Well, coach is making history all right. Yesterday's 48-42 loss on the road at Purdue has perched Rich Rod on the precipice of Michigan football infamy:
o He now finds himself at the helm of the first Wolverine team since 1967 to post a losing record. That's 41 straight winning seasons. Poof.
o The loss also eliminated Michigan from bowl eligibility for the first time since 1974. 33 straight post-seasons, with the added exposure, the alumni travel packages, the extra practices, the recruiting. Poof, poof, poof, poof and poof.
That alone is enough to draw the ire of several hundred thousand alumni, students and fans. But the worst may be yet to come.
Momentum--especially the negative kind--is as hard to stop as that dreaded mobile quarterback. (see my photo from the Illinois loss.) As the former Mountaineer coach readies his team for a potentially gruesome homestretch, he'll need some source of motivation for his disspirited troops. How bout this, coach. You're on the verge of completing THE WORST SEASON IN THE HISTORY OF MICHIGAN FOOTBALL. In fact you've virtually achieved it already--and we're just one day into November. Here are some of the ugly details thus far:
o The 2-7 Wolverines have already matched the school record for most losses in a season, set in 1934 and tied two years later.
o The Purdue loss increased Michigan's current losing streak to six, the longest in a half century and one shy of the school's all-time mark, set in 1937.
o Last week's setback to Michigan State assured the maize and blue of its first losing season at the Big House in 41 years; furthermore, a loss to Northwestern in two weeks would give the '08 Wolverines five home defeats, the most ever witnessed at the Big House or any house before it.
o While we're on the topic, Michigan has also dropped seven home games over the past two seasons, tying the school's all-time mark.
Think the agony stops here, fans? We've yet to talk about the defensive side of the ball. As you know, Rich Rod warned us to be patient since his new spread offense would require a bit of a learning curve. What he didn't mention, however, was how his new defensive scheme would turn an already soft unit goose-down-filled-hypoallergenic-comforter soft. Consider these light and pillowy figures:
o Purdue's 48 points represent the fifth time an opponent has scored more than 30 this season, a new Michigan record.
o The 2008 Wolverine defense has allowed 278 points, one shy of the all-time record... and there are still three games left to play!
o Michigan's defense is allowing an average of just under 31 points a game, by far the most generous in the history of Michigan football. To lend some perspective, during Schembechler's salad days of the early 1970s, his prolific triple-option offense averaged just over 37 points a game.
o If this week's opponent (7-2 Minnesota) hangs more than 30 on the Metrodome jumbotron, it would be the fourth straight opponent to score 30+ points on the Wolverines, tying another all-time record.
These stats doesn't make for the most inspiring of pre-game pep talks, that's for sure. But they do underscore the notion that, despite the season being long gone, there is plenty for the team captains, the seniors and the brand-spankin' new coaching staff to play for. I understand Rich Rod isn't keen on pulling out the college football history books, but it's worth a look. At least enough of a look to understand that the aforementioned records tied or broken by the first team of the Rodriguez era cover 130 years. And 130 years goes back to the Rutherford B. Hayes administration.
A small pile of un-extinguished embers can take out ten thousand acres of century-old redwoods. And a coach who doesn't respect the pedigree of the institution he serves can take out a century of sequoia-solid tradition. All it takes is a few simple acts of arrogance. Such as downplaying the significance of its biggest rivals, for example. A nuance that helps explain lackluster Wolverine losses to Notre Dame and Michigan State (the former Michigan had beaten by 38 and 25 points the past two seasons, the latter of which hadn't defeated the maize and blue since the "Spartan Tom the clock-keeper" game of 2001). And one that may make sense of what will happen three weeks from now in Columbus (haven't lost all three rivalry games in the same season since 1987). A team as strong as the Buckeyes could really lay a whoopin' on the disspirited winged helmets, the likes of which hasn't been seen around these parts for generations (if we define a rout as a five-touchdown defeat, the last time Michigan was routed was in Columbus, exactly 40 years ago). Even this week, they have a very real chance at losing the 102-year-old Little Brown Jug to the Gophers (haven't lost in Minneapolis since 1977).
Yes, he inhereited a team with many holes to fill. But he did dig a few himself. After all, he had a receiver by the name of Manningham who wanted to return for his fourth year. As well as two projected starting linemen who ended up transferring after seeing the tradition they coveted fall by the wayside. And at the helm, a battle-tested, rifle-armed quarterback who had just finished an impressive freshman season (he also happened to be the nation's top-ranked high-school QB the previous year). Before anyone tells me that Stephen Threet is a stronger spread quarterback then Ryan Mallet could have been, just save it. Please.
The three teams that remain on Michigan's schedule have a combined record of 21-6, and two of them--including those lovable Buckeyes--will play the Wolverines at home. Michigan will have their work cut out for them just to avoid an unprecedented and equally unthinkable 10-loss campaign.
So Rich Rod wants to inspire his kids without using the storied tradition of college football's winningest all-time program. Okay then. Maybe he can gather the team together and tell them the story of the little mountaineer that could.
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