WCBN NBA Preview: Central Division

WCBN sports covers everything Michigan in the world of sports, but we also cover national news as we come from all around the nation. So starting today until the start of the NBA season on Tuesday, we will have a preview of the NBA by one of our resident NBA (and Chicago Bulls fans) Amy Aimonovitch, broken down by division. Here's the preview!!

So the NBA season is just around the corner and there are a few here at the station who, like me, can’t wait for this season to start. So, without any further ado, I present to you a preview of the season to come, division by division:

Central Division

Well, since we’re quite close to Detroit, and because we have a Bulls fan and Cavs fan, I'll start with the Central division and the Eastern conference.

1. Detroit Pistons

Last season: The Pistons went 53-29, winning both the division and the conference. They also finished with the only winning road record in the East. As they have in past, Detroit continued running their slow, deliberate offense focusing on passing and manipulating the shot clock and as a result, they averaged only 11.7 turnovers per game, the lowest average in the league. Despite the fact that no one on the team shot better than 39% on 3 pointers and on average the team was out rebounded, the Pistons were a good offense team because of their meticulous style. On top of all this, too, the Pistons were an extremely good defensive team; they lead the league in blocks, averaging 5.76 per game despite the fact that only Rasheed Wallace and Amir Johnson averaged more than 1 block per game (although Johnson only played in 8 games, so he doesn’t particularly count). For the most part, Detroit didn’t really miss Ben Wallace, although they had less defensive rebounds and tend to foul more without him. Miraculously as well, the Pistons managed to avoid any major injuries; every key player on the team played at lest 70 games of the season.

This season: So while I can’t legitimately pick against the Pistons in the central, this team was more weaknesses then people really want to admit too. For one, the Pistons lead the league in technical fouls last year, and even if you take out Rasheed Wallace’s total, the Pistons would still finished third in the league. Rip Hamilton finished right behind Wallace with 15 T’s last year. On top of that, the Pistons have admitted that when they have a lead they have a tendency to back off and lose focus; that’s why they almost lost two years ago in the playoffs to the Cavs, and why they did lose to Cleveland this year. Plus, they are without Chris Webber this year.

Prediction: 1^st in the Central until they prove otherwise and, as such, 1^st in the Eastern conference.

2. Chicago Bulls

Last season: The Bulls has their best record since the Jordan years last season, going 49-33. It was also the first time since the Jordan years that the Bulls actually won a playoff series. Despite the improvements, though, the Bulls still have a lot to work on. While they get blown out very rarely (they lost by 15 or more only twice), the team has a tendency to play down to some of their opponents (case in point, the last regular season game against New Jersey that cost them the #2 seed in the East. In addition to that, the Bulls would play many of the top tier teams close for most of the game, and then proceed to give the game away at the very end (example: a January 2^nd lose to the Suns by only one point). While the Bulls are known mostly as a defensive team, they had the second best 3-point shooting percentage, 38.8%, behind only Phoenix. It’s a good thing that Chicago was so good from behind the line, because they still didn’t have a post presence again this year. Overall, the offense was dependent mostly on jump shots, and therefore, it was the defense that saved the Bulls. They were one of the best teams in the league at forcing turnovers and, luckily for them, opponents only shot 73% from the charity stripe.

This season: Luckily, the Bulls are returning their entire young core instead of trading any of them Kobe Bryant or Kevin Garnett. This group has played together for three years now and they seem to have excellent chemistry. This team should be better than they were last year, what with the additions of Joakim Noah, JamesOn Curry, and Aaron Gray; if the Bulls can establish any kind of low post threat, they will be an extremely difficult team to beat.

Prediction: Until they can show that they can compete with the top tier teams in the league, I have the Bulls finishing 2^nd in the Central and subsequently, because the Central is the best division in the East, 2^nd in the conference.

3. Cavaliers

Last season: Despite Cleveland’s record of 50-32, they were frankly lucky to make it as far as they did into the playoffs; the Bulls blew the last game of the season and handed the Cavs the 2^nd seed in the East, and in the first series they came up against a battered Wizards team that could barely put up a fight. And despite the perception of Cleveland as an outstanding offensive team, the team was actually anything but; the Cavs were 21^st in the league in field goal percentage, 18^th in 3-point percentage, and 29^th in free throw percentage (Lebron’s 69.8% in the last category didn’t help). Actually the one thing that Cleveland really excelled at on the offense end was offensive rebounding, and this was due mostly to Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Drew Gooden, Anderson Varejao, and Donyell Marshall. Those four helped make the Cavs the one of the top three offensive rebounding teams in the league. Of course, they were partially really good at offensive rebounding because they missed so many shots. Defensively, however, the team was superb. They forced turnovers and limited their opponent’s attempt from the 3-point line; their opponents shot only 32.9% from the field.

This season: Cleveland should be quite good again; the only off season move that could hurt them is if Anderson Varejao doesn’t return, or if he returns with any resent towards the Cavs. Currently, neither he nor Sasha Pavlovic have reached a deal with the team. The team should improve on offense as well this year, considering that Lebron James, Larry Hughes, and Ilgauskas all had down years last year. James averaged fewer points than he did the year before, and both his free throw and 3-point percentages went down. Ilgauskas average only 11.9 points per game and Hughes shot only 40% from the field and below 70% on free throws for the first time in his career.

Prediction: 3^rd in the division and 5^th in the conference, despite the fact that they’ll probably have a better record than the winners of the other two divisions in the East.

4. Pacers

Last season: Where to start with the Pacers? They went 35-47 last year, fired their coach, and all this after their season took a downturn with the 8 player trade with Golden State. After a very brief win streak following the trade, the Pacers feel apart in the second half of the season, capped off by a 2-14 record in March. Basically, the trade did in Indiana; for one, both Mike Dunleavy and Troy Murphy were underperforming in Oakland. Dunleavy, the third pick in the draft in 2002, started only 6 of the 39 games he played in for Golden State and Murphy averaged 8.9 points and 6 rebounds with the Warriors. Neither player excelled in Indiana either, though Dunleavy at least had the excuse that Pacers tried to play him at shooting guard. Despite their obvious lack of a shooting guard (Dunleavy, for the record, is 6’9”), the Pacers didn’t make any moves during the season to try to fill this hole. Relying heavily on Jermaine O’Neal, the Pacers offense was one of the worst in the league; they were last in the league in shooting percentage, at 43.8%. While the offensive was horrendous, the defensive was slightly better, though neither Murphy nor Dunleavy was particularly an assist on this side of the ball.

