Here we are, sitting at 6-0, headed into East Lansing to take on Little Sister Brother with the opportunity to spring into a true national spotlight for the next two weeks. One cannot underestimate the ramifications of this game and what is means for the momentum of the program under Coach Hoke. Win and you are the talk of college football for the next two weeks leading up to the next game with Purdue on 10/29. Michigan is BACK, we are in the national title hunt, Denard is the new Heisman front runner and Hoke and Greg Mattison are being spoken about on College Football Live and all the radio shows as national coach and assistant of the year runaway winners.
But, what if Michigan loses? What if they are who we thought they were at the beginning of the season: a team that beats up on a weak non-conference schedule and picks on overmanned Big Ten teams early, only to get run over by the new "big boys" in the Big Ten - Michigan State, Wisconsin and Nebraska. What if a our front 7 gets manhandled by a weak MSU offensive line. What if B.J. Cunningham does a Nick Moore impression and catches 20 balls and completely breaks the spirits of a confident Michigan secondary.
Talk about 2 possible paths that a team can take to begin the second half of the season.
During the normal Michigan years, aka 1969-2007, a loss Saturday to Sparty would be seen as a minor hiccup and Michigan fans would still be confident that their team was going to win out and end up playing in the Rose Bowl. But, have we all have been blinded by the Rich Rodriguez nightmare? Can there be no let down loss and still have hope?
Michigan fans will can only view this game one way, as a measuring stick. The questions that have yet to be answered are endless. Can Denard get it done vs. a REAL defense? Is Mattison realllly a defensive mastermind? Do we have a running game other than Denard? Is Hoke any better than RichRod against the Big Ten?
At about 3:25pm on Saturday, I believe the answers to all these questions will be obvious to Michigan fans. This is the game we have been waiting for for 4 years. Are we BACK? Is this team the same Michigan team we all grew up watching? Can we impose our will on a Spartan team that we have beat up for the last 50 years? Win and all bets are off when considering the possibilities of this season. Would a win on the road vs. the defending Big Ten champs not signal that Michigan is back as the co-premier team in the league with Wisconsin? Will we all be calling Indianapolis hotels trying to get a room or two for Dec. 3rd?
But, what happens if we lose? The fan backlash on Hoke, Denard and Mattison will be deafening. How many fans will be calling for Denard Robinson to be benched? Will this team fold down the stretch like they have the last two years? Glancing at the schedule and I can only imagine the worst case scenarios . . and they keep me up at night. A loss can potentially CRUSH this team mentally. A 1-5 regular season finish does not seem to be an unreasonable prediction shall we drop this momentous, program defining game.
This is a MUST win. These seniors cannot go out 0-4 vs Sparty. Our time is now. Michigan must throw out all the rules and pull every trick out of the book that it can. This is the one, Brady. This is Bo vs. OSU in '69., Moeller vs ND in '91 (2nd year, I know), Carr vs. OSU in '95. This is the game where you show the Michigan fan base what a Brady Hoke football team looks like. Brady Hoke can right the ship against a perceived stronger rival just like the great coaches that came before him on Saturday. A win Saturday will send Hoke on a rocket ship to the moon. A loss, and 'why did we fire RichRod' rumblings will pent up among the less informed fan base.
The is no option Saturday. Michigan cannot lose this game. The time is now boys, go show 'em who owns the state of Michigan. Winning is everything. Just win, baby.
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