Michigan football made a statement yesterday, going to Evanston and getting a 33-17 win over Northwestern. No longer the "Mildcats" of old, Northwestern has been a credible program for about a decade now and has a number of wins over traditional Big Ten powerhouses like Ohio State and Michigan.

Northwestern plays a very wide open offense and they showed it in the first half as they racked up 321 yards and scored all of their points.

The second half was a different thing, as the Big Maize and Blue Defense held the Wildcats to a mere 94 yards and zero, zilch, nada, el zippo points. Michigan's D also scored a touchdown in the first quarter as Leon Hall forced a fumble, picked the ball up, and was off and running on an 83 yard scoring sprint.

Michigan's number one running back, Michael Hart, sat out with an ankle injury. This could have really hurt the Wolverine cause but others stepped up and got the job done on the ground, in particular Jerome Jackson (105 yards) and Kevin Grady (64 yards and a touchdown). Late in the game, when Michigan needed to run the clock, the running game gave Northwestern a clinic in Good Old Fashioned Three Yards And A Cloud Of Dust Michigan Football. Forget those fancy pants spread offenses, when the game is on the line nothing is quite as nice as being able to just line up and grind it out.

Quarterback Chad Henne can still be frustratingly inconsistent at times, but when he is on his game he can be as good as any QB in college football. Hopefully this is just a bit of the Sophomore Blues and Chad will get his act together in time.

Michigan is now Officially Bowl Eligible with six wins, and if they can win their last two games (both at home, against Indiana and Ohio State) they may have a chance for a share of the Big Ten title. A BCS Bowl game is not looking likely but may not be out of the question.

My other favorite college team, Central Michigan, also got a much needed win at home against Toledo. The Chippewas are now tied for first in the MAC West with the Rockets and hold the tiebreaker. So, if CMU can win their remaining games they should play in the MAC playoff and have a good shot at a Bowl Bid.

Southern Cal Pretty Boys pummeled Washington State. Are they ever going to lose? Are their games Somehow Being Fixed? Enquiring minds want to know!

Texas overcame a large deficit, then ran up a large deficit against Oklahoma State. Apparently this also happened last year, but as I tend to pay more attention to the Big Ten and MAC than other leagues my memory is a bit hazy.

LSU did indeed pound the Not So Mean Green of North Texas, 56-3. If you took LSU and gave the 44 points congrats, you won your bet by nine points.

South Carolina nipped Tennessee 16-15 in a good game that I caught the end of after watching the Michigan game.

Penn State beat reeling Purdue and Wisconsin handled pathetic Illinois, so the Lions and Badgers remain tied for first in the Big Ten. Ohio State stayed a half game back with a win over Minnesota which effectively knocks the Gophers out of any chance at the league title.

Michigan State, already out of the conference race with three league losses, posted a meaningless drubbing of perennially weak Indiana.

That's all for now...maybe more later?