ext tier on golfs hierarchal stratosphere, but we shouldnt neglect t

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Jim Harbaugh and Michigan have made their presence felt in New Jersey when it comes to recruiting.Now the Wolverines will go there to play an actual game -- and theyll be expected to win that, too.The fourth-ranked Wolverines play their first road game of the year Saturday night against Rutgers. Michigan is coming off a hard-fought victory over Wisconsin in the first significant test of the season for the Wolverines, but the prospect of leaving home brings its own set of challenges and opportunities.Its always fun to go into somebodys house ... and youre kind of backed up against the wall, youve got a lot of adversity because youre going against their home crowd, tight end Jake Butt said. But nothings better than silencing 50 ... 60 ... 70,000 people, hearing that stadium quiet.The Wolverines have nine players from New Jersey on their roster, including all-purpose star Jabrill Peppers. Michigans most recent signing class in February included six players from New Jersey and only three from Michigan.The Wolverines landed defensive end Rashan Gary of Paramus Catholic, who was the top-ranked recruit not just in New Jersey but in the entire country. Later in the offseason, Harbaugh led a satellite camp at Paramus Catholic at the same time Ohio State coach Urban Meyer was participating in one at nearby Fairleigh Dickinson.Chris Partridge, one of Harbaughs assistants at Michigan, was the coach at Paramus Catholic from 2010-14, and assistant Jedd Fisch is a New Jersey native.Its been good having some natives of New Jersey that have really connected well, Harbaugh said. Theres good football being played there -- talent and great effort and good coaching.This will be Michigans first game at Rutgers in Harbaughs two seasons as coach. The Wolverines lost in their last visit there in 2014, but Michigan routed Rutgers in Ann Arbor last year.The Wolverines beat Wisconsin 14-7 last weekend, outgaining the Badgers 349-159 and holding them to eight first downs. The scoring margin could have been bigger, but Michigan had to overcome three missed field goals by two different kickers.Harbaugh said there would be a kicking competition starting Monday.Another concern right now for the Wolverines is the need to replace starting left tackle Grant Newsome, who Harbaugh said will miss the rest of the year with a knee injury. Harbaugh called it as serious as a knee injury can be.Its a reminder of just how tough the game of football is, just how serious injuries can be, Harbaugh said. As far as human-being character and football character, nobodys ever come through here with this football team or this university, that I know of, with more of it than Grant Newsome.Harbaugh said Juwann Bushell-Beatty is Plan A to replace Newsome. He said its also possible that guard Ben Braden or center Mason Cole could move to tackle. Patrick Kugler would be the center if Cole were to move.---Follow Noah Trister at www.Twitter.com/noahtristerAir Max 95 Wholesale Uk . -- The plastic that was taped across the lockers in Oaklands clubhouse came down and the champagne that was on ice went back into the cooler. Discount Air Max Uk . Spiller left Week 3s 27-20 loss to the New York Jets with a thigh injury, but fully practiced with the team all week and expects to be ready to go on Sunday. http://www.fakeairmaxukoutlet.com/best-max-95-trainers-cheap-uk.html . -- The Missouri Tigers might not have a roster full of superstars. Fake Air Max 270 Uk . Siddikur, whose previous win on the circuit came in Brunei three years ago, finished his bogey-free round with a birdie on the 18th for a total of 17-under 199. Indias Shiv Chowrasia, who has finished runner-up in this tournament twice, was in second place after a 66. Cheap Air Max 200 . -- Devin Hester is done returning kicks in Chicago.Id like to think were collectively smarter about anointing golfs biggest stars than we were at the beginning of this year. Id like to think we learned something about the game at its highest level -- and more importantly, something about ourselves -- but maybe thats just wishful thinking.It wasnt so long ago that the idea of a Big Three was prevalent among those who observe the game on professional and recreational platforms. And yet, it was long ago enough that I actually had to look up exactly who those three players were. The answer: Jason Day, Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson. Thats right -- way back in early 2016, we somehow categorized the worlds best players and didnt include a guy named Rory McIlroy. This is the same Rory McIlroy who wound up winning the FedEx Cup and was far and away Europes most imposing team member at the Ryder Cup.So yeah, sometimes we dont know nearly as much as we think we know.That is, unless you never bought the Big Three hype and considered it a Big Four. But that, too, still eliminated deserving contenders. Some insisted wed need to throw in Henrik Stenson for a Big Five, plus?Adam Scott for a Big Six or even plus?Patrick Reed for a Big Seven.If this all sounds silly, thats because it is. All of it. As much as wed like to compartmentalize this generation with an updated version of Jack, Arnie and Gary, thats not a viable option anymore.I was reminded of this idea once again while watching Hideki Matsuyama win the WGC-HSBC Champions this weekend.Youd be hard-pressed to find many people who had Matsuyama in their Big Eight or Big Nine or Big Ten or whatever it was earlier this year, but the man is good. Like, really good.In lieu of adding another really to that adjective, I submit these numbers: In his past four worldwide starts, hes been top five in all of them. Six of his past nine, too. Extend that over the past 12 months, and his top-10 results have more than doubled his missed cuts.One week after moving into the worlds top 10 for the first time after a runner-up finish at the CIMB Classic, Matsuyamas 7-shot victory vaulted him to sixth in the world -- behind only Day, McIlroy, Johnson, Stenson and Spieth.ddddddddddddaybe he needs to contend in a few more major championships to move into that next tier on golfs hierarchal stratosphere, but we shouldnt neglect the fact that his two MCs in majors this year were sandwiched by a T-7 at the Masters and a T-4 at the PGA Championship.If there exists a main criticism of Matsuyamas game, its his putting, which often ranges from passable to pitiful. For the PGA Tour season that just passed, he ranked 103rd on the greens, posting a negative score in the strokes gained putting statistic.Not one of those numbers, though, is as important as this one: 24. Thats his age, several years younger than young guns Day and McIlroy (who are barely clutching to that moniker these days) and less than 18 months older than Spieth.All of which suggests Matsuyama should be in the conversation about the best players right now, part of some Big Six, if you will.Except that would repeat this silly process all over again.Any golf aficionado knows enough to not overly credit anything that happens in the years final three months, just as we should now know enough not to limit the highest echelon of players to a specific total number.This is the part of the story where I should warn that those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. Lets not rush to judgment here. Lets not automatically launch Matsuyama into some imaginary upper tier, but lets not exactly leave him out of the conversation, either.Theres a delicate balance here, but maybe we collectively learned something over the past year. This business of casually ranking the games elite is fickle, at best. At worst, it makes us appear foolish when circumstances change. This much we should know by now. ' ' '