Meyer, who took the Columbus job after a year’s sabbatical for “medical” reasons … and was supposed to be in the TV booth for that encounter in Ann Arbor), Fickell exacted his revenge upon the Wolverines with a masterful set of adjustments at halftime.

With Michigan leading 21-20, thanks to a lighting-striking 67-yard bolt from U-M senior Denard Robinson, Fickell must have yelled, “Enough is enough! HE’s NEVER going to throw the football!” to his troops underneath old Ohio Stadium.

The changes he ordered worked to perfection, leading to no Wolverine second-half points and a 26-21 Buckeye victory to end the 2012 season with a 12-0 mark. Michigan now sits at 8-4 and must wait eight days to discover where its bowl destination and opponent will be.

Fickell’s work was made more special knowing that his top defensive player, senior end John Simon, was out for the game with a knee-leg injury. But in the second half, Fickell chose to make sure two players were always shadowing Robinson whenever he touched the ball – usually linebacker Zach Boren and safety Ryan Shazier.

It worked! Robinson, who has 124 yards rushing on six first-half carries, only ran four more times and lost two yards in the final two quarters. In fact, Michigan ran for a total of minus-4 yards on the ground in the second half, as no one seemed capable of getting a single yard at critical times.

Example: sophomore Thomas Rawls ran the ball five times, losing one yard, getting three yards on two carries and nothing on two other attempts … and he was to have been the “power” back out of the remaining running corps.

In soccer, a key statistic is the amount of time one team actually possesses the ball (he who controls the ball, controls the action presumably in the other team’s end of the pitch). In football, it is field position which can tell much of the story and, in the second half, field position totally favored Ohio State.

Michigan ran exactly ZERO (none, zip, zilch) plays in the Buckeye side of the 50; Ohio State ran 34 out of 40 plays in Michigan’s half. Folks, that sums up the second half and game for Michigan.

Ohio State simply exploited Michigan season-long weakness in its rushing attack – between the guards. By collapsing, and actually pushing that trio BACK into the backfield, it simply gummed up ALL the Michigan offensive works, including the passing attempts. For most of the second half, Gardner was scrambling around and never actually threw a single pass with both feet planted.

While Gardner will be a feared passer in his senior season, he clearly demonstrated his inexperience as just a three-game starter, fumbling and throwing a poorly-directed pass for an interception on Michigan’s final two drives of the game. Except the word “drive” is misleading since no possession went for more than 23 yards in the second half.

The key play of the game happened early in the third quarter when the Wolverines were unable  to convert on a fourth-and-3 at their own 47, with Robinson gobbled up like so much of the turkey consumed two days earlier. Afterwards, he blamed himself for taking the wrong read, but in truth, the blocking was not there and the play was doomed at the handoff.

On offense, Ohio State continued to punish Michigan’s season-long weakness – between the ends. Unfortunately, the players with the greatest girth – senior tackle Will Campbell (6-5, 308) and junior nose tackle Quinton Washington (6-4, 300) – were also the most vulnerable to straight-ahead blocking and running.

OSU halfback Carlos Hyde, who did his best Beanie Wells impression, did not venture outside the ends to gain most of his 146 yards. His longest run was 17 yards, but he also had five other efforts over 10 yards … and he was NOT tackle for a single yard of loss!

Quarterback Braxton Miller was fairly effective as a passer (going 14-of-18 for 189 yards) but, for the most part, was no Denard Robinson as a rusher – getting just 57 net yards (and sacked for 51 yards lost). In fact, subtract a 42-yard scamper, Miller only had 15 net yards on the other 19 tries.

NO, it was Hyde who did the damage; only two other Buckeyes even touched the football (one was a flanker reverse) – time after time after time …

So, Ohio State, on its probation (“rebuilding”) year went 12-0. No one on the roster was due to Meyer’s brilliance as a recruiter; he inherited talent and thanks to a mostly soft schedule, the Buckeyes went unblemished.

