We have fun here from time to time with Michigan’s opponents, but there’s nothing much to joke about when it comes to respect for the service academies.
Former Michigan All-Big Ten offensive lineman Mike Husar had a son, Mike Jr., play offensive line for Air Force from 2010-14. He missed his only chance to play in Ann Arbor in 2012, suffering a knee injury, and then rebounded to become a three-time captain, two-time All-Mountain West selection and outstanding student-athlete.
And now?
“He’s a first lieutenant in Colorado Springs, part of the War Satellite Department,” Husar Sr. reported with great pride this week. “His time there was a great experience for him. He loved it, and he’s loving life right now.”
Father and son see each other five or six times a year and still go camping for a week each year, sharing football stories and more. Though he didn’t follow in his father’s footsteps at Michigan, following his own path, the younger Husar had an extremely fulfilling career.
“He said if had it to do all over again, he would not change anything,” Husar Sr. said.
He’s one of many high character student-athletes to come out of the Academy. This summer, the Academy announced it would no longer provide waivers to allow athletes to bypass the two-year requirement of active duty in order to play professional sports right away.
Wide receiver Jalen Robinette was a 2017 NFL draft candidate. Rather than sulk about the rule, he told Lindsay H. Jones of USA Today he couldn’t wait to serve his country.
"I'm under the mindset that, when I graduate, I'm a lieutenant first. Whatever my assignment is, whatever I need to do, I'm going to go do it until I hear otherwise and I'm told that I can go play,” he said. “At the end of the day, I'm a cadet first, and when I graduate, I'm going to be serving until I'm allowed to play."
Not bad, kid. Not bad.
Congratulations to last week’s winner. This week’s champion gets the respect of his peers … and isn’t that enough?
Our picks:
CHRIS BALAS: From Wild Blue Yonder to the Michigan Stadium turf, nothing’ll stop the U.S. Air Force (football team from showing up in Ann Arbor). But Don Brown’s defense will slow its triple option attack, and the Wolverines will win comfortably. Michigan 45, Air Force 13
JOHN BORTON: Air Force looks to soar against a Michigan team that is 2-0, ranked No. 7, and still trying to work the bugs out. Michigan’s counter to the option attack? Its own version of the Blue Angels, the fastest defense the Wolverines have put on the field in a long time.
Here’s where U-M has to begin to fly. Michigan 34, Air Force 17
BRANDON BROWN: Air Force’s offense certainly poses a unique challenge and because of that, I think they’ll be able to move the ball to a degree. The talent gap is far too big for the Falcons to actually compete with Michigan but they’ll be able to pop a play or two here and there. I think Wilton Speight will settle down a bit and hit a couple of deep balls against DBs who are far less athletic than Michigan’s receivers. I also think Ty Isaac will go over 100 yards for a third week in a row and the Wolverines will control all facets of the game. Michigan 45, Air Force 10
AUSTIN FOX: Going up against a one-dimensional, run-heavy offense usually bodes well for Michigan’s defense, but Air Force’s option attack won’t be like anything this current group of Wolverines has ever seen before.
Still, it’s hard to imagine the Falcons running wild on Michigan’s defense. They’ll probably rack up some yards on the ground — 150 to 200 or so — but only because they’ll run the ball 50 times.
Michigan’s offense is where all eyes should be focused on Saturday. It needs to improve — mainly quarterback and offensive line play — because Air Force is much better than the Cincinnati team Michigan saw last week.
If the Wolverines play like they did against the Bearcats, Air Force will hang around. If they play just slightly better, though, they should win handily. I expect the latter. Michigan 35, Air Force 14
ANDREW VAILLIENCOURT: It’s important for people not to expect a blowout in this game. Air Force is a good team that can cause legitimate problems for Michigan on both sides of the ball. It won’t be afraid of the Wolverines, having playing ranked teams in years prior, not to mention beating both Navy and Boise State last season.
Air Force running back Tim McVey is going to get his yards. It will be important for Michigan’s secondary to stay alert on runs to the edge and be on the lookout for play-action passes. Michigan is the more talented team, that’s not a question, but can Wilton Speight throw the ball enough to win Michigan the game? Air Force had the No. 10 ranked rush defense in the country last year and that’s with the Falcons playing three of the top four rushing teams in the country (No. 1 New Mexico, No. 2 Army and No. 4 Navy. Air Force was No. 3 in rushing last year).
I’ll say the defense helps out the offense with a turnover that either turns into a score or puts the offense into good field position, but won’t be shocked if the same thing happens for Air Force. Michigan 31, Air Force 16
