Long Vacation, Blue Nation

I was just scrolling through a couple of my friends' blogs and realized that we are linked on at least three, all with the following caption: (Last posted 3 months ago). Thus I am struck to revive this sleeping giant in the same way Rich Rod will revive Michigan (more to follow). Shylock, to his credit, has reminded me many times that we had to get an update in, but, to his detriment, is constantly asking for ten bucks - so I ignored him.

A few quick hitters from the past three months that might be worth mentioning:

1) OMG PLEASE.
2) We got together in DC, for this.
3) Jimmy was in a movie, and was great.

Now to the main topic, and I promise this is my last post on Michigan until my next post on Michigan: THIS YEAR SUCKED.

You may remember from August a tiny little promise this intrepid reporter made on this very posting medium:

"The University of Michigan Football Team will win 10 games this year."

A self-aggrandizing proclamation of elitist reasoning follows with the ultimate climax in challenging all apologists and "self-proclaimed realists." Needless to say, that humble pie tasted awful, and I ate it all year. It still hurts, in places. This was the worst season in Michigan Football history in terms of losses, and I bet the combined emotional pain of us die-hards. The coaching staff didn't always have the best players on the field on defense (we were running a 3-3-5 until mid-season), and the offense was an unmitigated disaster. Why Justin Feagin was scarcely used is beyond me, and Threet and Sheridan are going to look great carrying clipboards next year. Everyone deserves blame, including Lloyd Carr for putting all his eggs in one basket (Ryan Mallet).

But let not your heart be troubled! After all, it can't get any worse! We have a solid recruiting class coming in with guys like Justin Turner, Anthony LoLata and Craig Roh coming in. Not to mention our two stellar QB recruits: Tate Forcier and well-named Shavodrick Beaver. RichRod is a fantastic coach, has faced adversity at every level and knows how to win. Besides, with the plethora of idiocy that seems to have infected the coaching hirings this off-season (Lane Kiffin to Tennessee? wtf?), who would you rather have?

Michigan will be back. In the mean time, you can watch the basketball team continue to beat top 5 teams. Or you could just stare at beauty too glorious for words:

The Maize Blaze

The University of Michigan Football Team will win 10 games this year. Yes, you read that right.

The University of Michigan Football Team will win 10 games this year.

All of you haters, apologists and self proclaimed realists better recognize -- this is Michigan. I know that the statement above is going to be controversial, but I simply don't understand why. Michigan is the most consistent, elite program in the country. Nobody owns a longer bowl streak record, and in my very (un)biased opinion, I don't see how that streak could be broken.

Long before I roamed the campus in Ann Arbor, I used to attend the games as a high school student. From the very first day I saw a game until the Ohio State loss last year, I had been screaming for a more innovative offense, dynamic quarterbacks (see Germaine Gonzalez over John Navarre) and a better strength and conditioning program -- all of which centered around speed. Now I say the Ohio State loss above because the Florida win in the Capital One Bowl was an example of what Michigan could've/should've/would've been if the change in philosophy had happened sooner. What you saw on January 1st, 2008 was Michigan running the spread offense. Looked pretty good, huh?

But that was then, this is now. We have lost a ton of talent to the NFL Draft, and have largely unproven talent on the offensive side of the ball. But on the other hand, we have an accomplished Spread-N-Shred coach with an innovative mind, not to mention the best strength and conditioning coach on the planet, Mr. Mike Barwis. Read an awesome interview here. We also have real speed in the backfield in Sam McGuffie and some under appreciated talent on defense. None of our QB's are spectacular, but lets assume that Threet, Feagin or Sheridan will be serviceable.

All they have to do is hand off to McGuffie, Brandon Minor or Carlos Brown and throw little passes to our super speedsters in Greg Mathews, Roy Roundtree, Martavious Odoms and Michael Shaw. Make no mistake, Michigan is going to be good this year.

If you still don't believe me, here's the schedule. Remember, Michigan plays 12 regular season games and one bowl game, so is it that unrealistic for them to win 10 and lose 3? Post your predictions in the comments.

August 30*	Utah
September 6*	Miami (Ohio)
September 13*	at Notre Dame
September 27	Wisconsin
October 4†	Illinois
October 11	Toledo
October 18	at Penn State
October 25	Michigan State
November 1	at Purdue
November 8	at Minnesota
November 15	Northwestern
November 22	at Ohio State