Where should most of the blame lie?
Daniel Bromwich: I'm not a big-blame-game kind of guy, but if you've got to point the finger at one person, it's Chad Henne. As a fourth-year starter, he's got to open the season better than he did. Favorite target Mario Manningham beat his defender every time he went long, and Henne either over- or underthrew him each time. The interception he threw was absolutely inexcusable, and Henne might have made his worst mistake when he took a delay-of-game penalty instead of calling a timeout when Michigan was ahead with just more than two minutes left and it was 3rd-and-6 in ASU territory.

Scott Bell: If we have to single out one player, I'll probably go with Henne, too. But the bigger problem on Saturday was the defense. Henne played badly. But the team scored 32 points. That should be enough to beat a D-1AA/FCS foe. It wasn't, and we have the defense to thank - er, blame - for that. The secondary was embarrassing in the first half and the linebackers weren't much better. Defensive coaching was pretty bad, too. The Wolverines used the same awful scheme where a linebacker ends up against a wide receiver when the opponents show the spread. It didn't work against Ohio State, why would it work against Appalachian State? So if I don't have to focus on a single player to blame, I'll go with the whole defense.

Will Michigan ever learn how to stop the spread offense?
SB: Stop completely? No. Will Michigan improve against the spread? Yeah. Luckily for the Wolverines, they won't be punished too much by spread teams the rest of the year, simply because most of their big opponents don't use the spread. Penn State, Wisconsin and Ohio State all will come after Michigan with more traditional formations because those teams don't have the personnel to spread the Wolverines out. With another year to tweak things and with young, fast players coming in as recruits, Michigan should eventually be able to figure out how to defend the spread. And it can't get much worse than it is now, so there's really nowhere to go but up.

DB: I know this is point/counterpoint, but I agree with Scott. The Wolverines already showed signs of improving against the spread, holding ASU to just two field goals in the second half. They had a safety come up to defend the fifth wide receiver instead of trying to make a linebacker do it, and they spied the quarterback on a number of plays. And, as Scott pointed out, Oregon is the only team left on Michigan's schedule that runs the spread. So after this weekend, the Wolverines won't have to worry about it until a (potential) bowl game.

Should Michigan aim for cupcakes or BCS contenders on their schedule?
DB: I've been told that I have a limited perspective as a current student, and I understand that I have a different viewpoint than the fans that have to pay full price for their tickets. But I think we have to remember that the ultimate goal is to win a National Championship. The best odds of getting a chance to do that come when you finish the year undefeated. And as long as other teams are scheduling the worst Division I teams they can find, I see no reason for the Maize and Blue to make its road tougher than everyone else's.

SB: I feel bad that my fellow colleague is so misinformed and that I have to correct him, but hey, that's my job. I'm not saying loading your schedule up with four powerhouses to start the season is the answer, but Michigan needs to demand respect from pollsters. One of the reasons the Wolverines were left out of the National Championship Game was because of their weak nonconference schedule last season. Instead of an Appalachian State, why not schedule a decent major-conference team? Wisconsin took a lot of flack for having a ridiculously easy nonconference season in years past, so the Badgers added Washington State to their schedule. It's still pretty much a sure win, but it also isn't laughable. And defending a loss to a Pac-10 team is much easier than defending a loss to a D-1AA/FCS team.

What happens if the Wolverines lose Saturday?
SB: Their record becomes 0-2. What's there really to say? Wolverine Nation is already furious. If Michigan loses again, it will just get uglier (if you can imagine that). More people will fall into depression, more people will call for Carr's head and more people will jump off the bandwagon. But if the team has its collective head on straight, I don't see an L in its future on Saturday.

DB: Their record becomes 0-2. But this isn't going to happen. The team is too embarrassed and pissed off to let it. If it happens anyway? To be honest, I can't see things getting much worse. Michigan is already the laughingstock of the nation, it's unranked after opening the season at No.