A Long Offseason Begins for Wolverines

Michigan's 2008 season ends after school record 9 losses

Michigan football ended the worst season in school history with a blowout loss to rival Ohio State on Saturday, 42-7 in Columbus. It was the worst loss for Michigan against the Buckeyes since 1968 when they were beaten 50-14 by Woody Hayes’s national championship team. Little could have gone worse for the Wolverines in 2008 and the negativity has been piling up in Ann Arbor week in and week out during the dismal 3-9 campaign. New coach Rich Rodriquez must now find a way to bring the program together in the offseason as improvement will be a must in a football program that will go without a bowl game since alum Gerald Ford was in the White House. What is the outlook for 2009 and where will Michigan go from here you ask? Well keep reading…

Regardless of the amount of history and tradition at Michigan, the 2008 team was very inexperienced and not very talented on offense. No matter who was hired as coach, he was going to have to replace all the offensive linemen, the quarterback, running back, and wide receivers. Having 11 new starters on offense is not usually a recipe for winning, and it was not this year. Coach Rod’s new system being implemented also did not help, but even if the old pro style offense had been left in place Michigan would still have struggled as neither quarterback was a consistent downfield passing threat. The defense, as in years past, gave up too many big plays, especially on the ground, 3 long runs by OSU on basic handoffs, coupled with the short catch and runs from teams like Utah and Toledo, were nothing new to Wolverine fans. Surely the lack of production by the offense kept the defense on the field far too much and turnovers often created negative field position, leading to opponent’s scores. Giving up big plays has been a trend for a few years now and must be dealt with in the off-season as tackling needs to improve. This team could have legitimately gone 6-6 or 7-5, as games against Utah (look where they are now) Purdue, Northwestern, and Toledo were all winnable in the 2nd half, but the lack of experience on offense and the lack of a formidable passing game kept the bar at that level this year. Even if Michigan had gone 6-6 and made a low-level bowl, they would still not be where the fans want and expect them to be.

The good news is that next year’s offense will return with a wealth of experience. All 5 offensive linemen will be back as well as Odoms and Stonum at Wide Receiver, and Koger at Tight End. Brandon Minor had a big year at running back and will be back along with Sam McGuffie and Michael Shaw who came on strong at the end of the year. The Wolverines, with all their problems, ran for more yards and scored more points against Ohio State yesterday than they did at home in 2006, with the school’s all time leading passer, rusher, and # 1 NFL pick left tackle on the field, so there are things to build on. The key will be finding a consistent quarterback that can throw to keep the opposing defense honest and open up the running lanes. Another year in Mike Barwis’ conditioning system will surely help the blocking and running game.

The defense will need to rebuild as well. Michigan will get Notre Dame, Penn State, and Ohio State at home in 2009 and the early game with the Irish will be one that will be a key measuring stick early on. For now Wolverine fans will have to suffer through their first non-bowl postseason in a generation, but on the bright side, look what is going on with the basketball team so far, in the second year of another former West Virginia coach’s tenure…

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