Buckeyes Start Fast, Hold On Late To Beat Arkansas
January 5, 2011On Antawn Jamison Trade Rumors, Value
January 5, 2011
Yesterday…..
Its a Tuesday morning, the day after Jim Harbaugh’s Stanford Cardinal easily dispatched Virginia Tech 40-12 in the Orange Bowl. It was D-Day for the University of Michigan. For the last month, this was going to be their day. The plan for most Michigan fans was simple; fire Head Football Coach Rich Rodriguez and hire the hottest coach in the game (college or pro), Michigan grad Jim Harbaugh. This plan was seemingly in place for a year. If Rich Rod was a failure in his third season, can him and go get Harbaugh.
Ah, the best laid plans…..
Maize and Blue backers woke up to the thoughts that while their were plenty of mixed signals, they could still get Harbaugh on this day, despite the Monday morning rumors that talks between the two had gone south over the weekend. The Detroit Free Press columnist Michael Rosenberg was the one leading the charge that those “Harbaugh to Michigan is dead” reports were completely false on Monday.
But Tuesday morning, the sun came up, and the people of Ann Arbor were drinking their coffee when Rosenberg reversed course. The front page of the Free Press website had a link to Rosenberg’s piece, stating “Harbaugh expected to pass on UM job.” Though Harbaugh hadn’t spoken about it and dodged the questions repeatedly the night before, things looked grim for Michigan with their alleged number one choice.
But really, was/is he their number one target?
As the day went on, the worse things got in Ann Arbor. One so-called “insider” after another discounted Michigan’s chances with Harbaugh. A team meeting was scheduled for the afternoon. The first word leaked out from Fox2 in Detroit that Rodriguez had been fired. It was all over ESPN and various news outlets. However, no official statement had been made and Rodriguez was still scheduled to meet with AD Dave Brandon.
That meeting seemed to drag on and on. Speculation out of Ann Arbor was that the conservative school President, Mary Sue Coleman, wanted nothing to do with Harbaugh, and that is the real reason the Football program was left grasping for a new candidate. Could that be why the meeting with Brandon and Rodriguez went so long and was to be continued this morning?
Other rumors swirled that San Diego State head coach and former Michigan assistant Brady Hoke was all but a done deal and he’d be bringing Scott Loeffler and Corwin Brown with him as his offensive and defensive coordinators. That seemed like a solid Plan B if Harbaugh didn’t come; get yourself your own “Tressel,” a relative unknown who is a “Michigan Man” and hope for similar results.
Except Plan B was never executed and Rodriguez is still somehow the head coach today with a chance to save himself. You’ve got a beyond angry fanbase demanding the head of their coach and a quality plan to replace him. However, Brandon seems to be completely clueless and making himself look worse and worse. The Michigan alum that I know are all completely livid at this botch job by Brandon, who’s previous job was as the CEO of Dominos Pizza.
Its pretty cut and dry after the Wolverines were absolutely throttled by a middle of the road SEC team (Mississippi State) 52-14 on New Years Day; fire Rodriguez and start over. Its not like Rodriguez is a charismatic guy who is liked by the fans and the media. He has never been embraced in Ann Arbor and comes off as a bit of a strange bird. Many in the fan base didn’t think Rich Rod deserved to even get to the bowl game, but his buyout was cut in half if he made it to January 1st, so you can understand why they would keep him for one more month.
After the meeting with Rodriguez, associate AD Dave Ablauf put out the following statement: “The definitive voice on this matter is Dave Brandon. And he has not and will not speak publicly until a final decision has been made.”
At 8:30 pm in the East, Rich Rod still had his job, Michigan fans still were completely in the dark about the future, and Ohio State was set to take on Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl with five players who’s suspensions were stayed one extra game by the NCAA so they could play on the big stage.
You just knew what was coming next.
Terrelle Pryor, the QB that Rich Rod couldn’t land at Michigan, played brilliantly, piling up 336 total yards and two TDs, one to fellow suspendee DeVier Posey (43 yarder). Dan “Boom” Herron rushed 24 times for 87 yards and a TD and a game-saving interception by a fourth suspended player, Solomon Thomas, clinched a 31-26 win for the Buckeyes. Perhaps the only silver lining was the interception was thrown by ex-Michigan QB Ryan Mallett, who left the program when Rodriguez was hired.
Man, what a brutal day to be a Michigan fan. I don’t think it could have possibly been any worse. But who knows what today will bring.
32 Comments
I really hope Michigan gets it together. OSU needs Michigan to be good. College football in general is better off when Michigan and Ohio State slug it out for top honors.