And for this, apparently OSU is going to celebrate as if NOTHING happened in the prior 12 months. The team received a trophy for winning the Leaders Division, although ineligible to play in Saturday’s Big Ten title contest, and word has it each player will get championship rings (for a division title? How much is that worth in tattoo prices?).

If a school is on probation for major infractions, it should be grateful it was allowed to play – forget trophies and rings and other baubles for breaking the rules. Shame on the conference for being any part of that!

The most irritating thing about the entire contest on Saturday was the repeated discussion (in that TV booth) that the Buckeyes, despite volumes of NCAA rules infractions heaped upon the program, forcing the myriad of penalties (including the 2012-13 bowl ban and nullification of its chance to win the Big Ten title this season), are STILL under some far-fetched consideration for a national championship by the voters in the Associated Press poll.

People need to take heed: ANY journalist who actually casts a single vote for this team – IN ANY CAPACITY (1 to 25) – should be themselves banned from print or airwaves! And sports fans need to tell their employers exactly how they feel.

All that talk and action does is to “justify” cheating, and the kind of arrogant rule-breaking and cover-up conducted by the Ohio State hierarchy, led by ex-coach Jim Tressel. And it was a sad sight to honesty and the other schools who do NOT condone such behavior to see Tressel given a standing ovation by the Ohio Stadium crowd between quarters in the first half and a ride on ex-players’ shoulders.

The team honored was the 2002 national title squad, which included a running back named Maurice Clarett, who broke almost fistfuls of NCAA rules, and enough laws to end up in jail … and he was Tressel’s special recruit that season.

Just for a moment, let us review the case of one Mr. Clarett: According to Wikipedia, com, “In December 2002, he publicly maligned OSU officials for not paying for him to fly home for the funeral of a friend and accused administrators of lying when they said he had not filed the necessary paperwork. In July 2003, Clarett became the center of an academic scandal when a teaching assistant told the New York Times that Clarett had received preferential treatment from a professor; the investigation did not find sufficient evidence of academic misconduct.”

He then was “suspended for the 2003 athletic year after he was charged with filing a false police report. Clarett had filed a false claim that more than $10,000 in clothing, CDs, cash and stereo equipment were stolen from a car he borrowed from a local dealership in September 2003. Athletic Director Andy Geiger stated that Clarett also took in special benefits totaling approximately $20,000, and repeatedly misled investigators. Clarett later pleaded guilty to a lesser criminal charge (failure to aid a law enforcement official) in that incident.”

On January 1, 2006, police went searching for Clarett in relation to two armed robbery outside the Opium Lounge dance club in Columbus. “Allegedly, with a .45-caliber handgun, Clarett robbed two people and then escaped in a white SUV with two unidentified persons. Clarett reportedly made off with only a cell phone, valued at $150, belonging to one of the victims.”

Then on Aug. 9, 2006, he was arrested, again, in Columbus, after a traffic violation and subsequent chase. Police found an assortment of weapons, including a loaded AK-47 variant and two handguns.

Clarett became verbally and physically abusive during the arrest, forcing the police to mace and use a taser to subdue Clarett, who was wearing kevlar body armor at the time.

On Sept. 18, 2006, Clarett filed a guilty plea bargain to the charges that involved the Jan. 1 and Aug. 9 events and was sentenced to 7-1/2 years in prison.

And for his part, the man that brought Clarett to Columbus, sheepishly said, “I hope it’s not true, but beyond that, I don’t know much, but my reaction is, I was sad.”

Clarett was finally released to a halfway house in 2010; there is no word if he was among the returnees at Ohio Stadium to hoist Tressel for adulation.

That might be everything anyone needs to know about the participants in this rivalry.

Michigan-Iowa: A tribute to Denard Robinson

A good screenwriter could not have scripted Senior Day at Michigan Stadium in a more dramatic and satisfying way. Before a sellout crowd for the 244th consecutive time, it was a chance for the Wolverine Nation to honor the 23 members of the Class of 2012.

