Week 9 Notes and Predictions

Wow, there's only 5 weeks left of regular season college football. It always seems like the season passes by so much faster than we all want it to. No. 20 Michigan is traveling to Lincoln, Nebraska for the first time since 1911 (They've played each other bowls, but not in Lincoln since then). What makes the game even more tricky is the fact that it's going to be a night game. I have no issue with it being at night and it wasn't possible to foresee, but the Tigers will be hosting the Giants in Game 3 of the World Series in Detroit. How am I supposed to watch both games at the same time? The Tigers are down 2-0, but still...the momentum can still swing in Detroit's favor.

Anyway, undefeated Ohio State and banged up Braxton Miller are going to State College to play the surprisingly decent Penn State. Indiana is going to Illinois in a match-up of the Leaders Division Toilet Bowl. Michigan State will try to right the ship against Wisconsin--which will be no easy task...Wisconsin's offense is on a roll again. All of the Big Ten teams are playing this week, but not all of the teams have had their bye week yet. Northwestern will have theirs next week, and then OSU and MSU will have theirs the week after that with two games to go. Onto what this week will bring us:

Week 8: Top Performers And Underperformers

Snapping the losing streak against rival Michigan State wasn't a clean cut process, but you can't win in a game like that without at least one key performance. The Wolverines found that key performance in Drew Dileo, but who else contributed? And who wasn't that impressive?

Either Way, these players combined together to end a four year losing streak to that other team in the state of Michigan.

Let's take a look.

Recapping Michigan State

Finally, four years of agony and torture has ended. By the hands of Drew Dileo and the leg of Brendan Gibbons, Michigan advanced to 3-0 in the Big Ten and, looking at the bigger picture, won the program's 900th game, the most in college football.

The first thing I will say about this game is I seriously underestimated the ability of Spartan QB Andrew Maxwell. I gave him zero credit and almost looked like a fool for it -- almost. Without the play of Maxwell, Michigan State would not have been in that game.

But moving on.

What's the Dileo? It's been a common theme throughout this season to not really have the same WR step up in back to back weeks, but that's okay as long as the job gets done. This past Saturday, it was Drew Dileo.

Week 3: Biggest Performers and Underperformers

The week three game against Massachusetts was a beautiful things to watch. Everything seemed to be clicking for the Wolverines on offense and defense. This wasn't one of those situations where one key guy led the way to victory, and that is something to be proud of.

There were a lot (and I mean A LOT) of key performances from Wolverines this last week, but we're going to stick to the absolute top, and then also look at some guys who maybe didn't have the performance they were looking for.

Top Performers

1. Denard Robinson - QB

I'm handing out individual accolades for Week 3, and we can finally welcome Denard Robinson to the top of the list. This was one of the most complete games of Robinson's career because of the fact that he was able to get the passing game going, and I'm not just talking about the big plays.

Consistency is the most highly scrutinized aspect of Robinson's game, and it really isn't hard to see why. However, Saturday showed that his so-called "improvement" in the off season was not just a thing of talk; it was real. And we finally saw it on display.

Of course, it isn't a Michigan football game unless "Shoelace" busts one open with his legs and makes our jaws drop in amazement. So he did some of that, too. The running portion of Denard's game is truly what makes him so special.

2012 Positional Breakdown: Wide Receiver

One of last year's biggest strengths for the Wolverines was at the wide receiver position, largely because of the depth and a stellar performer in Junior Hemmingway. Unfortunately, number 21 from last year is no longer at Michigan's disposal to consistently make big plays. It is now up to the lesser roles of last year to step up and make something happen out wide for the Wolverines.

Heavy weights will be rested upon the shoulders of players like Roy Roundtree, Jeremy Gallon, and Drew Dileo. Some of these guys have proven themselves in years past, but offensive coordinator Al Borges will be looking for someone to really step up and do as much as possible to replace the presence of Hemmingway for the Michigan offense.