Well that certainly puts a dent in plans to bring Miles to Ann Arbor. Apparently Miles had no interest in the position. According to Skip Bertman, LSU’s Athletic Director, Miles never held that over their head. He sure could have. I’m glad to see that he didn’t.

One thing that causes me pause… Why? Did he know he could make better money and sit in a hotbed of talent? If that’s the case, what does it say about Michigan? Are they not willing to spend the money? If we ever find out down the line that money was a factor in this at all, I’m gonna be pissed. Michigan has the money.

So, who are the leading candidates for the coaching vacancy in Ann Arbor? Kirk Ferentz? Bobby Petrino? Cam Cameron? Jeff Tedford? Greg Schiano? Bob Stoops?

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I know he emphatically said that he was the coach at LSU, and the he would be the coach at LSU, and that the media was doing him and his team a disservice by reporting that he would take the job coaching the Michigan Wolverines. He also said that he felt bad for Michigan fans because of the rumors. Blah, blah, blah.

LSU won the SEC Championship, and earned a spot in the BCS National Championship game. Good for them. Sunday Michigan AD said that he has not spoken with Miles about the position. I’m not sure that he has to. I’m pretty sure everyone is aware that Miles is the leading candidate. It seems that the job is his for the taking.

Will Miles stand up in front of the media, and his team, and the LSU chancellor and say that he can’t wait to get to Ann Arbor? Hell no. What he will do is go through the back channels, let Bill Martin and all involved at Michigan know that he is very interested. They’ll keep the seat warm. Trust me. Les Miles is the guy they want. He’s a Bo guy. He’s a Michigan guy.

It will take some deep pockets to secure Miles, but Michigan is consistently at the top of the list of NCAA merchandising, and licensing. So money isn’t the issue. They have it. They may need to wait until January 8th to spend it. But they will.

Following Michigan’s loss to Ohio State on Saturday, Lloyd Carr will announce his retirement on Monday. This became increasingly apparent as the season wore on. Carr is 62 years old and has been the head coach at Michigan for 13 years. Michigan is 121-40 under Carr, but he has been lost 4 in a row to arch-rival Ohio State. Something that had to have factored into Carr’s decision.

Lloyd has definitely done a lot to continue the legacy of Michigan fooball, but they have fallen on hard times, and it’s time for a change. Now the talk will turn to who comes in to replace Carr. Most of the talk has been about Les Miles, currently the head coach of the #1 ranked LSU Tigers. Les Miles is a Michigan man who played under Bo, coached under Bo, as well as former coach Gary Moeller. Miles coached at Michigan, Colorado, Oklahoma State, in the NFL for the Dallas Cowboys, and currently at LSU.

Three things stick out for me about Miles.

1. He’s a Michigan man - Not the most important thing to me, but I know that the athletic department and boosters care about it. So he fits in that way.
2. He’s a winner - Obviously, he’s the coach of the #1 team in the country. He inherited a strong program, and he has kept them at the level that they were at.
3. He can recruit the south - It’s just a fact, the south is home to a huge amount of high school football talent. Miles has shown that he is able to bring that talent in. It remains to be seen if he could transfer that ability if he moves up north to Ann Arbor, but I’m willing to let him try.

These teams are in unfamiliar territory. They both enter this game following a loss. Last week Michigan lost to Wisconsin on the road, and the then number 1 ranked Buckeyes got upset when they visited the Fighting Illini. The last time Michigan came into the OSU game following a loss was 1996 (they lost to Penn State) and the last time Ohio State came into the game after losing was 1987 (when they lost to Iowa). The last time both teams entered the game following a loss was 1959. The Wolverines were led by first year coach Bump Elliott and Woody Hayes was just in his 9th year at the helm for the Buckeyes. Incidentally, Michigan won that game 23-14.

As usual, there is a lot at stake in this years game for both Michigan and Ohio State. Michigan can salvage a tough season by taking care of the Buckeyes at home, and Ohio State can maintain their recent dominance (folks, it’s just hard for me to say) over Michigan. Since Jim Tressel took over for John Cooper, the Wolverines have only been victorious once against their bitter rivals. That fact adds another layer of complexity to this years game.

There has been a lot of speculation about Lloyd Carr’s future. Most believe that if he (and Michigan) lose this game against OSU that he will lose his job. And he probably should. 1-7 is not acceptable against Ohio State. After Michigan started the season with it’s historic loss to IAA Appalachian State, followed by a drubbing by Oregon, they ran off 8 straight wins.

