This year hasn’t been the best, but there’s progress…and that progress is apparently saving Rodriguez’s neck, as the school is reportedly bringing him back for another year in 2010. Says athletic director Bill Martin,

He will be our coach next year. You’re asking me today if he’s going to be our coach, there’s no if, ands or buts about it. He is our coach and he has my full support. He’ll be there next year. No question about it.

On Saturday, the Wolverines lost 21-10 to Ohio State, and they’re last in the Big Ten – something that hasn’t happened since 1962. Under Rodriguez, they’re a pitiful 8 – 16. So why would they keep the coach around for another year? Is this a smart choice?

Rich Rodriguez, Image: Newscom

In this writer’s opinion…absolutely. This year, the record doesn’t tell the whole story. Although they’re sitting out again during bowl season, the team has a lot of heart and hung in there with teams that were clearly on another level. Even the Ohio State game wasn’t a total blow-out, though the offense wasn’t playing well this past weekend, that’s for sure.

A lot of players left over the past two years. People are still getting used to the Rodriguez coaching method. The team is fairly young, but they have a lot of new talent coming to the school. Keeping him around was a no-brainer in my opinion. Personally, I’m not a huge fan of the guy, but I do think he can take Michigan places if given the chance.

Post from: EveryJoe

Rodriguez to Return in 2010

It doesn’t look like that will be the case. Today, Iowa fell, but not to Penn State (no, they beat them gloriously – sigh – earlier this season) and not to Ohio State (they play one another next week). Iowa was stomped into the ground by none other than Northwestern.

Ok, “stomped into the ground” is a little harsh. The game ended up with a score of 17 – 10, which isn’t necessarily bad, until you realize just how mediocre  both of the teams really were today. It’s really easy to claim that this only happened because Ricky Stanzi, the Hawkeyes quarterback, got taken out with an ankle injury in the first half. That definitely contributed to the loss. I’m not buying it, though, that the team deserved to be ranked #4, with or without Stanzi. Iowa may have been undefeated, but what the records don’t show is that they’ve played sloppily in many games and almost lost more than once.

So at this point, the Big Ten title could still go to Iowa, or it could belong to either Ohio State or Penn State. After the Iowa game, all of these teams had one loss. Just a short time after, though, Ohio State and Penn State kicked off, and it quickly became apparent who had the upper hand. Personally, I think that both quarterbacks looked pretty bad today, but when it was put on the shoulders of the rest of the offense to make plays, Ohio State’s players stepped up. Penn State’s embarrassing 24 – 7 loss puts them out of the running for the title.

Yep, this was pretty much the scene all day in Happy Valley. Image: Newscom

Elsewhere in the Big Ten, Michigan State finally showed that they actually remember how to play football by crushing Western Michigan 49 – 14. Michigan, on the other hand, didn’t have such a good day, losing 38 – 36 to Purdue. I will say, however, that even though Michigan’s record isn’t so good, they’re hanging in there every week and actually showing some hope for the future under Rich Rodriguez. Wisconsin held on against Indiana (for the record, I think they’re overrated too at #21, but that’s a post for another day), and Illinois overcame Minnesota 35 – 32.

The Big Ten may not be a powerhouse at this point, but hopefully they can rebuild the conference to be competitive nationally again. At least with teams like Iowa rising to such a high ranking, which teams in the Big Ten do consistently every year, they’re remaining attractive to prospective students, which can only lead to strong teams in the future.

Post from: EveryJoe

Big Ten Teams Shake Things Up

• #8 Oklahoma at #17 Miami: Word from Oklahoma is that Sam Bradford still isn’t ready to play, so he won’t be

  

  Sam Bradford, Image: Newscomstarting against Miami. The team may not have a perfect record so far, but the Hurricanes have more than proven that they’re a solid group of players, not just lucky. Without Bradford, I do think Oklahoma could lose to them unless their offense can really step it up to out-play the Miami D-line.

• #22 Michigan at Michigan State: Michigan is on a roll, and I’m curious to see just how far they’ll go. They’re already ranked #22, when few had hopes for a winning season this year. Are they really the sleeper team that will take the Big Ten? Michigan State will be a harder opponent then some they’ve faced in the past, but I’ve been disappointed in them this year, so it should be a fairly easy game for the Wolverines IF they really are as good as I think they might be.

