The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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don't need him." More than a few Nebraska rooters are wondering how much they need Pelini, especially with a sieve defense. Michigan State — The Spartans feature one of the best defenses in the nation. That's good for them, because otherwise they'd be going 0-8 in the Big Ten. To cast the MSU offense as uneven would rank in understatement annals with saying Miley Cyrus isn't the top choice for "Let's Dance Day" at the local elementary school. The Spartans waged their own titanic tussles with Western Michigan and South Florida, winning largely because their defense could score when their offense couldn't. They get credit for going into South Bend and hanging in to the end against the Fighting Irish, but the 17-13 loss probably produced all sorts of frustrating flashbacks for MSU fans. Last year, they lost games 17-16, 19-16, 12-10 and 23-20, while pulling out three contests in which they scored 17 or fewer points. Looks like they're headed for more of the same, and while that doesn't necessarily spell a 7-6 repeat, it's probably not enough to win the division. Northwestern — This might actually be the best team in the division through the non-conference season, and the Wildcats still struggled at home with Maine's Black Bears, 35-21. Maine's no challenger for the crystal football, and it gets tougher for the 4-0 Wildcats in a hurry. Northwestern might face the single-toughest schedule in the Big Ten. Following its bye week Sept. 28, it hosts Ohio State, then travels to Wisconsin, meaning it has a betterthan-even shot at getting out of the conference gate at 0-2. After hosting Minnesota, the Wildcats travel to Iowa and Nebraska on back-to-back weekends. A team that historically faces depth issues gets Michigan and Michigan State back-to-back in Evanston Nov. 16 and 23, before finishing at Illinois. That's just no way to win a division, especially if there's any injury attrition. Yes, Michigan has its problems. Yes, the Wolverines need to address them with the urgency of castaways bailing out a hole-riddled rowboat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. But there are many others in the same boat. Whoever plugs the most holes first, wins. "We get an opportunity to get healthy, everybody on our team," U-M quarterback Devin Gardner said of Michigan's bye week. "That's good for our team. You know what starts next is the Big Ten, and that's our goal — to win a Big Ten championship." That goal seems a long, long way away. But it's that way for the top contenders faced with the task of reaching the championship game in Indianapolis, and that should make for an interesting autumn. ❏ Editor John Borton has been with The Wolverine since 1991. Contact him at jborton@thewolverine.com and follow him on Twitter @JB_Wolverine.