It’s hard to believe, but we are one-quarter of the way through Michigan’s 2024 season already. The Wolverines have struggled more than most predicted in their first three games against Fresno State, Texas and Arkansas State, and it has adjusted expectations for ‘Team 145’ in terms of postseason projections.
Once considered a top contender for the new, expanded 12-team College Football Playoff, No. 18 Michigan is no longer projected to reach that postseason tournament by any of the major networks at this time. Below, we’ve compiled a list of bowl projections for the Wolverines from various publications, giving us an idea on how their season is expected to play out from here. Let’s dive in…
Kyle Bonagura: Michigan vs. Auburn (ReliaQuest Bowl — Tampa, Fla.) Mark Schlabach: Michigan vs. Missouri (Citrus Bowl — Orlando, Fla.)
ESPN has dual projections from reporters Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach, each of whom have Michigan among the top Big Ten-affiliate bowls outside of the Playoff. Schlaback projects the Wolverines in a matchup with current No. 7 Missouri in the Citrus Bowl, while Bonagura has Michigan in a showdown with Auburn in the ReliaQuest Bowl. In terms of prestige, these two bowls are considered the Big Ten’s first and second highest, respectively, outside of the Playoff in terms of pecking order.
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Michigan and Missouri have split four previous meetings, each of which were played in Ann Arbor. However, the two have not met on the gridiron since 1975, a 31-7 win for the Wolverines. As for Auburn, the Wolverines have split two meetings with these Tigers. Michigan defeated Auburn (31-28) in the 2001 Citrus Bowl, while the Tigers beat the Wolverines (9-7) in the 1984 Sugar Bowl.
Projection: Michigan vs. LSU (Citrus Bowl)
Athlon is another that projects the Wolverines to grab the Big Ten’s top bowl outside of the playoff, as the publication matches up the Wolverines against current-No. 16 LSU in the Citrus Bowl. In this scenario, Michigan would face a relatively familiar opponent in head coach Brian Kelly, who spent 12 seasons at Notre Dame before bolting to the SEC. This would, however, be the first ever meeting on the gridiron between Michigan and LSU.
Projection: Michigan vs. Ole Miss (Citrus Bowl)
CBS’ projection remains unchanged from two weeks ago, as they still slot Michigan in a battle with Ole Miss in the Citrus Bowl at season’s end. Interestingly, this is the fourth different SEC opponent that the Wolverines have been projected to face in the postseason. The Wolverines and Rebels have met only once on the football field — a 35-3 win for the Wolverines in the Gator Bowl back in 1991.
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Projection: Michigan vs. Missouri (ReliaQuest Bowl)
Another SEC opponent for the Wolverines, but the ReliaQuest Bowl is considered one spot down on the Big Ten’s pecking order in terms of bowl affiliation. It’s interesting that the Tigers are projected this far down in USA Today’s list, given that Missouri is currently ranked No. 7 in the Associated Press’ Top 25 poll. The Tigers would provide a fun, yet stiff test for the Wolverines in postseason play.
Projection: Michigan vs. Oklahoma (ReliaQuest Bowl)
College football reporter Brett McMurphy projects a fifth different matchup with an SEC opponent here for the Wolverines in current No. 15 Oklahoma. This would give an early preview into a home-and-home series that is set to begin next year, with Michigan traveling to Oklahoma in 2025 and the Sooner making a return trip to Ann Arbor in 2026. Michigan and Oklahoma have squared off just once in their storied histories, a 14-6 victory for the Sooners in the 1976 Orange Bowl.
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A 58-year-old woman is accused of driving a vehicle at the bottom of a ski hill near skiers and snowboarders in White Lake Township, Michigan, the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office said Saturday.
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Prosecutors allege the Bingham Farms, Michigan, woman drove near guests of Alpine Valley Ski Area, including children, on Tuesday.
According to the prosecutor’s office, witnesses said they saw the woman smoking what appeared to be marijuana before the incident and wearing ski boots while driving. Officers attempting to perform sobriety tests reported that she “exhibited poor balance, slurred speech, and open hostility.”
Online court records show the woman is charged with operating while impaired for the third time. If convicted, she faces up to five years in prison, a maximum fine of $5,000 and “mandatory vehicle immobilization” for one to three years, the prosecutor’s office said.
“This defendant endangered children with her irresponsible actions,” Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said in a written statement. “There is no excuse to drive impaired, even once. If you’ve had too much to drink or are under the influence of marijuana or other drugs, call a friend, call an Uber, just don’t drive.”
The woman is scheduled to appear at a probable cause conference on March 12.
A long-lost silent film that’s believed to be the first depiction of a robot in motion pictures was rediscovered in Michigan. And it’s a great reminder for film history fans that you shouldn’t give up hope just because a film has been deemed lost.
