Dooley Brothers 2003 Recap: DBXI

Tuesday October 30, 2007

Michigan Flexes Muscle

Blue owns scrimmage line, wins 27-20.

EAST LANSING, MI NOVEMBER 2, 2003

Nothing comes easy for the Wolverines when they visit East Lansing. Despite a complete domination of basically every statistical category, the Spartans still had the ball at the end of the game and a chance to tie. Jeff Smoker's final pass was picked off in the endzone, and the entire Michigan bench sprinted for toward the tunnel as if to say, "Get me the hell out of here!".

With the win, the Wolverines move to the top of the Big Ten standings and will win the championship with wins over Northwestern and Ohio State.

Meanwhile, the Eleventh Annual Dooley Brothers tailgate took place in the shadow of the stadium starting, in darkness, at around 6 a.m. We moved a few spots down from our traditional location in the A lot to take advantage of more real estate. The extra space was needed as a large crowd showed up to enjoy the cold brews, brats, and especially the incredible jambalaya and gumbo compliments of chef James Soniga.

A few takes on the game:

- Jeff Smoker played an outstanding game, although his numbers may not show it. He threw nice, on-target spirals to the MSU receivers all day long. Although Michigan didn't get their hands on him very much during the game, the M rush limited his options. The Spartans receivers dropped way too many balls.

- There was quite a bit of rain, or at least drizzle, in the second half. All of the weather reports said it would be dry.

- Although it is not often discussed, Chris Perry has had a lot of trouble with fumbles this season. He's been lucky that Michigan has recovered many of them. He carried the ball 51 times, in wet conditions, and held onto the ball. He and the O line played an incredible game.

- The Lansing State Journal, in their postgame scorecard gave the Spartan's special teams unit a "C" rating. I'm shaking my head over that one. State kicked well, punted very well, and their coverage teams contained Breaston. On top of that, MSU almost broke two kickoff returns for TDs.

- The major criticism of coach John L. Smith was that his defense was not aggressive enough, and didn't put enough blitzing pressure on Navarre. Smith argued that if his team constantly blitzed, the final score would have been 70-6.

- Overall, Michigan clearly executed a great game plan, with one breakdown in the secondary that led to a quick Spartan TD, and a questionable passing play late in the fourth quarter that led to the Spartan fumble return for another score. On the latter, in retrospect Carr admitted he made a mistake and should have run the ball.

- The most telling statistics of the day: Michigan held the ball for 19 more minutes than MSU. State ran 57 total offensive plays, compared to 53 touches for Chris Perry (51 rush, 2 receptions).

Back to the tailgate, here are a few of the photos from the big morning, day and night:


Aunt Joan and Mom hug after the game.	M grads rejoice in the post game. No bitterness this year.	Jo and Bob up from Chicago to enjoy the big weekend.	Ferg declares that vests are still cool.	Gino and Jess chilling at Paul Revere's Tavern .

The Helferich men	Jackie Duckett laughs knowing that her daddy and uncle have both beat Michigan.	Hmm, two retired ΣAE boys huddled around a half barrel? What a shocker!	The Dooley men with the chef.	Johanna dons her Spartan gear.

Several Ring of Honor men pose. Kelley loves it.	"Why I am hanging out with these losers?"	Jess and the webmaster.	Sarah and Johanna can't get enough of chef Soniga.	"Hey Ladies!"

E Claw, his new wife Nicole and Dave in the shadow of the stadium.	Sarah and Nate chill.	James gets serious with the brats.	The Kemp family was well-represented.	Phil likes his ladies.

Greg Phelps in the morning with the tailgate set-up crew.	Bob and Kelley working theories.	The Okemos crew was in the house. Where's Matt's hat?	Abby looks on while Kathy K. puts on a balancing act.	Scott Grow sets his sights on the Nov. 22 Buckeye v. Michigan game.

Factoids

SALINE, MI OCTOBER 30, 2003

A collection of facts and figures about the big game on Saturday:

Michigan opened as a 4 point favorite. This has moved to 4 1/2 at some sports books. I've only seen one over/under for this game @ 51 points. Michigan has been favored in every Dooley Brothers game.
The team with the highest amount of rushing yards has won this game 32 out of the last 33 meetings.
The higher ranked team has won nine of the last 12 games, with one tie, when both teams come into the game ranked.
Collectively, the Spartans and Wolverines are 5-0 in 2003 versus teams from Indiana (Purdue, IU, and Notre Dame) and have outscored these teams 153-42.
Bees and dogs can smell fear.
Michigan State leads the nation in sacks (34), and is tied for first in turnover margin (+15).
The DB11 tailgate will start at around 6:30 a.m. Saturday morning. Here is a map of approximately where you can find us.

Entire State Braces for Saturday's Game

Eleventh Installment of Dooley Bros tailgate precedes Huge game

SALINE, MI OCTOBER 26, 2003

"If I were Lloyd Carr, I would refuse to bring my team back to East Lansing."

This drop of wisdom came from Matt Bergmann, one of many bitter M fans minutes after the Wolverines' last trip to East Lansing in 2001. Fortunately for all of us, it appears as though coach Carr will disregard this advice and actually play the game. Other M fans contributed more brilliant statements that night, including, "My remaining days on this earth will be dedicated to righting the wrong that occurred today. That said, are there any brats left?"

There is always much at stake in the annual intrastate battle, but this time the outcome will have a big impact on not only the Big Ten, but also the BCS and national title races. #9 Michigan State comes into the game as the only team with no losses in Big Ten play; #11 Michigan is right behind with just one loss. Most of the country will be watching as ABC has selected the game for its noon time slot.

The Spartans are no doubt looking for vengeance after the 49-3 whooping last year. Michigan is looking for redemption after the controversial clock-operator game in 2001.

Once again the Dooley Brothers will hold their tailgate in the shadow of Spartan Stadium in the A lot. This is the 11th installment of the pregame fiesta, and arguably the biggest game in the series. In 1999, both teams entered the contest at a perfect 5-0, with State ranked #11 and Michigan #3 (press release). MSU downed the Blue 34-31, and afterwards the Spartan fans ritually burned several couches to commemorate the win.

The home team has dominated the history of the Dooley Brothers games. Only in 1997 did the visiting team take home the treasured Paul Bunyan trophy (doorstop in coach's office), when Michigan picked off the Spartans on their way to a national championship. Click here for the scores from each game in the brief history of the tailgate.

Against the ninth-ranked Spartans, the Blue will look to take advantage of Carr's 12-3 record versus teams in top ten. When State coach John L. Smith was asked if he was concerned about this trend, Smith advised, "Heck, if my aunt had balls she'd be my uncle. No, I really don't give a rip."

On Sunday, coach Carr was his typical cheery self, providing a plethora of insight to the upcoming slugfest. When asked to comment on the controversial game in 2001, Carr offered, "Would rather not discuss that game," and then elaborated by adding, "Next question." When reporters asked the next question, Carr once again responded, "Next question", confusing everyone.

Recap of DB9 in East Lansing

Photo Gallery from Tailgate '02

Ring of Honor

Lansing area ticket brokers are selling the tickets starting at $175, and on eBay they are going for quite a bit more, between $250-$350. Here is some of the latest bidding: