It's Michigan! It's Virginia Tech! It's the Sugar Bowl!

It's a return to the national stage for Michigan. Win, and they can dream about bigger things for next year. Lose to a meh Virginia Tech team, and the critics will declare that the Wolverines only won 10 because of a soft schedule. This is a big game as you look forward to the 2012 season. The drink of choice? Something as classic as a winged helmet. On the rocks for me. Neat for my wife.

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Michigan's Defense Has Vastly Improved in 2011

The proof is in their 2nd half performances and ability to get third down stops (remember late versus Iowa, how many times the Hawkeyes were stopped on third and short?). Also take a look at the tremendous amount of rushing yards given up last year, and the year before...and compare that to 2011.

2009 - 474 attempts, 2063 yards, 4.35 YPC, 20 TD's

2010 - 554 attempts, 2456 yards, 4.43 YPC, 34 TD's

2011 - 381 attempts, 1549 yards, 4.07 YPC, 13 TD's

What's crazier than those insane stats? The 2011 defense was made up of the same kids who played in 2010. Apparently new coaches, less injuries, and new schemes was a good idea! /wins award for most obvious statement of the year. Everyone remembers 2010, where that 3-4, or modified 3-4, or the occasional 3-3-5...was completely ineffective, where opposing coaches would shelve the passing game because they knew the run game would be working all game. I went to the MACtion championship game for Miami (OH) in 2010. After watching a half of Red(skin)hawk football, I turned to Jon and said, "something is different with their defense, I can't figure it out." Turns out that after watching Michigan football all year, I wasn't used to watching a team that form tackled and put their linebackers in position to make plays. Things done changed.

Take a look at the individual performances of the star runners Michigan faced this year:

Cierre Wood, ND: 127 yards, 1 TD

Jonas Gray, ND: 64 yards

Ronnie Hillman, SDSU: 109 yards

Edwin Baker, MSU: 167 yards, 1 TD

Rex Burkhead, Nebraska: 36 yards

Taylor Martinez, Nebraska: 49 yards

Ralph Bolden, Purdue: 22 yards

Marcus Coker, Iowa: 132 yards, 2 TD

Jason Ford, Illinois: 26 yards, 1 TD

Braxton Miller, OSU: 100 yards, 1 TD

Boom Herron, OSU: 37 yards, 1 TD

Key performers exist mostly on the disruptive D-Line, but the secondary has improved also, giving up 1000 less passing yards than last years' squad. And yet -

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Fans, and I suspect some OTE readers, will jump on many different kinds of Michigan-hating bandwagons. Four specific ones come to mind:

1. "You beat a 6-6 team, why are you celebrating so much?"
2. "Here comes Urban Meyer, here comes another OSU win streak."
3. "The weak B1G should be thanked for your success, 'cause that's not a 10-2 team."
4. "Enjoy getting crushed in the BCS or the Cap One. You're going to have to play quarterbacks who won't overthrow wide open receivers."

College football, and life in general, does move quickly past the present. People move past today's news to tomorrow's news...before today is even done.

So let me treasure this victory, the first of its kind since I was a 20 year old sophomore, the first since I whooped and hollered in the back of antiquated Peabody Hall. Let me cheer this victory because Michigan showed tremendous poise and physicality against a program that's been better than the entire B1G for the last ten years. Let me celebrate all those damn-the-torpedo Denard Robinson runs that kept so many drives alive. Let me celebrate ten wins (!) and defensive toughness. And my God, let me celebrate something most* of you support: Beating Ohio State.

/pause

Thank you.

*Those who subscribe to the "meteor theory" are free to hate at will.

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Some of you may downplay Michigan's beating of Nebraska. Some of you may bring up Nebraska's fumbles or the homefield advantage of the Big House (that's a new one). It doesn't matter, because for the first time since 2007, Michigan beat a top tier B1G team.* And for the first time since 2006, Michigan, well, played like Michigan should.

