Team 137 - Game 10 - Michigan vs. Iowa

Nine weeks in and Big Blue is rollin’ … undefeated through a weaker-than-average schedule, comfortable with its positioning in the polls, and focused only on the upcoming opponent, just as Coach Jimbo preaches.  Strap in, folks, as this movie is starting to get good, and the fight scene at the end is going to be epic … it takes place in Columbus, and it will require fresh popcorn.

Michigan rolled Maryland 59-3 in a one-sided ass-romp last weekend, and with the W against former Wolverine D.J. Durkin’s squad, Big Blue is 9-0 (6-0 in the Big Ten) and remains ranked #3 in the land.  This weekend the boys board the Big Blue Khaki Bus once again for a road trip to the scenic Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City … ah yes, the beauty of our nation’s Midwestern cornfields in the late-fall crisp air … 

… right, something like that … so says the guy from the Good Coast … who originally hailed from the Windy City and thus a shout out to the World Champion Chicago Cubs … hot damn, the best baseball I’ve ever watched, the most exciting setting for a Fall Classic and a town that stressed, prepared, kept faith and ultimately celebrated in the classiest of ways.  Game 7 was an instant classic, and the Cubs and the city of Chicago celebrated in grand fashion with 5+ million people joining an event that earned the designation of the seventh-largest gathering of humans in history.  And to cap it all off, Bill Murray’s appearance on SNL with a handful of the Cubs’ rock stars performing Go, Cubs, Go in front of a national audience to commemorate an occasion some thought may never come (including John Oliver from a memorable Daily Show episode  circa 2008). 2016 as a whole has been a clusterfuck wrapped inside a shitshow tossed haphazardly in the overhead cabin of a Spirit Airlines regional jet, but the Cubs winning the World Series was a bright spot and demonstrated once again the power of sport and the tremendous impact it has on the human spirit.

Sorry, back to football … let’s unpack the Terrapin beating and then look ahead to the Hawkeyes in the only important game on our calendar … the next one.

Michigan v. Maryland – The Recap

Michigan dominated this game from every angle … no surprise given the boys played a high-school team from crab country.  The offense clicked on all cylinders and the defense absolutely stifled anything Maryland tried to do with the ball.  Big Blue ended the game with at least 50 points for the fourth time this season, and according to the guys in the stats booth, UM has as many 50-point wins against FBS opponents this season (3) as it had during the entire RichRod and Fat Man eras combined.

The Michigan Offense

The Maize and Blue posted 660 yards of total offense and scored on its first three possessions on drives of 91 yards, 84 yards and 80 yards – that’s right, this one wasn’t close from the start.  

Wilton Speight had a career day, throwing for 362 yards and 3 TDs (two passing and one rushing), and his 292 yards through two quarters set a Michigan record for first-half performance by a QB.

De’Veon Smith continued his beastly ground assault with 3 rushing toads and a total of 114 yards on 19 carries.  And the pass-catchers did their job as well.  Jake Butt caught 5 balls for 76 yards and became UM’s all-time leader in career receiving yards for a TE (1,521 yards), and Amara Darboh added another four catches for 74 yards and a score.

UM OC Tim Drevno is in control of this unit, with of course Big Brother Jim watching over his shoulder like Trump watching Melania vote – nope, I’m not going there … I have thoughts on what’s transpired this week (big surprise), and I know you don’t particularly want to hear them, so that’s fine … fuck, ok, I’m going there, but just in a toe-dipping way as nobody wants this to get out of control.  suffice to say, the sun rose Wednesday morning and it even set last night … I have no time for those who cried themselves to sleep Tuesday night fearful of what to tell their kids when they awoke … I understand the wide array of concerns and we should all just take note that we had the chance to choose from between two mockeries of political candidates ... USA! USA! USA!  Enough already … we move on and we know that we’re the best country in the world for an array of reasons – just ask Will McAvoy … sorry, but that scene is just so good that it deserves mention whenever the opportunity arises – and that fact won’t change anytime soon (notwithstanding my mother’s fears to the contrary).  