This season: The Pacers at least attempted to fill the hole at shooting guard this summer, although all they managed to get was Travis Diener (who is a decent 3 point shooter, but is small and has little experience in the NBA, barely playing for the Magic) and Kareem Rush (who wasn’t in the league last year). Either way, though, they’re looking a tough year, what with a new coach, little depth at shooting guard, and a forward who has alienated two of the three coaches he’s played under (yep, that would be Dunleavy again).

Prediction: 4^th in the division, simply because I have no faith in Milwaukee to perform better than the Pacers.

5. Bucks

Last season: Last year, for the sixth straight year, the Bucks lost at least 40 games. They went 28-54 last year, good enough to finish next to last in the Eastern conference with the league’s third worse record. Surprisingly, though, the Bucks actually began the season decently, going 16-17, until Michael Redd went down with knee injury. Then Charlie Villanueva suffered an elbow injury and only played 39 games. Several other members of the Bucks missed time as well, and by the end, the team seemed to be throwing in the towel, announcing that Andrew Bogut and Villanueva would sit out the last month of the season. Overall, however, the Bucks were good offensively (they had the 7^th best field goal percentage in the league), but they had trouble getting to the line and relied too heavily on jumpers, even the big men. The reason the Bucks were so bad record-wise was their defense; they ranked 29^th in the league in field goal percentage allowed. They also had problems blocking the ball and defensive rebounding. And all this after the Bucks got a playoff berth the year before.

This season: First off, it probably doesn’t help the Bucks that this is their third coach in 6 years. Also, aside from finally managing to get their hands on their draft pick (Yi Jianlian), the Bucks didn’t do anything substantial to their roster. But, they will be getting back Bobby Simmons who had off-season heel surgery last summer and Villanueva and Redd will be back and healthy this year. I, however, am not really to write off last season simply because the Bucks had some key injuries. Every team deals with injuries in this league and it isn’t an excuse for a bad performance; if you want to avoid this problem, get a deeper bench, don’t just base your team around 1-2 players who make or break your team.

Prediction: 5^th in the division, although they could battle the Pacers down the stretch for this spot.

WCBN Weekly College Football Top 25 (Oct. 24)

The second edition of our top 25 poll returns slightly later than wished, as I have been swamped with work, but it is now compiled and ready to be released. So once again, here is the Top 25 teams in the nation, from the point of view of a bunch of college students (first place votes in parenthesis).

1. Ohio State (8)
2. LSU (3)
3. Boston College (1)
4. Oklahoma
5. Oregon
6. West Virginia
7. Arizona State
8. Virginia Tech
9. South Florida
10. Florida
11. Kansas
12. Missouri
13. USC
14. Kentucky
15. South Carolina
16. Hawaii
17. Michigan
18. California
19. Virginia
20. Texas
21. Georgia
22. Alabama
23. Auburn
24. Rutgers
25. UCLA

Dropped out: #19 Cincinnati, #20 Texas Tech, #23 Tennessee

Others Receiving Votes: Penn State, UConn, Boise State, Texas Tech, Cincinnati, BYU, Wisconsin, Purdue, Wake Forest, Air Force, Temple, North Dakota St.

Notes: There are two ties in this week's polls, with Virginia Tech and South Florida tied at 8 and South Carolina and Hawaii tied at 15. We had our first vote for a FCS Subdivision (D1-AA) team, with North Dakota State (7-0 overall, 2-0 against D1-A competition) receiving 1 vote.

Until next week, good night and Go Blue!!

WCBN Photo Gallery

These are some pictures we snapped from the sidelines towards the end of the Michigan 27-17 victory over Illinois on Saturday

#25 Michigan 27 Illinois 17

The #25 Michigan Wolverines won their sixth straight game, defeating the Illinois Fighting Illini 27-17 under the lights on Saturday night in Champaign. This was Michigan’s first road test of the year and the Wolverines passed with flying colors. Illinois jumped out to a 14-3 lead early on, but senior quarterback Chad Henne led the Michigan comeback. WCBN was there in Champaign to broadcast the game, so thank you to all who listened to us on the sports stream.

Michigan Offense vs Illinois Defense:

Michigan was without senior running back Michael Hart as his status was questionable coming into the game but he did not even dress. Carlos Brown got the start and did a tremendous job stepping into the big shoes of Mike Hart, rushing for 113 yards on 25 carries. Brandon Minor, who is also dealing with a leg injury, was able to come in and do a great job picking up blitzes on third down passing situations.

Chad Henne battled through an early shoulder injury and really showed his competitiveness in playing through the pain. After watching Ryan Mallet struggle through the third quarter, Henne could be seen arguing with the coaches on the sideline, trying to get back into the game. Henne passed John Navarre as Michigan’s all-time completions leader during the game, going 18-26 for 201 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Mario Manningham tallied his third consecutive 100-yard receiving game hauling in nine passes for 109 yards and two touchdowns. The play of the game came in the fourth quarter when Adrian Arrington throwing a touchdown pass to Manningham off an end-around. Arrington added three catches for 58 yards and a touchdown that came after the initial ruling on the field was overturned.

Advantage: Michigan

Michigan Defense vs Illinois Offense:

Michigan fans had to be worried coming into this game knowing that Illinois runs a spread offense with a mobile quarterback. In the Wolverine’s two losses this year, the opposing offense moved the ball at will running a similar style offense. Those worries only intensified when Illinois scored two early touchdowns, but after that the Michigan defense really settled down and held Illinois to just a field goal over the last two and a half quarters of the game.

Juice Williams was held to just 70 yards passing and 17 yards rushing and backup Eddie McGee didn’t fair much better, throwing for just 46 yards. Rashard Mendenhall was limited to just 85 yards on 18 carries, making this the second straight week that he has failed to rush for 100 yards.

Brandent Englemon led the way defensively with 11 tackles. Chris Graham turned in his best game of the year, recording his first career sack, six tackles, and 2.5 tackles for a loss. Also in the career first category, freshman cornerback Donovan Warren intercepted his first pass late in the fourth quarter.

