Vandy May Start Season Again

By Sean · Tuesday, January 30, 2007 · 1:36 AM |  Share | 1 Comment 

Michigan’s season opener for the 2007 football season is still being determined. It was reported a couple of weeks ago that the Eastern Michigan game was moved to October 6th, Michigan’s original bye week, to update the schedule. Now, as the September 1st date remains open, Michigan A.D. Bill Martin is looking for a team willing to play Michigan to start the season.

There were early reports that discussions with Stanford were taking place, but that didn’t go anywhere considering Stanford already had a filled schedule. More recently, news suggests that Vanderbilt may be heading to the Big House for Michigan’s season opener for a second consecutive season.

Several sources have said Vanderbilt might open the season at Michigan for the second straight year, but the Commodores would need to adjust. Its recently released schedule has Vanderbilt (4-8, 1-7 SEC last season) opening at home against Richmond on Sept. 1, one of eight home games. But playing at Michigan ensures a significant payday and national TV exposure.

I do not want to see Vanderbilt again to start the season. Sure, it’s an SEC opponent that will give the Commodores some exposure, but why watch a repeat of last season’s game. With 8 total home games on the schedule, I’m going to be very selective in which of those games I attend considering ticket prices are what they are. Going to all 8 would be way too expensive considering the types of games some opponents will produce.

This is just another thing I don’t like about Bill Martin. He moves the EMU game and doesn’t seem to have a plan in line to fill the season opener. What I really wish for is that Michigan could start scheduling some of the marquee match-ups like other schools have been doing. OSU/Texas produced great exposure for both teams and provided great entertainment as well. Ohio State as well as USC, Miami, Florida State, Oklahoma, and Alabama are all doing similar things where they schedule a home-and-home or a game on a neutral site with other great teams. Michigan doesn’t really do that too often, mainly because of Notre Dame being on the schedule.

In this time in college football, teams do not want to have a really tough non-conference schedule. With Notre Dame already there each year for Michigan, adding any other really hard games is sort of out of the question. I wouldn’t personally mind seeing the Wolverines add another hard game, but it could be too much at the start of the season. Ideally, I’d like to work Notre Dame out of the schedule for a few years and experiment with some other high-profile teams. Home-and-home series could make for great football, maximized exposure, and the most important thing, big dollars. I don’t necessarily see this happening any time soon, but it’s just a thought.

As for the September 1st season opener, I hope that Bill Martin can find a decent team like Vanderbilt, but not the Commodores as we just saw them last season. This repetiveness isn’t going to make me any more apt to buy tickets to this game. Although I probably will in the end, it just doesn’t sound that entertaining after playing Vandy one year ago. Unless it’s a rival like Notre Dame, a home-and-home series, or a conference game, teams shouldn’t be played two straight times in the non-conference portion, especially Vanderbilt. So, please Bill Martin, schedule a decent game.