Ohio State Fans Know, Rich Rod Is All Wrong For UM

They're laughing in Columbus. Or perhaps crying. Either way, any good Ohio State fan knows Rich Rodriguez is not only bad for Michigan football, but bad for the biggest rivalry in all of sports as well. When the Buckeyes hired a coach, they got a defense first, pound the rock kind of guy. How has that worked out for them? Well, Jim Tressel has a national title under his belt, and multiple appearances in the national title game (not to mention a million year winning streak against UM Football).

We understand a change in culture could mean a step back for most programs. At elite schools like Michigan, OSU, USC, and Texas you don't rebuild, you reload. Yet somehow, here Michigan is, about to go two straight years with no bowl bid. How can this happen? Blame the coach.

Many Rich Rod supporters would have the blame go completely on Lloyd Carr for 'leaving the cupboard bare'. Well yes, the cupboard was pretty bare once you chased away your qb and best returning offensive lineman from a team that was already losing it's top three offensive players.  The 2008 UM team had superb talent on defense, but couldn't stop anyone. Most teams said it always seemed like the Michigan defenders weren't sure where they were supposed to be. How can you coach a team from spring practice through November without them ever knowing their assignments?

Proof of their defensive issues was given when UM promptly fired their defensive coordinator to hire another. Yet the same issues remain. New coach same issues. Two walk on starters at the University of Michigan? Never in my lifetime has this happened. Where is the famed Michigan recruiting? Wasted on undersized players who get dominated by major competition.

None of this is Rich Rod's fault you say? He's an offensive coach? Well, offense is also a huge problem for the University of Michigan. The first year is an adjustment period, and Rich Rod had no qb? It will be better in year two with Tate Forcier, a freshman who reminds many of Jeff Garcia and enrolled early to get a head start? Oops, didn't happen. Collapses in the second half against very beatable Illinois and Purdue teams have left Michigan's chances of getting into a bowl in serious limbo.

The Barwis program was supposed to make Michigan football players into men who dominated in the 4th quarter. Unfortunately, this has not been the case, as Michigan blew leads against Illinois and Purdue, while comebacks against both Iowa and Michigan State fell short.

The simple truth is this. A gimmick offense may work well in the Big (L)East, but in a real football conference (even in a watered down Big Ten), talent wins over scheme. Against Penn State, Michigan's offensive players were overpowered and soundly pounded into the turf with alarming regularity. The spread option is too much about tricking people and not enough about beating them with power or athleticism.

When the weather turns cold, trickery doesn't fit the bill. Big Ten teams will go with power, which UM's new defense is not equiped to handle. 3-3-5 stack? Stack up the butter, here comes the hot knife. Ask Beanie Wells how effective Michigan's new philosophies are.

The main point is, the spread option and 3-3-5 stack may work for smaller schools trying to hold their own in weaker conferences, but in a real football conference, against real football schools, such trickery will always fall short. Ohio State knew this, and until Michigan figures it out, The Game will be nothing but The Exhibition from now on. Write it down. No Rich Rodriguez coached team will EVER defeat Ohio State. Fans in Columbus are crying, mourning the death of the world's greatest football rivalry. Fortunately, there is laughter behind their teams, while in Ann Arbor, the fans aren't so lucky.