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Second Half Shutdown:
Northwestern offense foiled
Trip to Chicago topped off with another Big win
EVANSTON, ILLINOIS OCTOBER
30, 2005
Despite being up 16 late in the fourth quarter, few
of 10,000+ Michigan fans that attended the Northwestern game
Saturday night could relax. Not after watching the fate of the
previous five games being settled in the final seconds. Only
when the Wildcats exhausted their timeouts and Michigan picked up a
well earned first down did the maize and blue fans breathe easy.
In fact, the only group that really seemed relaxed
the entire game was the Michigan sideline. Sitting three rows
behind the bench for this crucial 33-17 victory, one of things I
took away from this was how calm, poised, methodical and perhaps
unemotional the Michigan machine really is. The only real
excitement out of this team was after Grant Mason's outstanding
interception late in the second quarter, and of course when the game
was over.
Overall, this was a much needed win and continues a
stunning revival of a team that was left for dead four weeks ago.
Here are the takes on this game:
- Depth. Lloyd
Carr consistently gets criticism for not challenging for national
titles despite having highly ranked recruiting classes year after
year. This is certainly a valid discussion point, but I hardly
ever hear Carr praised for delivering the depth and talent
that Michigan possesses. There are several dimensions to this.
You can read more on this topic here.
- No Kick? A lot of fans are still
puzzled why Carr went for it on 4th and 6 inside the twenty five.
A very makeable kick for Rivas, and run was not really any option.
He kind of joked about it after the game with Jim Carty, but I still
don't have a good explanation.
- Rivas, Ryan Righteous. M's
special teams were certainly a high point here. Garrett Rivas
was solid, hitting all 4 of his field goal tries. We actually
sat right next to his parents. It was pretty funny, Mr. Rivas
was taking pictures all game and Mrs. Rivas covered her eyes each
time her son attempted a kick. Other than the first kick-off
that drifted out of bounds, Ross Ryan was spectacular.
Northwestern did not return any of Ryan's punts or kicks all game.
Here's a question: Ann Arbor News columnist John Heuser gave
the Special teams unit a B+. What do they have to do to get an
A?
- Hanging Chad. Henne didn't look
very sharp at all, and the entire offense is fortunate that
Northwestern's offense was shut down in the second half.
Something still seems to be wrong with his motion, and some balls
are floating on him. While it won't be a factor when Indiana
comes to town in two weeks, it will be a concern for the Buckeyes.
Michigan fans usually don't miss much, I bet he'll get beat up this
week on the radio shows.
- Naughty, Naughty. The
lasting impression from this roadtrip was the bad, bad girls we ran
into. After the game we were delighted as a young lady stepped
onto the L train and loudly declared her dissatisfaction for having
to ride with so many "f*cking Michigan fans". An hour or so
later we had a drink in the Hyatt hotel during a raging Halloween
party. Many of the fine ladies of Chicago wore costumes that
would make Hugh Hefner blush. Some of the best outfits:
- Little Bo Peep. She lost her sheep but
there plenty of guys trying to help her find them. I might
have found two of them.
- Girl Scouts. Troop 69 left the place
dirtier than they found it.
- Naughty Nurse. "Do you want your shot
in the arm or in the tush?"
- Mary Ann from Gilligan's Island. They
would have never left that Island.
- Selling Their Souls. Northwestern
will sell just about anything to boost revenue for their program.
Granted, they don't play Michigan every week and have trouble
filling the tiny Ryan Field. Consider this: despite it being
Homecoming, a huge game, and Michigan fans buying around 10,000
tickets, there were still tickets available last week. So,
Northwestern has had to find other ways to generate revenue. A
mini-UPS truck rolled out and delivered the ball for kick-off.
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Just check out the Ryan field scoreboard
(click left to enlarge). They couldn't find enough
room on the scoreboard to spell out "Wildcats" digitally,
but they found plenty of room for the following sponsors:
| Lexus |
La Salle
Bank |
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Federated Insurance |
Adidas |
| Nextel |
All
State Insurance |
| American
Airlines |
Pepsi |
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What's Next? A much needed
bye week to rest up. You have to assume Mike Hart and
LaMarr Woodley will be ready for Indiana and more importantly,
the Buckeyes. Win out, and Michigan has a shot at a
share of the Big Ten title and to continue Lloyd Carr's steak
of consecutive Jan 1 bowl games. Here's where the
experts
have Michigan ending up as they will make their 31st
consecutive bowl appearance.
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