But there was one special member upon whom all eyes were focused. So when longtime quarterback Denard Robinson trotted onto the field, lining up as a starting tailback for the first time since Nov. 14, 2009 (vs. Wisconsin), and people knowing it would be his final footsteps in the Big House, he received a well-deserved standing ovation.

It was the crowd’s way of saying “Thank you” for the young man’s accomplishments in a U-M uniform, and much, much more. For more than any individual, he is responsible for the resurgence of Michigan football over the past four years – for bringing the university off its own “cliff.”

When Robinson arrived as Rich Rodriguez’s star recruit (having convinced Robinson to switch his commitment from Urban Meyer’s Florida), the program was sinking into blandness and possible mediocrity. It was a sub-.500 squad with no identity (other than confused all-too-often with a porous defense and complicated offense).

In stepped the young man with the dreadlocks, who took the starting job as a sophomore, and overnight, brought the national spotlight to Ann Arbor with his blazing speed, last-second victories and stunning upbeat personality. Within weeks, fans across America knew who “Shoelace” was and why.

He became the face of the football program, and was the face of the entire athletic department. He was seen everywhere – in Crisler Arena in full-throated support of the hoopsters (who also seemed to suddenly improve coinciding with Robinson’s arrival). And since the economic engine is driven by football revenue, people buying no. 16 jerseys by the boatload were making things hum like a perfectly-tuned barbershop quartet.

His statistics will be the new yardsticks by which future Wolverines are measured; others across the country, who carry similar abilities, will be judged by what Robinson did in his time here. In 20 years, I’d hope his uniform becomes a “legacy number” to honor all his accomplishments.

No, he never won a national championship, but he did win a BCS game, the Sugar Bowl. He didn’t win a Heisman Trophy, but he was nominated as a sophomore. He didn’t win every game he started, but he never ever quit on any teammate!

There might be many Denard “haters” across the land and I feel sorry for them; they will not truly appreciate what they’ve had to watch for the past three years until he is no longer residing or playing in Ann Arbor.

So this is a chance, one last time, to toast a young man who has performed (on and off the field) as a true MICHIGAN MAN!

As was clearly shown last Saturday, in the easy 45-17 Wolverine win over Iowa, junior Devin Gardner is in control of the offense as its quarterback. His three short rushing touchdowns and three additional scoring passes fully announced that 2013 will be the Noontime in the Gardner of Good and Great.

Until the fourth quarter, it was a perfect performance by Gardner, against a Hawkeye defense that did not show its normal grit and determination. In fact, it was the worst Iowa team in a decade, knotting the fifth straight loss.

Gardner completed 18 of 23 passes (just one interception) for 314 yards while leading Michigan to touchdowns on its first six possessions of the game. Robinson, for his part, added 98 yards on 13 carries while catching two of Gardner’s aerials for 24 yards.

After allowing 10 first-half points, the defense, led by two freshmen, James Ross III and Joe Bolden (with 14 solo tackles between them), performed at its usual high standard. It is such a shocking thing to believe that a unit, rated next-to-last four years ago, is now one of the country’s best.

But there is one regular season encounter remaining with the Buckeyes in Columbus. With only three starts under his belt, and not yet a viable running threat (37 yards on nine carries, but no sacks or runs for loss against Iowa), Gardner’s arm alone probably cannot carry the day against an Ohio State team using this coming game as its “post-season” bowl affair.

Add Robinson to the backfield rotation and it’s a new ballgame for the offense, and a new headache for opposing defensive coordinators to scheme. His presence is now more important than ever due to the loss of Fitzgerald Toussaint, with a serious leg injury. While Toussaint wasn’t terribly effective all season long, it reduces the number of power backs at Michigan’s disposal.