Advantage: Michigan

Special Teams:

Michigan has struggled all year in this category and some of those struggles continued on Saturday. Kick off coverage remains an issue as the Wolverines gave up a big return yet again, this weeks was a 63-yard return by Vontae Davis to start the game. I asked 5^th year senior Anton Campbell about this issue at the press conference and he attributed it to poor tackling. There has to be more going on here, because on Davis’s return, there was not a Wolverine within five yards of him to even attempt a tackle until he was finally caught from behind by Morgan Trent.

Kick off returns are another area where Michigan has struggled. A 13 yard average on returns is not where this team should be at this point of the season. Coming into the game, Michigan was ranked 107^th nationally in kick off returns and 100^th in kick off coverage. Both of those rankings will probably slide after the performance against Illinois.

On the bright side, Michigan seems to have found their kicker as K.C. Lopata was two of two on field goals converting both a 25 and 39-yarder. Zoltan Mesko unleashed his best punt of the year, a career long 67 yarder that pinned the Illini at their own four yard line. Of his four punts, he downed three inside the 20 and two of those three were inside the four.

For the Illini, Jason Reda went 1 of 2, his miss being from 47-yards out. Reda had been perfect coming into the game at 9 of 9. As previously mentioned, Vontae Davis had the big return of the day to start the game for Illinois.

Advantage: Michigan (for the first time all year)

Notable Stats:

Chad Henne: 18-26; 201 yards; 2 TD; 1 INT

Carlos Brown: 25 carries; 113 yards

Mario Manningham: 9 catches; 109 yards; 2 TD

Adrian Arrington: 3 catches; 58 yards; 1 TD; 1-1 passing; 11 yards; 1 TD

Zoltan Mesko: 4 punts; 44.0 avg; 67 yard long; 3 inside the 20, 2 inside the 5

K.C. Lopata: 2-2 Field Goals (25, 39 yards)

Brandent Englemon: 11 tackles

Chris Graham: 1 sack, 2.5 TFL, 6 tackles

Isiah (Juice) Williams: 8-14; 70 yards; 1 TD; 1 INT; 7 carries; 17 yards

Rashard Mendenhall: 18 carries; 85 yards

This was Lloyd Carr’s 100^th Big 10 conference game, the win pushed his record up to 79-21

Carr has the third highest Big 10 conference winning percentage (.790), behind two other Michigan coaches – Bo Schembechler (.850) and Fielding Yost (.796)

Co-Player of the Game: Chad Henne: 18-26; 201 yards; 2 TD; 1 INT playing through injury

Carlos Brown: 25 carries; 113 yards filling in for Mike Hart

Press Conference Notes:

• Mike Hart will practice this week and it sounds like he should be able to play against Minnesota
• It is unknown if Chad Henne will be able to practice today, or whether if he’ll be able to play against Minnesota
• Expect to see Steve Schilling fill in at right guard in the event of another injury at that position
• Jeremy Ciulla could be back at right guard this week
• Alex Mitchell is still out, his return status for later in the year remains unknown
• Lloyd Carr likes to sing “Don’t Cry for me, Argentina” to the players to keep them loose in practice. Unfortunately he declined to serenade us at the press conference.

Other College Football Notes:

• The MAC conference has two of the nations top five rushers
• Michigan is now ranked 20^th in the BCS Poll, 19^th in the AP Poll, and 21^st in the USA Today Poll
• Appalachian State lost their second game of the year this week, falling 38-35 to Georgia Southern

WCBN NCAA Player of the Week: Matt Forte (Tulane): 38 carries, 342 yards, 9 YPC, 4 TD

Field Hockey Wins the Big Ten

Although you may not be able to tell from our blog, Michigan does compete in more than just football. Here's a shout out to the University of Michigan field hockey, who clinched the regular season Big Ten title with their 3-2 victory over Northwestern Sunday. Their season began on a low note, as they began 2-4, with all the losses coming against top 5 teams, including an overtime loss at #1 Maryland. Since then Michigan has reeled off 11 straight victories and has climber to #4 in the country. The team heads to California this weekend to finish out the regular season with matches against California and Stanford, before returning to the Midwest to compete in the Big Ten tournament in Columbus November 1-4.

Completely Unrelated Random Fact of the Week: Virginia Tech won the Under Armour College Bass National Championship. First, the Virginia Tech team only found out that college bass fishing existed six months ago. Second, college bass fishing exists, and it's sponsored by Under Armour. Really.

#25 Michigan 27 Illinois 17

Michigan comes out of Champaign with a huge 27-17 victory over the Fighting Illini. Michigan came over key injuries that kept Mike Hart out and caused Chad Henne to miss time during the game. The Wolverines turned the ball over three times coming away with just one takeaway of their own in the fourth quarter on a muffed punt.

Carlos Brown had a great game, rushing for over 100 yards in his first career start. Mario Manningham also came up with some big catches and turned in his third consecutive 100-yard game. It was another crazy Saturday of college football that should have Michigan shooting up the poll.

We'll have another post further recapping the Michigan win after the press conference on Monday. Thank you to anyone who listened to us on our second WCBN road broadcast. Tune into wcbn.org or 88.3 FM in Ann Arbor to hear us break down the win on Extra Points. We'll also have a photo gallery on the way with pictures we took down on the sideline at the end of the game. Until then, goodnight and GO BLUE!

Michigan 17 Illinois 17 going into the fourth quarter

From Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois:

Michigan and Illinois are all knotted up at 17 as we go into the fourth quarter. Henne has been in and out of the game with injuries but has been effective while playing, going 11-16 for 159 yards thus far. Carlos Brown has stepped up in the running back position with 97 yards on 20 carries. Michigan has been its own worst enemy, committing three turnovers while not taking away any from the Illini. The same can be said for Illinois who have been flagged for three personal foul penalties in key situations. One roughing the punter, one late hit out of bounds, and one 15-yard face mask that all kept Michigan drives alive.

Andrew and I are headed down to the field, so hopefully the Wolverines can pull this one out!

Tonight's Broadcast

For those wanting to hear tonight's broadcast live from Memorial Stadium in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, here is the link: www.wcbn.org/listen.html, then hit sports stream.

The game kicks off at 8 PM EDT, so tune in around that time to listen live.

Broadcast Highlights

For those of you who listen to our games and want to hear the highlights or for those who wonder how good a student's call of a football game can be, here is a link to the site on which we post the highlights of every call that we make: http://umgoblue.com/absolutenm/templates/?a=425&z=1

Check it out some time.

