Michigan Football: 6 Reasons to Be Thankful

The Michigan football team was in shambles this time a year ago.

The Wolverines had just lost their seventh straight to Ohio State, and coach Rich Rodriguez was on his way out.

Michigan sagged to its lowest point in years during and after the lopsided Gator Bowl loss to Mississippi State.

But things quickly turned around. Not long after the Rodriguez dismissal, Michigan's Learjets were sighted at familiar airports as the search for a new coach unfolded.

Athletic director Dave Brandon was doing his best not to botch Michigan's second coaching search in three years.

Botch it he didn't, as Brandon obviously made the right choice in hiring former Michigan assistant Brady Hoke to take charge of the Wolverines.

Within days, Hoke brought in two respected coordinators, placed his stamp on the 2011 recruiting class, kept Denard Robinson from transferring and made believers out of Michigan's ex-players, alumni and fans.

The Michigan family is anticipating a classy performance in the upcoming Sugar Bowl against Virginia Tech and an optimistic future, thanks to an outstanding 2012 recruiting class.

Yes, there's plenty to be thankful for. Let's look at a few things that make being a Michigan fan special.

The Big House (Michigan Stadium)

From pregame tailgating to the variety of Michigan traditions, a trip to the Big House provides one of college football's most enjoyable game-day experiences.

Built in 1927, Michigan Stadium is the largest college-owned stadium in the country. It's current attendance record of 114,804 was set during this fall's Michigan-Notre Dame contest.

The Wolverines have played before 238 consecutive crowds of over 100,000 and led the nation in attendance every year since 1974, except 1997.

The stadium received an extensive renovation in 2010.  Two sprawling brick towers, which house private boxes and a new press box, now rise above each sideline.

Michigan public address announcer Carl Grapentine regularly adds a nice touch to the atmosphere when he thanks Wolverine fans for "being part of the largest crowd watching a football game anywhere in America today."

Brady Hoke

A relative unknown when he was hired in January, Hoke has been the key to Michigan's resurgence.

While athletic director Dave Brandon appeared to be courting Les Miles and Jim Harbaugh, Hoke had just completed a 9-4 season as head coach of the San Diego State Aztecs.

He was a defensive position coach at Michigan from 1995-2002, before taking the head job at Ball State in 2003. He moved on to San Diego in 2009, finishing with a two-year mark of 13-12, including a victory over Navy in the 2010 Poinsettia Bowl.

Hoke took over at Michigan for Rich Rodriguez, who as an outsider was never really accepted in Ann Arbor. 

After he was hired, Hoke was immediately anointed as a "Michigan Man," someone who played, coached or was familiar with the traditions of the Michigan football program. 

Athletic Director Dave Brandon

Dave Brandon came to Michigan in January 2010 facing several concerns. 

The NCAA was investigating a Michigan football team which had just suffered through it's second straight losing season.  Michigan Stadium was in its final stages of a $226 million expansion, and there were several other athletic facilities under construction.

Brandon knocked them off one at a time, fighting off the NCAA, firing then-football coach Rich Rodriguez and creating a pair of marketing successes.

He had permanent lights installed at the Big House so Michigan could host an outdoor hockey game and its first prime time football game.  

The 104,073 attending the "Big Chill at the Big House," between Michigan and Michigan State set a Guinness world record for attendance at a hockey game.

The 114,804 attending the "Under the Lights" football game between Michigan and Notre Dame set the current Michigan Stadium attendance record.

Perhaps Brandon's biggest success was the hiring of Brady Hoke as Michigan's new football coach. Hoke led the Wolverines to a 10-2 record and a trip to the Sugar Bowl against Virginia Tech. 

Quarterback Denard Robinson

Denard Robinson thrilled the Michigan fanbase when he decided to stick with the Wolverines after Brady Hoke was hired in January.

The junior quarterback has accounted for 8,030 total yards and 73 touchdowns in his three seasons at Michigan. He's completed 58.9 percent of his passes and rushed for 6.0 yards per carry. In 2010, he was the first quarterback ever to pass for 2,500 yards and rush for another 1,500.

His only negative statistic is his 29 interceptions, which will probably keep him from turning pro after this season.

Both CBS and ESPN have called Robinson college football's most exciting player. He finished sixth in the Heisman voting as a sophomore, but wasn't in the running this season due to a midseason staph infection and an inaccurate throwing arm.

Even so, Robinson is a threat to score from anywhere on the field, and he should give Virginia Tech plenty of headaches in the upcoming Sugar Bowl. 

The Defense

In 2010 Michigan's defense ranked 108th in the nation, allowing 35.23 points per game. This season, the defense ranked 7th, allowing just 17.17 points per game.

So what caused the turnaround? Was it coaching, the scheme or the players?

First, head coach Brady Hoke brought in Greg Mattison from the Baltimore Ravens to run the defense.

Mattison junked the 3-3-5 defense that Greg Robinson ran a season ago and installed a more conventional 4-3.

A quick look at the two rosters show very little difference in the quality of the players. Theoretically, freshmen Blake Countess, Jake Ryan and Desmond Morgan replaced James Rogers, Cam Gordon and Jonas Mouton. 

Elsewhere, Will Heininger replaced Greg Banks and Troy Woolfolk replaced Courtney Avery.

So it's not hard to see why most of the credit has gone Mattison's way.

The Sugar Bowl

Sure Michigan went to the Gator Bowl last season, but it went as a beaten team.

This season, the No. 13 Wolverines are loaded with optimism as they head to New Orleans for a showdown with No. 11 Virginia Tech.

This may not be the Hokies best team in the last two decades or so, but look for Frank Beamer's forces to be competitive.

Defensive coordinator Bud Foster always has a tough defense, and if it wasn't for a pair of no-shows against Clemson, Tech would have had one of the best defenses in the country.

Michigan is a consensus 2.5 point favorite, but the Hokies have a rapidly improving quarterback in sophomore Logan Thomas and a potential first-round draft pick in junior running back David Wilson.

Logan has thrown for almost 2,800 yards while Wilson has rushed for over 1,600, a figure good enough for him to bypass his senior year. 

The chief argument surrounding the Sugar Bowl is that neither team deserves to be in such a lofty bowl game. 

What really matters is how the teams take advantage of the great location, a few extra weeks of practice and a fine setting for future recruits. That should be enough to make anyone thankful.