Michigan Football Expectations for 2014 and Beyond: Curbside Enthusiasm

Michigan football continues to be a source of consternation as summer fades to brisk autumn air. Coming off a disheartening shutout in South Bend, the Wolverines lacked luster in the first half against the lowly Miami (Ohio) RedHawks.

Yes, Michigan picked up the slack in the second half and managed to beat a team that hasn't won since October 27, 2012, 34-10. Brady Hoke and his fellow spin doctors will tell you the team is improving, that the goal every season is to compete for the Big Ten title (an imprint that began in the Bo Schembechler era and continued through Lloyd Carr's tenure). But these refrains never sit well with Michigan's crotchety fanbase.

Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free Press does well to explore the fragile psyche of the Michigan football fan and challenges the notion that "Michigan needs to get back to its glory years." For Sharp and others like him, Michigan's recent gridiron greatness is the stuff of fable.

One half national championship (1997-98), two outright Big Ten titles (1997, 2003), three shared conference titles (1998, 2000, 2004) and a 7-9 record in Bowl games since 1997 does not a modern juggernaut make.

Former Michigan standouts like wide receiver Braylon Edwards are chiming in on the argument. Speaking to 105.1's Matt Dery (h/t MLive), Edwards asserted: "Michigan football has lacked an identity over the last couple years. So when you say 'we have to get back to Michigan football,' what are we getting back to would be the real question."

Granted, the pressure in athletics, at any level, is tremendous, and with a brand like Michigan's it has to be unbearable at times for coaches and players alike. College sports fans get caught up in results and tend to forget that for every Charles Woodson there are countless other scholarship athletes who are still finding their way on the playing field.

But for a program with Michigan's considerable resources and declining stature, the decisions of its athletic directors, past and present, must be questioned. Most fans and writers point to the end of the Carr era and the search for his replacement as a fumble in the red zone.

In 2008, then-Michigan athletic director Bill Martin tried to fill a round hole with the square peg that was Rich Rodriguez, an offensive mastermind who was highly regarded for his work at West Virginia at the time. But the due diligence in that hire was far from extensive, as a team that played little or no defense would never have staying power in the Big Ten.

Jim Harbaugh was the fish that got away during that coaching search. As noted by The New York Times' Pete Thamel, while former assistant coach and Michigan alum Les Miles was being vetted, Martin never really allowed the former Michigan quarterback into the applicant pool because of Harbaugh's comments about Michigan's admission policies and education approach as they pertained to student athletes. 

Martin retired in 2010, and when new AD Dave Brandon fired Rich Rod in 2011, the door opened once again for Harbaugh, who was taking the Stanford Cardinal to lofty heights under his guidance at the time. But Harbaugh had other ideas; a Michigan Man who could have been easily courted in 2008, got comfortable in the Bay Area and, well, the NFL came calling (Harbaugh is back in the conversation again for the job, in some hopeful sectors).

"

I will not believe any Jim Harbaugh to Michigan rumors until he is having his introductory presser..which will also require Brandon to leave

— Jeff Weintraub (@TheDailyTraub) September 15, 2014"

Hoke was next on the depth chart and, after a rather fantastic 2011 debut season as coach, Michigan has been mediocre at best. 

When Hoke first arrived in Ann Arbor, he seemed to be a jovial motivator, adept at fielding hardball questions from the media, and he forged a ready-made team concept that had instant results on the field; Team 132 beat Ohio State for the first time since 2003 and Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl.

These days, Hoke bristles at the media and has incurred the wrath of the fanbase with comments like this one after the Notre Dame loss, as per The Associated Press (via USA Today): "If they're truly fans, they'll believe in these kids and what they've done and the hard work they've put in. If they're not, they won't."

While you can't blame Hoke's sour attitude towards a fanbase that has turned on him, a man making an average $3.25 million a year in salary (as per the Ann Arbor News) will need to develop better coping mechanisms to criticism, constructive or otherwise, of his team and coaching efforts, which resemble a rebuilding project at this point.

The rest of 2014 will be about damage control for Hoke and his less-than-awe-inspiring team. Michigan faces a tough test immediately as the high-scoring Utah Utes, coming off a bye week, visit Ann Arbor next. Michigan is getting some respect from oddsmakers this week, as the Wolverines are an early 5.5- to six-point favorite, according to Odds Shark.

But if Big Blue comes out flat like they did against Miami, Utah has the weapons to put Michigan in a deep hole; Utah is third in the nation in scoring with 57.5 points per game after two games. If Devin Gardner is anything more than a stopgap quarterback, he will need to start with a commanding performance against Utah. 

In the end, this is a story about expectations. For most Wolverines alumni and fans, nothing less than challenging for the national championship will ever do. While Brandon, Hoke and his cronies will tell you the Big Ten title is always their top priority, those seem like delusions of grandeur at the moment as well. 

It's hard to rally around a coach, who, when asked by 97.1 The Ticket (via MLive's Nick Baumgardner, h/t SB Nation) if he would change anything about his preparation for Notre Dame, responded with: "I wouldn't change anything."

While many Michigan fans would prefer to have Hoke on a short leash, he seems to have Brandon's support, and the argument that Michigan can't afford another start-from-scratch scenario by hiring a new head honcho continues to proliferate around message boards and Great Lakes State water coolers.

For now, Michigan fans will have to accept mediocrity as the new normal. Should Hoke's Team 135 improve dramatically in the coming months and manage to beat either Michigan State or Ohio State, maybe fans will start thinking Michigan is "back to playing Michigan football."

In September 2014, Michigan is a middling college football program. Check your enthusiasm at the door, until otherwise notified.