I haven’t posted much about the train wreck of a first season Rich Rodriguez is having for that team with the same helmets as the University of Delaware, but the last few days there has been some developments up in Ann Arbor that I felt I had to post about.
First off, it looks like some players are ready to jump ship already. There are rumors that freshman Sam McGuffie is looking to leave, Jason Kates has left, and there’s rumors there could be quite a few more according to MGOBlog.
So… yeah. I was sitting on this until I had some outside confirmation and this serves as outside confirmation since three guys were mentioned as a group of players who had already made their decisions. The other two who have told the coaches they are out: sophomore LB/S Artis Chambers and Sam McGuffie.
If McGuffie leaves, a lot of Michigan fans are going to be upset because he was one of their prized recruits last year, is a perfect fit for Rich Rod’s offense, and has an internet following after the YouTube clips.
Aside from the transfers, it seems like Rich Rod is starting to crack a little bit under the pressure. This week he said some Michigan fans need to “get a life”.
I don’t get on message boards. I don’t think anybody, any of our players or family should. But it’s amazing some of the things that people would say or amazing things people will yell at you of a personal nature. You almost want to tell them get a life.
Did I mention that Michigan is about to finish up a 3-9 season this weekend after endlessly mocking us for our 3-9 season last year? I would be lying if I said all of this didn’t make me laugh uncontrolably.
Ditto to what C-Dog said. Probably because I also graduated in 1989. It’s not good for College Football when either ND or Michigan are down. It’s worse now that both suck. We used to have a good time tailgaiting on Michigan game days, their fans were very similar to ND fans, good sense of humor not full of hate like Miami or BC. Yes, we know the ancient history, but it’s a rivalry that has become one of respect since the late 70’s. I hope both programs matter again some point in the 21st century.
David, I attended Notre Dame and graduated in 1989, so I think I know what a true football fan is. The problem with the punk attitude of today is that you are supposed to hate everyone. That’s not the way it was back then. I couldn’t stand Penn St. since their academics are pathetic compared to ND’s, and USC was our traditional rival. Of course any of us who went to ND in the 80’s hated Miami, otherwise known as the Cocaines. We hated them because they were a cheating program. Michigan was a test game for us. If we beat them, we knew we were good. If we lost, we knew we had work to do. But hate, why? Michigan never caused fights. Michigan, for a state school has good academics. Michigan, if anything has been boring for almost always winning the games they should and losing the games they should and never over achieving. But hate, again why? The younger punk generation that bought the hip hop ghetto mentality has no understanding of wanting to beat your opponent with every ounce of energy you have, but still maintaining respect. Sorry for the lecture guys, but given the times we face it’s time our society start remembering when we were great. We’re just spoiled now. Having lived in Detroit, I don’t particularly like Michigan fans. But the football program has been pretty clean. I only hate programs that promote cheating and thugs.
Well, it is certainly painful when you only have 3 wins, we all know about that.
Michigan will recover, how and when, no crystal ball here. I am not a UM fan, but I would rather play a quality team to prepare for USC.
In my view, Michigan fans over reacted to a Div II loss by tar and feathering their last coach because of it. I think a 9-4 season and bowl win is now a long way off for them.
And oh yeah, a lot of wounded egos along the way.
Michigan is running the wrong system for most of the players that are currently starting on this team, I will give you that. To say that it’s the wrong system for a college seems strange though. If Rodriguez can win with this system (which he has shown he can do everywhere he’s put it into place, including bringing his WV team to the doorstep of the BCS championship game, how is WV not a big school?) then I don’t think anyone at Michigan will have a problem with it.
As far as our conference goes, look at what OSU, Penn State, and others are doing. These are the teams at the top of our conference, and while OSU still has a power running game, they’ve brought in Pryor as a running quarterback that can run the spread. Penn State was ranked third in the country for a while running the Spread HD.
I’ll admit, it’s strange seeing this system on the field, and it hasn’t worked so well so far, but Rodriguez has a proven track record and is bringing in the players he needs to make it work in the future.
Also, just an FYI about the article, it appears that McGuffie won’t be leaving after all. We’ll see how things play out in the coming weeks though… after a season like this I think we’ll have some more attrition.
Ok, I haven’t done anything all day but read Michigan football news and rationalize my hope and fandom… I should probably get some homework done or something. Good luck with the rest of your season, and we’ll see you all next year for what is hopefully a better game.
C-Dog if you dont understand the bickering between ND and Mich then i would say that you arent a true college football fan. Having a hated rival is what makes the game so enjoyable. Even in a down year, you can take joy out of the fact that your rival is doing worse, or you got a win against your rival. if ND only got one win during the season, and it was against michigan, it would still have bragging rights over michigan.
A hated rival breeds passion into the sport.
