College FB Week 7

[paulxu]

Cocks v. Cowbells in Starkville.

Glow, I'll buy if you guys can upset our new quarterback.

Someday the ol' ball coach is going to remember how he recruited great qb's like he did at Florida.

[GoMuskies]

I'm thinking of driving up to Lawrence for the KU/Oklahoma game, but it's going to be a brutal massacre.

[LutherRackleyRulez]

Per Awful Announcing.....




Your Full 2011 Week 7 College Football Announcing Schedule




Friday October 14

Hawaii @ San Jose State (9PM ESPN) Joe Tessitore, Rod Gilmore



Saturday October 15

10 Michigan @ 19 Michigan State (Noon ESPN) Dave Pasch, Chris Spielman, Urban Meyer, Quint Kessenich
Indiana @ 4 Wisconsin (Noon ESPN2) Beth Mowins, Mike Bellotti
Utah @ Pittsburgh (Noon ESPNU) Rob Stone, Danny Kanell
24 Baylor @ 23 Texas A&M (Noon FX) Gus Johnson, Charles Davis, Tim Brewster
Purdue @ 25 Penn State (Noon BTN) Tom Hart, Derek Rackley, Lisa Byington
13 South Carolina @ Mississippi State (Noon SEC Net) Dave Neal, Andre Ware, Cara Capuano
Louisville @ Cincinnati (Noon Big East Net) Mike Gleason, John Congemi, Eamon McAnaney
Toledo @ Bowling Green (Noon ESPN+) Michael Reghi, Doug Graber
Miami @ North Carolina (12:30 ACC Net) Steve Martin, Dave Archer, Mike Hogewood
UNLV @ Wyoming (2PM mtn) Ari Wolfe, Blaine Fowler, Andrea Lloyd
Navy @ Rutgers (2PM ESPN3.com) Dave Popkin, Adam Archuleta

Florida State @ Duke (3PM ACC Net) Rich Waltz, Keith Jones, Jenn Hildreth
2 Louisiana State @ Tennessee (3:30 CBS) Verne Lundquist, Gary Danielson, Tracy Wolfson
7 Oklahoma State @ 21 Texas (3:30 ABC/ESPN) Sean McDonough, Matt Millen, Samantha Steele
Ohio State @ 15 Illinois (3:30 ABC/ESPN) Bob Wischusen, Bob Davie, Heather Cox
12 Georgia Tech @ Virginia (3:30 ESPNU) Pam Ward, Dan Hawkins
Central Florida @ SMU (3:30 FSN) Ron Thulin, JC Pearson, Jeremy Bloom
UTEP @ Tulane (3:30 FOX College Sports) Steve Physioc, Yogi Roth, Desmond Purnell
Colorado @ Washington (3:30 ROOT) Tom Glasgow, Jason Stiles, Jen Mueller, Alanna Rizzo
Ball State @ Ohio (3:30 STO) Matt Underwood, Frank Stams
South Florida @ Connecticut (3:30 Big East Net) Jim Barbar, Christian Fauria
Brigham Young @ Oregon State (4PM FOX College Sports) Dave McCann, Mike Lamb, Robbie Bullough
North Texas @ UL-Lafayette (5PM COX) Jimmy Fredrick, Scott Brazda, Blair Abene

