Week 1 Notes With Updates on Fitz Toussaint And Frank Clark

I have waited as long as I could to post this column, waiting to find out the final decision on Fitzgerald Toussaint and Frank Clark.
Now I have learned that Toussaint and Clark are both continuing their respective suspensions thru the Alabama game. "The decision was not easy, but I feel it is in the best interest of this program and for these kids, and those always will be my priorities," Hoke said in a statement. "We have choices every day, and you have to be accountable to this program, your teammates, your family and the University of Michigan." I don't like Hoke's decision. I think Fitz gives Michigan a better chance of winning. Yet, while I don't like his decision, I do respect it. Hoke has rarely made a decision so far that I don't like, and he absolutely has not made one decision that has been detrimental towards the team. I applaud Hoke for making what is one of the toughest decisions so far this early in the season.


The eighth-ranked Wolverines will likely use running backs Thomas Rawls, Vincent Smith, Justice Hayes perhaps along with newcomers Dennis Norfleet and Drake Johnson against the defending national champion Crimson Tide.



Most experts picking No. 2 Alabama to win, and there's a 14 point spread. Now, I'm not an expert when it comes to the world of gambling, but I do understand game spreads. I think Michigan will cover those 14 pts, and as much as I hate it to say it, Alabama will win. Don't get me wrong...I bleed maize and blue. However, I'm looking at this from a purely football point of view, and I don't see how Michigan can win. I hope the team proves me wrong

Other Big Ten points:

1.Ohio is scheduled to play Penn State on Saturday. Now at first I thought it'd be a good win for PSU over a MAC team. But that was before the sanctions and transfers. That was before I found out Ohio doesn't have a single freshman or sophomore starting...anywhere. And that's a MAC team that had 10 wins last year. Win for Ohio.

2. Michigan State plays a much depleted Boise St team on Friday night in East Lansing. With only 6 starters returning and none of them being Kellen Moore or Doug Martin, Boise St will have a rough time against William Gholston and the Spartan D. If Andrew Maxwell can come out and not turn the ball over, then I foresee a comfortable win for MSU.

3. On a side note, former Spartans Brian Hoyer, BJ Cunningham, and Greg Jones have all been cut from their respective NFL teams. Ryan Mallett has now taken over the backup job in New England from Hoyer, and Mallett was once a Wolverine.

4. Best of luck to all teams out there, and GO BLUE!

HAIL TO THE VICTORS VALIANT
HAIL TO THE CONQUERING HEROES
HAIL, HAIL, TO MICHIGAN
THE LEADERS AND BEST

HAIL TO THE VICTORS VALIANT
HAIL TO THE CONQUERING HEROES
HAIL, HAIL, TO MICHIGAN
THE CHAMPIONS OF THE WEST