Is Rich Rodriguez Off the Hot Seat If Michigan Beats Notre Dame?

Two college football institutions will play one another on Saturday when the Michigan Wolverines take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Both schools have recently fallen on hard times, but after victories in Week  One, they are brimming with confidence. Week Two is being touted as a game that will eliminate the pretenders and reveal the contenders, in short, it’s a pretty big game.

The college football betting odds opened up as Notre Dame listed as six point favorites, but since then the number has fallen and Bet Mania and other sportsbooks have the Irish as four point favorites at home.

Winning on the road has never been easy, and in South Bend under the watchful eye of touchdown Jesus it’s even harder. Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez will not only attempt to beat the Irish, but he hopes it will get him off the hot seat.

This game is on national television and if the Wolverines are able to pull off the upset, Rodriguez should silence the critics. He has put together a veteran offensive line that opened up huge holes in the win against Connecticut. He is a big believer in quarterback Denard Robinson, and that belief seems to be paying off.

Robinson utilized his feet and put up 197 yards on 29 carries and scored a touchdown in the first game of the season. He is not a one trick pony, the kid can throw too. Robinson connected on 19-of-22 passes for 186 yards and a touchdown in his first game. Robinson is a gifted athlete with an incredible skill set that will test the Irish defense.

The Irish have talent at linebacker but don’t possess the speed they need to track down Robinson. If they don’t stop the run early and often it could be a long day for the Irish.

Brian Kelly took over the reigns as head coach at Notre Dame and started his tenure off with a win. He has a reputation of bringing a spread offense that puts up plenty of points, but against Purdue the running game looked better than the passing game. That is good news for a Michigan defense that allowed just ten points in the first game. The most impressive stat for the Wolverine defense may have been on third down conversions, as they held the Huskies to just 4 of 15 on third down attempts.

Notre Dame did play extremely well fundamentally in the first game when it came to turnovers and penalties. They will have to repeat that performance if they want to beat Michigan in this game.

Rodriquez needs this game for Michigan much more than Kelly needs it for Notre Dame. Rodriguez will have his team ready and Robinson will be too much to handle for the Irish. The rushing game for Michigan will be effective and will set up the pass when needed for the big play. This will be one of the better games of the weekend and expect Michigan to win in a very close game. Michigan plus the points is the way to go in this game, but only time will tell if a win will get Rodriquez off the hot seat in Michigan.

Matt Regaw is a B/R Featured Columnist and the founder of BookieBlitz.com, your one-stop shop for sports articles, previews, and predictions. Feel Free to contact Matt at [e-mail]