NCAA Football

Rich-Rod Doesn't See the Sun and Clouds Plunging Towards Him

Posted Sep 16, 2008 2:41PM By Tom Fornelli (RSS feed)

Filed Under: Michigan, Big 10, Coaching

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So we're three games into the Rich Rodriguez era at Michigan, and so far, things aren't looking too good. Big Blue lost it's home opener for the second straight year, this time against Utah, and while the defense showed marked improvement against Miami of Ohio, they regressed at Notre Dame on Saturday. Though, it's not really fair to blame the defense for giving up 35 points to the Irish when the offense handled the ball as if it had been soaked in the leftover bacon grease from Charlie Weis' Saturday morning breakfast.

Still, Rich would like to remind the Michigan faithful that the process of turning the program back around isn't going to take place overnight. There's still work that needs to be done, but he's optimistic that his boys are going to get things figured out eventually.
"I told (the media) and I told the team before, there's going to be some adversity," Rodriguez said. "If you thought there wasn't going to be, you're not really paying attention to where our program is at and the people we lost. Are you kidding me? We don't have a bunch of three- and four-year starters that have been through this, been through that there before, and rally the troops. So that's what the coaches are going to do.

"They understand I want them to be ticked off after we lose, to understand how we are going to work and how we're going to press forward and do all the things we're supposed to do to have a successful program, and we'll be unwavering in that regard. But, also, I don't want them after 24 hours to be hanging their head real low and walking around moping.

"Obviously, we've got to get a little better in all three phases, but the sky is not falling. I can tell you this, there's a lot of positive things going on that maybe people outside our building don't see as far as the work ethic and steps that we're making. I've been through this before and as I said, I'm disappointed that we lost two games, but not discouraged because there are too many things that I see internally that are going to lead to some pretty neat things in the future."
Now this might now be what Michigan fans want to hear after growing accustomed to seeing their team play well all season and waiting for the Ohio State game to collapse, but it's the truth. Anyone who honestly expected the Wolverines to come out and put up another nine win season in 2008 is an idiot, and with games against Wisconsin, Illinois, and Penn State coming up in the next month, life isn't going to get any easier in Ann Arbor.

Tags: Charlie+Weis, CharlieWeis, Rich+Rodriguez, RichRodriguez

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