The 2008 BCS Championship Game will take place in New Orleans on Jan. 7 and the Michigan Wolverines will make up half of the title game's field.
Several people have said they'll wait until some point midway through the '07 season to decide what the Wolverines are, but that's not necessary.
Heading into last season, all the talk in Columbus centered around the Buckeyes losing almost all of their defensive starters from a team that walloped Notre Dame in the '06 Fiesta Bowl. Well, for 12 games, at least, that group of no-named Buckeye defenders played well enough to help their team secure a spot in the 2007 National Title Game.
Michigan is in the same boat. The team's four best defensive players-Leon Hall, Alan Branch, LaMarr Woodley and David Harris-were among the first 50 players chosen during April's NFL Draft. Five of the seven UM players taken in the draft play on the defensive side of the ball. In total, the Wolverines lost 10 defensive standouts to either graduation or the NFL.
A group of unfamiliar names will be asked to step up this fall. It'd be easy to say they'll tak their lumps throughout the campaign, if it weren't for a few key items.
The schedule
I won't discuss Michigan opening with Appalachian State or the Wolverines scheduling Eastern Michigan halfway through the season. Even though I don't like either of those teams being on a top team's schedule, you have to play what you're given.
That's two Ws right there, with both games set to be played at the Big House. Six of the Wolverines other 10 games are in Ann Arbor, too, meaning Michigan only has to travel outside the Ann Arbor city limits four times this season-at Northwestern Sept. 29, at Illinois Oct. 20, at Michigan State Nov. 3, and at Wisconsin Nov. 10.
That's three road tilts against teams that will most likely finish at the bottom of the Big Ten and a tussle at Camp Randle that could have conference championship implications.
I'd say a rivalry game in East Lansing late in the season could be tough, but can you name me five starters for the Spartans? And the game at Wisconsin would be a question mark, as well, if it were played earlier in the season-like when the Wolverines lost a heartbreaker in Madison in 2005.
Home games against Oregon (Sept. 8), Penn State (Sept. 22), and Purdue (Oct. 13) should test Michigan's mettle; as will the season finale Nov. 17 against the hated Buckeyes. However, homefield advantage should play a role in the Wolverines coming out of those games unscathed.
The offense
At the beginning of each college basketball season, there's a list put out of the 50 players who could win the Player of the Year award. If there were a college football equivalent of that, three Michigan players-Michael Hart, Chad Henne, and Mario Manningham-would make the top 15 of that list.
The Wolverines are loaded on the offensive side of the ball, returning almost every major cog on a team that outscored opponents 29-16 in 2006. Imagine what that margin would be if head coach Lloyd Carr would open up the playbook every once in a while!
It'd be extremely difficult for Hart to outdo his 1562 yards, 14 scores and 4.9 yards per carry from a year ago; but, with Michigan turning out offensive linemen like a factory, it's possible.
Henne will look to end his career in Ann Arbor with a ####, and his first bowl win. The signal caller also has a good shot at improving on his 2,508 yards, 22 TD, eight pick performance from '06, too.
Manningham, who only appeared in 10 games last season, is sure to best his 703 yards, nine TD performance from last season. And sophomore-to-be Greg Matthews should make his name known this season, making for a potent 1-2 punch on the outside.
Those two things alone make it extremely possible that Michigan could mark the 10-year anniversary of its last national title with another trip to a title game.
If Hart or Henne sustain injury, however, all bets are off. Huge improvements need to be made in the secondary, as well, since the squad was out gained by an average of 225-195 through the air in 2006 and yielded 132 first downs through the air to its 118.
So, Wolverine fans can start making plans to migrate to the Bayou this holiday season. But, as a Spartan alum, if none of the things mentioned above happen, I'll be FAR from upset.
It would have been too easy to title this post as "Strike a Pose." Everybody would have known exactly what I was talkin' about.
Yes, it's THAT time of year again. T-minus 31 days until the start of college football. None of the major polls are out, but all the talk has centered around defending national champ Texas and how Mack Brown will replace Vince Young, and on the two teams who met in last season's Fiesta Bowl: Notre Dame and Ohio State.
There's four guys on those two squads who have a shot at the Heisman this season: senior wide out Jeff Samardzija and senior signal caller Brady Quinn could be in New York representing the Irish this December, while senior quarterback Troy Smith, and junior do-everything returner/wide receiver Ted Ginn, Jr. could rep "O-H. I-O."
There's also a number of other guys who could end up hoisting the memorial trophy. Some of them play on BCS bowl contenders. Some of them play on middle of the road squads that have a chance at a solid season.
So, without further ado, here's my list of Heisman candidates for the 2006 College Football season.
--Brady Quinn, Sr. QB, Notre Dame: Head coach Charlie Weiss has turned this Tyrone Willingham recruit into the likely number one pick in next year's NFL Draft. Quinn put up some crazy number last season: 32 TDs, 3,919 yards, and a 65 percent completion rate. If he can duplicate those numbers, and the Irish can make it through a schedule that includes Georgia Tech, Penn State, Michigan, Michigan State, UCLA and USC relatively unscathed, Quinn could take home the memorial trophy this year.
--Adrian Peterson, Jr. RB, Oklahoma: Peterson was invited to NYC as a freshman after tallying 15 scores and 1,925 yards. He hit what some would term a sophomore slump last year with a couple of injuries "slowing him down." AD still recorded 14 touchdowns and 1,108 yards. If he can regain his frosh form, Peterson could make it back-to-back tailbacks to win the Heisman.
--Michael Bush, Sr. RB, Louisville: His Cardinals squad has a chance to stay in the national title hunt this year. Bobby Petrino's group has just two tough games on its schedule: Miami (Fl.) on Sept. 16 and West Virginia on Nov. 2. Both of those games are at home. Michael played second fiddle to the other Bush last season, but his numbers were second to none. On 205 carries, Bush rushed for 1,143 yards and 23 scores. Michael could be this year's "El Presidente."
--Drew Stanton, Sr. QB, Michigan State: When healthy, Stanton is possibly the best signal caller in college football. With his Spartan squad's sketchy defensive play, lack of a kicking game and questionable coaching decisions, Stanton is the most important player to his team in the nation. This selection is completely dependent on State not having its annual swoon following their game against in-state rival Michigan and finishing with at least nine wins. Stanton's numbers speak for themselves: 67 percent completions, 3,077 yards, 22 TDs.
--Troy Smith, Sr. QB, Ohio State: Once he was given the reins, Smith played well for the Buckeyes last season. He missed the first game-and-a-half due to a suspension and went on to record 2,282 yards and 16 touchdowns on 64 percent. He'll probably be hyped up as this year's Vince Young. Like Young, Smith played well in his team's biggest games. He threw for 300 yards in Ann Arbor in a 25-21 win over Michigan. Smith also threw for 345 yards in the Buckeyes' Fiesta Bowl victory over Notre Dame
My name is Jason Carmel Davis, and I am a graduate of the Michigan State University School of Journalism. Yes, we do go to class in East Lansing, not just to bars and the liquor store.
I'm almost positive I had an SI with me in the womb, checking out Ralph Wiley. He's the main reason I ever decided to pursue a career in sportswriting .
I even remember the first highlight I ever saw on SportsCenter. I don't remember who was reading it, but it was Michael Jordan's 63-point game against the Celtics in the Garden in the 86 Playoffs. I've been hooked ever since.
