New jet engine developed, tested, and funded in Maryland

Jet engines without moving parts. Seems unlikely, but North American Wave Engine Corporation (NAWEC) CEO Daanish Maqbool has developed just that. And he did it right here in Maryland. 

from https://open.maryland.gov/blog/new-jet-engine-developed-tested-and-funded-in-maryland/

Wolverine Wednesday: Mid-Week News and Notes

• Amara Darboh got released by Seattle, signed by the Patriots, and then released again.  It seems he had an injury that needed surgery.  

The past month been crazy but I never question Gods plan & the path he has set for me. Happy to say surgery went well🙏🏿Now its time to get right for the 2019 season‼️ pic.twitter.com/XQzUBAEgJe

— Amara Darboh 🇸🇱 (@Freetownsfinest) September 4, 2018

•  Kareem Walker had 108 yards and a TD for Fort Scott CC. 

• Josh Ross on what happened in the first half:  “I just feel like we — first half — we was a little bit too jittery. I feel like second half, we was a little bit more poised, we was in the crowd, we know how the game was going. We just sat down and we played. We balled out.”

• Brad Hawkins on the long TD pass:  “I just — I seen the ball in the air. Thought it was mine, I didn’t come down with it. But, I mean, it happens. Moved on to the next play. And I just continue to play the way that I know I’m capable of playing.”

• Oliver Martin on his positions after the Black injury:  “I had to play a little bit more of the X position, where traditionally I played a little bit more Z and F. So, I just have to be ready to play any of the three positions. And then that goes the same for the other receivers, too. You have to be able to play all of the positions.”

I still believe there is zero upside to play a big game to start a season.   There isn't a college pre-season and you never know what your football team will look like until you play a game.  Jimmy has been on every show this week discussing improvements needed.   It would have been much better to have seen those improvements against a MAC team in week 1, then travel to ND this week (both ND and Michigan play MAC schools this week).   I just wonder when the Michigan Athletic department will start being smarter about the schedule.  

It's easy to point to areas that needs improvements, like the tackles, managing the clock, etc.   If the Michigan defense doesn't struggle in the first half, its a much different game.   It was first game jitters, that can be overcome in week 2.  Many coaches believe the biggest improvement you will see from your team is from Week 1 to Week 2.

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2018/09/wolverine-wednesday-mid-week-news-and.html

The Container Store selects Harford County for distribution center

The Container Store, Inc., the only national retailer solely dedicated to providing storage and organization products, will build and lease a 600,000 square-foot distribution center at the Eastgate 95 Industrial Park in Perryman.

from https://open.maryland.gov/blog/container-store-selects-harford-county-distribution-center/

Michigan Tuesday: An Early Look At Western Michigan

Side Note:  We got a few hundred "guess the score" entries and nobody picked ND to win the game.   So let's try it again.

Pick the Michigan - WMU Score on Saturday.

If there are ties, the first entry to hit my inbox (thebighouseblog@hotmail.com) will win the Tom VH book.   We will take entries right up to kick off.

Good Luck!
----------------
Western Michigan hosted Syracuse at home on Friday night.  They combined for 97 points and 1,181 yards.  It was clearly a defensive battle.   Western scored 42 points with a huge third quarter where they put up 28 points.   Out of Western's 621 total yards, 379 yards where through the air and 242 yards on the ground.

If your wondering how Drake Harris did?  He had one catch for 12 yards.  It will be great having him back in the Big House on Saturday, but he is clearly on the wrong sideline.  

Western's top RB is?

LeVante Bellamy ran for 120 yards on 11 caries and 2 TD's

WR?

D'Wayne Eskridge had 240 yards on 8 catches and 2 TD's

QB?

Jon Wassink threw for 379 yards, 2 TD's and 2 Int's


Michigan is -28.5 in the game


Western knows they can't match Michigan's defense so they will spread the Wolverines out and try to put a bunch of crooked numbers on the scoreboard.  They are hoping for a ND hangover.

• I wasn't surprised that Braylon got drunk on Saturday night and light up the Wolverines on twitter.  I'm also not surprised he has now screwed up his BTN gig.    

• Jimmy said during his presser he expects to keep the same OL that he had for ND.  He wouldn't tell us if he was planning changes.   I think its time for some changes, put Bredeson at LT and put Hudson in his guard spot.  

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2018/09/michigan-tuesday-early-look-at-western.html

Renovate your outdoor space with help from Maryland’s small businesses

Soak up the last weeks of warm weather and get ready for crisp fall nights by enjoying your outdoor space. There are plenty of Maryland companies ready and waiting to help you create the yard of your dreams.

from https://open.maryland.gov/blog/renovate-your-outdoor-space-help-marylands-small-businesses/

Michigan Monday: This isn't Your Father's Wolverines

I love this program, always have and always will.  It has great tradition and one of the best fan bases in college football.

We all know that, what most of (including myself) are troubled with is; What the hell happened to our program?  Did App State take all the magic from it?  Did we lose the program when Rich Rod got hired?  When Bo died, did he take all the history and tradition to his grave?

We thought we had the answers:

Rich Rod wasn't ready for the Michigan job
Brady Hoke was a good defensive line coach, but not a head coach
We just need to recruit better, we need 4 and 5 star guys on both lines
We need a great coach that loves Michigan
We need a QB that can run and throw

There are a hundred more of those answers out there.  

The real answer is college football has a ton more parity then it ever has.   Programs like Oregon have been great recently and Northwestern has the longest win streak in division 1.   Growing up, playing Northwestern was the easiest W on the schedule.

