Now this is just mean:

In the wake of their embarrassing loss to Division 1-AA Appalachian State, Michigan has announced they will play the Barton Hills Blue Birds of the Ann Arbor-area under-10 youth division in next year’s season opener.

And then there's this:

But redemption may come soon for Hart and the Wolverines. Their opponent in two weeks will be a definite downgrade from Division 1-AA when they face the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame.

You know, the Buckeyes (and the rest of the conference) can marinate themselves in schadenfreude if it makes them feel better, but considering last year's bowl season, they shouldn't be thrilled about things like this. It only proves a lot of critics' point that the Big Televen isn't as big as its boosters think.

It will be very interesting to see how they do against Oregon tomorrow.

It is certainly is mean, and unfair. Michigan is actually having an honorable season. The only reason that it has such a low ranking is media bias. The MSM hates cars because of global warming, so by extension it has Michigan Derangement Syndrome. To be sure, there have been setbacks, as there always are on the road to success. The MSM has unfairly played them up a thousand times over while all but ignoring the good news. If Michigan beats Oregon tomorrow, don't expect it be on the front page of the New York Times.

On the other hand, Michigan needs to keep up the fight, because victory is still fragile. We should have confidence that the players, heroes generally, don't listen to the defeatists in the media who want them to lose every time.

What POSSIBLE difference can it make? It's just college football.

Several years back the Bucs were accused of cancelling an exhibition game against a high school jv team because they (Bucs) needed more time to prepare.