First Road Test: Michigan at Illinois Preview

Michigan will enter tomorrow’s game at Illinois coming off its most impressive performance of the season in last week’s 48-21 victory over Purdue. The Wolverines looked like the team they were expected to be at the start of the season. With the victory, big Blue re-entered the top 25 at #24 in the AP poll for the first time since their preseason ranking of #5 before losing to Appalachian State. Illinois is experiencing the opposite. After reaching a ranking of #18 after back-to-back upset victories over Penn State and Wisconsin, Illinois was upset by Iowa 10-6 last week sending them out of the top 25. Still the Illini have surprised Big Ten country this season and have an offense that provides a real threat to the Wolverines.

Illinois Offense vs. Michigan Defense:

The big story coming into the game has to be Illinois’ spread offense with a mobile quarterback. Quarterback Isiah (Juice) Williams, has passed for 716 yards while rushing for 319 for the year. In the two losses for Michigan this year, both Appalachian State and Oregon had similar mobile quarterbacks. Michigan has yet to prove that they can stop a guy at the helm such as Juice Williams. In addition, the Illinois offense has been led by running back Rashard Mendenhall who is 3^rd in the country in yards per carry averaging 6.5 ypc. He has run for 839 yards and 10 TDs so far this year and has some considering him as a Heisman candidate. Together, Illinois is leading the Big Ten and is eighth in the country in rushing with 243.4 yards per game. On the outside, Juice Williams can look deep to wide receiver Arrelious Benn who is a threat to score anytime he touches the ball. In addition to being the leading receiver on the team with 424 yards on the year, Benn has also rushed 23 times for 134 yards and has returned a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown. This offense certainly has plenty of weapons to hurt the Wolverines and behind a veteran offensive line led by Senior LG Martin O’Donnell, this will be the biggest test for the Wolverines since the Oregon game.

Michigan’s defense, however, has rebounded since the first two games. The front seven led by sophomore end Brandon Graham and linebacker/defensive end (and Butkus Award semifinalist) Shawn Crable has done a great job getting pressure on the quarterbacks and stuffing the run. The secondary also has stepped up with junior #1 cornerback Morgan Trent surprising many with his improved performance this season. The defensive played arguably their best game of the season last week against a high-powered Purdue passing game, with the first-team defense limiting the Boilermakers to just 7 points before they scored two touchdowns in the final two minutes against the Wolverine reserves. However, during this five game winning streak in which the defense has shown improvement, Michigan has not faced a mobile quarterback such as Juice Williams. In the last decade Michigan has had trouble stopping an offense led by an athletic quarterback and this will be a true test to see if the Wolverines defense has learned to keep contain on such a player. The key to the Wolverines defense is to, first and foremost, slow down the running game with Rashard Mendenhall and limit the big plays on the ground. When Williams drops back to pass, the defensive line needs to apply pressure on the outside and the linebackers must keep contain to limit Williams’ gains to manageable amounts without letting him get into the secondary. Still, since the Wolverines have not proven they know how to handle a mobile quarterback, the advantage has to go to the high-powered Illini attack.

Advantage: Illinois

Michigan Offense vs. Illinois Defense:

The Michigan offense also is coming off their best performance of the year. The only question is the health of Heisman should-be front runner (please excuse the journalistic bias) Mike Hart. Hart went out of the game last week in the second quarter with an ankle injury, but not until he racked up his seventh straight 100 yard game. Hart was walking around on the sidelines in street clothes during the second half, but was not dressed to play. Most players expect Hart to play, but coach Carr says it is a game-time decision. Assuming Hart is in the lineup and mostly healthy, this will be a test for the Illini defense. With senior signal-caller Chad Henne seemingly getting back into the swing of things after sitting out a couple games, the passing game is starting to get to where it was at the end of last season. Mario Manningham returned last week, following a one game suspension for the Eastern Michigan game, in a big way with a career high 147 yards on 8 catches, two for scores. Adrian Arrington also has developed into, perhaps the team’s most sure-handed option this year along with sophomore Greg Matthews Jr. starting to become a weapon as well. Couple that with the nation’s leading rusher in Hart, Illinois will have their hands full. Even if Hart does sit, Carlos Brown, the third string who came in with backup Brandon Minor also getting injured, showed that he can carry the load with 13 carries for 68 yards and two impressive touchdowns.

To try and stop this Wolverine attack, Illinois’ defense will be led by Butkus award candidate LB J. Leman. Leman is sixth in the nation and first in the Big Ten in tackles per game averaging 11.6 and seems to flock to the ball. He will spearhead the experienced Illini defense who returns nine starters from last year. The main priority will, undoubtedly be to try to slow down Mike Hart and the Michigan rushing attack that averages 201 yards per game. Illinois has been a tough team to run against this season giving up only 103 yards per game. But, Michigan’s offensive line, SHOULD, be too tough for that Illini front seven and open up some holes for Hart and Brown. In the passing game, Michigan can really take advantage of an Illinois secondary that has given up 255.4 yards per game through the air. Michigan should look to the outside to Manningham and Arrington who will be going against two, young sophomore corners in Vontae Davis and Dere Hicks. Although young, however, Davis is second in the Big Ten in interceptions with 3 on the year and is capable of making a game-changing play. The key for Illinois will be to get pressure on Chad Henne and force him to make quick decisions. Henne’s decision-making has been questionable this year and he will have to do a better job of making good choices and not throwing into coverage. If he does throw a couple picks, it could be a long night in Champaigne. But the rushing attack should be enough for the Wolverines to overwhelm the Illini.

Advantage: Michigan

Special Teams:

Illinois’ special teams is head and shoulders above the Michigan special teams. Placekicker Jason Reda is 9 for 9 on field goals this season for Illinois with a couple coming from 50 yards. Reda is approaching school records for points scored and field goals made, and is nearly automatic. Of course, on the Michigan side the game of musical chairs at that position continues with kicker K.C. Lopata currently holding the placekicking duties. Lopata has done a solid job thus far being 4-4 on field goals all coming between 30-40 yards. But Lopata has not been tested in a hostile environment and the inconsistency by the field goal unit in protecting the kicker cannot comfort Michigan fans. Michigan does have a big advantage in the kicking game with Zoltan Mesko continuing to be the lone bright spot on special teams averaging 41.1 yards per kick. Illinois punter Anthony Santella is only averaging 35.9 yards per kick, which should result in good field position for Michigan when they can stop the Illini. In the return game, Illinois has shown an ability to score. Arrelious Benn has taken one of his 3 kickoff returns back for a touchdown and Vontae Davis has taken one of his 2 punt returns back for a touchdown. Michigan’s return game continues to be a question with no one quite stepping up to prove to be a game-breaker. Greg Matthews has shown elusiveness in the last few weeks, but still has not shown an ability to break a big return.

