Although it is just the beginning of August, I am already heavily anticipating the start of the NCAA football season. This year Michigan is going to be fielding a good squad with returning stars like Chad Henne, Mario Manningham, and Mike Hart. All of these guys are absolute superstars, and I think that they are going to have a hell of a season.

I remember submitting my request for student season football tickets months ago, and I was reminded by a friend today of when I thought they were going to arrive. This reference really made me remember all of the fun times that are to be had on a Saturday game at the University of Michigan. One of the absolute highlights for any student at Michigan must be the party that goes on all along State Street. There must be thousands of people just having fun and getting ready for the game. People will wake up at 8am on a Saturday morning in anticipation of the game. What a feeling and atmosphere. It cannot be replicated any other place, in any other form.

This year is even better to be a Wolverine. There is a fantastic schedule of games, and a number of them are going to be played in the Big House. You can check out this years Michigan Football Schedule here. I think the games against Oregon, Notre Dame, MSU, Wisconsin, and Ohio State will be great. I hope that this is the year that I will finally get to see Michigan defeat Ohio State. I've been through 2 years of college and haven't seen them beat those pesky Buckeyes once.

USA Today recently came out with their annual pre-season Coaches poll (it came out on August 3rd, 2007). The Wolverines were ranked 5th. Michigan was behind, Louisiana State, Florida, Texas, and number one ranked USC. I think that this year more than any other, Michigan has all the pieces they need to get the job done.

History: Michigan has been going through what they have considered a rough patch in Football recently. Two years ago Michigan lost to the Nebraska Cornhuskers in a complete upset that no one saw coming in the Alamo Bowl. This also occurred in a year that Michigan had lost more games than they had in 2 decades and all in all was completely out of whack for a Michigan Wolverines football squad. The following year, Michigan got themselves back on track and lost one game during the regular season to Ohio State who was the consistent #1 team throughout the course of the season. Michigan ended up playing USC in the Rose Bowl. Michigan was again defeated.

Bottom Line: Michigan is ready to bust out this year and defeat all the opponents that have given them trouble in the past. I think it's good for a football team to play with a little chip on their shoulder, and Michigan has so much pent up anger at this point, I wouldn't be surprised if they end up taking it this year.

Puzzle Pieces: The fact of the matter is that when the right set of players come together on a football team, there is no way that they can't win. Michigan has perhaps just been waiting for a good opportunity to strike, and perhaps Michigan fans don't give Lloyd Carr enough credit for his long term planning rather than instant gratification. Having an incredible quarterback, outstanding running back, and phenomenal wide receiver all on the same team at the same time, coming to their own athletic fruition in unison, isn't exactly coincidence if you ask me. Good planning on Lloyd's part makes for a very happy Michigan fan base.

Bottom Line: When the pieces come together, there is no way that they can't get it done. More so than any other team in all of the NCAA, Michigan appears to have the pieces to win a championship.

2007-2008: The Year of the Wolverine

This post was originally written by Tyrone Schiff
University of Michigan · Organizational Studies · 05 Aug 2007