Michigan football players try hard not to overlook Delaware State
No one has to tell Brandon Graham how dangerous it can be to overlook an FCS opponent.
“I was a part of Appalachian State,” Graham said.
The last FCS team (formerly Division I-AA) to visit Michigan Stadium, Appalachian State pulled the stunner of the century two years ago when it knocked off fifth-ranked Michigan, 34-32. The Mountaineers kicked the go-ahead field goal with 26 seconds left, then blocked a kick on the final play to seal perhaps the greatest upset in college football history.Delaware State is no Appalachian State - the Hornets are 1-3 with losses to Florida A&M, Delaware and Bethune-Cookman; Appalachian State was the reigning I-AA champ in 2007 - but Graham and Co. aren’t taking any chances with their “buy” game opponent.
The Hornets will make $550,000 for today’s game (noon, Big Ten Network), and forfeited a conference date against North Carolina A&T to collect the payday.
“It doesn’t matter if we’re going up against Iowa, Penn State, Delaware State, Ohio State, we’re going to play the best game we can,” offensive lineman David Moosman said. “We want to execute, we want to play hard. Regardless of who they put out there, you guys could come out there, we’d probably play the same.”
Truthfully, Michigan (4-2) should have no trouble with a Delaware State team that ranks 92nd out of 118 FCS schools in total defense - regardless of the status of quarterback Tate Forcier.
Forcier suffered a concussion on his final play in last week’s loss to Iowa and missed some practice time early this week. He's been cleared to play by team doctors, and is listed as probable on Michigan's official injury report.
Denard Robinson will make his first career start if Forcier sits for precautionary reasons, and the banged-up Wolverines expect to play plenty of backups either way. Running backs Brandon Minor (ankle) and Carlos Brown (concussion) also are battling injury, and starting center David Molk will miss his fourth straight game with a broken foot.Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez was up front when asked what his program stands to gain from playing Delaware State.
“We get a home game,” Rodriguez said. “We don't have to belabor the whole deal, but it is not as easy to schedule as maybe everybody would think. In particular, when you have to have home games, a certain number of home games - we were in such a short time period to get it scheduled.”
While most schedules are set years in advance, Michigan added Delaware State as its 12th opponent last December. In some ways, the university got a bargain for its money. Michigan paid Eastern Michigan $800,000 to serve as roadkill earlier this year.
The Eagles stayed close in the first half before losing, 45-17.
“As you go forward, again, I think you have more time to schedule four, five, six years in advance,” Rodriguez said. “If you're going to put a I-AA on your schedule, you can get one that is maybe the better fit or more attractive name-wise.
“But let's not dismiss the 63 scholarships (FCS teams are allowed). If you looked at our total of guys that were on scholarship originally out of high school, not counting the walk-ons, we're pretty close to that.”
Still, Rodriguez said he’s “a little bit” worried about getting his team emotionally ready to play.
“It's not the same atmosphere you have in a primetime Saturday night game as we had last week,” Rodriguez said. “If you're a I-A team, you're expected to be a I-AA team, everybody knows that. That's not a big secret. But as we all know, this year, last year, the last several years, it doesn't always happen that way.
“This is their Super Bowl. We’ll get their best shot. Our guys have to understand that.”
Dave Birkett covers University of Michigan football for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached by phone at 734-623-2552 or by e-mail at davidbirkett@annarbor.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.
Comments
azwolverine
Sat, Oct 17, 2009 : 10:02 a.m.
I don't mind this game. As much as I would like to play a PSU today to get the last two weeks officially put behind, it's nice to get some guys healthy at midseason and some younger guys playing time.
uminks
Fri, Oct 16, 2009 : 8:28 p.m.
I think UM will be running a lot this game...so I don't expect a huge blowout, plus I think they will try to get the younger kids on defense some playing time. For that reason, I could see a 41 to 26 type game...may be 35-0 at halftime.
Macabre Sunset
Fri, Oct 16, 2009 : 7:19 p.m.
Kind of surprised that yeahyall's comment is still here, with the rampant over-moderation that goes on here. You need to look at the Colonial league. It's by far the best in the FCS, and there's considerable evidence in the rankings that it's quite close to the MAC and the Sun Belt in terms of performance.
tulsatom
Fri, Oct 16, 2009 : 6:43 p.m.
I agree that U-M should've tried harder to get a bigger name team for this game. However, now that the game is scheduled, U-M needs to be ready to play. The days of throwing your helmets onto the field and automatically winning games is over (see Toledo game last year). If U-M comes to play, it should be 54-7 or something like that. I definitely don't want ESPN to break into their early games with "Upset Alert" scores involving Michigan-Delaware St.
Macabre Sunset
Fri, Oct 16, 2009 : 5:32 p.m.
It's all in the name of money, I guess, but I worry that the Delaware State kids could get seriously hurt. This is not exactly a sporting contest. Hopefully, the youngsters are in there by the end of the first quarter, even if the score is still close.
michboy40
Fri, Oct 16, 2009 : 5:08 p.m.
This is a great game for Michigan. It is basically a much needed bye-week. This team needs a game like this to regroup, get some of the 2-deep guys some serious playing time, and to get to within one win of bowl eligibility. 52-0 Michigan...and Nick Sheridan has a big day.
Macabre Sunset
Fri, Oct 16, 2009 : 5 p.m.
Comparing this game to Appalachian State is ludicrous. This is not a game. It should never have been scheduled. Why not a Delaware or a New Hampshire instead? At least the Colonial conference is almost on a par with the MAC. Might as well be playing Slippery Rock.