Advantage: Illinois

Coaching:

Illinois head coach Ron Zook took over at Illinois in 2005. That season, Zook started 15 freshman and sophomores having the youngest team in the country. That season Illinois went 2-9 and followed that with another young team going 2-10 last season. This year, though, Zook and the Illini have turned the heads of many around the Big Ten and the country and sit at 5-2 and in the thick of the Big Ten title race. He is certainly a coach of the year candidate and has a way of motivating his kids. Lloyd Carr, for the Wolverines, has done a good job turning this team around after losing the opening two games of the season. Even though things looked bleak, the Wolverines have turned things around and are currently undefeated in the Big Ten and also sit at 5-2 overall. The main concern with the coaching this weekend, however, is if the staff has figured out how to counter an offense like Illinois’ with a mobile quarterback. The staff has not shown that ability in the last ten years and until they do, I have to give the advantage to the opponent who runs a spread.

Advantage: Illinois

Intangibles:

The Wolverines will have to go into a hostile environment playing in Memorial Stadium in Champaign at night. The game has been announced as a sell-out and this will be the first true road test for Michigan. The game at Northwestern was said to be more Michigan fans than Northwestern so big Blue will finally see what it is like to play in a loud opposing team’s stadium. Illinois’ is coming off a deflating loss, which knocked them off their cloud from beating Penn State and Wisconsin back to back. Michigan on the other hand is coming off their best performance of the year against Purdue where they finally looked to be clicking on all cylinders. And though they are back in the Top 25, the Wolverines still should have a chip on their shoulder to prove that those first two games do not represent what this team is capable of.

Advantage: Michigan

Prediction:

Illinois 34 Michigan 24

If you listen to Game of the Week (Friday 7-10) or Extra Points (Monday 6-6:30), you may know that I am very superstitious when it comes to Michigan picks. Lately, I have been picking against Michigan and I will continue to do so. Michigan is a three point favorite and I made my pick to have Illinois cover the spread too. Hopefully, I am wrong again.

Player of the game: Juice Williams: 8-10 142 yards 1 TD Passing
15 carries 189 yards 2 TD Rushing

- Rushi

WCBN Weekly College Football Top 25

The students here at WCBN have decided, after watching weeks of poor polls from the so-called experts (The drop that USC took after their lost, compared to Michigan's drop after App. State comes to mind), to make our own poll to see how we compare. While our poll is primarily WCBN/UM students, we also brought in a student from the University of Maryland and the University of Texas to combat our possible bias. We hope that our poll gives you yet another interesting read at how the crazy college football scene is playing out this season. Without further ado, the WCBN Top 25 (First Place Votes):

1. Ohio State (7)
   
2. LSU (1)
   
3. South Florida (3)
   
4. Oklahoma
5. Boston College
6. Kentucky
7. Oregon
8. Cal
9. South Carolina
10. Arizona State
11. West Virginia
12. Florida
13. Virginia Tech
14. Kansas
15. USC
16. Missouri
17. Hawaii
18. Auburn
19. Cincinnati
20. Texas Tech
21. Michigan
22. Texas
23. Tennessee
24. Georgia
25. Virginia

Others Receiving Votes: Illinois, Penn State, Wake Forest, Kansas State, Boise State, Maryland, Air Force

Notes: The top 5 have put lots of space between themselves and the rest of the teams within our polls. Texas and Michigan are actually tied at 21. Every team that received votes from over half of our voters are in the top 25, with every team receiving votes from less than half outside of the top 25. We'll continue this every week, so until next time, good night and go Blue!!

Michigan 33 Eastern Michigan 22

On a record setting day for Senior RB Mike Hart, Michigan defeated cross-town Eastern Michigan 33-22. With a 14-yard run on Michigan’s second possession of the game, Hart surpassed Anthony Thomas (1997-2000) to take over the career rushing yards record. Hart finished the day with 22 carries for 215 yards in less than three quarters of play as the Wolverines pulled away in the third quarter, leading 33-14 when Hart left the game. Eastern would score a touchdown late in the fourth quarter and recover their second onside kick of the game to close the final margin to 33-22.

Michigan Offense vs Eastern Michigan Defense:

As has been the story all year, Mike Hart led the way offensively, accounting for roughly half of Michigan’s total offense and three of the four touchdowns. Hart scored once in the second quarter on a four-yard run and then added two more touchdowns on 24 and 17-yard runs. Hart also added to his own record by rushing for over 200 yards for the fifth time of his career. With his sixth straight 100 yard rushing effort, Hart is now tied with Jamie Morris for consecutive 100 yard games. Hart is the first Wolverine running back to start the season with six straight 100 yard games.

Chad Henne struggled a bit in his first full game back from injury, throwing two interceptions, one of which in the end-zone. Adrian Arrington stepped up in the absence of Mario Manningham and hauled in a career high 102 yards on six receptions. Arrington started off the scoring with a 31-yard TD reception in the first quarter. Michigan ended up with 459 yards of total offense, but much of that was in the first three quarters when the outcome was still in doubt.

Edge: Michigan

Eastern Michigan Offense vs Michigan Defense:

EMU struggled offensively for much of the game before the Michigan reserves came into the game in the fourth quarter. EMU was able to move the ball at times, but for the most part, the bend but don’t break Michigan defense was able to keep them out of the end-zone. EMU ran for 135 yards, but half of that came from the quarterback position, something that the Michigan defense continues to struggle with. Eastern ran a spread offense similar to that of Northwestern. Andy Schmitt completed passes to eight different receivers during the game.

The Michigan defense started right where they left off against Northwestern with a Jamar Adams interception. On the day, the Wolverines intercepted two passes and recovered a fumble. The defense did a better job of not allowing the big play which has been their biggest problem this year.