I think Michigan and Notre Dame are very similar programs and frankly do not understand the bickering. I, honestly have in the past have done it too, but these two programs need to respect each other. I think Rich Rod is a good coach. But he is having a tough time assimilating into the Michigan culture and may not be a successful fit. I do also think the situation at Michigan is similar to Notre Dame in that neither school is guaranteed success based on tradition. Both coaches are good coaches but unknown quantities in their current situations. Weis is known to be a good X’s and O’s coach and the NFL coaches would not debate that. Rich Rod has proven success at several schools. But both still need to prove it where they are.
No amount of smack talk from us is going to change that.
Let me correct that so it makes sense:
“Their demographic does not play towards the strong suit of players you want to run that kind of system.”
Paul,
Michigan is flat out trying to run the wrong kind of system for their school.
Michigan is trying to run a flashy, “run all over the field, and (for lack of a better term) less “manly” offense is a conference that is dominated by pounding the football.
Their demographic doesn’t do not play to the strong suit of players you want running that system. I’ll admit I really don’t like Michigan but I think they brought in a “system coach” that can’t coach at a big school.
ScUM will have a difficult time returning to prominence.
-No recruiting base. Of the verbals they’ve received, only 2 are from Michigan and 3 from Ohio. Will all those southern kids want to play hard when times are tough? Or will they consider heading home to better weather and women like McGuffie? Wonder what Odoms and Feagin are thinking?
– The state itself is in trouble, due to unions and a tax and spend government.
– The Big 10 is down, and will be down for a while. Ohio St and Penn St have recruiting bases, but the rest, including scUM, have to take leftovers from FL, CA and TX.
– ScUM fans think their school is great, and while the grad programs are stellar, undergrad-wise its just another state school. Most of their athletes major in General Studies. When Jim Harbaugh said that scUM doesn’t take care of their ex-athletes, he was called a traitor, but no one said he was wrong.
– RichRod is a good coach, but he left his home where he was a king. Will he stay motivated, or continue to lose games to Toledo and lash out at fans?
– Karma. ScUM actually went to the Supreme Court to defend a racist admissions policy that discriminates against Asian-Americans, among others.
– More karma. William Ayers is a scUM grad.
Look for a lot of 7-5 and 8-4 seasons from the maize and blue.
I’m an ND fan, but Rod can coach and he’s a good recruiter. Can’t say that his “system” won’t work until he gets his guys in there. Yeah, it’s nice to see Michigan suffer through a 3 win campaign (assuming they don’t score the big upset this weekend), but anyone who thinks Michigan is going to stay down forever is nuts. Just like the stock market, Michigan will rise again eventually, just like ND is trying to do.
Paul,
Agreed that some people do need to get a life, but absolutely wrong for a HC to say it. That is about as bone-head as you can possibly get! Those alums and fans pay his salary. They have a right to criticise.
This year has been awful. Our team this year is awful. I’ll freely admit that. But comments saying that Michigan won’t bounce back are just ridiculous, especially considering Rodriguez’s proven track record everywhere he’s coached.
We’re not even close to good this year. Next year I don’t think we’ll be great. To deny though, that the future is bright for Michigan football though, is just ridiculous.
Paul, you’re the reason people don’t like michigan fans. You somehow think you’re better even in the face of the record. Tell you what, let’s see what happens next year and then you can come on ND message boards to run your mouth. For the time being, try handle s@#$ing like a man (I know it’s hard for you guys) and keep your “guarantee[s]” to yourself loser–literally 🙂
Rich Rodriguez has a 3-8 season in his first year at Michigan after losing 10 of 11 starters on offense. How does this remotely compare to Weis losing 9 games after being there for several years bringing in his own great recruits?
Anyone who thinks Rodriguez isn’t a great coach is an idiot. Anyone who thinks his system won’t work at a big school hasn’t watched college football in the past few years.
And yes, fans who have nothing better to do than yell terrible things at a coach and a struggling team after a game do need to get a life.
Michigan has a good recruiting class coming in already for next year, with several players to go yet. They’ve got the beginning of a monster class the year after that.
We’re bad this year, but just wait. I can guarantee there will be no 3-9 season several years into this regime.
I guess Rodriguez is finding out that karma is a you know what. Last one out of Michigan, turn out the lights.
Well Ann Arbor is 30 minutes from Detroit metro area, so if GM and Chrysler bite it, old Big Blue is going to look like West Virginia, but with less to look forward to.
As far as Rich Rod goes, he’s just not a good fit for that school. He should go south, maybe to an ACC school or how about Tennessee? He also needs to hook up with a good defensive guy.
But you who said Michigan might not bounce back are very right. It’s hard anymore to gain back the momentum. Harder still for schools that try not to cheat.
I hope they never win another game. I hate Michigan and all their fans. PayRod is a crook (WVU). He tells his fans “to get a life”. Who does that?
Boo Blue
I’m not saying it makes up for our brutal season last year but it sure helps seeing scUM be so so bad. Misery loves company.
Somehow I have a feeling that they won’t be able to bounce back quite as easily.
Michigan really screwed up with hiring Rich Rodriguez. I just honestly think that his kind of system only works at a smaller college. I don’t think he’s that great of a coach either.