So now we just wait on Pryor…

James Laurinaitis is coming back for his senior year. Sorry about your luck Michigan.

So let’s get this straight- The Buckeyes will return 9 starters on defense. That’s 9 starters on a unit that ranked first in the nation in most categories, and held Michigan to 91 yards of total offense. On offense, they lose Kirk Barton and Dionte Johnson, who was splitting time with 2 other players anyway. Coming back are Hartline and Robiskie who combined for over 1600 yards and 17 TD’s, and Chris Wells who had 1609 yards himself and 15 TD’s.

That same Michigan team has lost QB’s Chad Henne and Ryan Mallet, RB Mike Hart, WR’s Mario Manningham and Adrian Arrington, plus OL’s Jake Long and Adam Kraus. Defensively they lose 4 starters, including Sean Crable. On top of that Michigan will have to travel to Columbus this year. All of that with a new coach and system to learn. Yep. Good luck with that ground hogs.

They fear the vest!

Seriously…does anyone want to coach Michigan?

This morning’s report that Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano has decided to stay at Rutgers instead of accepting the open job at Michigan has to be disheartening for the big blue alumni and fans. Even before Lloyd Carr’s retirement presser it was a foregone conclusion that LSU’s Les Miles would jump at the chance to coach at his Alma mater. Last weekend that idea hit a serious snag. Miles decided the grass wasn’t greener in Michigan. His contract extension reported yesterday pretty much slammed the door on any return to groundhog country.

The man on the left is Iowa’s coach Kirk Ferentz. He was or wasn’t a serious candidate for the position as well. That depends who you talk to. According to the Detroit News however, he is no longer being considered. Could he be the third candidate to say thanks, but no thanks to what was called by many to be “the best coaching job in the country”? Actually, the first man to say no thank you would have been Stanford coach, and UM grad Jim Harbaugh, but let’s be real, he wasn’t going to be a candidate anyway.

It never gets old

Carmen Ohio is just better on the road. Don’t know why, but it is.

Thanks to Eleven Warriors for the find.

 

Too…much…happening…

Wow. So the Buckeyes have knocked Lloyd Carr out of a job, the Browns swept the season series against the Ravens, and I get to write a guest post on a Michigan site. Things are looking pretty good today.

So I wrote the wager post for Ghosts, we’ll send along a link when we see it up there. John is itching to write a Browns post, so we’ll defer to him. I will say this team is still quite immature. How scary will they be when they get it together?

The Buckeyes appear headed to Pasadena for only the second time in 20 years. Can that be right? It jut doesn’t seem possible that the last time we went to the Rose Bowl was Joe Germaine and the gang against Jake the Snake Plummer. I’m looking forward to it. And we’ll let Jeff from the Buckeye Battle Cry be the team cheerleader for the BCS title game. I prefer to be pleasantly surprised if they get there.

Lloyd Carr has stepped down. What will his legacy be? Well, I think it is quite simple really. Lloyd Carr > John Cooper. Jim Tressel > LLoyd Carr. That about sums it up I think. In the history of The Rivalry, Lloyd will now be linked with John Cooper. As good as Lloyd Carr looked when Cooper couldn’t get the job done, he looks that bad today. This group of seniors even came back to ensure that Carr’s legacy wasn’t tarnished. He had the more experienced group, playing at home, and he still lost. Todd Boeckman looked absolutely terrible. You can blame the weather if you want, but truth is he had that deer in the headlights look. No way he was going to make plays to win that game. He attempted 2 passes in the second half. His longest pass of the day was 15 yards! Despite that, the Wolverines couldn’t beat the Buckeyes.

Wells runs over Wolverines

Ohio State threw the ball twice in the second half. Michigan knew the run was coming, they just couldn’t stop it.

Perhaps the Big House should be renamed. How about Beanie’s house? 2 touchdowns and 220 yards rushing provided all the offense the Buckeyes would need in this one. Gholston and the Buckeye defense swarmed Henne, Hart and the Michigan offense, holding them under 100 yards for the day. Looks like a guest post for us over at Ghosts of Wayne Fontes later this week. And another Big Ten championship for Tressel and the Buckeyes. Congratulations guys, well fought win!