• #4 LSU at #18 Georgia: This is one of “the” games of the week, and I hope it doesn’t turn into a game of “who sucks less.” Personally, I think LSU is way overrated at the number four spot. Georgia may be about right sitting at 18. I guess we’ll find out tomorrow.

• Washington at Notre Dame: With Jimmy Clausen not at 100% (and the team not that great anyway), can Notre Dame beat Washington. Remember, this is the team that beat #3 USC. Of course, they had some bad losses too, so I wouldn’t count the Fighting Irish out just yet.

As always, I’ll also be interested in the Penn State score, even if Iowa has ruined their chances for a perfect season. What games interest you most in Week Five?

Post from: EveryJoe

Week Five 2009 Preview

Image: Newscom

Is Michigan going a little too far with their terrorism concerns?

I’m all for safety, but I do think that an all-out bag ban is overkill, unless the stadium itself has received threats. What would be better, in my opinion, is to require people with bags to go through a special security line, maybe even a metal detector. A lot of stadiums already do this, and so far, it seems to have kept everyone safe. To be honest, I’m just not sure that banning bags would make a difference. Someone who wanted to bring a gun into the stadium could just strap it to their body instead, and if you can catch this kind of thing strapped to a body, what would make it undetectable in a bag?

What this WILL do is prevent any non-stadium beverages from getting into the game, which is perhaps a legitimate goal. But terrorism? I just don’t think it’s necessary to ban bags. Maybe I’m naive?

Your comments are priceless, so be sure to leave ‘em.

Post from: EveryJoe

Bag Ban @ UM: Are Terrorist Concerns Valid?

You see, both Notre Dame’s quarterback Jimmy Clausen and Michigan’s quarterback come from strong California quarterback families. They know one another. They don’t like one another. So, meeting on the field…is personal.

I thought that this game would be interesting, but I never expected the game we actually got. People have been saying that this game will go down in history as one of the best between the two schools, and I have to agree. And really, it all came down to Clausen versus Forcier.

That’s a bit unfair, perhaps. Their were other players who made this game great too – but without the two quarterbacks, it wouldn’t have been so interesting. This was a battle of the minds between the coaches as well. Charlie Weis of Notre Dame has been pressured for the past few years – either shape up or ship out. His team is good, with tons of experience, so there’s no reason that they shouldn’t have been national championship contenders. Now, after a loss to Michigan, that dream has gone out the window. Unless Weis has a god-like rest of the season, he’ll probably be shown the door. The Fighting Irish are fed up.

Michigan’s Rich Rodriguez, on the other hand, is just in his second year at the school. People don’t like him, but maybe he’s an acquired taste. Last year, he said time and time again that the team was rebuilding and getting used to his system…that they wouldn’t be bad forever. I hate to say it, but maybe he was right. The team was strong against the Irish, even with a new quarterback and fairly inexperienced players.

The real test, though, was the second half. Notre Dame dominated during the first half, though Michigan hung in with them. When they went to the locker rooms, however, Michigan fixed their problems, while Notre Dame…patted one another on the back? I don’t know, but whatever Charlie Weis said wasn’t good enough, because Michigan ran all over them, coming back for an amazing win in the final minutes of the game.

Image: Newscom

Point, Forciers.

So now, the real question you have to ask yourself is this: just how good is the Michigan team this year? Could they stand tall against Ohio State? Are they top ten contenders? Could they even potentially be Big Ten champs? Or, have they gotten lucky thus far, taking advantage of mistakes by teams that aren’t really that great?

Post from: EveryJoe

The Clausens and Forciers Settle a Score

Before we get into the games, let’s look at the Top 10 list for this week:

1. Florida
2. Texas
3. USC
4. Alabama
5. Oklahoma State
6. Mississippi
7. Penn State
8. Ohio State
9. BYU
10. California

The top five in particular intrigue me. #1 Florida play Troy this week, and try as I might, I can’t even imagine this as a good game. It should be as easy of a game as last week’s game against Charleston Southern. #2 Texas arguably has an even easier game, playing at Wyoming. #4 Alabama also has a gimme game, hosting Florida International this week, and #5 Oklahoma State might has well just have a 4-0 record now, since they play Houston this week and Rice and Grambling State the two weeks after that. Well, ok, Houston may be a little resistance. As long as OK State doesn’t lose their head, though, it should be a win for the Cowboys.

