Why I'm Not Crowing (Too Much) Over Loss by School Up North

Blogging friend Richard Lawrence Cohen emailed today to ask:

Well, have you bought your Appalachian State sweatshirt yet?

As an alum and ardent fan of Ohio State, archrival of Michigan, I had to reply honestly:

While I will admit to more than a little glee over Michigan's loss [to Appalachian State], I don't think that Buckeye fans dare gloat too much. After all, this is a rebuilding year for Ohio State and Michigan does have a lot of returning talent. [The Wolverines won't be an easy team for the Buckeyes to beat.]

In Michigan's defense, Appalachian State was no standard issue first game cupcake.* But if the rumors are true that Lloyd Carr always has intended for this to be his last season in Ann Arbor, I think it unlikely that the U of M A[thletic] D[irector] will now beg him to reconsider. As I told Pastor Jeff at Conblogeration, Carr has become Michigan's equivalent of Earl Bruce and John Cooper, two winning Buckeye coaches who didn't win big games or beat Michigan. The only difference is that now Carr [1 and 5 against Ohio State since Jim Tressel took over as coach of the Buckeyes] has failed to win what was considered a "little" game.

*As I wrote "Michigan's defense," in this sentence, the cruel side of me thought, based on the team's performance on Saturday, those two words comprise an oxymoron.