A debacle it was. What a great start to the day. Woke up 6am to drive up to Ann Arbor from Dayton, Ohio. Brought the girlfriend to her first Michigan game. Tailgating was prime – got a good 4 hours of hanging out and drinking in before kickoff. Checked out the Victors Walk. Great first drive and then bam – all hell and things against Michigan broke loose for the next three hours or so.

Thoughts on the Game – The Good

• Brandon Graham again played like a beast. Too bad he couldn’t pick up his blocked punt and take it to the house. Maybe that could have changed around the momentum in Michigan’s favor.
• The first drive with David Molk and Tay Odoms in the game looked great. Marched 70 yards in 11 plays that essentially teased Michigan fans into thinking it would be a great day to be a Michigan Wolverine.
• Jason Olesnavage hit his only field goal attempt? – Yeah not many positives to take away from this thing I’m calling a debacle.

THE BAD and THE U G L Y

• Tate had a couple decent throws, but also really missed some receivers. Tate walked into a few sacks and again shows that he doesn’t have much patience when he’s in the pocket.
• Denard again throws a pick on a play where the officials missed Penn State having 12 guys on the field at the time the play was snapped. Too many turnovers from Denard. If he wants to be a major contributor he simply has to take care of the ball better.
• The effort on the Maize Out, the rain, the Penn State fans making some serious noise towards the end of the game.
• Junior Hemingway and Donovan Warren colliding on a punt return – although Hemingway claims that he will be back next week.
• Defensive ineptitude. Darryl Clark did what he wanted all day long. His guys were wide open and he put it where it needed to be.
• Moosman and Forcier costing the team 2 points. How does this keep happening? If Molk can’t go next week, and I doubt he will, Moosman and Forcier should spend an entire practice working on snaps. Unbelievable.
• No vertical passing game with the exception of the ball to Matthews towards the end of the first half.

I’m calling this week’s Illinois game a MUST WIN for this team. They need it bad for their confidence, to become bowl eligible, and simply because they haven’t played well for weeks.

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• 2009, and Looking Ahead to 2010
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• Michigan’s Story of 2009 – Chapter 4
• Michigan is 4-0, but…