Like so many people, I look forward to the Ohio State-Michigan game all year long. It’s already posted on all my new calendars. But when we routinely curb-stomp a team that doesn’t even have a field-goal kicker, it’s boring. It’s pathetic.
Go Blue! Fire that clown and get back to where you once belonged.
As the site’s lone Michigan-fan writer, I must of course weigh in here with a pasting of what I told the guys yesterday re: Brady Hoke:
If [Michigan hires Brady Hoke], I might go on hiatus. If my two favorite teams hire Brady Hoke and Marty Morninwhig, I might just give up football altogether.
…
Tressell had at least won titles in 1AA. Hardly a comparison between that and [Hoke’s] 34-38 at [bleep]ing Ball St. and 13-12 at [bleep]ing SDSU.
In short, yep, it’s bad. Not that I expect most people here to feel bad/care…
@DP – Not personally knowing any Michigan fans, I actually thought of you yesterday and felt bad. Being pitied by strangers, I’m not sure if that makes you feel better or worse.
@DP – I think as much as us Buckeye fans despise the Maize and Blue, there are a good portion of us that want Michigan to be a relevant program again. Its good for the Big Ten and its good for Ohio State. Yes, we have been enjoying our little romp over Michigan for the last few years, just like I’m sure that Michigan enjoyed destroying us in the 90s. But when both programs are competative, that just makes The Game that much more special.
Hey – A day when Michigan doesn’t play is a day Michigan can’t lose. That has to be an above average day for a Michiganer.
Why are we caring about this team anyways?
GO BUCKS!
You’re forgetting that Hoke apparently has signed an extension to stay with SDSU as well. Not that those can’t be broken, but that’s another huge blow to Michigan.
ESPN reporting that Rodriguez has been fired.
Even though there didn’t seem to be much hand-wringing from UM fans during the dark Cooper years, I sympathize w/ Michigan’s plight and hope they get back to baseline competitiveness sooner rather than later
Nullster, I don’t consider “missing out” on Hoke as a huge blow. I would consider it dodging a bullet.
But, how “dark” were the Cooper years? 10-2 and losing to Michigan is still way better than 3-9, 2-11 vs. ranked teams, and 5 total Big Ten wins in three seasons. At least during the Cooper years you had talented teams but a coaching staff that just didn’t do well in the rivalry game. Not even a comparison.
@8
Humboldt, there’s no comparison between Cooper’s teams and Rich Rod’s. In the Cooper era, Ohio State was a power and we lost to Michigan in generally competitive games. Right now Michigan is an embarrassment.
DP – Michigan + Cleveland…what did we do to deserve this?
I don’t know about you, but I was actually pulling for Mallett. I don’t blame him for leaving, and as I was never a huge RichRod fan, I didn’t hold it against him. Maybe now the Browns will draft him last year…
I pull for the Big 10 in bowl games, generally. I don’t like Mallett. He never even gave it a chance. Aside from the lack of running skill for Mallett, he’s basically running the same offense at Arkansas. But, he cried and left without even trying to fit in with RichRod’s system (a system that worked with pure passers like Shaun King at Tulane).
Mallett is slightly less annoying than Justin Boren, but that’s another discussion for another time.
Huge U of M fan here.
#1 Rich Rod has been fired. It is official.
#2 Brady Hoke is my #1 choice. Harbaugh would pull a Saban and bolt after being relatively successful and gettign bored. Hoke, is successful, is a lifer. Also, he will bring the program back to basics.
TSR3000, I respect your opinion, but I just can’t get to where you can say Hoke is “successful”. He has a career losing record at two pretty low-level schools, with just one “good” year at Ball State (12-0) until getting run by the mighty power that is Buffalo.
What there translates to success at the Big Ten level??
I agree with #5. I don’t give a ____ for the whole state of Michigan, I’m from Oh Hi Oh. Maybe I’m in the minority, but I would rather see Michigan stink for about 10 more years, while a Nebraska and OSU rivalry can get underway with epic battles for the Big Ten Championship. Don’t worry Michigan, you will still be able to get beat by Ohio State at the end of each year, but it will just be a warm up game for OSU on the way to the Championship game. GO Buckeyes!
@Mr Cleveland / DP
I’m talking more about the swoons in the rivalry: Cooper’s 2-10-1 record against Michigan versus UM’s 1-9 record in the Tressel era. Those are comparable stretches of futility for any fan to have to deal with, regardless of how lousy a program is, and I therefore feel some sympathy for Michigan fans.
