Staff predictions: Michigan football vs. Bowling Green

Another week, another heaping of praise for an overmatched Michigan football opponent on press conference Monday. It reeked of a heaping pile of something else, of course, given Bowling Green enters Ann Arbor as a 40.5-point underdog. 

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But … it was to be expected given Jack Harbaugh’s affiliation with the university as both a player (1957-60) and an assistant coach (1968-70). Loyalty means a lot to the family, and they don’t forget their roots. That’s probably one of the big reasons Jim Harbaugh returned to Ann Arbor, in fact — Michigan is in the blood, and his dad’s too. We could tell how excited he was at his son’s introductory press conference nearly 10 years ago, and now he lives next door to him and has been a big part of the program. 

“Jack Harbaugh, Bowling Green — I could sing you Ay Ziggy Zoomba if you want me to, or he can,” Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh said of what’s either a Hawaiian Christmas song or the B.G. fight song. “That’s something we can remember since we’ve first been around anything … I remember just about everything being 5-6 years old when Dad was coaching at B.G. 

“His basement, well-talked about, well-known basement of Jack Harbaugh. If you haven’t been there, you ought to go by there sometime. Big section devoted to Bowling Green. My mom and dad met at English class at B.G. — a great picture of my dad sitting on the bench wearing his number 13 and my mom behind him as a cheerleader at B.G.”

We took Harbaugh up on it and sent former TheWolverine.com staffer Austin Fox over to check it out unannounced. Unfortunately, we were unaware of the restraining order against Fox on all Harbaugh properties (there are lines beyond just the ethical journalistic/fan boundaries, Austin … we tried to warn you). The lesson this time — no matter who it is, you never go swimming in anyone’s pool uninvited, even if the message is sincere (in this case, “Free Harbaugh!” painted on a ghost-white chest).

We will be starting a go fund me for Austin’s bail money. In the meantime, we offer this week’s Michigan football predictions. Congratulations to last week’s winner, Doug Skene. It’s about time. This week’s receives the right to play next week along with everyone else. The picks: 

CHRIS BALAS: Folks should know by now that this Michigan team isn’t built to cover. Yes, Bowling Green is bad … we just hope to see more than four offensive possessions in the first half this week. MICHIGAN 41, Bowling Green 7

JOHN BORTON: Scrimmage season ends on Saturday night at The Big House. Rinse, wipeout and repeat. Heisman March , step three, continues apace. MICHIGAN  41, BOWLING GREEN 10

CLAYTON SAYFIE: ‘Lefty’ has a quarterback (Connor Bazelak) that was left for dead as an Indiana Hoosier against Michigan last season, when he was pressured on 41.9 percent of his dropbacks, threw the ball away 8 times and was sacked on 7 occasions. Michigan should be able to get after him again Saturday night against a dismal BGSU offensive line, and perhaps force some turnovers. The Wolverines offense should move the ball at will against a BGSU defense that let Eastern Illinois go on 5 drives of 8-plus plays. Michigan is due to cover the spread. MICHIGAN 48, BOWLING GREEN 0

ANTHONY BROOME: Heading into the third and final week of the non-conference, the talk has shifted from just being happy the season has started to having plenty of things to clean up. There’s an extra gear missing from this football team it is still hoping to find that should be aided by the return of Jim Harbaugh next week. In the here and now, Sherrone Moore calls the shots on Saturday with plenty of things to clean up on the offensive line and perimeter blocking. A night game atmosphere in a dress rehearsal game adds some more juice, and I expect U-M’s cleanest performance yet. MICHIGAN 45, BOWLING GREEN  0

DOUG SKENE: Another walk in the park. MICHIGAN 45, BOWLING GREEN 10