Lord knows what trickery Al Borges will find in his playbook and no one knows exactly how Gardner and Robinson will be used, deployed … or what … against OSU. But a two-headed monster is better than one; and Michigan fans might see the magic of the past (Shoelace in all his untied glory), and promise of the future (The Rifleman), combine to win in Columbus for the first time since 2000.

 

Wolverines not yet out of options

What’s that old saying that applies all too often? “Better to be lucky than good!”

It is exactly the right words to use in describing Michigan’s 38-31 home overtime victory over a gritty Northwestern squad last Saturday. The Wolverines, by any standard of measure, were NOT the best team on the field; Northwestern showed greater determination … until the very last seconds when a Hail Mary pass was miraculously completed and until the Wildcats just ran out of gas in overtime.

Otherwise, we’d be taking about Michigan’s prospects for winning the Oshkosh B’Gosh Bowl against Lord-knows-Who out of the Missouri Valley conference. Instead, the Wolverines still harbor hopes (albeit feint) for a spot in the Big 10 Championship game on Dec. 1.

Michigan’s inability to adjust to the Wildcat option offense, or react properly when a substitute to a pass-only quarterback was made by Northwestern, was the road to ruin until just a few seconds to play. When Roy Roundtree successfully controlled a Devin Gardner heave, thanks to hours of practice in tip drills, at the NW 9, it allowed Brendan Gibbons to punch through a 26-yard field with three seconds left in regulation for a 31-31 tie.

And following Gardner’s 1-yard run, on a planned third-down bootleg, to push ahead in overtime, Northwestern simply could not muster the up front line push (present all game long) over four downs … and that was that for U-M’s third consecutive overtime victory. Ironically, it WAS Northwestern’s first overtime defeat … ever.

I cannot say enough about Northwestern’s performance, which reflected the attitude and tone set by Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald (who at 37 is the second longest tenured conference head coach behind …? Kirk Ferentz at Iowa). For the first time all season, Northwestern rallied after surrendering a fourth-quarter lead, and after Gardner threw an ill-advised (and poorly-executed) pass for an interception with 3:37 to play, it was all over … spare for those 18 itty-bitty seconds.

By the way, a word to the wise – those Wildcat uniforms … didn’t anyone tell you that big people should NEVER wear horizontal stripes? Make you look “bigger” than you really are. At least, you dumped the purple pants for the road uniform.

While it was nice to win, there remain too many questions about the Wolverines performance and probably no more time to get answers or solutions. First and foremost on that list is the lack of a consistent running game, hampered by the absence of senior quarterback Denard Robinson.

Despite Gardner’s quality performances over the past two weeks, Michigan is NOT a better offensive attack when Robinson is missing in action. Robinson’s running ability is simply superior to Gardner’s (who isn’t bad, but doesn’t the same instinct to escape and find long gains as does Denard).

With the group of non-prolific runners behind the U-M quarterback, any added rushing offense must come from that player, and no one in the country does it better than Robinson. So this talk about any quarterback controversy, or who should be the number one signal-caller if both men are healthy, is nonsense.

Against Northwestern, the running attack was as anemic as any game since the Alabama affair to start the season. If you scratch that 50-yard run by Fitzgerald Toussaint in the second quarter (which was wasted when he fumbled away the ball upon being tackled), Michigan never averaged more than three yards per carry.

The front trio of guards Ricky Barnum and Patrick Omameh and center Elliott Mealer were being mugged and overmatched for most of the game. And that lack of performance by the run blockers was candidly reflected in the second-half play calling – no rushing attempts in the third quarter and just four in the fourth quarter out of only 22 total snaps from center.

That is NOT a winning formula. Luckily, Iowa is not as solid as Northwestern … but Ohio State IS, and will be a major end-of-term examination of how far the Wolverines have come in 2012.

But now the question, that truthfully must be asked, is whether Robinson plays again this regular season. It is obvious something more than a mere bump on the funny bone is keeping Robinson off the field. And if that IS the case, Gardner needs to be added to the regular rushing attack, not just gaining yardage while scrambling away from would-be tacklers.

