The Michigan Daity - michigandaily.com

Tuesday, September 8, 2009 - 3E

The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Tuesday, September 8,2009 - 3E

Gameday in Ann Arbor

JEREMY CHO/Daily
Ohio State defensive lineman Nathan Williams celebrates after tackling Michigan running back Michael Shaw (20) during
Saturday's game in Columbus. Ohio State upended Michigan 42-7, capping the Wolverines' worst season in 129 years at
3-9. Michigan has failed to defeat the Buckeyes in its last six attempts in one of the most storied rivalries in college sports.
Misery in Columbus
ends Blue's season

Two Daily writers
break down your
football Saturday
By VERONICA MENALDI
Daily StaffReporter
Although the beginning of your
college experience may be full
of hundreds of pages to read and
papers to write, you'll always have
a unique distraction from it, at least
for the first few months, thanks to
the Saturday home football games.
Since a handful of home games
start at 12, chances are you'll be
awake before 9 a.m. getting all
dolled up in maize and blue and a
"Go Blue" temporary tattoo on your
cheek.
A highly recommended addition
to your outfit would be a small
clutch (since you can't bring in big
purses or bags to the stadium) to
hold a few essentials and of course,
By MARTY LaROUERE
Daily Sports Writer
Although the beginning of your
It's 6 a.m. and your alarm clock goes
off. But this time, it's not a drag wak-
ingup.Youjump outofbed,grabyour
iPod, hook it up to your speakers and
start your day off with a rendition of
the greatest fight song in the land:
"The Victors."
While throwing on your maize
student t-shirt, you might ask your-
self, "Am I really supposed to be
waking up this early for a 12-o'clock
football game?" Of course you are!
While you think you are the only
one up this early to tailgate, just wait
until you hit State Street. And when
you pass the Michigan Union a few
minutes later, that's when the real
party begins.
There is no better energy rush
than seeing hundreds of fans - most
of them your fellow classmates -
tossing the pigskin, blaring music,
grilling burgers and "welcoming" the
opponent's fans to Ann Arbor. And

your ticket and Mcard.,
Once you're all ready to go,
you'll make your way down to a
cafeteria to get a much-needed cup
of coffee along with a brunch-style
meal before you and your friends
continue on your way to the football
stadium.
As you continue toward the
stadium,you'll come across multiple
fraternities and other houses
blasting music with the brothers
and homeowners gladly inviting
you to join in the festivities on their
front porch and lawn.
You'll find out that everyone is
laughing, dancing and having a
good old time while many of them
are holding "shady red cups," a can
of beer or even drinking from a
bag of wine, strategically avoiding
stepping on the sidewalk with any
of these in hand.
As you continue on your way,
the smell of alcohol, sweat and
barbeque will permeate the air as
you walk along side hundreds of
don't be afraid when some stranger
runs up to you and yells "Got" in your
face. Justreturnthe favor and scream
back "Blue?"
After doing some frat hopping and
stopping off at a few of your friends'
houses to quench your thirst, it is
probably a good idea to grab some-
thing to eat. Whip out that Mcard of
yours and head over to South Quad,
where you can have that perfect
game-day breakfast beginning at
10 a.m. But do that quickly, because
spending more than 15 minutes
in South Quad is considered some
severe time mismanagement.
And when you head back out for
round number two, there are not
just hundreds of people walking the
streets but thousands.
As atrue UofMfan,itis absolutely
necessary to arrive at the stadium a
few minutes before kick-off to wit-
ness the most famous entrance in all
of sports. So round up your friends
and follow the crowds to the gates
of the Big House. After locating your
section number and strolling down

