Brady Hoke – Last Stand of the Michigan Man?
I grew up with Saturdays being “days of holy obligation.” When I played football in high school I wore a Michigan t-shirt to counter the bad karma of our very Buckeye-looking uniforms. On a recruiting trip to Michigan I made my case for how Bo needed a 5′ 8″ linebacker with above average speed to play football for him. When I attended the University of Michigan I did my best to spread the Wolverine gospel to my classmates. I followed Moeller, initially scoffed at Lloyd’s appointment but happily celebrated in Pasadena as the Wolverines led by Charles Woodson won the National Championship (KMA coaches poll!!)
When Lloyd retired, I understood that the line of Michigan Men coaching the Wolverines was probably over and that the Michigan Football program was fundamentally changing.
I questioned whether I was fan of Michigan Football or Michigan Football as defined by Bo Schembechler.
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Three and Out: Rich Rodriguez and the Michigan Wolverines in the Crucible of College Football

Three and Out tells the story of how college football’s most influential coach took over the nation’s most successful program, only to produce three of the worst seasons in the histories of both Rich Rodriguez and the University of Michigan. Shortly after his controversial move from West Virginia, where he had just taken his alma mater to the #1 ranking for the first time in school history, Coach Rich Rodriguez granted author and journalist John U. Bacon unrestricted access to Michigan’s program. Bacon saw it all, from the meals and the meetings, to the practices and the games, to the sidelines and the locker rooms. Nothing and no one was off limits. John U. Bacon’s Three and Out is the definitive account of a football marriage seemingly made in heaven that broke up after just three years, and lifts the lid on the best and the worst of college football.
From the Back Cover
Sports fans invest great hopes and dreams into their teams. College football fans invest even more, I think, because of the stronger connection they feel with the school and the players. But I’ve never seen any fans ask more of their teams than Michigan football fans ask of theirs.There are only two groups who are more devoted to the Wolverines, and demand more in return: the coaches and the players. They have the most to gain and the most to lose. They know the stakes. And they accept them—even embrace them. It’s why all of them, from Rich Rodriguez to Tate Forcier to Denard Robinson, came to Ann Arbor. Not to be average, or even good, but “the leaders and best.”Anything less would not do.This book attempts to explain how the coach and his team fell short—and what happened when they did.
Anytime, Anywhere? Appalachian State will return to the Big House
From the Appalachian State Athletic Web Page:
While the Appalachian State University football team garnered three NCAA Div I FCS national championships between 2005 and 2007 – and upset the University of Michigan in 2007 – Mountaineer athletics has more to brag about than just its gridiron success.
The Michigan Wolverines will attempt to avenge their 34-32 loss at the Big House in the 2007 season opener by scheduling a return visit by Appalachian State to open the 2014 season.
It makes perfect sense. Michigan fans are itching for a rematch to clean the bitter aftertaste of the last meeting between the Wolverines and the Mountaineers. Appalachian State is in line for a big payday and a chance to show the world that the 2007 game wasn’t a fluke.
But I wish it wasn’t happening- at least not in Ann Arbor.
Imagine that when Michigan AD David Brandon called down to the Boone, North Carolina his counterpart had declined a return visit to Ann Arbor but instead issued a challenge for the Wolverines a play a game at Kidd Brewer Stadium (max capacity 31, 000) .