3 Alabama @ Mississippi (6PM ESPN2) Mark Jones, Ed Cunningham, Jeannine Edwards
6 Boise State @ Colorado State (6PM mtn HD) Bill Doleman, Todd Christensen, Roger Bailey
17 Virginia Tech @ Wake Forest (6:30 ESPN3.com) Dave Weekley, Rene Ingoglia
Florida @ Auburn (7PM ESPN) Brad Nessler, Todd Blackledge, Holly Rowe
8 Clemson @ Maryland (7PM ESPNU) Clay Matvick, Brian Griese, Allison Williams
18 Kansas State @ Texas Tech (7PM FSN) Joel Meyers, Joel Klatt, Jim Knox
Northwestern @ Iowa (7PM BTN) Eric Collins, Chris Martin, Dionne Miller
Georgia @ Vanderbilt (7PM SEC Net) Bob Rathbun, Tim Couch, Kristina Akra
East Carolina @ Memphis (7PM WITN) Patrick Kinas, Kevin Miller, Billy Weaver
5 Stanford @ Washington State (7:30 VS) Ted Robinson, Glenn Parker, Akbar Gbaja-Biamila
UAB @ Tulsa (8PM CBS Sports Net) Dave Ryan, Rich Rodriguez
1 Oklahoma @ Kansas (9:15 ESPN2) Carter Blackburn, Brock Huard, Shelley Smith
Utah State @ Fresno State (10PM ESPN3.com) Trey Bender, Jay Taylor
20 Arizona State @ 9 Oregon (10:15 ESPN) Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit, Erin Andrews






http://www.awfulannouncing.com/2011-articles/october/your-full-2011-week-7-college-football-announcing-schedule.html

[XUglow]

Cocks v. Cowbells in Starkville.

Glow, I'll buy if you guys can upset our new quarterback.

Someday the ol' ball coach is going to remember how he recruited great qb's like he did at Florida.

It will be new QB vs new QB, I think. I am thinking it is USC-e by 7 or so.

I am going to try and do MSU/USC and Bama/Ole Miss. The second game kicks off at 5, so it will be hard to navigate the 100 mile journey in time if Game 1 goes down to the wire.

Are you coming over for the game?

[paulxu]

It will be new QB vs new QB, I think. I am thinking it is USC-e by 7 or so.

I am going to try and do MSU/USC and Bama/Ole Miss. The second game kicks off at 5, so it will be hard to navigate the 100 mile journey in time if Game 1 goes down to the wire.

Are you coming over for the game?

I'm on the road this week.
Nah, that's a lie. I'm actually down at Kiawah for a week, so will have to watch it on TV.
Will be interesting to see if we can develop Shaw. If not, could be long season.
Now...if I'd have known there was a two'fer possibility, I may have made different plans!

Good luck with making both. Hell, if you're late for the second, just stop in the Grove and tailgate the first half.

ps. I see what you did there, changing avatars again on me.

[XUglow]

...changing avatars again on me.

Just Miss Muskie making room for vodka in her OJ.

[Fred Garvin 2.0]

Is Tracy Wolfson hot? I can't decide.

[paulxu]

Glow, we barely made it out of Starkville alive. Must have been all the cowbells.

Did you make the other game? Great article in NYTimes today about Oxford and the Grove.
I think I see you in one of the pictures with some girls.

[Fred Garvin 2.0]

Michigan starts out 5-0 and loses. Seen this movie before. Get ready for the collapse!
We get Posey back for Penn State and he should have some reps so he can kick yer ass in the finale.

Crucial INT by Robinson. Where's Forcier when you need him?

And Clemson remains undefeated...barely.

[paulxu]

OK, week 6 really, really sucked.
Did win game but...lost Garcia to alcohol, and now lost Lattimore to knee injury.
He was 3 TD's away from the school record...as a sophomore.
UGH.

[bobbiemcgee]

OK, week 6 really, really sucked.
Did win game but...lost Garcia to alcohol, and now lost Lattimore to knee injury.
He was 3 TD's away from the school record...as a sophomore.
UGH.

If Spurrier was the Muskie's coach, Kenny would have got a gold star this week.

[XUglow]

That was an excellent football game. Hated to see Lattimore go down. What was bad was that he was just standing there. MSU had been covering Jeffrey with a 6'3" CB all day until the jump ball in the end zone. Don't know why he was on the other side of the field for that play. Anyone that loves hard-hitting football would have loved that game.

