Spartan Nation 2010 Spring Scouting Report: Michigan Wolverines
2009 Actual Season Record:Â 5-7
Spartan Nation Predicted 2009 Regular Season Record: 5-7Â
Predicted 2010 record:Â 5-7
Projected Big Ten 2010 Standing: 8th         Â
Head Coach: Rich “M ROD†Rodriguez
What went right in 2009? The Wolverines had a fast start, but ran out of momentum. That fast start quickly turned into a nightmare for the maize and blue.
What went wrong in 2009? Everything else. The Wolverines were amazingly in last place in the Big Ten in total defense, turnover margin, red zone offense and red zone defense. This spring they are changing their defensive scheme to the 3-3-5.
Analysis: the NCAA with multiple major violations has charged The Wolverines. Michigan will sometime in August go before them and answer those charges. They are expected to be found guilty (by those much closer to the program than I) and sometime in October the University should get a notice that they are guilty.
The conventional wisdom is that once the NCAA finds M Rod and his program guilty, he will be terminated. At the very least this is a house divided in Ann Arbor. It used to be that like them or hate them they were a rock in college football. That is no longer the case. I am told that if found guilty of major violations that the University of Michigan can terminate M Rod and owe him nothing that will remain on his contract.
Those close to the program told me recently that M Rod switching to the 3-3-5 is simply him waving the white flag. Â
The Wolverines started a true freshman in Tate Forcier last year. To his credit Forcier played well and showed a lot of guts. He had several great performances, but at times as an outsider you had to wonder what M Rod was thinking with his handling of the young man.
In fact had M Rod coached with the guts of our mutual friend Butch Jones (the head coach at Cincinnati) he would have went for the win in East Lansing and in my opinion would have beat the Spartans. Instead he played it safe and took the extra point and the Spartans came back for the win.
It was a blunder that when his time in Ann Arbor is over he will look back at as the final straw. Had UM beaten MSU last season (and I think they would have if they went for two and the win) the Wolverines would have been bowl eligible and I think the conversation is very different right now than it actually is.
Of course they have to fix the defense. A bigger question is whether Devin Gardner, a stud QB for the 2010 class who is on campus now can beat out Forcier. You will hear a lot of hype about Denard Robinson, but many expect Gardner who was one of the best talents in the nation in 2010 to push for playing time.
How is this program trending? Obviously after decades of trending as an elite program, the Wolverines are in free fall. If Gardner actually competes with Forcier the situation could get even more volatile.
Things are not going well for the Wolverines and whether or not you are an M Rod fan, or can’t stand him; at some point the University will have to calm the seas around their once proud program.
This spring will have battles all over the field, but the biggest may be simply surviving the storm.
Add us as a preferred source on Google