Three Up – Three Down

Michigan goes down:

In a display of classic Jim Harbaugh mismanagement, he commenced the football game against Penn State last weekend by calling Timeout “before the game even started” because he was unable to get his football team lined up.

Needless to say, that’s a bad omen for a team is getting ready to play a football game, but that’s classic Jim Harbaugh: lot’s of bells and whistles, accompanied by deplorable game management, inept situational schematics, and woeful clock management

Clearly, Harbaugh hadn’t prepared Michigan to play football because thereafter Michigan yielded 21 unanswered points and took a 21-7 deficit into the locker room at Halftime. Playing catch up at Beaver Stadium in one of the most hostile stadiums in the country is not a recipe for success.

And talk about inept situational schematics: Harbaugh attempted to cover Penn State, receiver/returner, KJ Hamler, one of the fastest and most electrifying players in the country with a Defensive Safety in lieu of a faster, more agile Cornerback, and that’s all it took: Hamler hauled in 6 passes for 108 Yards and 2 Touchdowns, and Hamler also gashed Michigan for a 40 Yard Kick Off return as well. Of course, Harbaugh’s team got taken to the woodshed and lost 28-21.

After getting blown up in defeat at Wisconsin, Michigan thought they could run the table and beat Ohio State and win the Big Ten East, but Harbaugh gross mismanagement of a football game caught them looking ahead instead of playing football. Of course, Michigan lost and their Big Ten dreams were shattered again for the 15th time since 2004, and with their Big Ten Title hopes taken off the table for the 15th consecutive year, you can expect Brian Kelly and Notre Dame to pile on.

The wheels are wobbling on Jim Harbaugh’s football cart, and you can expect Notre Dame Head Coach, Brian Kelly to take advantage. I predict Notre Dame will “wake up the echoes”…and serenade Michigan fans at the “Big House” with a resounding chorus of the venerable “Notre Dame Victory March” when the clock ticks Zero

Penn State goes down:

Just like Michigan was unprepared to play at Penn State last weekend, in turn, Penn State will be looking past the 4-3 Spartans with their eye on playing Ohio State for the Big East Title on November 23.

That will be bad sign for Penn State. Mark Dantonio has beaten James Franklin and Penn State in 4 of the 5 games they have played since Franklin became Head Coach at Penn State in 2014. In fact, just last season, Penn State was ranked #8 and the Spartans were an decided Underdog when they played at Happy Valley. And while the Spartans trailed most of the game, the Spartans Defense was able to limit “Big Plays” from Penn State, while in turn the Spartans Offense executed efficiently and scored a Touchdown with just 19 seconds remaining on the game clock to post a 21-17 victory.

Part of the Spartans game winning Defensive strategy was keeping KJ Hamler under control, something Michigan was incapable of doing due to poor schematics. Hamler gathered just 5 receptions for 66 Yards, and a 1 Touchdown vs the Spartans last season, but Hamler’s longest play from the Line of Scrimmage was just 23 Yards, while his longest Kick Off return was just 24 Yards. So, the Spartans have proven they can implement a game plan to keep Hamler under control.

Of course it has been well documented that the Spartans have been struggling on Offense this season, but the Spartans struggled on Offense last year as well and still won, mostly due to better game management. Mark Dantonio is a decidedly better game manager than James Franklin whose ineptness at game management is only superseded by the total ineptness Jim Harbaugh & Co. That will be enough tomorrow for the Spartans to sing “Victory 4 MSU” when the clock ticks Zero.

Wisconsin goes down:

Wisconsin got caught looking ahead to playing Ohio State, and paid a dear price last weekend by losing to Illinois 23-24.

Up until last weekend, Wisconsin was flying high, scoring more than 40 points per game while yielding less than 8 points a game, but unpreparedness caused them to cough up two fumbles and an Interception. Meanwhile, Illinois wasn’t dominant yet they were opportunistic. The Illini stayed in the game: Wisconsin faltered and Illinois kicked a game winning Field Goal as time expired.

At the end of the day, Wisconsin had to listen to the Illinois homecoming crowd gleefully sing the venerable “Illinois Loyalty”, while tomorrow Wisconsin will be serenaded with the Buckeye Battle Cry.

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