Game 2 was not so excellent. Made it just in time for kick off. Ole Miss was amped up for the game, but that will only carry you so far. HUGE physical mismatch in that game. Bama pretty much did what they wanted to do on O and D.

Bama is very good. LSU is very good. I would give Bama a slight edge at this point, but it wouldn't surprise me to see LSU win at Bama.

[XULucho27]

Michigan starts out 5-0 and loses. Seen this movie before. Get ready for the collapse!

I won't quibble regarding the offensive showing; it was atrocious in every sense of the word. I will disagree with the collapse. I think this defense can keep Michigan in games. Granted, they got shredded on the ground by State, but only gave up 21 points with two takeaways. Not a terrible effort, all things considered.

I think Al Borges got straight up out-schemed and out-coached by Dantonio. It also didn't help that every pass play called for the WR's to run a route of approximately 50 yards. With D-Rob's lack of accuracy, and State blitzing the like crazy, they should have been running bubble screens and other assorted short routes.

Regardless, they're still 6-1 with very winnable games on the horizon. I'm not down on this team. Looking forward to that November showdown with ohio. I still think they can win 3 more games and finish 9-3 on the season.

[GoMuskies]

Kansas/Oklahoma was a good time and surprisingly competitive. I know the final score was 47-17, but KU had the ball three times in the second half down only 10 points, then held OK to FGs on the next two possessions, so they actually managed to get it into the 4th quarter as a 2 possession game. Unfortunately for the Jayhawks, their first first down of the second half came with about 4 minutes left.

Here was the most suprising part of the weekend (my first trip to Lawrence): I would describe KU's campus as hilly. Who would have thought that in Kansas?!?

[boozehound]

I won't quibble regarding the offensive showing; it was atrocious in every sense of the word. I will disagree with the collapse. I think this defense can keep Michigan in games. Granted, they got shredded on the ground by State, but only gave up 21 points with two takeaways. Not a terrible effort, all things considered.

I think Al Borges got straight up out-schemed and out-coached by Dantonio. It also didn't help that every pass play called for the WR's to run a route of approximately 50 yards. With D-Rob's lack of accuracy, and State blitzing the like crazy, they should have been running bubble screens and other assorted short routes.

Regardless, they're still 6-1 with very winnable games on the horizon. I'm not down on this team. Looking forward to that November showdown with ohio. I still think they can win 3 more games and finish 9-3 on the season.

Also, didn't OSU lose to Michigan State this year as well?

Hopefully we can get Gardner more involved in the offense as the season progresses. Michigan needs to have a QB that they can put in when they need to actually throw an accurate pass. If you take the run away from Denard he simply cannot beat people throwing the ball.

I think that our defense actually played OK. Not great, but OK. They gave the offense a chance to win the game. Then Denard throw one of the more idiotic pick 6's I have seen at a crucial time. Game over.

[XUglow]

Here was the most suprising part of the weekend (my first trip to Lawrence): I would describe KU's campus as hilly. Who would have thought that in Kansas?!?

I played golf at KU in a tourney. We played the KU course one day and the adjacent country club the next day. I went there thinking they would be flat courses. They weren't. Lot's of trees. Lot's of slopes. I don't remember the year, but Larry Brown was the coach at the time, and his house was just off #13 or #14 on the CC course.

[gladdenguy]

Also, didn't OSU lose to Michigan State this year as well?

Fred obviously forgot about that amazing display of offense from O-LIE-O when they put up 7 lucky points at the end of the game. Otherwise they would have been shut out by the Mich State defense.

Booze and Lucho, the 4th and 1 call by Borges was pathetic. Borges was terrible all day. 30 snaps inside Michigan St. territory before the 2nd touchdown.
I don't know if the last Denard pick was actually his fault......Vincent should have been slanting if he called blitz....which they were doing all day. The slant was open THE whole game because they were sending the house.
Very winnable game. Disappointing.