So does that mean Week Two is a complete waste of time? No way – because this week, #3 USC travels across the country to Buckeyes territory to take on #8 Ohio State at home.

This week is USC's Matt Barkley's real test. Image: Newscom

Now, last week, Ohio State was anything but impressive. You might not know it from the final score, but they were perilously close to letting Navy run away with the game before rallying to come out on top. They’ll have to do better than that to beat the Trojans. On the other hand, though USC stomped San Jose State last week, they have a brand-new quarterback and they’ll be playing at one of the hardest places in major college football. Terrell Pryor might be young too, but he’s an old pro next to true freshman Matt Barkley. So, my friends, I believe we have game.

There are other potentially good games during Week Two as well.

On Saturday afternoon, #18 Notre Dame plays at Michigan. One team has a fairly experienced quarterback. The other team has allegedly been working to the bone to prepare for the season. Both teams have coaches that have a lot to lose. If Notre Dame doesn’t have a BCS bowl season, head coach Charlie Weis should be worried about his job. If Michigan doesn’t at least have a winning season with some exciting wins, head coach Rich Rodriguez may get run out of town. Hell, even if they do have a great season, Coach Rod may be fleeing the state when the season is over, the way things are going for him. On both teams, you’ve got players who are just sick and tired of being laughed at. With so much on the line, it should be an interesting game.

Personally, I want to watch the UCLA – Tennessee as well. Neither team is ranked, but they both want to be. Last week, UCLA won over San Diego State – no surprise. Tennessee also had a fairly easy week, winning over Western Kentucky. Against one another? I think the game will be pretty even. The Tennessee defense might tip the scales in their favor, but we’ll see.

Also significant? #18 Miami doesn’t play this week after surprisingly beating Florida State last week to knock them out of the Top 25. Will their week off slow them down enough to make the game on September 17 against Georgia Tech a lost cause for the Hurricanes?

Your thoughts on Week Two?

Post from: EveryJoe

College Football Week Two 2009 Preview

It has not been a good week for Michigan. Image: Newscom

According to reports, Michigan’s coaching staff has been pushing the players to work out many more hours than is allowable according to NCAA rules. While these extra hours are “voluntary” on paper, anonymous players have said that punishment was in store for anyone who didn’t volunteer their time.

Sez the Buckeyes, “Um…yeah.”

Kurt Coleman and Doug Worthinton, co-captains of Ohio State’s team, say that every college football player in every program is putting in extra time if they want to have a great season. They look at the 20 hours per week during the season that the NCAA says is a max for mandatory work out time as a minimum.

Coach Jim Tressel agrees, saying that in his experience, the players want to be there more and more and more hours. They want to be good, because on Saturday, they want to be on the field.

Post from: EveryJoe

Michigan has an Unlikely Ally: Ohio State

I have to say, though, I think many are willing to give him a chance. The Big Ten needs to be taken into 21st century to be a conference that has national championship contenders year after year. Rich Rodriguez could be the man to do it.

Image: Newscom

But there seems to be a bit of mutiny going on at the school, as a number of players have come forward to report NCAA violations at Michigan.

Under conditions of anonymity, a group of current and former players have told the Detroit Free Press that Rodriguez and his staff members routinely demand more of the players than is allowable by NCAA rules. The NCAA sets limits on workouts and other practices in order to prevent injury, to provide student athletes with enough time for academic work, and to keep any one team from gaining a competitive edge over another due to workout time.One player says that the practices were certainly affecting classwork, with some players even falling asleep during class due to the demands of the football program.

Says Rodriguez,

“We know the practice and off-season rules, and we stay within the guidelines. We follow the rules and have always been completely committed to being compliant with all NCAA rules.”

The allegations mainly surround the workouts by conditioning coach Mike Barwis, who followed Rodriquez from West Virginia. Although some of those players who came forward insist that his workouts are “ridiculous,” others who work out with him, including NFL players, swear by his methods.

Here’s what’s going on with the allegations:

• During the off-season, teams are only allowed to require players to work out for 8 hours per week. Players can work out on their own for more hours, but it must be voluntary. However, players say that the staff members would call workouts voluntary, yet severely punish anyone who didn’t show up, essentially making them mandatory.

