Michigan is BACK

Right now Michigan is riding on the best win streak besides the undefeated teams with seven straight wins since their first two lost at the beginning of the season. They are also undefeated in their conference along side their arch nemesis Ohio State. I said at the beginning if Michigan can beat all their next opponents after Oregon that can get into a BCS bowl mostly likely. Mike Hart really lead his and coach out of hell in a very sad 0-2 start. After all these upsets and Michigan's seven straight wins they have finally got themselves back in the ranking at #12 in the BCS standing and #15 in the AP top 25. As everybody can see alot of great teams this season have one, two, and in some cases three lost (Florida and Kentucky). Even #4 ranked Oregon who beat Michigan has a lost.

Right now Michigan has three games left, currently #1 Ohio State is at the end of the schedule. Which if things going as expected that will be the biggest Big 10 conference showdown this season and also decide a few positions in the final BCS standing. I believe Michigan can get to Ohio State still undefeated in the conference and beat Ohio State

Today they visit Michigan State for what sure should be another tough one. At this point in the season every next game is their most important game and a team is only as good as there last game. With Hart and Henne back from injury Michigan is strong and they control their own faith right now. On paper Michigan can and should beat Michigan State.

Ohio State is Untouchable

I personally do not like Ohio State. I hate when people jump on a bandwagon because a certain team is doing good and then act like they have been rooting for them all along. I have to give props to OSU though because year in and year out, they do have a respectable football program and whether or not I want to admit it, they are untouchable this year.
Being ranked number 1 in the BCS, OSU has talent coming out of its ears. Today, Ohio State had a challenge ahead of them facing number twenty-one ranked Wisconsin. Number twenty-one doesn't sound to hot really, but Wisconsin has been hot lately and with a record of 7-3, OSU had to watch out for them!
The game was a pretty good game until the fourth quarter came along, and Wisconsin just flat couldn't handle OSU anymore. The game was tied up at the end of the third 17-17, but in the fourth quarter the Buckeyes outscored the Badgers 21-0. Ohio State running back Chris Wells scored three times in the second half, helping the Buckeyes overcome the tough time they were having with the Badgers. Wells is a tough running back with his explosive power, and his ability to change directions on a dime. He really impressed me today with his running ability. Not only did the offense impress me, the defense really had their game face on also. They held the Badgers to 12 yards on 37 attempts. I mean, that is ridiculous! How can a division one football team really rush the ball over three times more than the yards they pick up. Ohio States defense really came to play today!
I don't necessarily think the Badgers rank will really fall after the loss today because frankly, the Buckeyes are so good. If they can beat number twelve Michigan next week, their bowl game situation will improve. If they do not come out firing on all cylinders next week, their future will suffer severely. Ohio State has everything in the bag! They have a perfect season so far, and will most likely dominate the bowl game they qualify for. It really pisses me off that Ohio State can really be as good as they are although I guess they deserve their success.

Will This Be The End?

The Notre Dame football team has a 43 game winning streak over Navy. Will it finally come to an end this coming Saturday when Navy comes to South Bend? That's what is on every body's mind who has to do with the two programs. Without a doubt this is the one year that ND is the most vulnerable in. If Navy is ever to play a good game in the next ten years this is it. The Irish have gotten so bad the news networks seem to have stopped talking about them. That's hard to do.

It's been 44 years since their last loss against Navy, think Ara. I think it will be a little bit tougher to crack the streak then what people think. Though the defense might not show it through statistics I do believe that their rush defense is probably the best of all categories. Though they give up more rushing then passing yards realize this: they get blown out of every game real quick. What does this mean? It means that after the first quarter and a half, the other team just runs the ball in an effort to coast to another easy victory after savagely beating the secondary. However, the Navy offense isn't really a pass heavy team, or even a light passing team. They are run, run, run. That's why I think the Irish will continue the streak and with the team getting older next year, the streak will go on for awhile. A low scoring affair will bring the final score to: 16-7 Irish.

Size is irrelevant!!!

Most people know this weekend is one of the biggest games of the season in the NFL with the only two undefeated teams facing each other. Defending Superbowl Champions are facing the New England Patriots and while most people think the Patriots will win because of size and athletic ability, the Patriots have something in store.

5 foot 8 inch safety, Bob Sanders, from the Indianapolis Colts is the littlest guy on the field although his size has no reflection on his ability on the field. He reads the defense like a book, hits like a semi, and runs like a gazelle. Most critics say the Colts do not have big enough players. Even though the Colts may be undersized, the speed they bring to the field is incredible. Defensive lineman Dwight Freeny is not the biggest lineman in the NFL, nor the strongest, although he demands two to three blockers every time the ball is snapped because of his agility and speed. This opens up the rest of the lineman and also the linebackers to sneak in and get the quarterback because his presence. If the quarterback does get the pass in the air, he has to weave the ball through the secondary which includes Bob Sanders, Kelvin Hayden, and Antoine Bethea. The hard hitting of the Colts secondary intimidates most, and to be honest, the defensive work that they have done has really shown. It is obvious because of the ability to read the defense, and for a high percentage of the time, have most everyone covered.

