For the first time ever, we have Fiesta Bowl Fee Fi Foe Film! Michigan has played in one prior Fiesta Bowl, 1986's contest against Nebraska, so it's safe to say there was no FFFFing going on for that game back then. It's also Michigan's first ever game against the TCU Horned Frogs, meaning we're now in uncharted waters. TCU is 12-1 after completing a perfect regular season before falling to Kansas State in the Big XII Championship Game. Nonetheless, it was enough to earn the #3 ranking and a ticket to the CFP and this Fiesta Bowl. The Film: As many know, the Big XII is not a league known for playing defense. Of the teams TCU has played, only a few qualify as a defense anywhere close to the caliber that Michigan is. Per SP+, there are three teams fitting that bill, Iowa State, Kansas State, and Texas. The ISU game is not usable because it was much like the Iowa/OSU game, a good defensive performance marred by a catastrophically bad offensive one, with th
For the first time ever, we have Fiesta Bowl Fee Fi Foe Film! Michigan has played in one prior Fiesta Bowl, 1986's contest against Nebraska, so it's safe to say there was no FFFFing going on for that game back then. It's also Michigan's first ever game against the TCU Horned Frogs, meaning we're now in uncharted waters. TCU is 12-1 after completing a perfect regular season before falling to Kansas State in the Big XII Championship Game. Nonetheless, it was enough to earn the #3 ranking and a ticket to the CFP and this Fiesta Bowl. The Film: As many know, the Big XII is not a league known for playing defense. Of the teams TCU has played, only a few qualify as a defense anywhere close to the caliber that Michigan is. Per SP+, there are three teams fitting that bill, Iowa State, Kansas State, and Texas. The ISU game is not usable because it was much like the Iowa/OSU game, a good defensive performance marred by a catastrophically bad offensive one, with th
It's Iowa week, everybody! The all-or-nothing nature of this football team means we get a grim read today and then a much more impressive read on Friday. But buckle up, because this one is as rough as you are expecting. The Film: Iowa had two possible games for me to go with here, the CyHawk battle against Iowa State in week two and Saturday's tussle with Rutgers in Piscataway. Though I think ISU is probably closer to Michigan's caliber of team than Rutgers, I opted for the latter because Iowa State represented a comic low for this offense, whereas they showed some (small) signs of life on offense against Rutgers, and it's more fair to represent them at their best than at their nadir. Moreover, Rutgers is closer to the present and more representative of what Iowa is now. Personnel: Click on the image for big, or here for PDF. Spencer Petras returns as Iowa's QB and that is not a good thing, amid another dismal campaign, though his best game of the s