The film, titled “Gugusse and the Automaton,” is just 45 seconds long and was created in 1897 by French film pioneer Georges Méliès. It shows a magician named Gugusse turning a large crank to control Pierrot Automate, a child-sized robot. The robot grows bigger and bigger until it’s an adult.
Once full size, the robot does a little dance before hitting Gugusse over the head with a stick. Gugusse brings the robot down from his pedestal and then shows him what’s what.
Gugusse hits the robot over the head with a gigantic mallet, each swing making the mechanical man a little smaller until he’s back to his child-like size. Another swing makes the robot a small doll and then it’s just one more mallet slap before the robot disappears completely.
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With that, the film is over.
It’s a short film with a goofy, slapstick premise. But it’s also an artifact that can be interpreted similarly to so much robot-focused media that would come later in the 20th century. The robot harms a human, the human needs to destroy the robot.
We see anti-robot stories pop up especially during difficult economic times, like the 1930s and 1970s, something I’ve written about before at length. And if you’re wondering whether there were hard economic times in France during the 1890s, there certainly were—in the form of a double dip recession, no less.
But putting aside the potential message of the film (and the risk of taking it too seriously as a sign of broader social frustrations), the story of how this film was rediscovered is fascinating.
Bill McFarland of Grand Rapids, Michigan, drove a box of films that belonged to his great-grandfather to the Library of Congress’s National Audio-Visual Conservation Center in Culpeper, Virginia so that experts could take a look at what he had.
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McFarland’s great-grandfather was a man named William Delisle Frisbee who had worked jobs as a school teacher and a potato farmer in Pennsylvania, according to a blog post from the Library of Congress. But he also worked nights as a “traveling showman,” according to the Library.
“He drove his horse and buggy from town to town to dazzle the locals with a projector and some of the world’s first moving pictures,” the Library explains. “He set up shop in a local schoolroom, church, lodge or civic auditorium and showed magic lantern slides and short films with music from a newfangled phonograph. It was shocking.”
Frisbee died in 1937 and two trunks of his possessions were passed on through generations until they made their way to McFarland, who was unable to screen the movies from himself because of their condition.
The Library posted a video to Instagram talking about their acquisition of the film and how remarkable it is that such an old film was found. It’s estimated that as much as 90% of films made before 1930 are lost to history.
Other films in the trunks included another Méliès film from 1900 titled “The Fat and Lean Wrestling Match,” fragments of a Thomas Edison movie called “The Burning Stable.” Library technicians scanned the films in 4K to preserve them for future generations.
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The word “robot” wasn’t coined until 1920 for the Czech play R.U.R. by Karel Capek. But visions of artificial men date back centuries. And it’s incredible to see a robot from the 1890s depicted on film for the first time. Even if it’s just 45 seconds long.
Don’t give up hope if you’re longing to watch some movie that’s believed to be completely lost. You never know what someone may have in a dusty old trunk in Michigan.
Kylan Boswell (4) scored 15 points for the Illini but Yaxel Lendeborg (23) scored 16 in Michigan’s win. Geoff Stellfox / Getty Images
Michigan has left no doubt about Big Ten superiority — the No. 3 Wolverines’ 84-70 romp Friday at No. 10 Illinois gives them an outright conference championship with two regular-season games remaining.
The win gives Michigan its first outright title since 2021, and it’s another top-shelf win that gives Michigan (27-2, 17-1 Big Ten) a boost in its pursuit of the NCAA Tournament’s No. 1 seed. This matters for the Wolverines because they would be lined up for a potential Final Four matchup with the No. 4 seed rather than either of the two teams that are also in contention for No. 1 — Duke, which beat Michigan last week to gain the inside track, and Arizona.
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Friday’s lone meeting of the regular season between two purported national contenders left Michigan looking much the part, and Illinois looking a tier lower. This was domination, a comfortable second half for a Michigan team that led by as many as 21.
Michigan sophomore big man Morez Johnson Jr., who transferred from Illinois in the offseason, heard a lot of jeers from fans at State Farm Center and responded with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Big man Aday Mara also scored 19. Yaxel Lendeborg, the star of Michigan’s jumbo frontcourt, had 16 points and seven rebounds.
That interior helped the Wolverines to a 42-32 edge in points in the paint and 22 second-chance points. Keaton Wagler had 23 points to lead Illinois (22-7, 13-5), which projected as a No. 2 seed in Tuesday’s Bracket Watch but has lost two straight games and four of six. The Illini are trending in the wrong direction and potentially heading to the three-line.
The No. 1 seed also gets to choose its tournament path, and Michigan has requested Philadelphia as its first-weekend site. Otherwise, the Wolverines will likely be placed in Buffalo, which is closer to Ann Arbor.