This Michigan season has been an under the radar one ever since the MSU loss. Everyone assumed it was the same old "start hot and then get shown for what they really are" Michigan team. Apparently, not so fast, my friends. So - What happened? What should we take from this season? And what's going to happen this week versus OSU?

*top tier being a relative term; I guess we could have said "ranked", but 2008 Wisconsin was ranked and turned out to be a pretty mediocre football team. Nebraska has 8 wins, including beatings of MSU, OSU, and PSU. So that's top tier-ish.

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Pretty easy to find yourself a place here that fits your thoughts on UM - MSU...

...

The Haters

Although it's the battle of Michigan, that is just about the extent of this games importance. Both teams are like...6's and if Michigan stays undefeated much longer, Jon's going to have to write a "Death of the Big Ten" article. No matter how undefeated Michigan is, even after Saturday, they a) haven't played anyone and b) really really don't deserve that Top 10 ranking. I mean forgodssakes, if they made a low level BCS bowl, they'd play someone like Oklahoma State and uh yeah, I'm taking the Cowboys there. And if the Spartans win? Congratulations, stick around EL to get murdered by Wisconsin and then off to Nebby. "Legends" my ass.

MSU's "4 game stretch of death" looks more like "one loss and a few cripple fights against overrated programs." And they'll still go 1-3, maybe 2-2.

For Michigan, it's all a waiting game anyways, waiting and waiting for Denard to get hurt. And he will, probably Saturday, just like he does every year. And then we're back to square one.

Michigan is on a tight rope and they're going to slip. It won't be subtle either, all of a sudden one of the linebackers will limp off the field and the Spartans will be getting seven yards per rush like last year. The unbelievable lack of injuries and fortunate bounces (see ND, NW turnovers) will end soon and Michigan will start playing like the 7-5 team they truly are.

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Sure, the Wolverines won the game of the year and people are using terms like "favorable schedule" or "big defensive stops" or "8+ wins." But what's more important than the excitement of some B1G fans and Michigan supporters? Hating on them, naturally. Here are some helpful talking points to pull out when anyone (our resident Bowl expert included) tries getting excited about the 2011 Michigan Wolverines and their recent victory over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

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In another race that came down to the last week, Michigan had a shot at claiming an outright crown. All they needed was to win in Columbus, against what was likely the weakest team of Jim Tressel's tenure. They couldn't do it, falling 37-21. With the loss, the winner of Wisconsin at Iowa, which kicked off as the Michigan loss concluded, would claim a share of the crown. If the Badgers won, they would head to Pasadena. A Hawkeye win would send Michigan. After a tight first half, Iowa's defense suffocated any semblance of a Wisconsin offense, holding the Badgers to 41 rushing yards on 30 attempts, in the 30-7 Hawkeye win.

Michigan faced Texas, with USC drafted into the Orange Bowl against Oklahoma (Vacated. USC didn't go there after all), and lost a great game on a last second field goal. Iowa drew defending champion LSU in the Capital One Bowl, and won on a last second touchdown pass. Played back-to-back, these games made for an outstanding New Year's Day.

I'm drawing a circle around 2003. It's our last classic* Big Ten season. If you want to think of it as retro, that's OK too. On the last weekend of the season, 9-2 (6-1) Michigan hosting 10-1 (6-1) Ohio State with an outright championship and a trip to Pasadena on the line. There is no National Championship in play. Neither of these teams will be spirited off to a bowl in a different state. It's blue versus red with the winner going to California. 

Michigan won 35-21 and went to the Rose Bowl to play USC. They'd lose there (again, classic* season). Ohio State went back to Tempe, and beat Kansas State in the Fiesta Bowl. At the time, it was Michigan's 13th win in the previous 19 meetings with Ohio State. Today, if you look at the last 26 meetings, Michigan still just has 13 wins...

*classic as defined by sportswriters who think of the 1970s as the Big Ten's glory years.