I, too, hope the team up north pulls it together…in about 10 years or so. I have no trouble kicking them while they’re down. Repeatedly. With steel-toed boots. Let’s even up that all-time series, shall we?
@18 I agree. Except make that 13 (or 14) years. Right now, Michigan leads 57-44-6.
“The Detroit Free Press columnist Michael Rosenberg was the one leading the charge that those “Harbaugh to Michigan is dead” reports were completely false on Monday.”
THE MSU SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM DOES NOT APPROVE!!!11!
Lets be honest with ourselves here.
OSU fans want Michigan to get better just like Steeler fans want the Browns to get better.
It is just not much of a rivalry when one team beats down the other year after year.
The Browns seem to have a leadership team in place (Holmgren/Heckert) that will improve the team and hopefully make the Browns and Steelers games into the rivalries that they were in the 70’s and 80’s.
Michigan seems to fumbling around in the dark, and I am just fine with that.
So….Season’s Beatings to you again next year Michigan!
Go Browns, Indians, Cavs and Buckeyes
I’m a Michigan fan and I didn’t mind yesterday all that much personally. Our program didn’t do anything and OSU won (though is till think those players should not have been able to play to preserve the ‘integrity’ of that game – still such a joke to me). That’s OK in my book.
Rich Rod will be gone, the replacement will have their work cut out for him, but I am not in the party that seems to think it’s Harbaugh or bust. I would love Les Miles and I am luke-warm on the idea of Brady Hoke. There are some things I like about Hoke, some not so much. The records of his teams are not impressive, but also take into account that there were big transitions at each Ball St and SDSU. I’m not saying I’d LOVE a Hoke hire, but I wouldn’t hate it either because the guy knows the game and tailors his teams to the players’ talents.
@19 – My sentiments exactly. Of course, U-M won the first 13 games of the series (with one tie) before OSU finally won one (in 1919, I believe). So essentially, the series is tied from that point. I’d rather erase that era too and make it even lol.
U-M could do much worse than Hoke. Harbaugh would scare the crap out of me, but thankfully it appears he won’t go to AA. Won’t count it out yet, but I’m crossing my fingers he either stays at Stanford or goes to the NFL.
It’s January 5, 2010, and Michigan …
It’s January 5, 2011, and Michigan …
Sorry. The whole “new year” thing caught me off-guard.
@DP – is it more impressive to
1. win slightly more than your predecessor who also won?
2. or to turn around flagging programs into legitimate conference contenders?
Hoke did the latter at Ball State and SD State. Both programs were in the toilet at best, and he turned them around. That, to me, is impressive. He also runs the 3-3-5 defense in SD State, so you wouldn’t have to change there (though you probably ought to).
Now, the problem I would have with Hoke if I was a Michigan fan (which I am not of course) is that why should Michigan ‘settle’ for Hoke just because he’s the best available ‘Michigan-man’? Florida’s HC job opens and they are talking about whisking away Stoops and end up taking Texas’ HC-in-waiting Muschamp. Why doesn’t Michigan go after Patterson(TCU)?
b/c Patterson won’t leave TCU when he can dominate the Big East and grab an automatic bid every year?
F them! I hope Michigan loses the next 50 OSU-Michigan games by an average count of 5 touchdowns. Seriously, I hate them. I don’t ever want them to be good again.
And I would echo the above poster as to Marty Morninwheg – if the Browns get him I’m tuning the hell out until the initiation of the next rebuilding plan in 3 years or so.
Patterson was the first non-Harbaugh name I thought of, too, but why leave the program you built that can get you into the BCS every year to try to salvage one with (currently) unrealistic expectations?
@DP – because going undefeated at TCU in the MWC doesn’t get you in the NC game. Moving to the BigEast likely will have the same effect (see the lack of outrage of Cinci being left out last year).
I agree, he might decide he’d rather take a run at the Big East and try to just dominate there. But, he’s at least worth making a run at.
and if not Patterson, why not Whittingham? Another defensive guy on a non-AQ team making a leap to AQ. Might be a tougher sell on him as he’s from the area (BYU-alum and coached out west whole career), but Utah is likely to be a middle-to-lower rung on the Pac12 food chain. Whereas, if he gets a good OC to keep the ball rolling and fixes the defense, Michigan should be a top-rung Big10+2 team.
If UM wants to right the ship, I just hope they are looking at all the possibilities and not just the ‘Michigan guys’ is all.
Surprisingly well-written and infroamitve for a free online article.