The Michigan football team may be facing a tough season in 2012.
Having just won the Sugar Bowl and being ranked in the preseason top ten, the wolverines are holding the hopes and dreams of many fans in 2012. The returning team is strong, with 13 returning starters. The big key is Quarterback Denard Robinson, who is college football’s most exciting player. However, their schedule has not been made easy for them as they tackle on of the nations toughest schedules.
If the Wolverines want a return visit to a BCS bowl again this year, then they are going to have to work hard and face a gruelling run of games. Their fans will no doubt be ready to get behind them though, offering plenty of support. Even those who support them but tend to prefer other things like playing on PartyPoker.com (Czech) and reading books are likely to want to either attend games or watch them on the television. Michigan will not have long to wait until they are tested, as their first outing this season will be against Alabama Crimson Tide, who are the defending national champions. They will have to rise to the challenge to beat this team and if they succeed, they will have many more dates to play.
They will have to travel home to play against the Air Force and then the University of Massachusetts. The latter game may represent a slight break in difficulty for the Michigan team, however after this it is right back to action when they head to South Bend and play the Fighting Irish. These old rivals will no doubt give the team a run for their money and hopefully Michigan will still be on top form after all of their previous games. It will be interesting to see how this season goes for the Wolverines and I will be watching closely.
Just a couple of weeks ago The University of Michigan football team was imploding and MSU was talking about 9 wins, back to back wins over Michigan and a New Years day Bowl. Well, well, well, it looks more like the same old, same old in college football in the great State of Michigan. Some thoughts from Saturday’s games.
It is time for the Sparty media and apologists to take stock of their program and realize that one win over a rebuilding Michigan team doesn’t represent a shift of power in the state. The litany of pro Dantonio recruiting columns in the Freep and News can give it a rest now. I don’t see it as a positive if you are getting the majority of your recruits from the State of Michigan if the talent is thin and sub-par. Face it, Michigan High School football talent has always been “top heavy” meaning there were only a few game changers a year to come out of the state. So Dantonio’s success in recruiting a large number of MIchigan kids isn’t really a valid argument; the real battle is for the top 5-8 players in the State of Michigan and the Wolverines have an edge in that department.MSU has a lot of good things happening, Athletic Director Mark Hollis is a top notch guy who does things the right way, Dantonio will win his share of games in E.L. and Izzo is Izzo, BUT…there is no shift in the balance of football power in the State of Michigan and all the squawking on the radio and in the papers won’t change the fact that Rich Rod will win with his system, particularly when he gets more of his own “system guys.”
MSU’s loss to CMU is bad, but it isn’t as bad as it was once before, the MAC has improved and is playing a mjuch improved brand of football. Losing to CMU isn’t as bad as losing to Toledo in 2008.
Yes, Forcier is gonna be a great QB. He’s just got something special that separates him from other young QB’s. He looked even more poised than Henne when he started as a true freshman at Michigan. The good news for Michigan fans is he isn’t likely headed to the NFL early and Devin Gardner may even be better than Forcier. Even the biggest Michigan hater has to acknowledge Forcier’s presence on the field.
As much as I hate to admit it, MIchigan still isn’t “back.” There are just too many question marks on defense. ND is a potent offense so the next few weeks will tell the story. I am concerned that the D-line can’t stop the run, they are undersized and young. Isn’t it odd that Craig Roh is starting at defensive end but William Campbell hasn’t touched the field?
Denard Robinson needs to play more….in a role similar to Steve Breaston. Clearly Forcier is the better QB, but Robinson could be electric if they could find additional ways to utilize him.
Funny how a win over ND can change perspective. Looking at the schedule now, doesn’t it appear that the only two “tough” games are Penn State and Ohio State? Before the win over The Irish, I thought all the games looked “tough.”
I just came across this scathing article by Jay Mariotti regarding “practice-gate” at The University of Michigan. As I read the column I began asking questions.
