Fans of the Maize and Blue are truly feeling blue after Saturday's shocking loss to I-AA Appalachian State (yes, I-AA is technically called the Championship Subdivision now, but no one uses that). In what may have been the biggest upset in college football history, the Mountaineers, who were two-time defending I-AA national champions, shocked the No. 5 Michigan Wolverines, 34-32 in the Big House. It was the first loss by an AP-ranked team to a I-AA team in the poll's history. And to add a little more misery to UM, the school paid Appalachian State $400,000 for the game! This loss surely will intensify the calls for Wolverines coach Lloyd Carr's head -- he was already on the hot seat after his club suffered back-to-back blowouts, to Ohio State and USC in the Rose Bowl, to end last year. Carr has dropped five of six to the hated Buckeyes. UM's coach says his team must start from scratch only one game into the season. After all, a national championship may be out of reach, but the Big Ten title and Rose Bowl berth are still attainable.
"What we have to do in a short time here is become a more disciplined team, a smarter team and a team that executes better," Carr said of his club, which had two field goal attempts blocked against the Mountaineers and committed numerous penalties. The road doesn't get any easier for Michigan this Saturday, as Oregon visits Ann Arbor. Some are calling the Ducks, who beat Houston in their opener, 48-27, the sleeper team of the Pac-10. And they feature a mobile quarterback in Dennis Dixon and a spread-type offense, two things that haunted Michigan against Appalachian State. However, I look for Michigan to bounce back in a big way this week. There was a reason the Wolverines were preseason No. 5 and consensus Big Ten favorites. You know Carr will put his players through a week of practice they won't forget, and senior stars Chad Henne, Mike Hart and Jake Long are too proud to let this loss linger. The smart money bets on the Maize and Blue this week. Bet on NCAA football at WagerWeb Online Sportsbook
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