• Players can also hold scrimmages during the off-season, but quality control staff can’t attend, and they have to be player-run.  Trainers are allowed to attend for safety purposes only. Players say, though, that quality control staff members routinely observed the games

• During the season, they can only practice for 20 hours per week, with a maximum of four hours per day. Players say that both of those limits were exceeded, with players spending nine hours or more on the field on game days.

Players said they were made to sign forms that say they were complying with NCAA rules. Everyone signed because they felt like there was nothing they could do if they wanted to play. Even now, players refuse to give their names, as they are worried about repercussions from staff members and other players.

At the school’s media day, some freshman, perhaps unaware of NCAA rules, talked about how long they practiced, one player saying that they’ve been working out from 8:00 AM to at least 6:00 PM six days a week. These players didn’t note whether or not the workouts were mandatory, so that in and of itself doesn’t incriminate the coaches, but it does fall in line with what others are saying.

That, and Rodriguez has been caught saying, “The workouts aren’t mandatory, but neither is your playing time.” That statement seems to be used often at Michigan, since players who have left have quoted it.

So that really begs the question: what is “mandatory.” If you’re determining playing time by voluntary practice attendance, doesn’t that kinda cancel out the “voluntary” part of it? Actually, YES according to the NCAA. Rules state that if attendance is tracked or is given to coaches by trainers, the workout or practice must be considered mandatory.

But isn’t everyone doing this? Being honest with yourself, don’t you think that other schools are also breaking workout rules? Says one anonymous player,

“They know the rules. Of course they know the rules. There was a time when the offensive line coach told me, ‘You’re not doing nothing different than anybody else in the country is.’ ”

Wrong. I mean, I don’t know every school’s conditioning schedule, but former players have come forward to say that the NCAA workout rules were strictly observed by Carr and players who are now in the NFL and have come back to visit have said that the current requirements are crazy.

Players have also allegedly been hunted down by junior staff members, graduate assistants, and others when not attended, receiving phone calls even while in class.

Rodriguez has a lot riding on this season. Last year, the team’s abysmal showing was somewhat allowable by fans, since it was a rebuilding year with a new coach. However, another season or two like that, and Rodriguez will be run out of down. After all, there are a number of other good coaches looking for jobs, Phillip Fulmer coming immediately to mind.

Post from: EveryJoe

Are Things Falling Apart at Michigan?

Junior Sheridan obviously brings the most experience to the game, since Robinson and Forcier are true freshmen. Last year, he played in 8 of the 12 games, throwing touchdowns against Utah in Week One and Minnesota, a game they surprisingly won closer to the end of their horrendous season. Unfortunately, Sheridan isn’t the most consistent QB, and along with touchdowns, he also had five interceptions during the season, including two against Notre Dame. He does have some ground mobility though, and last year, he ran in one against Northwestern. Overall, though, Sheridan isn’t a “force” – at least he wasn’t last year – so he may not be the best choice, even if the other Michigan quarterbacks haven’t even played in college games yet. Sheridan is also coming off a broken leg, so that injury could still affect his abilities on the field.

Nick Sheridan last year against rival Michigan State. Image: Newscom

Forcier and Robinson were both highly recruited by Coach Rod, who thinks that they’d be good for his new spread offense approach at Michigan, which has caused so many good players to leave the school. Forcier has a slight advantage, perhaps, as he graduated high school early to enroll in the college last spring, in time to play with the team during spring practice. Robinson’s been getting a lot of press, though, so I wouldn’t count him out of the game just yet.

Despite the stiff competition for time on the field, the three say that they remain good friends and enjoy how they push one another to play better. We’ll see if that friendship sticks when someone takes the reigns as starter and the other two get less playing time.

Post from: EveryJoe

Michigan’s Opener to be QB Playoff

Wermers is the latest Michigan player to leave the school, saying that the whole dynamic between players and coaches is just different than it was under Carr.

“I really didn’t get along with the new coaches. They were bringing in a lot of different kids that were not my kind of crowd. Coach Carr’s staff was a whole different ballgame. It was like a family. But when Rodriguez came in it was a whole different feeling. It was more of a business. I figured I’d get out while I could.”

Wermers is heading to Ball State, where he thinks he’ll find the atmosphere that he really wants, both on and off the field. He’ll have to sit out a year, but he says that he isn’t “too bummed” about it, since he’ll get to be on the practice team and learn the system.

Maybe Rich Rodriguez should have kept the business at West Virginia. Image: Newscom

Post from: EveryJoe

Another Michigan Player Leaves