WILL HARBAUGH "ORDER A HIT" ON COOK?

The chances of Michigan beating Michigan State on Saturday appear to be in direct proportion to the effectiveness of Spartan Quarterback Connor Cook throughout the game. If Cook "has his way" with the vaunted UM Team Defense, MSU should be well on it's way to victory. If Cook "has a bad day", it could be a forgettable outing for the Green-and-White.

So it would behoove the Wolverines to knock Cook out of the game as soon as possible. Granted, every team is always trying to knock-out the opposing team's quarterback, but there are rules on how physical hits can be delivered legally in the context of the game. The Spartans have literally crushed several UM quarterbacks in recent years, but always with legal poundings of signal-callers on the run or scrambling out of the pocket. There have been few, if any, late-hits called against MSU for blasts imposed on Devin Gardner, Denard Robinson, Tate Forcier, et al. Those guys were legally pounded into submission.

It was Michigan who delivered the nasty late-hit on the Michigan State quarterback in 2004, when LaMarr Woodley brutally pounded Drew Stanton after he was already down on the ground, separating his shoulder and knocking him out of the game. The Spartans held a 10-point lead at the time, but went on to lose the game in TRIPLE-OVERTIME, suggesting that removing Stanton from the field was the key to winning the game. (And no, the hometown referees in the Pig House did not call a penalty on Woodley, their hero of the day.)

Will Jim Harbaugh "put a bounty on" Connor Cook Saturday?

It may be the Wolverines' best chance to win the game.

We already know that Michigan has one of the dirtiest programs in college football, led by a coach who will do literally anything to win, even at a game of "who gets the last pancake". We know their fan-base is comprised of low-life trailer-trash who would vandalize the Sparty Statue during baseball season and when MSU is playing some other team. Now we've seen those same scummy-chUMps attack the statue of Earvin Johnson during game week, even though "Magic" played BASKETBALL for the Spartans (not football).

Keep an eye on how the UM defense "goes after" Connor Cook, and don't be surprised if they trade a 15-yard penalty (or even a game ejection) for terminating the Spartan Quarterback with extreme prejudice.

Things like this ARE "The Michigan Difference".

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