[Fred Garvin 2.0]

Fred obviously forgot about that amazing display of offense from O-LIE-O when they put up 7 lucky points at the end of the game. Otherwise they would have been shut out by the Mich State defense.

Booze and Lucho, the 4th and 1 call by Borges was pathetic. Borges was terrible all day. 30 snaps inside Michigan St. territory before the 2nd touchdown.
I don't know if the last Denard pick was actually his fault......Vincent should have been slanting if he called blitz....which they were doing all day. The slant was open THE whole game because they were sending the house.
Very winnable game. Disappointing.

We score more than 7 with Boom Herron against MSU at home. We beat Nebraska with Posey. We should be undefeated in the conference. I say we beat Wisconsin at the Shoe even without Posey.

[boozehound]

We score more than 7 with Boom Herron against MSU at home. We beat Nebraska with Posey. We should be undefeated in the conference. I say we beat Wisconsin at the Shoe even without Posey.

I think Michigan would have beaten OSU the last 3 years and won a national championship if we had never hired Rodriguez.

Playing the pretend game is fun.

[Fred Garvin 2.0]

I think Michigan would have beaten OSU the last 3 years and won a national championship if we had never hired Rodriguez.

Playing the pretend game is fun.

Kinda like when you pretend Media Matters is an objective source of information.

[XUglow]

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g80/hadams1/SouthCarolina.jpg

I saw this photo online, and I found it very interesting. MSU has this HUGE HD screen at the south end of the stadium. Most screens have a pixel separation of around 20. This one is 12, and the picture is amazing. Look at the number of people actually watching the game on the screen rather than watch the action right in front of them.

http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/378/jumbotron2.jpg

Use the goal posts and the 3-story building behind it to get a frame of reference on the size.

[kyxu]

With D-Rob's lack of accuracy, and State blitzing the like crazy, they should have been running bubble screens and other assorted short routes.

I still wouldn't count on Denard to make those throws.

[XULucho27]

I still wouldn't count on Denard to make those throws.

But you still substantially increase his odds. If he takes a quick drop form the shotgun and passes to receivers running short slants or bubble screens he's much more likely to complete the pass. But when you make him throw a floating prayer off his back foot because he's waiting for the play to develop 30 yards down-field IN A WINDSTORM while State has been stacking the box all day, he's just set up to fail. I put the passing woes squarely on the shoulders of Borges for this game.

I think he' pretty accurate on the short stuff when he sets his feet and isn't under pressure.

[gladdenguy]

I still wouldn't count on Denard to make those throws.

Denard is not the best qb......but he is one of the most explosive players I've ever seen.

If you are a halfway decent offensive coordinator (which Al Borges is not), you can score at least 30 a game with Denard......against every defense in the country not named Alabama or LSU.

[gladdenguy]

But you still substantially increase his odds. If he takes a quick drop form the shotgun and passes to receivers running short slants or bubble screens he's much more likely to complete the pass. But when you make him throw a floating prayer off his back foot because he's waiting for the play to develop 30 yards down-field IN A WINDSTORM while State has been stacking the box all day, he's just set up to fail. I put the passing woes squarely on the shoulders of Borges for this game.

I think he' pretty accurate on the short stuff when he sets his feet and isn't under pressure.

Yeah lets not forget the wind was howling that day. Even Kirk Cousins, who is supposedly very accurate and on a short list for NFL qbs, was having trouble throwing the ball.

Denard just gets torn up because he is so physically gifted with his feet and runs a 4.3 forty.
Also, he is one of the best college kids you'll ever meet. Respectful, polite, humble.

[boozehound]

Denard is not the best qb......but he is one of the most explosive players I've ever seen.

If you are a halfway decent offensive coordinator (which Al Borges is not), you can score at least 30 a game with Denard......against every defense in the country not named Alabama or LSU.

I disagree that any good OC can score 30 a game with Denard.