Michigan sits at 7-3 overall and 4-1 in the Legends Division, tied with Nebraska but, in truth, one game behind, and with time and games running out. The Cornhuskers, who rallied AGAIN from a fourth-quarter deficit, only has games remaining with Minnesota and at Iowa (Michigan’s opponent this Saturday); both should be presumed victories, allowing them to be in Indianapolis against Wisconsin.

A reeling Hawkeye club, having lost four in a row, will be the next Wolverine “victim” when the senior class of 2012 says goodbye to a grateful Big House audience. Iowa, to be crude about it, sucks, and is one of several Big 10 teams facing no post-season bowl experience. Aside from Michigan State, Iowa is the biggest bust in the Big 10 this season. The Hawks sit at 5-5 and unless they can upset U-M or Nebraska, they ain’t goin’ bowling at all (for the record, Sparty is in the same hot seat).

It has been a weak year for the conference and the school with the best record – Ohio State – has chosen to waste its season while on NCAA probation (meaning the Michigan game is all that she wrote for the 2012 Buckeye season). Otherwise, OSU would have its nose placed squarely in the middle of the BCS title game talk (ahead of Notre Dame and Kansas State).

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A couple of more “ChuckNotes:” My God, what are some school thinking when it comes to uniforms? Just God-awful. The latest violators are in Stillwater, Okla., when the Oklahoma State Cowboys appeared, at home, with these dirty gray shirts that looked like someone accidentally mixed in a pair of bleeding blue socks with the laundry; they screamed for a gallon of pre-wash!

I know this is perpetrated by the various sports apparel companies to sell to unsuspecting supporters, but, REALLY?!?! Stop mixing rugby with college football (don’t even get me started on the so-called fraudulent NFL throwbacks)! The classic look, like a basic black tuxedo for a man or a simple black dress on a woman (with a string of pearls), is always the best route.

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I continue to wonder aloud why statistics during college overtime is accepted within the game stats. By rule, whenever the clock does not run, it is not an “official” statistical play, except for point-after scoring (and the yardage for those plays don’t count).

However, playing on a 25-yard field, in overtime it ALL is added to the regulation total, often over-inflating everything (especially passing touchdowns). The NCAA needs to recalculate that aspect of its record books.

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At the start of the Michigan game, I must admit to having my clicker on full surf, for the first series. I kept switching over to The Longhorn Network (which I receive on my Fios cable package) to see Texas’ first offensive series, and its first-play dedication to the memory of the late Longhorn coach Darrell K. Royal.

In this state, Royal was a revered as Bo Schembechler was in the state of Michigan, and his death last week diverted thoughts from most Texans away from the election onto a period of college football history when the ‘Horns were perennial national championship contenders (and earned four of those titles).

It was made public what Texas would do on its first play, but after Iowa State pinned UT back at its own 6, no one knew if current Coach Mack Brown would keep the promise to lineup in the old wishbone offense (that Royal and his assistant, the late Emory Ballard, who later took it to a successful Texas A&M stint).

But Texas did what it said it would, the crowd to pay tribute and then watched as Brown pulled a 2012 twist on the 1960s formation – calling for a flea-flicker going from the halfback, back to quarterback David Ash in the end zone, who hurled a 43-yard completion to Mike Davis.

According to many, the cheers were deafening and tears flowed.

Michigan never got such an opportunity to honor Bo upon his passing (at home) and that is regrettable. It happened on a Friday and the next evening, U-M played at Ohio State (whose band, I must admit, DID pay a classy tribute to a native son).

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Senior Jordan Kovacs was bestowed with the fourth retired number as tribute, wearing number 11 for the last 2-3 games of his collegiate career in honor of the Wistert Brothers (Frances, Albert, Alvin).

Still waiting to see if Michigan will do anything in 2013 with Tom Harmon’s retired 98.