Starting to feel it…

The Game is only a couple days away now. Here’s a little reminder of what The Game is all about. Cue the tape…

Wait…is it Michigan week!?!?

 

Um, yeah it is. And I’m pleased to announce that once again our neighbors to the north have agreed to a little friendly internet wager. That’s right, its Ohio State representing Halftime Adjustments, and Michigan playing for the Ghosts of Wayne Fontes. Should be a great game with the Big Ten title on the line, but more than that is on the line. How about a guest post from the winner. Oh yeah, and just to liven things up a bit…I propose the loser must post a picture of himself dressed in the winner’s colors. Sound interesting? It does to me. And the Buckeyes better come through, because my skin might burn if I have to wear a maize and blue ground hog jersey! Here’s hoping we see Rupert looking like Mike Golic a few years back…

Seems like old times…

My dad used to tell me, “Every year a Buckeye fan wants three things. Most important is beat Michigan. Second is win the Big Ten. And finally win the Rose Bowl.”

Yeah, this one stung for a little while. But I keep thinking back to the beginning of the season. If you would have told me that we would be playing Michigan for the Big Ten title and a possible trip to the Rose Bowl, I’d have taken that grinning from ear to ear. This was supposed to be a ‘down’ year for the Buckeyes. This team is young and was supposed to be learning how to win. They had not faced adversity yet this season. Now, they have their backs to the wall a little.

Wager paid in full

The guys at Ghosts of Wayne Fontes have kept their word, and today there is a guest article over there. Thanks to Stan and Rupert, and of course Chris Wells and the Ohio State defense that made the victory possible. So in my five minutes of infamy over there I discussed last week’s game, and talked about the Ohio-Michigan, and Cleveland-Detroit rivalry. It was fun, and I hope that I get to do it again. It seems that Rupert is not an M-State fan, but in fact a UM guy. So he insisted on the same wager for The Game. No problem. That post would be a lot more fun to write I have to say.

So go check out the post. Ok. No really, go check it out. Serious. Why are you still here?

Real Men of Genius- Mr. Delusional Michigan Fan

UPDATE: It’s funny, we’ve been getting a lot of hits from Michigan Facebook users on this one. If you are featured in one of the pictures we’d love to talk to you, maybe even offer you a Halftime Adjustments shirt for your infamy. Many of you are keep trying to tell me this was originally a Notre Dame thing, or I have facts incorrect. You know what? It was sent to me in an email after you losers got beat by App State and Oregon. Truth is I don’t care where it came from. It’s true of both Notre Dame and Michigan. Have a nice day, and maybe you shouldn’t be so concerned with a post I made 2 months ago. Bye bye. Have a good game against Wisconsin. Sure would be a pity if you lost that one too.

Just in case you haven’t seen this yet…

Bud Light presents Real Men of Genius. (Reaaaal Men of Genius)

Today we salute you, Mr. Delusional Michigan Fan. (Mr. Delusional Michigan Faaan!)

Tradition: A College Football Tradition

For around half a century Notre Dame and Michigan have met on the football field. Some games have meant more than others. Some games have been more important to one team or the other, but I don’t think there has been a game that has meant more to the individual coaches. This may also be the only game this year where I will be cheering for the Irish.

M R Ducks

 

There’s no joy in Ann Arbor for the mighty Oregon Ducks have destroyed the scum Groundhogs. Like Rick said the Bucks won ugly, but they won. Final score: Oregon 39, scum 7. The Ducks rolled up 628 total yards as the groundhogs played voyeur defense. The question now is not will Lloyd Carr last through the season, but will he last through September? Boosters have got to be beating down the AD’s door by now. I gotta tell you I’m all choked up about Michigan’s start this season. O.k. not really, but I am already wondering about UM’s chances against the likes of Eastern Michigan and Northwestern. So, 20-2 over Akron doesn’t look so bad. Bring on the Huskies.

