Threatdown

Keith Stone FTW.

And now, the pieced together transcript of the conversation that occurred in my head between the rational side of my brain (to protect his identity, we'll call him Spock in the transcript) and the passionate, action oriented side of my brain (to protect his identity, we'll call him Kirk in the transcript)

Spock: Well, Michigan was quite fortunate to have won that game.

Kirk: Woooo!  Don't care!  Wooooo!  Woooo!  Woooo!

Spock: Four field goals is hardly the offensive output necessary over the long term to win the Big Ten Championship.

Kirk: Don't care!  Don't care!  Woooooo!  Woooo!  What the Dileo?!?  Wooo!

Spock: And to garner those four field goals in a home game against a team that is coming off a home loss to Iowa, (editor's note: an Iowa team that would get its doors blown off at home by Penn State later in the evening) it is worrisome to say the least, no?

Kirk: Don't care!  Don't care!

Spock: You aren't troubled by the dropped balls by the receivers?  By the missed opportunities?  By the nine tackles for loss Michigan State had?  None of this bothers you.

Kirk: Nope, Don't care!  12 > 10.  Mathman, Mathman. 12 is greater than 10.

Spock:  But it's not like you can even brag about this.  Michigan won a game it had no business winning.  You know it, Michigan State fans know it, the entire country knows it?  How can you be taking such great pleasure from this?

Kirk: [straightens up, adjusts imaginary tie in universal symbol of pulling one's act together.]  Because I don't have to say anything.  I don't need to brag.  I don't need to say anything.  I'd rather focus on it being Michigan's 900th all-time victory than over whom they beat, simply because I know for the next year, I don't have to put up with anything.  No taunts, no "Little Sister" attempts at spin, no "Curse of Mike Hart" malarkey, no "Pride goes before the fall", none of that.  Because it's over.  Order has been restored to the college football universe, at least on a Michigan level.

Spock: Fascinating.  But let me ask you this...how mad are you at David Brandon right now?  Right now Michigan is viewed as a disappointing 5-2, whereas in a normal year, Michigan would likely be sitting at 6-1 having played a lower level team or a MAC school instead of Alabama to open the season?

Kirk: Thanks a lot Commander Buzzkill.  Nope, don't care.  900 wins.

Captain's courageous.  (Alternately, only one of these teams is wearing a ridiculous looking helmet.)

Bulletlike substance:

• I had this thesis that Michigan's offensive game plan in the first half was to setup tendencies for Michigan State which is to say I thought Borges just told Denard we'll give you some early run, if you get yards great, if you can't don't worry because it'll be there in a second half, we'll just give the ball to Fitz or to Gallon on a sweep and that should open up space for you.  Maybe it didn't work out but it's interesting to see how it happened.  I'll be very interested to see the UFR if I am right on that.
• I also think that I could be completely wrong about this I need to see the UFR but I think Michigan State had a scripted 15 play drive practiced like crazy all week and they said for the second half, tight game, knowing all of the looks Michigan was giving them that I think the touchdown drive became about execution execution execution and that was because they practiced all week and they came out a locker room and knew they could run that second run well that's exactly what they did.  I've also seen rumors that Dantonio himself called that drive, which raises more questions than not if it's true.
• Brendan Gibbons is as great a story you could want, from the guy couldn't make a single chicks to someone who will go down in Michigan history as having made two of the  biggest kicks in Michigan football history.  (Also, I knew we were all set, he was wearing Phil Brabbs' #34 and kicking toward the north end zone.  That's as good as it gets.)  Similarly, Drew Dileo, four catches, none under fifteen yards, there when you needed him, and four critical holds.  When you need a new hero to step to the fore, there you go with the man wearing the slot ninja #9.
• I will stand by this: Michigan students weren't rushing the field for beating Michigan State, they were rushing the field for having win the 900th game in school history.  It's what you do when you win 900 games as a program.  You can't prove otherwise.  It has happened every time a school has won 900 games.
  
• Welcome home Paul.  Big Jon Falk may need to put a call in to Rick Dale of Rick's Restorations, because Paul's looking a little rough after four years in the wild.
  
• Another night game, this time with Nebraska where we might be the fifth or sixth most exciting sporting event in that slot from a national perspective.   Don't care.