Michigan Football: Will Wolverines Make a Bowl Game This Year?

The Michigan Wolverines gave their fans a glimmer of hope when they defeated the Penn State Nittany Lions 18-13 under the lights at Michigan Stadium on Saturday.

Date	Opponent	Where
October 25	Michigan State	East Lansing, Mich.
November 1	Indiana	Ann Arbor, Mich.
November 8	Northwestern	Evanston, Ill.
November 22	Maryland	Ann Arbor, Mich.
November 29	Ohio State	Columbus, Ohio

At 3-4 (1-2 Big Ten), Brady Hoke's goal of winning the conference title is about as likely as Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio and former Wolverine Mike Hart becoming best friends. Hoke must now set his sights on a lesser but more critical personal goal: saving his job.

Hoke's best shot at returning for another season depends on his team becoming bowl-eligible by winning three of its five remaining games.

Only one national pundit currently predicts that the team will do so. Mark Schlabach of ESPN.com has Michigan heading to Dallas to play in the Heart of Dallas Bowl (Big Ten vs. Conference USA) versus Louisiana Tech. 

In Hoke’s first season, Michigan made a BCS bowl, but the team is now scrambling to make a third-tier bowl. If Michigan fans were upset with last year’s Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, wait until they get a load of this year’s options.

The Wolverines will need to sweep their home games (Indiana and Maryland) and win at least one of their three remaining road contests (Michigan State, Northwestern and Ohio State) to go bowling.

The game versus Indiana (3-3) became more winnable with news that injuries had elevated Indiana's third-string quarterback to the starting role:

In most seasons, Michigan could count on beating Maryland (4-2), but after losing to Rutgers and Utah, it can’t take any team for granted.

Hoke’s record away from Michigan Stadium is dismal (7-13), and it’s not much better versus key rivals Michigan State and Ohio State (2-4). Add that Hoke has never beaten the Buckeyes or the Spartans on the road, and the team’s margin of error is razor-thin.

Michigan barely beat Northwestern (3-3) last season by a score of 27-19 and plays the Wildcats for the second consecutive season on the road.

There is another path for Hoke to guarantee his return. If Michigan could win out—finishing 8-4, including wins over rivals Michigan State and Ohio State—the team’s early-season collapse could be forgiven.

But Ty Duffy of The Big Lead shares the view of many who think Hoke is toast:

"

Brady Hoke [Michigan] Michigan won ugly against Penn State Saturday Night. The players are still fighting. It may not matter. The Rutgers loss all but sealed Hoke’s fate. Instead of 4-3, the Wolverines are 3-4. They must beat both Michigan State and Ohio State on the road, as well as everyone else, to get to eight wins. A reprieve could come at 7-5 with a narrow loss at MSU and a win over Ohio State. But that would be pushing it.

"

If Michigan fails to make a bowl game, Hoke’s seat will be so hot it’s unlikely he’ll survive. There's a small possibility Michigan could catch fire, but after seven games, it's more likely the Wolverines will spend bowl season at home waiting for a new coach to be named.

Phil Callihan is a featured writer for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotations obtained firsthand.

Follow @PSCallihan.