Buckeyes win ugly…but they win!

It won’t go down as the prettiest win in Ohio State history, but the Buckeyes shut down Akron en route to a 20-2 victory. Ohio State improved to 2-0 on the season, and extended its regular season win streak to 15 games, and their win streak against Ohio teams to 30 games. The game ball most certainly belongs to the defense for this one. They held the Zips to a meager 69 total yards for the game. The Zips managed only 3 first downs, being held to 3 and out an amazing 12 straight times. If only the Buckeye offense was as efficient.

The Buckeyes turned the ball over 5 times. Todd Boeckman threw 2 interceptions, and the Buckeyes fumbled 3 more times. Usually a team that turns the ball over that much does not win by 18 points. The Buckeyes would not be denied however. Leading 3-2 at the half (yeah, I know) Jim Tressel and the coaching staff made the necessary adjustments to get the team back on track. (In case you were wondering, Tressel’s ability to make changes to his game plan inspired the name of this blog.) Chris Wells decided to wake up in the second half and broke off long runs of 25 and 40 yards, the latter included a beautiful stiff arm pictured here. But the key pays of the game as I watched it were consecutive sacks on the Zips first drive of the second half. The first was by James Lauriniatis, and was more of a scheme blitz sack, as James wasn’t touched on his way to the QB. The second was by Vernon Gholston as he simply beat his man and pulled Jacquemain down. It was the first time the ‘big name’ players stepped up in this game and showed what the team leaders are supposed to do. The Zips were toast after that.

The most awkward e-mail ever

To: William C. Martin, AD, University of Michigan

From: Charlie Cobb, AD, Appalachian State University

 Dr. Martin-

Thank you again for your hospitality this past weekend. The wife and I enjoyed your wonderful facility and campus. You certainly exceeded our expectations.

I wanted to say that your team performed admirably, and never gave up. That was certainly a close game, and one that I think both teams will be able to grow from. That Mike Hart is a real workhorse. You have something special there in him.

I was wondering when we could expect the check? We have some expenses coming up that we could use funds for, and that $400,000 will certainly come in handy.

Again, anytime you need an opponent Appalachian State would certainly like to come back, or perhaps you would consider a trip to lovely North Carolina? We may be expanding our seating with some of the funds that you are giving us. Thanks again Bill.

Charlie

 

Weekend Recap…Buckeyes win, Tribe takes 2 of 3, michigan still sucks

Wow what a weekend! The Indians take 2 from the White Sox, and maintain their lead in the Central. A gem of a game pitched by Paul Byrd Saturday night. Complete Game shutout, and the offense wasn’t bad either scoring 7 runs on 11 hits, with homers from Shoppach and Gutierrez. I didn’t get to see much of the game, so I won’t pretend like I know what happened. It was good to see the Tribe not let up after consecutive late inning wins. The eight game winning streak came to end Sunday against the Sox. It was a good streak, hope they start another one tomorrow in Minnesota. As we’ve talked about all season, the Tribe needs to keep winning series. They won the series with Chicago, and now we go on the road for a series with the Twins, the Angels, and the White Sox. I’d like to see the Tribe go at least 6-4 on this trip, though 3 of 4 from the Angels would be sweet as well.

On Saturday the Buckeyes opened their season with a win over Youngstown State. In my Buckeye preview part 2, I questioned why play a Division 1AA school; saying simply that nothing good can come from it. Well, for the Buckeyes they get some tape to review, and some areas to concentrate on. (Like the short yardage running game.) But the stunner of all was what happened to michigan. That is exactly what I meant by nothing good could come of it. Had the ground hogs made that field goal to win the game, what would have been said about them? How much respect would they have lost in the polls? Surely not as much as they are destined to lose now. For the Buckeyes they also lost a key player. DL Lawrence Wilson fractured his leg in the second quarter, and his status for the remainder of the season is unclear.