Defense is not the only place the Colts are undersized. On offense, superstar Marvin Harrison is tiny. He is not super tall, cannot jump super high, and is not super strong, although he can run his route unlike anyone in the league and that is why he constantly brings many defenders on him. The defense is forced to cover Marvin, giving Reggie Wayne room to work to get himself a passing lane for Peyton to slide the ball through. This combination that the Colts have is unstoppable. The Patriots are really in trouble this weekend because I am sure the head coach Tony Dungy has prepared the Colts to dominate the Patiots.

Gotta love the fans

So i was at a the Purdue, Northwestern game last saturday, peacefully watching the game. When all of the sudden some jackass 5 rows up shouts something at the field. Naturally i don't really pay attention, but he seems to be repeatingly shouting stuff. So as the game goes on i start to pick up on what he is saying and non of the comments he says make any sense. Now it could be that he was drunk, but this guy knew nothing of football and was talking as if he did. Example: So its 4th and 4 on Purdues own 35 yard line. Now, the last time the Boilers were stuck with 4th down the went for it. One big difference from that 4th down to this one was that the boilers were on Northwesterns 35 so it would have been a long field goal or a short punt, so going for the first down made sense then. So anyways this guy is just yelling at Joe Tiller saying he's such an idiot and he doesn't know how to coach. All i can think is this is one of those kids in high school that would rather sit in the stands with the girls then go on the field and play football or any sport for that matter. So thats just one example, another would be i was watching a bears game. Why i was watching a bears game i don't know, but thats beside the fact, so the team that they were playing wouldn't kick the ball to Devin Hester, for obvious reasons. So after the game i ask a friend, who happends to be Bears "fan", and ask him what he thought of the game. Thinking that he would give me a some what respectable answer he stats,"man i wish the other kicker wouldn't have kicked so bad, would could have used Devin Hester." I just put my head down and walked away. So i might just be the only one who hates this but if not i'd love to hear about other dumb a$$ fans who know so much about football.

Unknown DIII college now in the record books!!!!

Normally, no one gives any care towards division three football games. Last Saturday Trinity beat Millsaps College giving them national attention for the play that ended the game. Being down 22-24, Trinity had the ball on the thirty-nine yard line with only two seconds remaining. Everyone in the crowd thought they knew what was coming next which would be a hail-mary pass. As the ball was hiked, Trinity quarterback Blake Barmore looked deep and he found no one was open. He threw a short pass to receiver Shawn Thompson hoping that he would get into the end zone giving Trinity the win. Well, after 15 laterals later, the ball ended up in the end zone giving Trinity the win.

This is the most amazing play ever because of the elusive ability that Trinity showed escaping the defense. To be honest, when watching the play, it looked as if Trinity was playing hot potato! This play reminded me of the 1982 play that the University of California ran against Standford to win the game when the band ran out onto the field. While watching the replay of the play that won the game, it looked as if Trinity was in bad shape many times, although they seemed to squeak the ball out and throw it to another teammate. Millsaps College quit on the play! I think many of the players thought the play was over, although Trinity would not give up. Fans do not really care about a division three college, although this play was incredible. Kudos to Trinity for not giving up. To find the video, you can check it out at youtube.com or at this link: http://youtube.com/watch?v=VrI52_2GaZI.

Let The Good Times Roll

The Detroit Lions are five and two, that is "cinco y dos" in Spanish. That is some unfamiliar territory for the lowly Lions of the twenty-first century. Things are starting to click in Mo-Town where a newly healthy Kevin Jones has provided the pass heavy Lions with a little zag to their zig in the run game. This past Sunday's win over the Bears showcased KJ when he went over 100 yards rushing for the first time this year. Along with KJ getting to his peak, Jon Kitna's solid play continues as he picks from any of his talented receivers. It seems that any given week one of the pass catchers can have a breakout performance. The league is quickly finding out that it is hard to game plan for an offense that has this many weapons.

The downside to this surprise team is that they seem to forget to come to some games. When they have lost it has been ugly. The first loss came in week three when they went to "The Link" and played the Eagles where they got obliterated 56-21 in an offensive assault on the Detroit defense. The second loss was not much better as they lost at the Nation's Capital to the Washington Redskins. They lost 34-3.

What seems to be the difference this year then in year's past is the coaching. Head Coach Rod Marinelli keeps the moral and chemistry on an even keel. They don't get to high nor do they get to low. The Lions also had a roster makeover at the request of their head coach. They got rid of the bad attitudes and what seemed to be the cancers of the team. In addition to getting an attitude adjustment and other locker room issues the coaching has also changed on the field. It seems like everybody is pulling their weight. O-coordinator Mike Martz is showing what he can do with weapons. D-coordinator Joe Barry is showing his knowledge of HC Marinelli's Tampa 2 system. Even the Special Teams coordinator is pulling his weight as Stan Kwan came up with a way to put returner Devin Hester in check, keeping his big plays to a minimum.

The wins have been both ugly and a thing of beauty. At this point I think any Lion fan will take a win either way. It just seems they are playing beginning till the end in every game, like a real team. With this past weeks win against Chicago they not only swept the season series against them but stayed undefeated in the NFC North, which will help if playoffs come down to tie-breakers. Wait...did I just mention the Lions and the playoffs in the same sentence. It's called drinking the kool-aid. I think I just took my first sip. Yes I finally, not only hope for wins but, believe that the Lions can win games. They have the coaching, players, and now the fans to make a real run at the playoffs.

Knock on wood...