My Phil Steele Impression

With Michigan's bye week I get to try and be Phil Steele this Saturday. To the left is what Steele actually has in his home office. I just take one look at that and drool. It is enough to make even Michael Peterson jealous.

This bye week couldn't have come at a better time for both the Michigan players but our fans as well. We have spent the past few months in the cloud as Hoke has put together the Big Ten's best recruiting class and got the team off to a 6-0 start.

For the first time this past week I saw something on the message boards I had forgotten about, criticism of the coaching. Ever since Hoke and staff have taken off on the recruiting trail it has been all lollipops and gumdrops. While it sucks to lose to MSU again, at least it lets us look at the final few weeks of the season with a level head.

I said before the season, Hoke's first year will be judged by the last four weeks of the season. He must show progress where RRod could not. Now each of those four games looks more winnable. A few wins, including a win over hated OSU and Hoke and company might shoot us right back into the clouds. (Which Alabama and Saban will bring us back down next September but we will worry about that when we get there.)

So lets all kick back, relax, and watch a few other teams slug it out this weekend...

Friday- West Virginia at Syracuse 8PM- I forgot the Big East even existed to be honest with you. I was looking over the standings for each conference and I saw that Rutgers was tied with WVU for first in the conference. If the Big East wants to keep their automatic bid then they should probably not let Rutgers get to a BCS game. Good luck WVU, the future of the confernce is in your hands. WVU 35-17.

Illinois at Purdue Noon- I call this game the scouting future Michigan opponents game. I have watched Illinois but I have seen very little of Purdue. I want to see if Illinois can run the ball and I want to see if Purdue can do anything. I expect a close one. Illinois 24-19.

North Carolina at Clemson Noon- Every week people expect the Clemson collapse and every week Sammy Watkins pulls them closer to the finish line. If this game was at Chapel Hill I would go with the upset but Death Valley can taste a special season. Clemson 38-21.

Oklahoma St at Missouri Noon- The Cowboys will also be an upset alert when they travel to Missouri. The Tigers can move the ball no problem but so can OSU. OSU 45-38.

Auburn at LSU 3:30 PM- This game got interesting when LSU suspended three players. And by interesting I mean it will be interesting how long these three are suspended. Alabama and LSU each has a bye next week so get ready for two weeks of suspension segments on Sportscenter. It will be like the NBA lockout stories only you may actually pay attention. Suck it NBA. LSU 31-10.

Georgia Tech at Miami 3:30 PM- Each of these teams reversed their early season trends last week. The Yellowjackets looked human and Miami looked like a real football team. Specifically, Jacory Harris isn't terrible. Which makes me wonder. He has to revert to his inner Stephen Garcia soon, right? I think so. Georgia Tech 27-20.

USC at Notre Dame 7:30 PM- Pat Haden stated the obvious this week when he said the players don't care that much about this rivalry. This is especially true because just as Notre Dame is starting to get its feet under itself, USC is about to hit some down times with sanctions and Kiffin steering the ship. Notre Dame can flip this rivalry with a win and USC can add to the highlight reel of Barkley and Woods. Notre Dame 38-28.

Texas Tech at Oklahoma 8 PM- Too bad this game isn't on earlier because I love watching that OU passing attack. It will get lost in the shuffle with all the good games. OU 45-21.

Washington at Stanford 8 PM- Another game that might get lost in the shuffle Saturday night. Andrew Luck will do work against a porous Husky secondary but I want to see the Cardinal defense. Stanford has been locking everyone down but they also have yet to play anyone. QB Keith Price is making everyone forget about Locker. Not enough to make people to forget about Luck though. Stanford 45-17.

Wisconsin at Michigan St 8 PM- Hey Sparty. What have you been up to? Really? You shouldn't have. Seriously, all eyes will be on Russell Wilson to see if he can move the Badgers. I expect a close one but a Heisman moment is in order. Wisconsin 28-23.

Enjoy your day off everyone. You have earned it.