The Victors
(№ 23) Michigan State 28-14 Michigan (№ 11)
6-1, Big Ten 2-1

There are a great many reasons why Michigan lost today, first & foremost that Michigan State fielded the better team. Second, the valiant Wolverines were not dressed like the valiant Wolverines, & thus did not deserve to win. I'm not jesting here, I am in earnest. Third, we blew too many offensive opportunities by inserting Devin Gardner in at quarterback even when Denard "Shoelace" Robinson was not hobbled by injury. I have never held with those who favor a quarterback rotation; a team needs to have a quarterback, a field general, & switching back & forth play after play is asking for trouble. Fourth, the fulcrum of the game, the fourth & one play that say the valiant Wolverines go for some kind of trick play involving a quarterback keeper, instead of just running into the teeth of the defense for the first down. Shoelace was sacked on that play, when the running back clearly would have gained the crucial first down, putting Michigan in position to attempt a tying score. Whomever made that call, be it Head Coach Brady Hoke or Offensive Coordinator Al Borges, should be locked in a cage with a real wolverine & incarcerated therein for at least five minutes. That level of recklessness is simply unacceptable, even if it hadn't been accompanied by incompetence. The takeaway from today's debacle in Evil Lansing? The '11 valiant Wolverines are generally improved over the hapless '08, '09, & '10 squads, but we were never the eleventh best football team in the country, whatever the polls said. We are a work in progress. It is yet to be determined if we are a crummy teams that sometimes plays above itself or a decent team that sometimes plays below its ability.

Drat. Drat! Drat! Drat! Today is a bad day, there's just no way around that. The dastardly Spartans are going to be intolerably smug, & that will continue until we can beat them on the gridiron (we've now lost four in a row). Today is a bad day, but that cannot change the fact that it's great to be a Michigan Wolverine. It's always great to be a Michigan Wolverine. It always will be great to be a Michigan Wolverine. And no matter what happens they are still our little brothers.

Go Blue!