Denard puts up video game numbers against bad defenses. Against good defenses he tends to crap down his leg. That was true last year as well. This isn't a Borges thing. It's a Denard thing.

Think back to last year. He was great for the first 5 games or so (like this year) and people were talking Heisman (like this year).

Then we played some decent teams...

2010 vs. Michigan State: 17 points scored.
2010 vs. Iowa: 28 points scored, however 21 of those points were in the 4th quarter. They scored 7 in the first quarter and were shut out in quarters 2 and 3.
2010 @ Penn State: 31 points scored. Denard rushes for 191. Good offensive game against a decent defense.
2010 vs. Illinois: Great offensive game. 45 points scored in regulation. Illinois defense was not very good though
2010 @ Purdue: 27 points scored. Purdue sucked, but the conditions were wet and rainy, so it is not really fair to expect a great offensive game
2010 vs. Wisconsin: 28 points scored after being down 24-0 at the half. Michigan never in contention in this one.
2010 @ Ohio State: 7 Points scored. 7.
2010 Bowl Game vs Mississippi State: 14 total points scored

Denard Robinson threw 18 touchdown passes and 11 interceptions last year. This year he already has 9 picks.

He is definitely a very athletic and electric player, but I want to see more than one career good performance from him against a good defense. He struggles to complete basic passes. Even last year when he was throwing bubble screens half the time he rarely hit his receivers in stride so that they were in the position to make a play. He throws off his back foot entirely too much and has a very hard time with his reads. When a team can shut down the run, keep containment, and get some pressure on Denard we are completely screwed.

I want to see Devin Gardner continue to be more involved for the rest of this season. If he shows promise I want him to be our main QB next year. I still want Denard on the field for almost every play, but I want him lining up at Tailback, WR, and QB. There is a reason nobody wanted him as a QB out of high school: he is not a good passer. I have to think that there are ways we can take advantage of his running ability while also having someone at the QB spot who can hit a receiver in the numbers with a tight spiral instead of throwing a wobbly ball 2 yards high off his back foot.

He is definitely a great kid and a great represenative of the University of Michigan. No argument there.

[XULucho27]

I disagree that any good OC can score 30 a game with Denard.

Denard puts up video game numbers against bad defenses. Against good defenses he tends to crap down his leg. That was true last year as well. This isn't a Borges thing. It's a Denard thing.

He is definitely a great kid and a great represenative of the University of Michigan. No argument there.

I don't think he's a great passer either, but he's definitely an o.k. passer and that's really all you need to complement his running ability. You're right in saying his accuracy issues are not a Borges thing, those have been around since day 1. However, I was specifically referring to Saturday's debacle. Truth is, just an o.k. passer would have shredded MSU if the right plays were called. They dared him to throw, and throw he did, only it was to receivers 30 yards down field. Not many QB's would have been successful under those circumstances.

I love what Devin Gardner brings to the table, he's tall, he's accurate, and he's no slouch on the speed either. Frankly, I don't think it's fair to bring him in cold off the sidelines to have him attempt passes; it doesn't allow him to get into any sort of rhythm (and it makes it harder to adjust to the speed of the game like when Smith was wide open on the seam for a TD and Devin threw deep into a 30 mile-an-hour wind). I wouldn't put him in unless Denard puts us in a position to lose, and I don't think he did so on Saturday. However if we do put him in, I'm in your camp of just let him play the entire game as QB with Denard on the field as well.

On Saturday though, I think the play-calling put Denard and the entire O in a bad spot. The underneath stuff was open all day and we didn't even attempt to exploit it. That's on Borges.

[boozehound]

I don't think he's a great passer either, but he's definitely an o.k. passer and that's really all you need to complement his running ability. You're right in saying his accuracy issues are not a Borges thing, those have been around since day 1. However, I was specifically referring to Saturday's debacle. Truth is, just an o.k. passer would have shredded MSU if the right plays were called. They dared him to throw, and throw he did, only it was to receivers 30 yards down field. Not many QB's would have been successful under those circumstances.

I love what Devin Gardner brings to the table, he's tall, he's accurate, and he's no slouch on the speed either. Frankly, I don't think it's fair to bring him in cold off the sidelines to have him attempt passes; it doesn't allow him to get into any sort of rhythm (and it makes it harder to adjust to the speed of the game like when Smith was wide open on the seam for a TD and Devin threw deep into a 30 mile-an-hour wind). I wouldn't put him in unless Denard puts us in a position to lose, and I don't think he did so on Saturday. However if we do put him in, I'm in your camp of just let him play the entire game as QB with Denard on the field as well.

On Saturday though, I think the play-calling put Denard and the entire O in a bad spot. The underneath stuff was open all day and we didn't even attempt to exploit it. That's on Borges.

I don't see Robinson as throwing the underneath route very well. When you start to throw short passes across the middle of the field you have to have good placement or you are going to throw picks like the one Denard threw at the end of the game. When he throws underneath routes I hold my breath. I don't trust him to put the ball where only his guy can get it. I think that may be part of the reason that Borges doesn't have him throwing the short and intermediate routes across the middle of the field a lot.

Borges is a West Coast offense kind of guy. He wants to throw 10-15 yard passes across the middle. If he isn't calling those plays its because they don't trust Denard to throw those routes. Remember that they gave Denard a lot more passing options early in the season, including the underneath routes and intermediate passes across the middle, and Denard has responded by throwing 10 interceptions so far this season. I would guess that they took a lot of those routes out of the playbook to try to keep Denard's INT's down. He is rocking close to a 1:1 passing TD to interception ratio. That's not good, and it damn sure isn't the coaching staff's fault.

[XULucho27]

I don't see Robinson as throwing the underneath route very well. When you start to throw short passes across the middle of the field you have to have good placement or you are going to throw picks like the one Denard threw at the end of the game. When he throws underneath routes I hold my breath. I don't trust him to put the ball where only his guy can get it. I think that may be part of the reason that Borges doesn't have him throwing the short and intermediate routes across the middle of the field a lot.

Borges is a West Coast offense kind of guy. He wants to throw 10-15 yard passes across the middle. If he isn't calling those plays its because they don't trust Denard to throw those routes. Remember that they gave Denard a lot more passing options early in the season, including the underneath routes and intermediate passes across the middle, and Denard has responded by throwing 10 interceptions so far this season. I would guess that they took a lot of those routes out of the playbook to try to keep Denard's INT's down. He is rocking close to a 1:1 passing TD to interception ratio. That's not good, and it damn sure isn't the coaching staff's fault.

That bolded point is the only part I disagree with. Denard's picks have been, for the most part, long, overthrown passes usually stemming from pressure up the A-gap or OLB pressure when the pocket is rolled out. When he gets pressured he does this weird, "I might throw I might run" half step backwards and inevitably ends up throwing a lame duck off his back foot. They have given him the option to pass more this season and he's not responded well; I'm with you 100% on that point. That is solely on him, not Borges.

Saturday however, that part of the field was WIDE OPEN, and regardless of how little he may trust Denard to place the ball accurately you have to adapt the game plan. A host of short TE screens, a bubble screens, or a short slants would have destroyed that defense and my gripe is with Borges' reluctance to make the adjustment and consistently calling down field passes. The only true slant I can recall being called all day was perfectly placed to Roundtree and went for a 34 yard TD. The INT was miscommunication; Smith ran a hitch and Denard, under pressure on the double A-gap blitz, threw a slant. I put that one on him and Smith too, they have to work out their hot reads and be on the same page.

My opinion still stands though that a small adjustment in the game-plan on Saturday would have, not guaranteed a victory, but at least made the offense somewhat more competent. Also, why we abandoned the run is beyond me. The adjusted stats taking away negative rush yards for sacks and such were 26 rushes for 5.2 yards per attempt. That's pretty damn good.

