Going into the Michigan State game, I was not confident Michigan would win, but certainly that they could win. As it turns out, the defense laid a complete egg, and it's back to the drawing board again. A few random observations from the weekend that was:

• The stadium atmosphere, though it was better than some games, left a whole lot to be desired. Most disturbingly, a rival's fans got a stadium-wide cheer going in the waning moments of a victory in our stadium.
• The offense still can't put together four full quarters, but with the defense Michigan has, there really isn't much of an excuse to lose a game in which we score 21 points.
• The recruiting weekend didn't go exactly as planned, but it sounds as though most of the recruits in attendance really liked Michigan - with the notable exception of DeWayne Peace. Is a decommitment looming?
• Maybe I've just never considered them because I'm friends with a bunch of MSU fans, and those that I typically run across are cordial enough, but MSU fans are really a special brand of pathetic.

And looking forward to Purdue:

• The Boilermakers are probably the coldest team in the conference at this point, with Wisconsin and Indiana finally cracking through this past weekend. The next closest "competitor?" Probably Michigan. Sadly, this weekend's game is likely a battle to avoid finishing at the bottom of the conference, along with Indiana.
• QB Curtis Painter is expected to miss the game this weekend. Top backup Joey Elliott is out for the remainder of the season. That means OLSM product Justin Siller will likely start for the Boilers.
• If you ask me, Purdue is the closest thing offensively Michigan will play to Toledo (except maybe Minnesota). This might bode ill for the Michigan defense, since it's a personnel upgrade at nearly every position (except maybe replacing a 5th-year senior QB for a redshirt freshman).
• I don't forsee having a podcast this week.
• Michigan really needs this game. If they can get a bit of momentum going, they could probably pull off a game or two against Minnesota and Northwestern, as well.

Labels: football, michigan state hate, postview, purdue

This entry was posted by Tim, on Tuesday, October 28, 2008. You can leave your response.

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