Michigan has definitely seen better days. They are banged up all over the place. Mike Hart, Chad Henne are both questionable for Saturday’s game. Historically, that has not been a good sign. Mike Hart is the leader of this team. Other people have had to step into that role because throughout his career he has consistently struggled to stay on the field (something that will hurt his chances to play on Sunday). While Hart has been out, his replacements Travis Minor and Carlos Brown have filled in admirably. Their biggest downfall is that they’re not Mike Hart. They’ve both played well. They haven’t stepped into the leadership role that Hart has.

Since Chad Henne went down, first with a knee injury and then with a shoulder problem, freshman phenom Ryan Mallett has stepped into the role of starting quarterback and seems to be developing into the teams leader. I love this for next year. This year, I can just remember the 2 picks that he threw at Wisconsin. If Henne and Hart can’t go on Saturday, Mallett needs to win this game. If he does, he’ll be the toast of the town. If he blows it, he’ll be the goat (hopefully that won’t stop him from progressing).

No matter who lines up under center, they need to get the ball to Mario Manningham on the outside. No one has been able to stop the deep out this season. For some reason Lloyd Carr and Mike DeBord have not exploited that. The play is set up with the running game. For the most part Michigan hasn’t had trouble getting that set up. Once the running game has been established, on every series they need to call Mannigham’s number. He’s the top wide out in the country. Let him prove it.

On the defensive side of the ball, Michigan has made marked improvements. Donovan Warren still scares the hell out me at corner. All that I hear about him is comparisons to other Michigan corners who started as a freshman (Ty Law, Charles Woodson and Marlin Jackson). I just want to let everyone know. He’s not that good yet. He might get there… but those guys dominated, even as freshman. Warren has showed some potential, but he’s been exposed as much as he’s dominated. Other than Warren, I think the defense has progressed nicely. Shawn Crable is amazing. The rest of the defense is getting the job done. Nothing too outstanding, but they’re playing well.

Notice I haven’t mentioned Ohio State’s team this year. It’s mostly because I don’t care. But to give them unequal time… James Laurinaitis is the best college linebacker (sorry Shawn Crable). Their defense was really stout heading into last week’s game against Illinois, but the Buckeyes come out of Champaign with a lot of video evidence that they can be beat. I would imagine Lloyd and the boys have watched that a few times.

On offense the Buckeyes feature Beanie Wells, Todd Boeckman and Brian Robiskie. Of the three, Beanie Wells is the best. He’s a powerful downhill runner with a burst. Boeckman and Robiskie have stepped into their roles this year and have been servicable. They haven’t set the world on fire, but the haven’t laid any eggs either. What worries me is the tackling of Michigan against Wells. If he breaks a couple long runs, Shawn Crable is gonna get tired.

Time to get to the nut-cuttin. This is a game that features the two best teams in the Big Ten (no surprise there), both are having off years. Hard to say that with OSU being ranked number 1 for a few weeks this year, but they have lost a ton of guys to the NFL. They were number 1 because no one else has been able to hold onto it.

Keys to the Game

• Turnovers - Whoever has the edge in turnovers wins the game. If Michigan can force Boeckman to give it up, or Mallett gives a repeat performance, their teams will suffer.
• Henne and Hart - With them, Michigan is the better team, without them, Michigan will struggle to move the ball.
• Manningham deep - If Michigan can get the ball to Manningham on the outside, it won’t be close.

My prediction
Ohio State 17
Michigan 24

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A tale of two halves. In the first half, Michigan State repeatedly shot itself in the foot with penalties, and Michigan absolutely shut down the Spartan rushing attack. In the second half, Michigan couldn’t move the ball on offense and got run over by Javon Ringer, and Jehuu Caulcrick. Chad Henne rallied the troops and scored 14 unanswered points to take the lead for good.

With all of my wrong, or just plain bad predictions, I have to say that I was pretty damn close on my prediction for this game. But I won’t break my arm patting myself on the back.

The most remarkable play for me was Javon Ringer’s 72 yard run in the third quarter. Yeah, it was a nice run by Ringer, but the impressive part was the guy that mad first contact with ringer, Shawn Crable, ended up making the tackle, 75 yards later. Of course, Crable should have wrapped him up for the 3 yard loss, but the fact that he got off his ass, and busted it down the field to stop Ringer from scoring really gives a glimpse of this team. I was definitely on the Fire Lloyd bandwagon earlier in the season. But I have to say that Lloyd and his coaching staff have impressed me by coming back and making this season respectable. Hell, we’ve seen what’s happened to Notre Dame, and Nebraska when their seasons went into the tank. Nebraska got 76 point hung on them today. Michigan reeled it back in. A game too late for National title hopes. But they haven’t quit and there is a real chance that they will see Oregon again, in the Rose Bowl. Redemption??

