Week 2 installment of Big 10 Rambler, written by Bobby Stompy

Well,

I planned on slowly easing into what I'm about to talk about throughout the course of the college football season, but for some reason, the timing on this feels better than ever.

Are you ready? Good.

I'm a Michigan fan.

Yep, a Michigan fan. As in, a Michigan football fan.

While I attend school at the University of Iowa, I haven't been able to shake my childhood love of the Wolverines. As a fan of the Maize and Blue, I feel more isolated and upset than ever. Last week's loss - you know, the worst upset in NCAA football history - is still resonating, and I imagine it will for a long time. After watching the sixteenth replay of the game and almost having a mental breakdown, I began to weigh the pros and cons of this awful, awful tragedy.

Cons:
1) This loss is going to stick with Michigan forever, or, at least for the rest of the time I'm around. If, in some distant year like 2011, Michigan wins the national title, people will still be allowed to say "Appalachian State!" and it'll still hurt. No amount of winning can erase this.

2) The BCS championship hopes are over. This one was more obvious, but it still needs to be pointed out. Even if Michigan runs the table with a stretch of 11 victories all by the score of 100-0, it still won't matter. After all, they lost to a school not even eligible for the Top 25 (until very recently).

3) No matter what, the season is going to get worse and more frustrating. If Michigan loses three or four more games, it further cements four-year starters Chad Henne and Mike Hart as losers who couldn't get the team to the national title game. If, again, Michigan somehow runs the table, it'll be pointless. A "We beat Ohio State!" could easily be countered with a "...yeah, after your season ended Week 1."

It's hopeless.

The replays of the blocked kick are endless, too. Two years ago, when 14-seeded Northwestern State knocked off 3-seeded Iowa with a side-fade away buzzer beating three, March Madness was hell. The replays were a part of almost every game. And that was only a month long. We're only one week through an entire season. Pontiac is going to have a field day. Or two. Or three. Or ninety.

Pro (There's a pro?):
1) This absolutely has to make Michigan less hated. Ever since the final score came in, fans and analysts alike have been piling on the Wolverines. There was even a story about the amount of Appalachian State jerseys that are being sold in Columbus, Ohio.

I'm not saying it wasn't deserved, but seeing my Top 5 team plummet out of the polls turned the winningest college football program of all-time into a punch line. Although people may have lost loads of respect for Michigan (the kind of respect that may never come back), it's going to be a lot harder to say their fans haven't suffered in the future. The defeat brought us down a tier or two. It definitely gives us room to complain about the team in the future without having someone say, "Oh come on! You're a Michigan fan. You have no right to complain."

Tell that to the Oklahoma Sooner faithful.

So where does Michigan go from here?

I truly believe Lloyd Carr should be fired; at the season's end, of course. I'd list his missteps, but this piece at mgoblog does a much better job than I could have done. I honestly don't even see the point of playing Chad Henne for the rest of the year. Obviously this belief is extreme and probably wrong, but I really think the team would benefit most in the long run if they started 5-star true freshman Ryan Mallet. I feel like giving Henne the nod for the rest of the year is simply rewarding him for coming back.

Speaking of calling people out, I'm not perfect by any means, and because of this obvious fact, I would like to retract last week's "Unqualified Check Cashers" comment I made when referring to Appalachian State. While Youngstown State and Florida International are still on that list (they lost to OSU and Penn State by a combined 97-6 score), the Mountaineers proved they are a force. QB Armanti Edwards was dazzling, and the expression "like Mike Vick with an arm" seems apt. When starting, he's never lost a collegiate football game. So there, I'll never discount the defending national champs again, ever.

Shifting gears into the rest of the college football world...

This year's Heisman finalists could put up some of the most obnoxious numbers NCAA football has ever seen: Through two games, Louisville QB Brian Brohm has nine passing touchdowns and has thrown for almost 800 yards. West Virginia's dual-threat QB Pat White threw two TDs and rushed for two TDs en route to averaging 10.7 yards on nine carries. Arkansas all-purpose monster RB Darren McFadden already has a passing and rushing touchdown, and he'll undoubtedly put up some huuuge stats. And all of this is leaving out Hawaii QB Colt Brennan and his vendetta against just about every single season passing record there is. The NFL-bound senior put up six touchdowns and 416 yards in the first half of last week's game. If Brennan improves only a little bit from last year, his numbers - no matter the competition level of the WAC - will be very difficult for Heisman voters to ignore.

The Big Ten pick is STILL Ohio State: Yes, Michigan faltered, but Jim Tressel and the Ohio State Buckeyes are now the second highest ranked Big Ten team, and I have no reason to believe they won't stay there. Are you listening, Wisconsin?

Penn State is going to punish the Fighting Irish this week: Notre Dame was hapless on offense last week, and true freshman Jimmy Clausen has his work cut out for him going into a showdown against a hungry PSU squad in Happy Valley. This has all the makings of a classic Notre Dame blowout.

Where's the love for Michigan State?: The Spartans got no mention at all in last week's column, so I thought I owed it to the State fans out there to give them a little ink this week. Truth be told, I don't know a whole lot about MSU this year. QB Drew Stanton is gone (and on the Detroit Lions injured reserve, no less), they have a new coach, and a whole lot of people are predicting an upset at home over Michigan this year.

So here's my promise: MSU goes into Big Ten play undefeated, and I'll put some legitimate time into researching and writing about them. Sound fair?

***

Matchup of the Week: Oregon at Michigan - I don't care if Lloyd Carr is the coach, Michigan will be fired up for this game. Spending a week in Ann Arbor could only make the team madder, and angrier, and feistier, and more focused as they aim to not be the worst Michigan team of the last forty or so years...if that's possible. I fully expect someone to lose a head.

Others of Interest: Notre Dame at #14 Penn State - If you're of the massacre type.

#5 Wisconsin at UNLV - We get another look at the Badgers as they take on the Runnin' Rebels in the nightcap.

Akron at #12 Ohio State - The Battle of Ohio takes LeBron James' hometown and pits it against the college he would have attended.

Watch only with hands over your eyes: Syracuse at Iowa - The Hawkeyes are shoulder-deep in the cream as their "Are you serious?" schedule serves up the Orange in the team's home opener at Kinnick Stadium.

Honorable mentions - Just about every other Big Ten game

Number Crunching
The Best - #5 Wisconsin, #12 Ohio State, #14 Penn State
The Worst - Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota

By: Bobby Stompy

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