Edge: Michigan

Special Teams

Well, for the first time this year, Michigan was perfect on field goals. K.C. Lopata took over the place-kicking duties from Jason Gingell and made both his attempts from 31 and 36 yards. Lopata did have an extra point blocked, but that was probably due to poor protection. The Wolverines struggled with their kickoff coverage again, allowing an 86 yard return by Dontayo Gage. Zoltan Mesko only averaged 32.8 yards per punt, but two of his three punts were downed inside the 20.

Eastern Michigan recovered two onside kicks and returned a blocked extra point attempt for a two-point conversion. The first onside kick was to start the second half and was recovered by the kicker, Zach Johnson. EMU would then recover another onside kick late in the fourth quarter, but were unable to score again to make it a one possession game.

Edge: Eastern Michigan

Player of the Game: Mike Hart: 22 carries, 215 yards, 3 TD

Notable Stats:

Mike Hart: 22 carries, 215 yards, 3 TD

Adrian Arrington: 6 catches, 102 yards, TD

K.C. Lopata: 2-2 FGs

Obi Ezeh: 9 tackles, forced fumble

Brandent Englemon: 6 tackles, forced fumble, INT

Tim Jamison: 2 sacks

Darren Matthews (EMU): 11 tackles

Press Conference Notes:

• K.C. Lopata seems to have won the place-kicker job, at least for the time being.
• In addressing the injury status of the many wounded Wolverines, Lloyd Carr said that the following players would practice, but were questionable for the Purdue game:
• Jeremy Ciulla
• John Thompson
• Chris Graham
• Will Johnson
• Tim McAvoy
  

This week's game vs Purdue will be televised on the Big 10 Network. You can listen to our live broadcast here.

And he can hit too

Mike Hart - High School Run

Congratulations Michael Hart - Michigan's All-Time Rushing Leader!

With a 14-yard run midway through the first quarter, Mike Hart became Michigan's career leader in rushing yards. Hart finished the day with 215 yards on just 22 carries in less than three quarters of play. Hart's big day led Michigan to a 33-22 win over Eastern Michigan. This was Hart's fifth career game in which he surpassed 200 yards rushing, extending his own record. Hart also tied Jamie Morris with his sixth consecutive 100-yard rushing game to start a season.

Congratulations Michael Hart, from all of us at WCBN Sports!

Michigan vs. Eastern Michigan Preview

It’s time for the battle of Washtenaw County tomorrow afternoon as the University of Michigan Wolverines will do battle with the Eagles of Eastern Michigan. EMU will take the seven mile trek to the Big House trying to avoid the 55-0 shutout they suffered two years ago at the hands of the Wolverines. The Eagles come into this game with a record of 2-3 after losing last weekend 30-7 at Vanderbilt. The Wolverines enter with a 3-2 mark and are on a three game win-streak after winning their first road game at Northwestern last week 28-16. History would point to a Michigan victory as they have won each of the seven showdowns between the schools, but here’s the breakdown for this year’s game:

Michigan Offense vs. EMU Defense:

Michigan’s offense will finally have Senior signal-caller Chad Henne behind center for the entire game. Henne, who had been out for two games with a knee-injury, made his comeback last week by starting and leading a scoring drive on the first possession at Northwestern. However, the coaching staff elected to rest Henne for the remainder of the first half in place of Ryan Mallett. After the Mallett led Wolverines entered the locker room with a deficit, Henne came back and played the rest of the game leading Michigan to a victory. Henne is expected to start and play the majority of the game tomorrow. He and the Wolverine defense should have their way with the EMU defense. The Eagles have not yet played an offense with the talent of Michigan’s. Michigan’s main advantage comes in the running game and Michael Hart. The Wolverines average over 190 yards rushing per game while the Eagles have given up 180 against lesser opponents. When the Wolverines do go to the air, however, they will be without star wideout Mario Manningham who was suspended for the game for violating an unspecified team rule. Despite the loss of Manningham, Adrian Arrington and Greg Matthews should have their way with the young secondary of EMU lead by redshirt freshman Ryan Downard.

Advantage: Michigan

EMU Offense vs. Michigan Defense

The Eagles offense comes into this game without much to show from the first five games of the year. They are averaging only 17 points per game, barely over 100 yards rushing per game, and 155 yards through the air. There is not one area where the Eagles will hurt you, but the positive for EMU is they USUALLY do not beat themselves. Sophomore Quarterback Andy Schmidt has completed 63% of his passes for 755 yards and 6 TD’s with only 4 INT’s. However, the Eagles are coming off their worst offensive performance against Vanderbilt last week. Schmidt threw three interceptions in the game and the Eagles managed only seven points. Schmidt will have to take better care of the ball to keep EMU close in this one. Michigan’s secondary has been inconsistent this season including lapses in last week’s game against Northwestern. Look for Schmidt to try and pick on freshman Donovan Warren and avoid Junior Morgan Trent when he goes to the air. Still, Michigan has gotten a lot of pressure on the quarterback in the last few games which should overwhelm the offensive line and get to the young Schmidt before he can go through his reads.

Eastern’s rushing attack has been inconsistent all year and is coming off a 62 yard performance last week. Senior Running Back Pierre Walker has not rushed for more than 66 yards in a game yet this season. However, in the Northern Illinois victory, the Eagles looked to Sophomore receiver DeAnthony White for big plays and on three carries he gained 78 yards. Still, with Brandon Graham and the Michigan defensive line playing well, the Eagles inconsistency will provide them with no comfort on the ground. Questions in the linebacking corps due to injuries might give the Eagles some hope, but look for the Wolverines to dominate the Eagles.

Advantage: Michigan

Special Teams:

Michigan’s kicking woes have been well documented this season as kicker Jason Gingell has made only 3 of Michigan’s 9 field goal attempts. Unfortunately for the Eagles, they have not been too effective in the kicking game either. The Eagles are 3-6 on field goals this year with first team kicker Sean Dutcher going 2-5. In the punting game, both team’s kickers Zoltan Mesko (Wolverines) and Zach Johnson (Eagles) have nearly identical statistics. Mesko has averaged 42.8 yards per punt while Johnson has averaged 42.6. When either team needs to punt it away, the defense should get favorable field position.

In the return game, Eastern Michigan has the advantage with kick returner Dontayo Gage. He’s averaged 26.4 yards and has scored on a 90 yard touchdown. On the Michigan side, the team has struggled, at times, to hold on to the football and returns have been minimal.