The Wolverines have ripped off 7 straight wins as they head into East Lansing this weekend to take on instate rival Michigan State. The Spartans are in the perpetual rebuilding process and have first year coach Mike Dantoni at the helm.

Michigan comes in still a little dinged up. Chad Henne and Mike Hart both missed the last game against the Golden Gophers of Minnesota. The backups Ryan Mallett and the tandem of Carlos Brown and Brandon Minor filled in for the injured starters. Hart and Henne are expected back for the MSU game.

Michigan State is really over-matched in this contest. They have held it close against some really good teams but haven’t been able to pull off a Big Ten except against a weak Indiana team. All of their losses have been within 7 points. So Michigan State isn’t as terrible as their record. But they don’t have the offensive fire-power to stay with Michigan. The Spartans feature a two-headed rushing attack of Javon Ringer and Jehuu Caulcrick. Ringer does most of the running inbetween the 20’s but Caulcrick has pounded out 16 TDs. The Spartans also feature the leading receiver in the Big Ten Devin Thomas. Hopefully the Wolverine DBs will be able to control him.

The real key to this game is whether or not Michigan State can stop the rushing attack of the Wolverines. It really doesn’t seem to matter who Michigan starts at tailback. Obviously Mike Hart is a dominant player when he’s in there, but Carlos Brown and Brandon Minor have proven themselves worthy as well.

My prediction:
Michigan - 27
Michigan State - 21

Ed Orgeron will have Mississippi ready to face the Auburn Tigers on Saturday. Tommy Tuberville’s Tigers had a shot to beat LSU last week and let it slip away, so I expect a very fired up team to show up for Auburn. I think it will take a solid effort on their part to beat the Rebels though because they are a proud team and have taken some pretty bad beatings this year.

My prediction:
Auburn 34
Mississippi 17

Michigan should be on track to move to continue their winning ways as they face the Eagles of Eastern Michigan. It’s a local battle. The Eagles are located just up the road in Ypsilanti. Lloyd Carr did some coaching at EMU, and seems like he’s helping out his old program by giving them exposure.

Chad Henne is back as the Wolverine’s full-time quarterback. Glad to see him back but I wouldn’t mind seeing Ryan Mallett come in for a couple series a game. Similar to how Florida worked in Tim Tebow last year.

The defense has really come together over the last couple of weeks. It should continue this week.

Mike Hart will continue his record-setting season behind his stout offensive line.

Hopefully the Wolverines won’t suffer the same fate that they did against 1-AA Appalachian State. Hopefully they won’t overlook the Eagles and focus on their future Big Ten opponents. The have plenty of time to worry about that. Hopefully the coaching staff will have learned that they can’t overlook any team. Lloyd Carr, Mike DeBord, and Ron English need to continue to bring their A game. There is not any room for them to take a week off. As we’ve seen, in college football, anything can happen.

Final score: EMU 6 - Michigan 28

SEC Preview for week 6

It all starts with a big game Thursday between Kentucky and
South Carolina and keeps going Saturday with a number of
good matchups.

Here’s a look at three big SEC games this week:

Kentucky vs South Carolina

This was once a game that had little to no impact on the rest of
the SEC, but times have changed. Kentucky has not lost yet and
the Gamecocks are ranked 11th. To me this is a classic SEC
matchup. The Heisman hopeful Andre Woodson will come out
for the Wildcats, after throwing for five touchdowns last week,
and lead one of the highest powered offenses in college
football. He will do this against the highest ranked pass
defense in the SEC. We should see some difficulty with the
passing game early on, but I see Kentucky making adjustments
and finding ways to beat the Gamecocks secondary. The
offense for South Carolina is where the outcome will be
decided. If they can keep up with the Wildcats through three
quarters I think they have a chance to pull the upset on their
home field. This looks to be a great game.