Everything has changed except our thinking as Michigan fans.  We expect to dominate every opponent no matter where or when.   Those days are long gone.  There is only one team that does that in today's college football and that is the machine called Alabama.   Many people forget how bad Alabama was before Saban got there.  Or how Saban struggled at Michigan State.   Another example is Texas, they used to have an event every year where they would invite the top players in the state to come in for the weekend.   They would pick the top 15-20 guys and then thank the rest for coming.   It was like a 4 and 5 star buffet.  They lost to Maryland on Saturday without DJ Durkin.

It's not just the head coach, it's not just recruiting.  It's everything coming together at one time.  Remember when Chip Kelly was a "college football genius"?  He lost to Cincinnati this weekend in his first game at UCLA.   (I hope Wilton is ok)  I'm sure genius isn't the word UCLA fans are using to describe their head coach today.

If we are going to get through this football season or any other season from here on out, we need to start thinking differently about our program and what to expect.

For example:

• Michigan doesn't need to go looking for punishment.  Like traveling to ND, Dallas,  or Washington to start a season. 
• Michigan could win or lose any game they play.  Against anyone. 
• Michigan isn't going 12-0 anytime soon 
• Finding athletes that are good kids, good students, can qualify at Michigan, is going to be a much smaller sample size then other schools have available. 
• Jim Harbaugh is not a coaching wizard
• College kids are going to make stupid plays that cost Michigan a game sometimes 
• Michigan has to play to it's strength as much as possible - meaning games at home and no later then 3:30.   TV can adjust, Michigan shouldn't have to. 

Those are just a few examples off the top of my head, but we are going to have to start thinking about Michigan Football like we think of Michigan Basketball.   We expect competitive play but know we won't be a Kentucky. 

We expect Michigan not to "cheat" on the recruiting trail, play by the rules, and be morally better then our rivals.   We have won the morality battle to date.  Penn State, Michigan State, Ohio State and even ND have had their share of off field issues lately.   Which alone should make you proud putting on a Maize Blue T-Shirt.  The problem is, there isn't a national championship trophy for a undefeated morality season.  On a side note, do you know one of the reasons Hoke's no visits policy after you commit was such an issue?   Players were missing out on thousands of dollars when they took their official visits to other places.  

If Michigan had converted the two fields goals they should have, ND was whistled for a delay of game on their field goal, and Winovich didn't rough the passer.   Michigan could have won the game and we would all have been making playoff plans.   Which is wrong, we are not there yet.  

I'm not giving up on the season or telling the kids they don't have anything to play for, because they do.   What I'm saying is, this isn't the Michigan program we grew up watching and things haven't come together like we thought they would.   Our expectations are not realistic and there isn't a silver bullet or magic potion out there to fix it.   I'm not happy with Harbaugh or what I saw on the field on Saturday night, but I know I don't want to go through another coaching search and the days of RR or Hoke again.   That was a disaster.   If Bo was alive, I think he would be happy Harbaugh is coaching the team and would preach some patience.   Though he would want to see a few more wins over MSU and OSU that is for sure.  

Michigan Football needs to stay the course, play smarter football, recruit the offense line better, and maybe call Mrs. Cleo to cleanse whatever is haunting this team and program. 

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2018/09/michigan-monday-this-isnt-your-fathers.html

Fire Warde Manuel

The last 3.5 hours is the exact reason why you don't schedule a road game in South Bend for your first game of the year.   Ask Penn State and Michigan State if they wanted to play a top 15 team on the road for the first game of the year after their week 1 performance?

Michigan played terribly but this loss is on Michigan's Athletic Director.   I don't think Michigan would have struggled the same way playing a poor Arkansas team in the Big House today.

Michigan got beat soundly tonight in every aspect of the game.  You name it, ND did it better.  Michigan fans should have recognized the offensive strategy, which I would have called Denard.   They beat Michigan with a running QB and deep 50/50 balls that Michigan didn't catch.

The first half was a comedy of errors.   It actually looked like the Michigan Defense was trying to throw the game.   They dropped 3 interceptions that were thrown right at them.  They would get a stop on 3rd down and then commit a penalty for a first down.   The Winovich penalty was a 4 point swing and Michigan's starting safety got to watch the game from the locker room.   There was times Gary and Winovich were running into each other behind Wimbush.

Follow me on this math:

Michigan loses the game by 7 points.

Patterson runs out of field goal range - Should have been 3 points
Winovich roughs the passer, ND scores on the next play +4 for ND
Holder drops the snap on a field goal, another missed 3 points.

That is a 6 points Michigan should of had and 4 ND shouldn't.   Difference in the game.

The defense finally woke up in the second half but still let ND run out the clock.   ND wasn't going to do anything to put the game in jeopardy as they felt Michigan couldn't score on their defense.

The Michigan offense was better then last year but far from great.   Shea is a better QB then Michigan has seen in a couple years and it was interesting to see McCaffrety as the second stringer.

The offense line is still bad.  Big Jon Runyan was getting run by every ND DE that he saw.

I know Michigan's defense was tired and the Michigan offense needed to get them some rest, but the offense didn't play with any urgency in the second half, being down 2 sores the entire 3rd and 4th quarters.

We saw glimpses of change but not enough for me.   I didn't like how Don Brown prepared his team for another running QB and I thought the offense was not aggressive enough at all.   Michigan got out coached and out played again.  Its damn depressing as its the same shit different season.



from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2018/09/fire-warde-manuel.html