BCS Rankings: Michigan Wolverines Are a National Power Once Again

It's safe to say that the Michigan Wolverines are once again a national power in the college football landscape. While that may seem like a given to many fans, look no further than the Rich Rodriguez era for proof of how far this program had fallen.

Michigan was 15-22 during the Rodriguez era, which included a 6-8 Big Ten record and three straight losses to rivals Michigan State and Ohio State. That record doesn't speak for itself, though, believe it or not. The true indictment on Rodriguez was the lack of respect that teams, fans and the college football world had for Michigan under his tenure.

Whether it was the anemic defense, failure to honor tradition or the NCAA violations, the Wolverines program become more of a sideshow than anything else. Needless to say, it was an era of football that fans of college football's winningest program were not used to.

Slowly but surely, things are changing.

Whether it's finally breaking the losing streak against Ohio State or a 10-2 regular season and No. 15 BCS ranking, Brady Hoke's record speaks for itself. Consider the fact that the Wolverines finish this season with a 6-2 Big Ten record, equaling the amount of conference wins that Rodriguez had in three seasons as head coach. Consider the respect that this team earned with their play on the field—he same respect they didn't expect just because of the wings on their helmets.

This was a team that not many people believed in, including myself.

I'll be the first to admit that I was rough on this Wolverines team, especially in the early season. I looked at a 6-0 record against Western Michigan, Notre Dame, Eastern Michigan, San Diego State, Minnesota and Northwestern and saw a fraud. After all even Rodriguez's teams did well in the early goings.

I didn't believe the Wolverines could stack up against legitimate Big Ten competition. I didn't think Denard Robinson and the offense could perform against bigger, faster opponents, and I certainly didn't believe in the defense.

I was proven wrong.

While they had their moments in losses to Michigan State and Iowa, the Wolverines were extremely impressive in wins over Purdue, Illinois, Nebraska and finally Ohio State. Robinson finished the year with 1,958 yards 18 touchdowns and 14 interceptions, but also 1,117 yards and 16 rushing touchdowns. Finally, the revamped Michigan defense finished the year ranked ninth in the national with a 17.2 points against average.

Like I said, slowly but surely, things are changing.

With the win over Ohio State, Hoke and the Wolverines can start to look forward to a likely BCS game, and a good one at that. It's questionable whether or not their No. 15 ranking will move up much with a win over OSU, but a great bowl game is definitely in the picture.

A win would solidify the point, but there is no doubting that its already been made: The Michigan Wolverines are back.