Michigan 33, NU 17

Well, compared to our two previous losses to Michigan, this wasn't so bad. I know it feels pretty lousy, but in a little bit of hindsight I'm starting to think it was just a game between two good teams and 1 had a much better night. I don't believe that in 10 rematches we would be below 100 yards rushing that often. Or that we would miss so many tackles every game.

Or, hopefully, that Baz would seem to make so many bad reads. It's not the two picks that get me. I don't think we believed he'd go the whole season throwing for 300 yards each game and only throw one interception. Hoped? Yes. Believed? Nah. The problem was that his much-touted vision was not with him tonight. Maybe the picks shook him up. Seems plausible, but he was Zak Kustok circa 2001: too many bad decisions among otherwise good play.

Before the StatWatch, as much as it pains me, kudos to Lloyd Carr and the Michigan offensive game plan. They kept our secondary off balance with major shifts before each play (with no procedure penalties) and our best defenders (Roach and McGarigle) from killing them by throwing long outside passes.

More after the jump.

Josh's StatWatch vs. Coach Walker's StatWatch
Josh - NU Passing yards/attempt: 6.7 yds/att (better than 6.5 = good)
Walker - NU Turnover margin: 4-3 = +1 (positive = good)

Standings after Game 8: The goal here is to see which of our benchmarks is a better predictor of wins.
Josh: 6 (7-1 predicting individual outcomes)
Randy: 5 (3-2 predicting individual outcomes, 0 turnover margin is not a predictor)
NU Record: 5-3

And
In My Opinion:
Cats' O: Too bad we couldn't move the ball on the ground. It would have been the difference.
Cats' D: Not that bad, by our standards, but we need a little more technique to go with hard hitting.
Cats' Special Teams: Kickoffs could have been better. A FG was nice to see too.

Let's go Cats!