Michigan Football 2009 Doesn't Look Too Good Either

Now let's talk defense, the bright spot of Michigan football in 2008.  There was actually a decent amount of talent on this side of the ball.  The only reason it looked as bad as it did was because of the positions the offensive ineptitude constantly put the defense in.

The problem is that a huge amount of this talent is graduating.  The Michigan defense loses three out of four starting defensive linemen, along with a starting linebacker, safety, and corner.  This next recruiting class is stocked full of decent players at these positions, but no five-star talent.  The defense for 2009 will be very young and won't be able to carry the team through games.

I also believe the defense will be regressing under Rich Rodriguez's coaching.  Traditionally his teams do not have a very good defense, so don't expect him to coach up a great team on that side of the ball.

After looking at a close view of the team, let's look at the schedule for next season.  Here is what I consider a generous prediction of the wins that Michigan could get next season.

Western Michigan: Michigan should be able to pull a W.

Notre Dame: They are regarded as on the way up (I personally disagree), but I'll go out on a limb and say this could be a W.

Indiana: One would think it'll be a W with how bad Indiana is.

Michigan St.: I don't think so—L for the second year in a row.

Iowa: If the end of this season is any indication of how good Iowa will be, no way. L.

Penn St.: Nope, I don't see Penn State being as good next year, but not that much worse either. L.

Illinois: Depends on if Illinois regresses from this bad year or rebounds, but let's assume that Michigan can win this one. W.

Purdue: With Joe Tiller leaving, who knows, but it's certainly possible. W.

Wisconsin: Terrible this season, but it still isn't a guarantee at this point. The victory could be there next season. W.

Ohio State: No way, no how, not in a million years. By the end of the season next year Ohio State will be very good.  Even with the game in Ann Arbor, I don't see it being close for the second year in a row.  I could be wrong here, because with it being the rivalry game anything can always happen, but Rich Rodriguez is not a great rivalry coach.

So from looking at the schedule as generously as I can, Michigan could realistically hit seven wins, but I'm not counting on it—not with their defense dropping down so much next season and the offense not getting the players needed to run the system well yet.

The only reason the offense will be any better next year will be because the system won't be getting implemented from scratch.  Remember Rodriguez talking about how the first practice was even more awful than he had imagined it would be?  Michigan won't be starting at that point next year, so there is a bright spot.

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not close to the Michigan program.  I don't know any of the players or coaches.  I haven't watched enough film to really analyze each individual player.  I'm going off of general knowledge (rivals.com for recruiting rankings) of Michigan football and giving a way too early prediction of next season.

The picture could change on signing day, in spring practice, and in fall camp.  I just wouldn't place money on Michigan getting good next year.

The program is going to need to give Rich Rodriguez an extra mulligan year after this terrible season as opposed to becoming impatient with him.  If Michigan dumps Rodriguez too soon and tries to go another direction, the program will take a serious hit.  There will be a lot of doubt if Michigan will rebound for a long time.

Let Rodriguez do his thing for at least three to four years, because until then, times are not going to be good.

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