Detroit News: 49ers are zombies, Harbaugh is dead in SF

It's rare that a successful head coach comes under this much fire from the front office, but that's the case in San Francisco (LINK).

Hit the jump for model Aj Sachi.

Rivals 100 for 2016 updated

Detroit (MI) King wide receiver Donnie Corley is the State of Michigan's top uncommitted prospect (image via MGoFish)

Rivals released its updated top 100 for the class of 2016 on Monday (LINK). Here's what it looked like back in July (LINK). The lone Michigan commit on the list, Erik Swenson, dropped from #70 to #76. Here are the rest of Michigan's offerees, too:

5-stars:
1. Jacob Eason - QB - Washington (Georgia)
2. Rashan Gary - DT - New Jersey
3. Nate Craig-Myers - WR - Florida (Auburn)
4. Gregory Little - OT - Texas (Texas A&M)
6. Shea Patterson - QB - Louisiana (Arizona)
8. Levonta Taylor - CB - Virginia
9. Dexter Lawrence - DT - North Carolina
10. Rahshaun Smith - DE - Maryland
11. Demetris Robertson - WR - Georgia (Alabama)
13. Malik Henry - QB - California (Florida State)
17. Kareem Walker - RB - New Jersey
18. Daelin Hayes - LB - Michigan (USC)
20. Ben Cleveland - OT - Georgia (Georgia)

4-stars:
25. K.J. Costello - QB - California
29. Scott Bracey - WR - Virginia (Duke)
31. Tommy Kraemer - OT - Ohio (Notre Dame)
34. Sam Bruce - WR - Florida (Miami)
38. Janarius Robinson - DE - Florida (Florida State)
39. Jake Hausmann - TE - Ohio
41. Ben Bredeson - OT - Wisconsin
44. Brandon Jones - S - Texas
49. Ahmir Mitchell - WR - New Jersey
52. Isaac Nauta - TE - Georgia
53. Miles Sanders - RB - Pennsylvania (Penn State)
54. E.J. Price - OT - Georgia
56. Willie Allen - OT - Louisiana
57. Josh King - DE - Illinois
59. Naseir Upshur - TE - Pennsylvania
60. Collin Johnson - WR - Texas (Texas)
66. Dylan Crawford - WR - California
67. Dwayne Haskins, Jr. - QB - Maryland
75. Michael Menet - OT - Pennsylvania
76. Erik Swenson - OT - Illinois (Michigan)
79. T.J. Chase - WR - Florida
88. Jarrett Guarantano - QB - New Jersey
89. Donnie Corley - WR - Michigan
97. Jauan Williams - OT - Washington, DC

Video: Jim Harbaugh tribute

Wolverine Historian posted a couple Jim Harbaugh tribute videos a few days ago. I have no idea why there's this sudden interest in Harbaugh. Oh, well. On with the show!



Hit the jump for the second video.

Thoughts on the Inaugural College Football Playoff

The inaugural College Football Playoff seedings were announced on Sunday afternoon, and as expected, there are lots of arguments going on around the country.

#1 Alabama (12-1) vs. #4 Ohio State (12-1) in the Sugar Bowl
I realize that Florida State has had several close victories this season against a pretty weak schedule, but the Seminoles have won 29 consecutive games. I don't really see why an undefeated Power 5 conference team shouldn't be ranked higher than two one-loss teams in Alabama and Oregon. I do think Alabama and Oregon have been more impressive this year, but Herm Edwards said, "You play to win the game." Florida State has won the game every time for over two years. (Full disclosure: I strongly dislike Jameis Winston and have a distaste for the nonsense that has gone on in Tallahassee since forever ago.) So I think FSU should be #1 and playing Ohio State in this game. It will be very interesting to watch the Crimson Tide play Ohio State, though. I think the Buckeyes are going to really struggle to slow down Alabama's running game with T.J. Yeldon and Derrick Henry, although OSU's pass rush might cause some trouble for Alabama.

#2 Oregon (12-1) vs. #3 Florida State (13-0) in the Rose Bowl
This game should be Alabama vs. Oregon, in my opinion. But since it's Oregon and Florida State, I'll have to pick the Ducks in this one. I know I said above that FSU should be the top-ranked team, but Oregon will put more pressure on FSU than the other teams they've beaten. The Seminoles have won their last four games - against Miami, Boston College, Florida, and Georgia Tech - by an average of 3.5 points.