My Pick: Kentucky

Georgia vs Tennessee

This game has a fantastic history and a great venue. Neyland
Stadium will be packed to watch the Volunteers try to knock off
12th ranked Georgia. The Bulldogs have come back after
suffering an early loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks and
have won three in a row including two conference games
against Alabama and Mississippi. The Volunteers will be facing
a Georgia team that excels in opponents stadium led by a
young and talented quarterback in Matthew Stafford. Stafford
has proved to be lethal if left undisturbed in the pocket, but
when the young offensive line has been penetrated he has
made some poor decisions under pressure. This will be a key
for Tennessee. Expect to see senior Thomas Brown and
freshman phenom Knowshon Moreno team up on a Volunteer
defense that has been weak against the run this year. On the
other side of the ball the Volunteers will be looking to senior
quarterback Erik Ainge to lead the team to the tune of “Rocky
Top”. Ainge has had a difficult time throwing with an injured
thumb on his throwing hand, but that has reportedly healed
and he is a seasoned SEC quarterback that can make things
happen for Tennessee. Georgia has a stout defense. I expect to
see the Volunteers try to spread the field and use their talented
young receivers to test the Georgia secondary. Overall this
looks to be a fantastic game between two good teams with
very smart coaches, this is what SEC rivalry is all about.

My Pick: Georgia

Florida vs LSU

This game is what many are calling the Game of the Week. I
agree. If Oklahoma and Texas had not lost last week I would see
that game as just as important, but with the current standings
this is the game. The defending champs roll into Baton Rouge
mad after a tough loss last week to face the team ranked #1 in
the AP poll, the LSU Tigers. The Tigers are a very talented team
both on offense and on defense. On offense they are led by
senior quarterback Matt Flynn. Flynn has proven to be tough,
consistent leader on this high powered offense. Wide receiver
Early Doucet is expected to return to action after missing three
game to injury and that is good news for the Tigers. Doucet is a
6-1 senior who will make the Gator defense earn the win. On
the Florida offense it will take not only sophomore Tim Tebow
having a career game passing and rushing, but some help form
the backfield as well. The rushing game has been a weakness
for the Gators thus far, and for them to beat the Tigers they will
need production out of Kestahn Moore coming out of the
backfield. The implications of this game across the college
football world are huge and the nation will be watching as they
two powerhouses face off on Saturday.

My Pick: LSU

In week five things got interesting, and week six will change the landscape. College football showed why it is a beautiful thing this last week. Heavily favored teams went out and were beat by teams with lower quality personnel. Texas, Oklahoma, Florida and Alabama were all upset. Washington and California were games that said a lot as well. I was on the hook to write a preview of the games this week for this blog and thank goodness I never got it done, I would have missed badly coming out of the gates.

A quick run down:

To me the biggest game was Auburn beating Florida. The Gators made early mistakes and it hurt them. I did see them drive the ball the way they can in the third quarter, but they have got a big piece of work to do if they are going to try and make a run at a repeat- more on their game next week soon.

Oklahoma losing to Colorado shoots some holes in the sails of the Sooner’s BCS hopes. The Sooners will need to reload their high scoring guns to get back in the hunt.

Texas was the game mentioned so far that was not close. The wildcats made Texas look very bad. The Longhorns did not play like the team we have seen go out and dominate other teams.

You may wonder why I mention the Alabama game. Sure they are ranked, but only 22nd and they were beat by a talented Florida State team. As many others have, I have been following the story of Nick Saban at Alabama. I have watched him coach for some time and have been interested to see him enter the SEC again, especially the way he did. After losing to Georgia last week and to Florida State this week I am eager to see the response of the Tide. Have the players “bought in” to Saban’s philosophy? Will they stick to the program and message after a rough couple weeks? I think their role turns to spoiler and could be very interesting. They play Houston next week then they head to Mississippi and then host the Tennessee Volunteers. Those last two game will have a big impact in the SEC and will say a lot about the Tide. Then watch out for the LSU Tigers on November 3rd as Saban meets his old team at Bear Bryant Stadium for what could be a huge game on the national stage.

A quick word about the other two game I mentioned above.

California over Oregon. These are good football teams playing at a very high level. I am a SEC man myself, but the Pac Ten can hang. The Bears and the Ducks can play some ball, just ask Tennessee or Michigan.

Washington flirting with an upset of the USC Trojans was a big statement to me. Tyrone Willingham is the future of Huskie football. Jake Locker is letting Huskie fans down. It is great to see him scrambling and gaining yards with his legs, but his passing is killing the Dawgs and any advantage the mobility gives evaporates when you can’t hit open receivers. I look forward to the program tightening up and turn some hot dog high schoolers onto U-Dub.

The times they are a changing- and so will the rankings. Come back soon for a preview of next week’s SEC match-ups.