Advantage: Eastern Michigan

Intangibles:

With Chad Henne making his (full-time) return to the huddle, and after Mallett’s sub-par performance last week, the Wolverines will be back to having the comfort of a Senior leader calling the plays. Michigan’s offense started to click last week, but without Henne’s favorite target Manningham, the team will have to rely on Adrian Arrington who has had a very productive year so far leading the team in receiving. Henne’s experience in the huddle will have this team ready.

Michigan’s early season blunder against Appalachian State has given every team hope to mimic the Mountaineers. That is one thing the Eagles can talk about for motivation before the game. But in the Big House, the Eagles should be overwhelmed despite only having a seven mile drive. Michigan is coming off three wins while the Eagles are coming off a dreadful performance against Vanderbilt.

Advantage: Michigan

Outlook:

Michigan should cruise against an overmatched Eagles team, but this team struggled against an overmatched Northwestern team last week and in the first week of the season. Chad Henne and Michael Hart, however, will not let another huge upset happen in their senior season at the Big House. The Wolverines will cruise to a 38-7 victory. Michael Hart will go over 150 yards as the offense cruises allowing reserves to come in for the entire fourth quarter. On defense, Brandon Graham and the defensive line will have another dominating performance against the outmatched Eagles. There will not be a second upset of the century this year.

Most Valuable Player of the game: Brandon Graham: 3 sacks, 5 tfl, forced fumble

Remember to tune into wcbn.org and click sportstream to hear the game live tomorrow.

Preview by Rushi

Big Ten Rules on Administrative Error

The Big Ten ruled today that Michigan will not have to forfeit the Penn State game, here is the official press release:

Big Ten Rules on Michigan Administrative Error

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The Big Ten Conference Compliance and Reinstatement Subcommittee ruled today (Oct. 4) that the University of Michigan will not be required to forfeit any 2007 football games.

The Michigan Athletic Department reported an administrative error involving Artis Chambers (Fort Wayne, Ind./Snider HS) to the Big Ten Conference Office. Chambers, who retains his athletic scholarship and can continue practicing with the team, will miss the remainder of the season.

Henne Knows Way To Pasadena

Michigan trailed at the half. The offense had been bogged down with the exception of one drive. The defense was tired, they had been out on the field for the majority of the half. The Big Ten Championship was dangerously close to slipping away from this group of Wolverines. That's when Carr made the switch. Mallett out, Henne in-for the rest of the game. In an article I wrote at the start of the season I said that this was Chad Henne's team, with or without being named a captain. When times got rough the 10 other players in the huddle would look to Henne to lead the way, and that is exactly what happened last Saturday in Evanston.

Henne started the game and lead the team with ease down the length of the field for an easy touchdown. Then, assuming the team didn't need their senior quarterback, Carr handed the reins to Mallett. From the moment he entered the game the offense was not the same. Mallett finished 5 of 11 for just 69 yards and a fumbled snap. As Michigan's offense sputtered Northwestern was able to grab a lead by wearing down a tired Michigan defense. Now don't get me wrong, I think Mallett is going to be a great Michigan quarterback, the plays he made in the 4th quarter against Penn State were phenomenal. but he has talent but he is young and raw. The difference between Penn State and Northwestern was Mike Hart. When Hart is taken away from Mallett it plays a huge affect on the way Mallett plays. When Hart is taken away from Henne it doesn't affect him one bit.

This was proven Saturday when Henne reentered the game at the start of the second half and Michigan opened with 4 straight passing plays. Henne was calm and confident standing in the pocket and picked apart the Northwestern secondary by spreading the ball around to all three of his receivers, Manningham, Arrington, and Matthews. Henne led the offense to 3 scoring drives (all touchdowns) and should have had 4 if it weren't for Gingell missing a 4th quarter field goal.

A part of me is happy by the struggles of Mallett, it will benefit him down the road, but more importantly it put to rest any discussion of a QB controversy, one I did not partake in for one second. After watching Mallett struggle no true Michigan fan can say this team is better off with Mallett as the QB rather than Henne. If it weren't for Henne Michigan probably doesn't come back to win that football game, what exactly did Mallett show to make you think otherwise? He lost his touch, he locked on to one receiver, and he was hardly accurate. When Henne reentered the game the play calling changed, less runs, more throws, and it looked like Henne hadn't been out for a single snap. The offense was crisp, it moved the chains, and for a a few minutes it showed the brilliance that it can achieve.

There is only one more goal lef tin the 2007 season and that is to win the Big Ten and head to the Rose Bowl for the 4th time in 5 years. While Mallett might one day find the directions to the Pasadena, right now he is struggling just to unfold the map and locate southern California. Henne has those directions memorized and is piloting the plane back for one more trip.

Manningham Suspended

The Detroit Free Press is reporting that wide receiver Mario Manningham will miss this Saturday's game against Eastern Michigan because of a violation of team rules. Mario is Michigan's leading receiver with 29 catches for 402 yards and 2 touchdowns. While Michigan will hardly miss Mario this weekend against the Eagles heres hoping Mario gets the message and is back on the field against Purdue and for the rest of the season. The offense has already impressed a lot of people to this point and it won't get any stronger without Mario. This comes after Manningham's best performance of the season making 10 catches, a career high, for 123 yards and a touchdown against Northwestern. Arrington and Matthews will be asked to make up for the absence of Mario.

WCBN Sports Radio Weekly Schedule

Monday 8/1

Extra Points 6:00-6:30: We break down the weekend in Michigan Sports, with the focus being on football.

Tuesday 8/2

Daily Sports Report 5:15-5:30: These 15 minutes are split between coverage of all U of M sports and National sports.

Wednesday 8/3

Daily Sports Report 5:15-5:30

Thursday 8/4

Daily Sports Report 5:00-5:30: This longer version features a few minutes on Detroit sports thrown into the mix.

Friday 8/5

Game of the Week 7:00-10:00: This week features Volleyball vs Michigan State live on the air at 7. At the conclusion of the Volleyball match, we will preview the EMU football game for the duration of the time slot.

Saturday 8/6

Football vs EMU live on the Sports Stream

The shows during the week can be heard on 88.3 FM in the Ann Arbor area, or online at http://www.wcbn.org/listen.html from anywhere else in the world. The Football game will be aired live on the sports stream.

