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

This book by noted author John U. Bacon promises to be the most complete and revealing account of the turbulent tenure of Rich Rodriguez as Michigan head football coach.
Weighing in at 448 pages, I expect an unflinching account of exactly what happened. Bacon had amazing access to Michigan administrators, coaches, and players. At the beginning of the project few could imagine how badly things would turn out.
Was the hire doomed from the start? Did Michigan insiders who disliked RichRod from the beginning undermine him? Did RichRod’s loyalty to his assistants doom the defense to failure? How much did RichRod’s inner circle contribute to his public relations gaffes?
I can’t wait to find out.
Available for pre-order now

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. 3vsWestern MichiganAnn Arbor, Mich.W, 34-10
Sat., Sep. 10vsNotre DameAnn Arbor, Mich.W, 35-31
Sat., Sep. 17vsEastern MichiganAnn Arbor, Mich.W, 31-3
Sat., Sep. 24vsSan Diego StateAnn Arbor, Mich.W, 28-7
Sat., Oct. 1vsMinnesotaAnn Arbor, Mich.W, 58-0
Sat., Oct. 8atNorthwesternEvanston, Ill.W, 42-24
Sat., Oct. 15atMichigan StateEast Lansing, Mich.L, 28-14
Sat., Oct. 29vsPurdue (Homecoming)Ann Arbor, Mich.W, 36-14
Sat., Nov. 5atIowaIowa City, IowaL, 24-16
Sat., Nov. 12atIllinoisChampaign, Ill.W, 31-14
Sat., Nov. 19vsNebraskaAnn Arbor, Mich.W, 45-17
Sat., Nov. 26vsOhio StateAnn Arbor, Mich.W, 40-34
2012 Sugar Bowl
Tues, Jan. 3Virginia StateNew Orleans, LAW, 23-20 (OT)

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Sat., Sep. 1atAlabamaArlington, TX
Sat., Sep. 8vsAir ForceAnn Arbor, Mich.
Sat., Sep. 15vsMassachusettsAnn Arbor, Mich.
Sat., Sep. 22atNotre DameSouth Bend, IN
Sat., Sep. 29Bye
Sat., Oct. 6atPurdueWest Lafayette, IN
Sat., Oct. 13vsIllinois (Homecoming)Ann Arbor, Mich.
Sat., Oct. 20vsMichigan StateAnn Arbor, Mich.
Sat., Oct. 27atNebraskaLincoln, NE
Sat., Nov. 3atMinnesotaMinneapolis, MN
Sat., Nov. 10vsNorthwesternAnn Arbor, Mich.
Sat., Nov. 17vsIowaAnn Arbor, Mich.
Sat., Nov. 24atOhioColumbus, OH
Sat., Dec 1Big Ten ChampionshipIndianapolis, IN
2013 Bowl Game

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Sat., Aug. 31vsCentral MichiganAnn Arbor, Mich.
Sat., Sep. 7vsNotre DameAnn Arbor, Mich.
Sat., Sep. 14vsAkronAnn Arbor, Mich.
Sat., Sep. 21atConnecticutEast Hartford, CT
Sat., Sep. 28Bye
Sat., Oct. 5vsMinnesotaAnn Arbor, Mich.
Sat., Oct. 12atPenn StateHappy Valley, PA
Sat., Oct. 19vsIndianaAnn Arbor, Mich.
Sat., Oct. 26Bye
Sat., Nov. 2atMichigan StateEast Lansing, MI
Sat., Nov. 9vsNebraskaAnn Arbor, Mich.
Sat., Nov. 16atNorthwesternEvanston, IL
Sat., Nov. 23atIowaIowa City, IA
Sat., Nov. 30vsOhioAnn Arbor, Mich.
Sat., Dec 7Big Ten ChampionshipIndianapolis, IN
2014 Bowl Game

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Sat., Aug. 30vsAppalachian StateAnn Arbor, Mich.
Sat., Sep. 6atNotre DameSouth Bend, IN
Sat., Sep. 13TBA
Sat., Sep. 20TBA
Sat., Sep. 27atIndianaBloomington, IN
Sat., Oct. 4Open
Sat., Oct. 11vsMichigan StateAnn Arbor, Mich.
Sat., Oct. 18atMinnesotaMinneapolis, MN
Sat., Oct. 25vsPenn StateAnn Arbor, Mich.
Sat., Nov. 1vsIowaAnn Arbor, Mich.
Sat., Nov. 8atNebraskaLincoln, NE
Sat., Nov. 15Open
Sat., Nov. 22vsNorthwesternAnn Arbor, Mich.
Sat., Nov. 29vsOhioColumbus, OH
Sat., Dec 6Big Ten ChampionshipIndianapolis, IN
2015 Bowl Game

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