Teams left out: TCU and Baylor
I feel bad for TCU and Baylor for being left out of the playoff, but not bad enough to want a six- or eight-team playoff. The bottom line is that if you're not one of the top few teams in the country, you don't deserve to win the national championship. This is one year where the #5 and #6 teams have an argument to be #4 with a chance to be champs, but there are some years where #5 and #6 are clearly a notch below the top few teams. Those teams shouldn't be rewarded for getting hot or catching a couple breaks come playoff time. I always refer back to the New York Giants beating the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl following the 2007 season. The Giants were 10-6 during the regular season, but they got hot and beat the Patriots, who were 16-0 in the regular season. Does that win mean the Giants were the best team in the NFL that year? Absolutely not, but they get to claim to be champs forever and ever. The differences aren't as stark in college (since there are more teams, you're going to have more undefeated or one-loss teams), but I don't think college players should be asked to beat up their bodies and play football almost year-round just because the #6 or #8 team in the country wants a shot to play with the big boys.

My guess is that we'll see Alabama and Oregon in the national championship game.

Poll results: Who will lead Michigan in rushing in 2014?

De'Veon Smith was Michigan's leading rusher in 2014

I meant to post this a few months ago, but somehow it got lost in the shuffle. Here are the results of the poll posted over the summer. (Caveat: This poll closed on September 4, which was several days after Michigan's opening victory over Appalachian State.)

Derrick Green: 59%
Green ended up with 471 yards in half a season, which was 48 fewer than Smith's total for twelve games. (Green was my pick in the preseason, too.)

De'Veon Smith: 35%
Smith led the team with 519 yards but did not surpass Green until well after Green was lost for the season with a broken collarbone. Green averaged 78.5 yards/game, and Smith's only two games over 78.5 yards were the opener against Appalachian State (115 yards) and week 10 against Northwestern (121). Smith averaged 43.25 yards/game for the whole season.

Devin Gardner: 4%
Gardner finished fourth on the team with 258 yards. He undoubtedly would have gone for more, but an ankle injury slowed him down for much of the year.

Drake Johnson: 1%
Johnson was the team's best back for the last third of the season, rushing for an average of 80 yards/game against Indiana, Northwestern, Maryland, and Ohio State. Unfortunately, he tore his ACL in the season finale.

Other: 0% (0 votes)
The only other tailback to get a shot was Justice Hayes, who averaged 4.4 yards/carry and ended up with 213 rushing yards on the season.

Michigan's leading rusher total of 519 yards is the lowest since Brandon Minor led the team with 502 yards in 2009, a year in which Michigan also went 5-7.

Detroit News: Ex-UM players write letter to current team

Five former Michigan players have written a letter to Michigan's current team, encouraging them through the current program's situation (LINK).

Hit the jump for a few good looking brunettes.

The All-Hoke Team: Defense, Special Teams

Jake Ryan (image via MGoBlog)

I posted the offense yesterday (LINK), so here are the defenders and specialists. Since Michigan ran a 4-3 Under for three of Hoke's four years, I'm going with that look for my all-star team.

SDE: Ryan Van Bergen (2011)
45 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 3 fumble recoveries, 4 pass breakups
Van Bergen was a stalwart defensive end for Michigan as a senior, earning All-Big Ten Honorable Mention but helping the entire defense by getting consistent penetration and having a great game in the win against Ohio State.

NT: Ryan Glasgow (2014)
24 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery
Glasgow made huge strides from his redshirt freshman to redshirt sophomore season, which propelled him past Quinton Washington for this spot. Glasgow was mostly able to hold his ground against double teams.

DT: Mike Martin (2011)
64 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks
Martin was named Second Team All-Big Ten for his performance in 2011, and he was consistently in the opponent's backfield. Opposing centers couldn't handle him one-on-one as a nose tackle, which allowed some young and/or mediocre linebackers behind him to make plays.

WDE: Frank Clark (2014)
42 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, 1 fumble recovery, 2 pass breakups
I hesitated to put Clark on here because he was kicked off the team for an (alleged) domestic violence transgression. But just looking at the on-field results, Clark was a force. He achieved the above numbers in just ten games before being booted, and they would have been higher if Michigan's coverage in the secondary hadn't been so poor in the early part of the season.

Hit the jump for linebackers, defensive backs, and specialists.