people heading towards the same
location.
Once you're close, and provided
you still have time, I'd advise buying
a hot dog at one of the many stands
near the stadium if you're hungry
or stopping by a tailgate or two to
socialize if you know anyone there
(the food there is usually pretty
good as well).
Once you've entered the stadium,
you'll go and find your seat and get
to know some of the people around
you. If that doesn't sound like your
cup of tea, feel free to move over to
where some of your friends may be
sitting if they're not already near
you.(I believe I sat in my actual seat
only once or twice the whole season,
so don't worry).
Now that you're all seated and
situated, get ready to standup, cheer
and enjoy the game. Whatever your
reason for going, there are plenty
of Saturdays to come in which the
work you have to get done doesn't
exist, at least for those few hours.
to your seat, you can see your team
run out of the tunnel and touch the
GO BLUE banner, sing "The Vic-
tors" several times and listen to the
announcer list the starting lineups.
Now, it's game-time.
For the next four hours, you are
likely to be part of the largest crowd
to attend a sporting event that day.
After watching a few Tate Forcier
touchdowns and 50-plus yard runs
by Brandon Minor, it's safe to say that
because Michigan is the winningest
program in college football, you can
expect to leave the stadium basking
in yet another victory (well,let's hope
so).
At this point, moststudents like to
grab a bite to eat from a State Street
shop or the Union, which provides
a great opportunity to discuss the
game.
Afteralongandexcitingday,you're
exhausted. But after a few-hour nap,
you will be ready to head out for the
night and celebrate avictory.
Welcome to life as a Michigan
Wolverine.

NOVEMBER 24TH,2008 -
COLUMBUS - Entering Satur-
day's game, the only thing left to
lose was the last bit of pride.
And somehow, the Michigan
football team managed to fumble
that away, too.
Before going to Ohio Stadium, it
hadn't been completely clear when
the 3-9 Wolver-
ines would hit
rock bottom. It
felt like it after
the Illinois
blowout. Maybe
it was after the
Toledo embar- COURTNEY
rassment, or RATKOWIAK
when Michigan
lost to Notre Dame, Michigan State
or Purdue.
But it became obvious at the
end of Saturday's misery. As the
Buckeyes stomped on the Wolver-
ines' pride one last time and the
Ohio State students rushed the
field, junior running back Brandon
Minor slowly walked off the field
with his helmet in his hand.
In the lowest point of the worst
season in Michigan history, was he
really trying to soak it all in?
"Yeah, basically," Minor said,
slowly and sadly, right before he
was grabbed by the shoulder and
pulled away by a member of the
Michigan staff.
But now that the season is over,
there are a few positives looking
forward - well, the main one is
probably just that this year is over.
The Wolverines can hope it
won't be as bad next season.
"Ain't going to happen on my
watch as a senior next year," Minor

said in his postgame press confer-
ence. .
But the Wolverines seemed to
believe that at the beginning of
this year, too. This time around,
they'll have to understand where
they went wrong Saturday - and
this season - before they try to fix
those problems next spring.
PREGAME
Before it even started, the big-
gest rivalry game in college football
was already irrelevant. The ABC
broadcasters estimated just 200 of
the 105,564 fans in the stands were
Michigan fans, and it was easy to
believe that, looking out at the solid
red crowd.
Rodriguez had been accused
of not seeing the importance of
the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry
before coaching in The Game, and
the questions about it had already
become annoyingly repetitive by
the time Ohio State week rolled
around.
It still wasn't clear he under-
stood on Saturday. Next season,
he has to prove he knows. Espe-
cially in a transition period where
so much of Michigan tradition is
being overhauled, the rivalry can't
be overstated enough. Bo Schem-
bechler made his team do drills in
sets of 50 the year after Michigan's
50-14 loss to the Buckeyes. And
next year, Rodriguez should make
sure two sets of numbers from this
season aren't forgotten: 3-9 and
42-7.
After Saturday's loss, Rodriguez
said, "The quieter I am, the less
drama I have to deal with." But
next year, he needs to emphasize
the importance of the rivalry so