Don't get me wrong though, while I think some of the blame for Saturday's loss lies on the coaching staff, I'm not by any means advocating that their performance is indicative of anything. I love what Hoke, Borges, and Mattison are doing. I just think Borges had a bad game, much like the guys down on the field.

[kyxu]

I think he' pretty accurate on the short stuff when he sets his feet and isn't under pressure.

Yeah, as is every quarterback in Division I.

[XULucho27]

Yeah, as is every quarterback in Division I.

Agreed. Overall he is an average to below average passer. I don't think I've stated otherwise. All the more reason why it didn't make sense to run/throw deep routes in a wind storm against an aggressive, blitzing D.

[boozehound]

That bolded point is the only part I disagree with. Denard's picks have been, for the most part, long, overthrown passes usually stemming from pressure up the A-gap or OLB pressure when the pocket is rolled out. When he gets pressured he does this weird, "I might throw I might run" half step backwards and inevitably ends up throwing a lame duck off his back foot. They have given him the option to pass more this season and he's not responded well; I'm with you 100% on that point. That is solely on him, not Borges.

Saturday however, that part of the field was WIDE OPEN, and regardless of how little he may trust Denard to place the ball accurately you have to adapt the game plan. A host of short TE screens, a bubble screens, or a short slants would have destroyed that defense and my gripe is with Borges' reluctance to make the adjustment and consistently calling down field passes. The only true slant I can recall being called all day was perfectly placed to Roundtree and went for a 34 yard TD. The INT was miscommunication; Smith ran a hitch and Denard, under pressure on the double A-gap blitz, threw a slant. I put that one on him and Smith too, they have to work out their hot reads and be on the same page.

My opinion still stands though that a small adjustment in the game-plan on Saturday would have, not guaranteed a victory, but at least made the offense somewhat more competent. Also, why we abandoned the run is beyond me. The adjusted stats taking away negative rush yards for sacks and such were 26 rushes for 5.2 yards per attempt. That's pretty damn good.

Don't get me wrong though, while I think some of the blame for Saturday's loss lies on the coaching staff, I'm not by any means advocating that their performance is indicative of anything. I love what Hoke, Borges, and Mattison are doing. I just think Borges had a bad game, much like the guys down on the field.

I get what you are saying RE: the middle of the field last week. If it is wide open you have to go for it. I really don't think that Borges or Hoke really know what to do with Denard. He isn't their kind of QB. They are used to guys who are much, much better passers.

Denard would be a very difficult QB to coach. He is a deadly scrambler who can turn broken plays into touchdowns, but he isn't very good at using his elusiveness to buy time to throw. He shows flashes of being a decent passer but has some of the happiest feet I have ever seen.

I really think we need to consider letting Gardner play more QB. Denard is now battling injuries again this season. The amount of hits he takes running the ball so much seems to result in him being banged up for the last 1/2 of the season. I would rather see Gardner get some more reps to get him more comfortable as well as to take some of the burden off of Denard. Keep him on the field alot, but don't necessarily give him the ball every play. The guy basically takes a hit on 70% of Michigan's plays from scrimmage, it's no wonder he gets nicked-up as the season progresses. The problem with that is the fact that by the time we start getting into the meat of our schedule our QB is coming in and out of games with injuries.

[Fred Garvin 2.0]

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g80/hadams1/SouthCarolina.jpg

I saw this photo online, and I found it very interesting. MSU has this HUGE HD screen at the south end of the stadium. Most screens have a pixel separation of around 20. This one is 12, and the picture is amazing. Look at the number of people actually watching the game on the screen rather than watch the action right in front of them.

http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/378/jumbotron2.jpg

Use the goal posts and the 3-story building behind it to get a frame of reference on the size.

Eh, I'm betting some chick in the upper deck took off her top in exchange for some beads.