4B -- October 26, 2009

The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

THE QUICK BREAKDOWN

MAIZE GAUGE
MESK-O-METER

The Michigan Daily football writers break down the weekend's stats that don't show up in the box score. The Mesk-o-Meter measures the success of special teams, the Rod-o-Meter
judges how emotional (positive or negative) Rich Rodriguez was following the game and the Hype-o-Meter measures the fans' performance.

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y
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ROD-O-METER

Mesko didn't disappoint, per usual, and averaged 44.9 yards
per punt on seven kicks. He also eclipsed the 10,000 yard
mark to further extend his Michigan record. But no one else
Zoltans
on special teams showed up, especially in the return game.

2/
Rich Rods

Rich Rodriguez was calm after the game, a demeanor far
different from during his postgame Michigan State and
Iowa press conferences. He offered perspective on the
freshmen and coaching decisions, but that was about it.

HYPE-O-METER
2 Before Saturday, the hype couldn't have been at more of a
fever pitch. But by game's end, the Big House felt more like
Big Houses Beaver Stadium, with an emptying student section and
raucous Nittany Lion fans. And the Maize Out simply sucked.

0


LOOKING GOOD

FEELING BLUE

PLAY OF THE GAME

0 L TM M TF k' --A
SAIDALSALAH/Daily SAIDALSALAH/ Daily
DEFENSIVE END BRANDON GRAHAM MICHIGAN RECEIVING CORPS
Graham's stat line pretty much speaks for itself. Dropped balls, dropped balls and more dropped
The senior tied a career high with 3.5 tackles for balls. Sophomore Kevin Koger had three. Redshirt
loss, including one big third-down sack. Graham sophomore Kelvin Grady had a big one on third
also blocked a punt for the first time. Unfortunately down. And there were a few more, but we ran out of
for Michigan, he cannot be cloned 10 more times. fingers. That'll put a damper on any passing game.

0

NOTABLE
QUOTABLE
We were out in the
tunnel, waiting for
Michigan to go down.
They were rah, rah,'
makisg a lot of noise,
running down the
tunnel. ...We look over
at Joe, and he's jumping
up and dow..... And I'm
looking at him and I'm
like, 'OK, it's time to play
football, seriously.' "
- Penn State quarterback Daryll Clark
on coach Joe Paterno's pregame energy.
When asked if JoePa could touch the Go
Blue banner, Clark added, "Who, him?
Aw, he'd have jumped over it."

THE MICHIGAN DAILY TOP 10 POLL
The Michigan Daily Top 10 returns for its eighth installment this season. Each week, Daily
Sports staffers will fill out ballots, with first place votes receiving 10 points, second-place votes
receiving nine, and so on. The results are published with first-place votes in parentheses.

1. FLORIDA (5): Shakos
off to Drum Major David
Hines for beingthe only
one to predict a close game.
2. TEXAS (2): The
Longhorns laugh at those
who thought Missouri was
actually acompetentrival..
3. ALABAMA (3): The
Crimson Tide didn't need
to scorea touchdown in
their win over Tennessee.
4. CINCINNATI: Cincy is
off to its best start in 55
years. That's when this
logo debuted. Maybe.
S. USC: Oregon State drops
to .500 against the Trojans
over the past four years. It
was a good run. Sigh.

6. IOWA (1): Iowa is
great at raising and then
crushing the hopes of this
state's football fans.
7. BOISE STATE:Vacation
to Hawaii. Win by 45. Not
too shabby of a weekend if
you're from Idaho.
8. TCU: The Horned Frogs
justjumped Boise State in
the BCS. Hopefully they'll
forgive these rankings.
9. LSU: The Tigers at home
are a lock. They haven't
lost twice ina row in Baton
Rouge since 2001.
10. OREGON: The Ducks'
special teams dominated
with a fake field goal and
blocked punt for a score.

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STAFF PICKS
The Daily Football writers do their
best to predict what happens (
in the 2009 football season. Michael Ruth
Eisenstein - Lincoln


Courtney
Ratkowiak

Andy
Reid

r . x a

No.13 Penn State (-4.5) at Michigan
No.1 Alabama (-15.5) vs. Tennessee
No. 2 Florida(-22.5) at Mississippi State
No.3 Texas (-12) at Missouri
No. 4 Southern Cal (-21) vs. Oregon State
No.5 Cincinnati (-18) vs. Louisville
No. 6 Boise State (-24.5) at Hawaii
No.7Iowa (+1) at Michigan State
No. 8 Miami (FL) (-5.5) vs. Clemson
No.9 LSU (-7.5) vs. Auburn
No.10 TCU (-2.5) at No.16 BYU
No.11 Georgia Tech (-6) at Virginia
No.12 Oregon (-10) at Washington
No.14 Oklahoma State (-10) at Baylor
No.17 Houston (-17) vs. Southern Methodist
No.18 Ohio State (-17) vs. Minnesota
No.19 Utah (-9:5) vs. Air Force.
No. 20 Pittsburgh (-6.5) vs. South Florida
No. 21 Texas Tech (-21.5) vs. Texas A&M
No. 22 West Virginia (-7) vs. Connecticut
No. 23 South Carolina (-13) vs. Vanderbilt
No. 24 Kansas (+8) vs. No.25 Oklahoma
Indiana (+5) at Northwestern
Illinois (+11) at Purdue
Last Week
Overall

Michigan
Alabama
Florida
Texas
Oregon State
Cincinnati
Hawaii
Iowa
Miami
LSU
BYU
Georgia Tech
Oregon
Oklahoma State
Houston
Ohio State
Utah
Pittsburgh
Texas Tech
Connecticut
South Carolina
Oklahoma
Northwestern
Purdue
13-11
96-79-1

Michigan
Alabama
Florida
Missouri
Southern Cal
Cincinnati
Boise State
Iowa
Clemson
Auburn
BYU
Georgia Tech
Washington
Oklahoma State
Houston
Ohio State
Air Force
South Florida
Texas A&M
Connecticut
Vanderbilt
Kansas
Indiana
Illinois
14-10
90-85-1

Michigan
Tennessee
Florida
Texas
Oregon State
Cincinnati
Hawaii
Iowa
Miami
Auburn
BYU
Georgia Tech
Washington
Oklahoma State
Houston
Ohio State
Utah
South Florida
Texas Tech
Connecticut
South Carolina
Oklahoma
Indiana
Purdue
12-12
92-83-1

Michigan
Tennessee
Florida
Missouri
Southern Cal
Cincinnati
Boise State
Iowa
Miami
LSU
Texas Christian
Georgia Tech
Oregon
Oklahoma State
Houston
Minnesota
Utah
South Florida
Texas Tech
West Virginia
South Carolina
Kansas
Indiana
Purdue
11-13
82-93-1

Guest Picker:
Michigan
Marching Band
Drum Major
David Hinies Jr
Michigan
Alabama
Mississippi State
Texas
Southern Cal
Cincinnati
Hawaii
lowa
Miami
Auburn
BYU
Georgia Tech
Oregon
Oklahoma State
Houston
Ohio State
Utah
South Florida
Texas Tech
Connecticut
South Carolina
Kansas
Indiana
Purdue
11-13
92-83-1

6

To apply to be a guest picker, e-mail lincolnr@umich.edu. If you're chosen and can beat at least two of us, you'll stay on for another week. The longest tenured guest picker will get a prize at the end of the season.
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