Monday Quick Hits: Surveying the Damage

By Sean · Monday, October 13, 2008 · 3:30 AM |  Share | 3 Comments 

• There have been many different opinions shared about the football program and where it’s headed since Saturday, and my opinion is that people should not overreact too much. Some overreaction is fine considering Michigan did lose to Toledo, but that doesn’t mean that Rich Rodriguez should be fired or the program should be scrapped. Rodriguez deserves at least one season to get things in order. Although a season that may potentially produce only 2 wins is about the worst thing possible, it very well could be a reality. Does it suck? Absolutely, but we just have to hope things start to get better next year.
• I realized early on that this season would feature many bad games, but I never would have expected Michigan to lose to Toledo. No matter how bad things got, losing to Toledo was never even a consideration. After all, the Rockets were 1-4 going into Saturday’s game and had one of the worst defenses in the country when it came to giving up points. Despite that, Michigan only managed to score 10 points. Like I said, I knew this team would have its struggles, but for the offense to play that poorly is ridiculous.
• The biggest complaint I’ve heard about Rich Rodriguez so far is that he isn’t adapting to the players he has and instead is trying to fit square pegs into round holes. I can’t disagree with anybody that makes that criticism. If he had adjusted the offense to something more like what Michigan used to run and only introduced the spread little by little over time, then there’s a good chance that Michigan has more than 2 wins right now. However, there’s no guarantee that Michigan would be better off, and looking down the road, there would be a bigger learning curve.

  Although keeping the bowl streak alive is a huge priority, planning for the future is just as important. Considering the coaches have to implement their way of doing things, I can understand why Michigan has continued to stay with the spread despite how bad the offense does look at times. Michigan may struggle now, but hopefully it means they have success sooner rather than later (i.e. 2009 instead of 2010).

• Michigan is a 23.5-point underdog for Saturday’s game at Penn State.
• Steven Threet didn’t play quarterback for Michigan in the second half due to an elbow injury. Brandon Minor also did not return to the game after he hurt his ribs on a touchdown reception in the first quarter.
• The Michigan hockey team opened the regular season on Friday and beat St. Lawrence 4-3 thanks to a late goal scored by Tim Miller. Although the win was nice, Michigan ended up losing captain Mark Mitera in the first period due to a knee injury. The early signs are that he could be out for quite some time, which would be a huge blow to the team.
• On Saturday night, Michigan beat St. Lawrence 5-3 to complete the weekend sweep. The atmosphere was great, as usual, and the game itself was very entertaining. Michigan now heads to Marquette to play Northern Michigan next Friday and Saturday to open the CCHA.
• I’d like to thank the Big Ten Network for their longer than average commercial breaks. It’s seems like they always run more commercials, but what pissed me off even more is that they had a commercial break after a kickoff once during Saturday’s game. Note to the BTN: this isn’t the NFL.
• I did not notice anything wrong with the south videoboard on Saturday, so either the problem was fixed or there never was a problem to begin with.
• Prior to kickoff, there was just a weird feeling in Michigan Stadium. I’m not necessarily talking about a feeling that Toledo was going to win, but I definitely sensed apathy from the fans. The student section had some pretty empty sections that didn’t fill up until after the game started, and there really was not much excitement in the crowd anyways.
• Defensive coordinator Scott Shafer correctly stated that he got “outcoached” against Illinois. I would say that was the case against Toledo as well. Yes, the defense only gave up two field goals (one was a result of good field position for Toledo after a Michigan turnover), but Toledo’s offense still moved the ball way too easily at times with only a few different plays. It was disappointing to say the least, especially when you consider that Toledo receiver Nick Moore had 20 catches during this game. Despite the fact that most of his catches came on a screen or bootleg, Michigan never seemed to make any adjustments.
• The open basketball practiced has been moved from October 15 to October 22.
• The Big House Blog ran down all of the things that have or will come to an end for Michigan football.
• Donovan Tate, a 4-star quarterback/safety, is going to visit Michigan. His recruitment really isn’t a very big deal since he will likely end up playing pro baseball (he could end up being a first-round pick).
• Michigan’s logo apparently is on Pop-Tarts.
• Commencement for the University of Michigan next spring will be held at Michigan Stadium.