Speaking of Aaron Sorkin, while I love the man’s way with words and his ability to entangle believable characters in real-world settings, his Vanity Fair piece is just another example of this over-reactionary diarrhea of the keyboard … yes, the new guy in the Oval Office is, in Sorkin’s words, a “douche nozzle,” but markets rallied in part because people understand that Campaign Douche Nozzle is likely way different than President Douche Nozzle, and anyone who believes he’s actually going to be able to ship all Muslims out of the country could benefit from sitting in my son’s 7th-grade History and Government class.  We live in strange times, indeed … and as Sorkin reminds, America’s best moments often come right after the type of dire straits in which we’ve found ourselves since Election 2016: The Shittiest Show on Earth got underway last year.  Full steam ahead … let’s make Will McAvoy proud.

Back to the gridiron, UM OC Timmy D. has been play-calling for opposing defenses that more resemble the Little Giants than big-time college-football programs, but he’s made the right moves and kept his squad focused on performance … and the numbers don’t lie.  The Big Blue offensive machine is ready to attack whatever is thrown its way, gaining momentum as the final lap approaches, and it’s gettin’ exciting.

The Michigan Defense

I know that we’re playing against chumps, but it’s quite a sight watching the Maize and Blue D swarm the field with speed, power and focus … nobody has come close to executing a sound offensive game plan against this team with the exception of Colorado, who only was able to do so in the first half, until Coach Harbaugh and his lieutenants changed course and found the path to success against a tough Buffalo team.

The Michigan D racked up 13 tackles-for-loss and 3 sacks against Maryland, and Delano Hill added two INTs for the books in an overall stifling defensive effort.  Maryland entered the game averaging more than 250 yards of rushing offense per game, and Don Brown’s guys held the Terp ground attack to just 78 yards on the day.  The Michigan D held an opponent under 10points for the fifth time this season, as it continues to demonstrate each Saturday why it’s one of the best in the land.

Michigan vs. Iowa – The Preview

This weekend, UM travels to Iowa for a game that many thought would feature two Top 10 teams for a late-fall Big Ten match-up.  Instead, we have en fuego Big Blue facing off against a Hawkeye team that has far underperformed expectations.

Iowa enters this game 5-4 (3-3 in the Big Ten) and it’s easy to forget that the Hawkeyes were sitting at #13 in the AP just six weeks ago … Kirk Ferentz’s squad fell out of the AP Top 25 after a major Week 3 upset loss to North Dakota State and it’s been trying to regain its footing ever since.

This is the 60th meeting between these two teams, with UM holding a heavy series edge, 41-14-4.  The series dates back to 1900 (a contest Iowa won, 28-5) and the Hawkeyes won the last meeting, in 2013, by a score of 24-21.

This Saturday Big Blue returns to the scene of that 2013 loss … Kinnick Stadium.  And while Iowa HC Kirk Ferentz can take comfort in yesteryear’s result, he knows this isn’t the same team – it isn’t even the same program – that the Black and Yellow took down three years ago.  

Iowa’s five wins came against Miami (OH), Iowa State, Rutgers, Minnesota and Purdue, and its four losses included powerhouses North Dakota State and Northwestern as well as Wisconsin and Penn State.

Sr. QB C.J. Beathard leads the Hawkeye attack and has thrown for 1,380 yards this season (11TDs / 4 INTs), mostly to his two favorite targets, Riley McCarron (30 catches for 336 yards and 3 TDs) and Matt VandeBerg (19 catches for 284 yards and 3 TDs).  The Iowa backfield includes two dudes who have rushed for a combined 1,200+ yards on the season (Akrum Wadley and LeShun Daniels), but by and large these guys all are no-names who bring little more than hope and prayer into this weekend’s match-up and … as a wise man once said, “hope is not an adult strategy.”

The Big Blue Bus continues to roll this weekend, as the smart money is on Michigan to emerge with its 10th regular-season win and continued momentum in the national race.

The early prediction is now in … Michigan 38 – Iowa 14.

Go Blue!