Michigan 28 Northwestern 16

Michigan escaped Evanston with a 28-16 victory, pulling away late to make the margin seem larger than it really was. Amado Villarreal started off the scoring with a 27 yard field goal on Northwestern’s initial possession. In a surprise move, Chad Henne got the start at quarterback and led the Wolverines down the field, connecting with Mario Manningham on an 11 yard touchdown pass on Michigan’s first possession of the game. That put Michigan on top 7-3 before Omar Conteh answered back with a 49 yard touchdown run to put Northwestern on top 10-7. Villarreal tacked on two more field goals from 49 and 27 yards before halftime to push the Northwestern lead to 16-7 at halftime. Henne threw two more touchdown passes in the second half to Carson Butler and Adrian Arrington. Mike Hart capped off the scoring in the fourth quarter with a one yard touchdown run that put the game out of reach.

Michigan Offense vs Northwestern Defense

Chad Henne started for the Wolverines and looked effective on his first drive, going 4-6 for 65 yards and a touchdown. Ryan Mallet came on to replace Henne on Michigan’s second drive and struggled leading the offense the rest of the first half going 5-11 for 67 yards. Mallet’s best play of the game came on a third and five where he was pressured out of the pocket and hit Adrian Arrington on the sideline for a first down. Any talk of a quarterback controversy (which was ridiculous to begin with) was ended with the play of Henne on Saturday. Henne ended the day 18-27 for 193 yards and three touchdowns to three different receivers. With his first touchdown pass to Manningham, Henne surpassed John Navarre for the career passing touchdowns record. Manningham hauled in 10 catches for 123 yards and that one touchdown. The Northwestern DB’s gave Manningham a cushion which left the 10-15 yard underneath routes open all day long.

Mike Hart continued his streak of 100 yard games this season, rushing for 106 yards on 30 carries. Northwestern’s defense did a great job of containing him in the first half, limiting to just 30 yards. When Henne returned to the field in the second half, the improved passing game seemed to open up some holes for Hart. John Gill led the way for the Wildcats with 10 tackles and one sack for the game.

Edge: Michigan

Michigan Defense vs Northwestern Offense

Northwestern moved the ball at will in the first half on the Wolverine defense, scoring all of their 16 points in the first half. C.J. Bacher completed passes to six different receivers in the first half. Northwestern had success running the ball with Omar Conteh who carried the ball 15 times for 119 yards, good for a 7.7 average. Bacher also was able to run the ball, gaining 38 yards on the ground excluding sacks. The Michigan

The defense picked up its intensity in the second half, forcing five turnovers. In fact, four consecutive Wildcat drives ended with a turnover. Brandon Graham and Shawn Crable forced fumbles, one of which was recovered by Crable and the other by Terrance Taylor. Morgan Trent, Obi Ezeh, and Tim Jamison each had interceptions of Bacher.

Edge: Push (first half to Northwestern, second half to Michigan)

Special Teams:

Michigan’s kicking woes continue as Jason Gingell missed a 26 yard field goal and a 39 yarder. That makes him 3-9 on the year, and 1 for his last 7. Crossing our fingers just isn’t getting the job done; we need some new go-to superstition. Zoltan Mesko continued his great year, booting a season long punt of 60 yards that pinned the Wildcats at their own one yard line. Mesko’s six punts went for an average of 44.5 yards and three of them were downed inside the 20.

For Northwestern, Amado Villarreal stayed perfect on the year, making two field goals from 27 yards and one from 49. Return-wise, Stephan Simmons’s kickoff return for 52 yards was the only significant return for either team on the day.

Edge: Northwestern

Intangibles:

It seemed like there was more maize and blue than purple in the stands at Ryan Field. Home field advantage was nonexistent as the Michigan fans were as loud, if not louder than the Northwestern fans. The teams came into the game with opposite momentum. Northwestern had just been blown out by Ohio State and the week before that had lost to Duke. Michigan had won two in a row over Notre Dame and then #10 Penn State. None of this was evident from the way that both teams opened the game. Northwestern seemed to be riding high on momentum while the Wolverines played sluggishly.

Edge: Push

Player of the Game: Chad Henne 18-27 193 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT

Henne gutted this one out after he was only supposed to play the opening series of each half. He stayed on and played the entire second half, leading the Wolverines to victory.

Monday Press Conference Tidbits:

· Mike Massey who left the Northwestern game with an injury to his left knee will have surgery this week and is out for the rest of the season.

· Freshman Zion Babb has been moved from WR to CB. It wasn’t said outright at the press conference, but my guess would be that this move came about due to the departure of Johnny Sears.

· Tim McAvoy is listed as the starter at RG for Eastern Michigan. McAvoy left the Northwestern game with an injury, but Lloyd Carr declined to comment on any injuries besides for Massey’s.

· Carr also refused to comment on the Artis Chambers situation that was reported earlier today.

· Carr did mention that K.C. Lopata might get a chance to win the field goal kicking job this week. Carr said that he’d look at both Lopata and Gingell in practice this week before making his decision.

· Henne said that he expects to start on Saturday against EMU

· Michigan Stadium became an octogenarian today, celebrating its 80^th birthday. The first game at Michigan Stadium was played 80 years ago today. Special prize to anyone who can respond in the comment section with the score and opponent that Michigan faced that day.

Thank you to everyone who tuned into WCBN’s first ever road game broadcast. We were faced with some technical difficulties but somehow we got it figured out with about 5 minutes to spare before kickoff. We hope you’ll tune in again on Saturday as Michigan hosts Eastern Michigan. That game will be televised on the Big 10 Network, but you can catch our broadcast live at noon by going to http://www.wcbn.org/listen.html and clicking on the sports stream.

Eligibility Issue for the Wolverines

The Michigan Daily is reporting today that freshman safety Artis Chambers is ineligible for the rest of the season. Chambers enrolled at the University early last January, but apparently he is only eligible under NCAA guidelines, not Big 10 Conference rules. This means that the three non-conference games that Chambers played in were legal, but not the Big 10 game against Penn State. The Big 10 could make the Wolverines forfeit that win over Penn State.

As soon as the Wolverines found out that Chambers was ineligible, he was immediately removed from their roster. Chambers will still practice with the team, but will not be able to play until next season. The Big 10 is expected to pass down their ruling sometime this week.