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Football Schedules
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Sat., Sep. 3 | vs | Western Michigan | Ann Arbor, Mich. | W, 34-10 | |
Sat., Sep. 10 | vs | Notre Dame | Ann Arbor, Mich. | W, 35-31 | |
Sat., Sep. 17 | vs | Eastern Michigan | Ann Arbor, Mich. | W, 31-3 | |
Sat., Sep. 24 | vs | San Diego State | Ann Arbor, Mich. | W, 28-7 | |
Sat., Oct. 1 | vs | Minnesota | Ann Arbor, Mich. | W, 58-0 | |
Sat., Oct. 8 | at | Northwestern | Evanston, Ill. | W, 42-24 | |
Sat., Oct. 15 | at | Michigan State | East Lansing, Mich. | L, 28-14 | |
Sat., Oct. 29 | vs | Purdue (Homecoming) | Ann Arbor, Mich. | W, 36-14 | |
Sat., Nov. 5 | at | Iowa | Iowa City, Iowa | L, 24-16 | |
Sat., Nov. 12 | at | Illinois | Champaign, Ill. | W, 31-14 | |
Sat., Nov. 19 | vs | Nebraska | Ann Arbor, Mich. | W, 45-17 | |
Sat., Nov. 26 | vs | Ohio State | Ann Arbor, Mich. | W, 40-34 | |
2012 Sugar Bowl | |||||
Tues, Jan. 3 | Virginia State | New Orleans, LA | W, 23-20 (OT) |
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Sat., Sep. 1 | at | Alabama | Arlington, TX | |
Sat., Sep. 8 | vs | Air Force | Ann Arbor, Mich. | |
Sat., Sep. 15 | vs | Massachusetts | Ann Arbor, Mich. | |
Sat., Sep. 22 | at | Notre Dame | South Bend, IN | |
Sat., Sep. 29 | Bye | |||
Sat., Oct. 6 | at | Purdue | West Lafayette, IN | |
Sat., Oct. 13 | vs | Illinois (Homecoming) | Ann Arbor, Mich. | |
Sat., Oct. 20 | vs | Michigan State | Ann Arbor, Mich. | |
Sat., Oct. 27 | at | Nebraska | Lincoln, NE | |
Sat., Nov. 3 | at | Minnesota | Minneapolis, MN | |
Sat., Nov. 10 | vs | Northwestern | Ann Arbor, Mich. | |
Sat., Nov. 17 | vs | Iowa | Ann Arbor, Mich. | |
Sat., Nov. 24 | at | Ohio | Columbus, OH | |
Sat., Dec 1 | Big Ten Championship | Indianapolis, IN | ||
2013 Bowl Game |
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Sat., Aug. 31 | vs | Central Michigan | Ann Arbor, Mich. | |
Sat., Sep. 7 | vs | Notre Dame | Ann Arbor, Mich. | |
Sat., Sep. 14 | vs | Akron | Ann Arbor, Mich. | |
Sat., Sep. 21 | at | Connecticut | East Hartford, CT | |
Sat., Sep. 28 | Bye | |||
Sat., Oct. 5 | vs | Minnesota | Ann Arbor, Mich. | |
Sat., Oct. 12 | at | Penn State | Happy Valley, PA | |
Sat., Oct. 19 | vs | Indiana | Ann Arbor, Mich. | |
Sat., Oct. 26 | Bye | |||
Sat., Nov. 2 | at | Michigan State | East Lansing, MI | |
Sat., Nov. 9 | vs | Nebraska | Ann Arbor, Mich. | |
Sat., Nov. 16 | at | Northwestern | Evanston, IL | |
Sat., Nov. 23 | at | Iowa | Iowa City, IA | |
Sat., Nov. 30 | vs | Ohio | Ann Arbor, Mich. | |
Sat., Dec 7 | Big Ten Championship | Indianapolis, IN | ||
2014 Bowl Game |
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Sat., Aug. 30 | vs | Appalachian State | Ann Arbor, Mich. | |
Sat., Sep. 6 | at | Notre Dame | South Bend, IN | |
Sat., Sep. 13 | TBA | |||
Sat., Sep. 20 | TBA | |||
Sat., Sep. 27 | at | Indiana | Bloomington, IN | |
Sat., Oct. 4 | Open | |||
Sat., Oct. 11 | vs | Michigan State | Ann Arbor, Mich. | |
Sat., Oct. 18 | at | Minnesota | Minneapolis, MN | |
Sat., Oct. 25 | vs | Penn State | Ann Arbor, Mich. | |
Sat., Nov. 1 | vs | Iowa | Ann Arbor, Mich. | |
Sat., Nov. 8 | at | Nebraska | Lincoln, NE | |
Sat., Nov. 15 | Open | |||
Sat., Nov. 22 | vs | Northwestern | Ann Arbor, Mich. | |
Sat., Nov. 29 | vs | Ohio | Columbus, OH | |
Sat., Dec 6 | Big Ten Championship | Indianapolis, IN | ||
2015 Bowl Game |
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