much that Michigan fans are sick
of hearing about it before the game
happens.
It's not just any other game.
When Jim Tressel came to Ohio
State andspoke at his first pep rally,
he made sure Buckeyes fans knew
success started with a win in Ann
Arbor - and he's now 7-1 against
the Wolverines.
ON THE FIELD
When the going got tough this
season, Rodriguez often used the
number of months he's been the
Michigan head coach as an excuse.
"Nine months," he said back in
September, answering a question
about his team's progress with a
dramatic pause for effect. "Nine
months."
It was the same the next month
before the Minnesota game.
"Ten months. Geez," he told
reporters exasperatedly, when
asked to evaluate how he's been as
the coach.
But 11 months after he was hired,
his team looked shockingly similar
to how it did in August.
A meager offense featuring a bad
offensive line and an erratic quar-
terback.
A defense that gave up the big
plays.
A return game that couldn't hold
onto the ball.
Rodriguez constantly says
that he can see progress in prac-
tice Sunday through Friday that
doesn't show up on the field. Satur-
day showed fans can no longer give
him the benefit of the doubt - in
terms of the season, there was no
improvement to speak of.
See RATKOWIAK, page 7E

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Will 'M' turn it around?

By RUTH LINCOLN
Daily Sports Writer
For many, football Saturdays
define one's Michigan experience.
Little compares to the trek down
State Street and then over to Hoover,
slowly approaching the giant
Block-M scoreboard and sitting with
100,000-plus ofyour closest friends.
And for years the Michigan foot-
ball team has delivered with early-
season blowouts over mid-major
teams followed by grinding contests
with perennial Big Ten foes. And for
years the end result was expected
-- A Michigan win. But after last
season's program-record nine loss-
es, the Wolverine faithful can rally
around a simple message: It can't get
much worse.
QUESTIONS AT QB
For the second straight season,
there are big questions at the most
important position on the field. As
Steven Threet and Nick Sheridan-
learned last season, being a quar-
terback in the spread offense is
noeasy task. Last season, neither
Threet nor Sheridan could estab-
lish any consistency as the Wol-
verines grudgingly stumbled to a
3-9 record. As Rodriguez support-
ers have preached all along, once
Michigan recruited the right play-
ers, everything else should fall into
place. And with Threet heading to

Arizona State and Sheridan coming ful. Either couldbe the guy to prove
back from a leg injury suffered dur- the spread offense can be a success,
ing spring practice, there's plenty of but if he doesn't, the blame will lie

room for Rodriguez's young guns to
showcase their skill.
For freshman Tate Forcier, that
meant taking the lead reins during
spring ball once Sheridan was side-
lined. Forcier enrolled last January
and got a semester jump on learn-
ing the offense. Although he is only
6-foot-1185 pounds, the San Diego
native has the arm strength and
speed to be a great college quar-
terback. Forcier showed glimpses
of greatness back in April and
impressed the 50,000-plus at the
annual spring game. Many expect
Forcier to revitalize a frustrated
fanbase and bring Michigan back
among the BCS's best. But for a true
freshman, that task seems rather
mighty.
Denard Robinson, who arrived in
Ann Arbor in June, will be another
option at quarterback. The freshman
is known primarily for his speed and
set state track records this season in
Florida. Forcier looked solid in the
spring, but don't expect Rodriguez
to divulge the front runner just yet.
They very well could trade snaps all
throughout the season.
Neither Forcier nor Robinson
have huge shoes to fill from last
year, but they potentially carry an
offense on their shoulders that has
yet to win over the Wolverine faith-

squarely on Rodriguez's shoulders.
And who knows how many seasons
Rodriguez will have to prove it.
WILL MICHIGAN MAKE IT
BACK TO A BOWL GAME?
At this time last season, Michi-
gan held three prestigious college
football records - best all-time
winning percentage, most all-
time wins and longest Bowl streak
appearances. Now, just two of those
three records hold true. After Pur-
due handed the Wolverines their
seventhloss of the season on Nov. 1,
there was no hope, Michigan would
be bowl ineligible for the first time
in 33 years.
For those accustomed to travel-
ing each frigid Michigan winter
to the Rose Bowl and other New
Year's Day Bowl games, the thought
of watching the Ball drop in Times
Square from the comfort of one's
own home seemed bizarre. But that
was last year's reality.
Even withouta Big Ten title or an
Ohio State victory (Michigan hasn't
won The Game since 2003), Rodri-
guez could win over more fans if
Michigan can make it back to a
Bowl Game. For that to happen, the
Wolverines must win at least seven
games and in some instances, six
games will qualify.

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