Gameday Prediction

I absolutely hate this type of game. When you look at a team like Illinois, you think back to the pre-season hype and you just know they have to bounce back one week, you just hope its not this week.

Everything seems to point to an Illinois victory....

-Ron Zook needs to prove himself after receiving a vote of confidence

-The players want to rally behind Zook and salvage the season

-Michigan is in a slump, both QB's playing poorly. Brandon Minor not 100%

-Its at Illinois, Michigan have lost both away games this year.

Despite this, if Michigan plays to its potential, it could win this game. I think it will be close, Michigan need to hassle  the Illini QB early on, don't let whoever it is get into a rhythm. If the secondary holds reasonably strong, and Michigan can get the running game going, they could easily win this game. 

Gameday Prediction: Michigan-31, Illinois-21

Who's Left? (Linebackers)

I put this post off for a while, thought I should finally do it now, seen as not much else has happened today. This is the last in the "Who's left" for Michigan series. Linebacker play has been alright this season, or maybe it just hasn't had much focus put on it due to the play of the secondary, and the lack of depth on the d-line? Either way Michigan could use some new talent here, especially at OLB to maximize the blitz packages that is meant to be the foundation of the Greg Robinson defense? Michigan isn't really in the mix for any middle LB's, at least not after Troy Gloster and Khairi Fortt committed to other schools, but here's who's left on the board.

- OLB Aramide Olaniyan (Woodberry Forest, VA), Michigan is most likely leading for the former Duke commit, although I don't think there has been any official confirmation of this. The four star OLB is rated #9 at the position by scout.com. He visited UM for the ND game and loved it, he will be back in December for an official visit. If all goes well there, he'll be a Michigan player in 2010.

Chances of signing with UM: 60%

- OLB Christian Jones (Winter Park, FL), once thought to be a Florida State lean, he expressed this week that its wide open, with as many as eight schools still in it. However he did say he wants to go to the Michigan-Ohio State match, and generally he seems very interested in Michigan. He's the #6 OLB on scout.com, securing either him or Olaniyan would be great for UM. Still a long way to go in this one, but Michigan could hang in there until the end.

Chances of signing with UM: 20% 

That's pretty much it for Michigan in this class, you could argue that Josh Furman should be classed as a linebacker as well, and let's not also forget that UM already has commitments from Antonio Kinard and Ken Wilkins. 

Tony Jefferson Update

Jefferson, a UCLA commit will be taking three more visits this fall, including Michigan. The four star athlete has interest in Florida and Miami along with the Maize and Blue.

He was initially planning to visit Michigan for the Purdue game, but flights were unavailable, so he will be in Ann Arbor for "The Game" against Ohio State on November 21st. He's mentioned that Michigan were persistent in their recruiting, not giving up even after he committed to the Bruins.

Jefferson continues to re-evaluate things, such as distance to home, which was originally a key factor for the California prospect. He is still trying to set up the Miami visit, but he will be visiting Florida on November 28th for their match against Florida State.

I have a feeling he won't end up at UCLA. 

Looking Ahead

Michigan has two home games left, against Purdue and Ohio State. At the start of the season most UM fans would have considered a home fixture against Purdue as a guaranteed win, however the Boilermakers have had a pretty good year, highlighted by a shock win against OSU.

Purdue will come to Ann Arbor on November 7th, and two possible visitors for this game are defensive players Bobby Swigert and UCLA commit Tony Jefferson. Jefferson is rated very highly by all major recruiting sites, he previously planned a trip to Ann Arbor before suddenly committing to the Bruins in early summer. He will be visiting either Michigan or Miami that weekend.

Looking beyond this to the OSU game, which will have stacks of recruits, including 2011 RB Demetrius Hart from Florida. Hart has always had UM in the lead, and after this visit he could well be committing to the Wolverines. He'll be visiting with his teammates Kenny Shaw (2010 WR) and Hasean Clinton Dix (2011 S/LB). I'll give an update OSU recruits list closer to the game, as we've learned this year, plans can change.

Anthony Barr down to two

Five Star running back Anthony Barr has left Michigan out of his final two schools, instead selecting UCLA and Notre Dame. USC and Cal were also in the mix for the talented prospect.

His father played at Notre Dame, so they have been the favorites from the start, however I didn't expect him to cut three other schools so fast.

Penn State Reactions

Michigan suffered a beating at the hands of the Nittany Lions last Saturday, and the result of it wasn't just another loss. I think most people knew Penn State was a better team than Michigan, but losing in that manner was unexpected. 

Seantrel Henderson wasn't at the game, as far as I know. If he was lurking in the crowd somewhere, I'm sure he would have been reasonably impressed......with Penn State. 

2010 Safety Carvin Johnson was one of the few main visitors at the game, and surprisingly enough he came away impressed with Michigan. Johnson is a real sleeper prospect, he's unrated by scout and rivals, however Michigan have been on his trail for a long time. He received an offer from the Wolverines in the spring, and the interest in him hasn't slowed down since. Michigan was Johnson's first official visit, and after it UM are #1 on his list. 

Johnson is known, or should be known for his hard hitting style of play, along with great ball skills. A decision won't come until after Christmas, but he's one of very few positive stories of the weekend for UM. 

Gameday Predictions

Penn State are a strong team, but they have several flaws on both sides of the ball, giving Michigan a serious chance to win this one at home.

Firstly Penn State's O-line is pretty inexperienced, as are their wide receivers. On defense, the weakpoint (like Michigan's) is the secondary, which lost all starters from last year. 

Michigan will be boosted by the return of center David Molk, however Brandon Minor and Carlos Brown will not be 100% which is a huge loss, considering Minor had a strong game against the Nittany Lions last year.

If Tate Forcier gets on a roll at the start, Michigan could quite easily find themselves with an early lead, but they have to contain Evan Royster and Daryll Clark, Penn State's top offensive players. This one could go either way, but I have a feeling Michigan might just win it.

Gameday Prediction: Michigan 24, Penn State 20