Is Michigan really in “crisis?” Uh, no. While Rich Rod may have fractured a rule or two, I don’t see the NCAA blasting Michigan football for practicing too much. It just isn’t sexy enough to throw the all-time winningest program in college football history under the bus. It may be embarrassing for some but really, this isn’t about too much practice, it is about too little WINS! Jesus, Ohio State didn’t even get sanctioned when Mo Cletus (Clarrett) got cars and money from boosters.
Why is Rich Rod hated by some MIchigan fans? A 3-9 season aside, really, why is there so much contempt for Rich Rodriguez? So he had a messy exit from West Virginia, who cares, it wasn’t any worse than Bobby Petrino squirreling out of town on the Atlanta Falconsor Nick Saben bailing on the Miami Dolphins. Rich Rod doesn’t appear to be any more of a jerk than Lloyd Carr when things weren’t going his way.
Who are the “former and current players” who are determined to get Rich Rod? This is the most damaging issue for Rodriguez. Players talking to the press about an internal team issue is concerning on so many levels. Either the players don’t like, don’t care or don’t give a damn what Rodriguez and his staff think, they’ll just take their case to the media. Do you think that would happen under Bo or Lloyd? For years players at all Universities have kept their mouth shut about unethical stuff and recruiting violations, why would these players say anything about potential violations? Because some of them are determined to get Rich Rod fired and yes, I believe they are being coached by the Les Miles crowd. There are deep divisions at Michigan over Rodriguez’s hiring and some won’t stop until the program is returned to “Bo.”
Is there a conspiracy to get Rich Rod fired? Yes, I think there is a undercurrent of former players and old blues who would like to see Rodriguez fired. Face it, the old school Michigan fans wanted Les Miles, the former players wanted Les Miles, hell, who didn’t want Les Miles? Don’t think for a minute that some former players and boosters aren’t trying theirdarnedest to get Rich Rod out of Ann Arbor. In fairness, Michael Rosenberg is also in the camp that didn’t want Rodriguez hired.
Mariotti also took some cheap shots at Rodriguez.
“So it’s little wonder that Rodriguez, now being probed by a university administration that might bring in an outside investigative firm, nearly broke down and cried several times Monday while addressing the allegations. I didn’t know if we were getting Mike (“I’m a man. I’m 40”) Gundy or Roy (“I’ll cry if I want to cry”) Williams, but finally, he caught himself and passionately defended himself, Barwis and their conditioning program. Frankly, he looked like an embarrassment, a desperate man in his final months on the job.”
Sorry, I just didn’t see the same thing he saw today. I saw a frustrated Head Coach, not an “embarrassment” Why do Rich Rod detractors think he all of a sudden became a dumb, bad coach? I have my doubts about him as well, but I certainly think his career suggests the guy knows how to win.
“Simply, this doesn’t look good for Coach RichRod, who again faces suffocating scrutiny as a season begins. He looked like a laughingstock last week when he said he’d play three quarterbacks in the season opener this Saturday against Western Michigan. Time was when Michigan would throttle a Mid-American Conference opponent by 50 points. Now, don’t be shocked if the Wolverines lose, as they did last year to Toledo. One of the quarterbacks, freshman Denard Robinson, doesn’t tie the laces of his shoes. Nor will the coaches make him, which suggests a dubious trip-over-the-laces scenario as Robinson is running toward the end zone.”
So, saying you have 3 QB’s makes you a laughing stock? Since when do we start believing anything that comes out of a college Head Coaches mouth? When I saw that quote is looked to me like another “cutsy” quote to avoid answering the question….Who is the starting QB?
I personally don’t think the allegations will harm Rodriguez as long as he doesn’t repeat last season’s 3-9 fiasco. However, all bets are off if MIchigan doesn’t play in the post-season.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=b1eeb143-5f74-4595-8967-b60243739291)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=35157bc1-29f4-49c6-bd7c-cc8e2a1eabfb)