Tag: Rich Rodriguez

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𝑳𝑶𝑶𝑲𝑰𝑵𝑮 𝑩𝑨𝑪𝑲: 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑹𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝑹𝒐𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒖𝒆𝒛 𝑬𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕

Looking Back is a Special Feature by Jeff Cummins Highlighting Key Games

The second installment of this week’s series looking at the first games of Michigan head coaches takes us to 2008. The college football landscape was starting to change, and veteran Michigan coach Lloyd Carr had just retired. Michigan had recently hired Bill Martin as athletic director, and he was charged with fixing the financial woes of the department, among other things.

Martin also inherited the task of hiring a new coach, an exercise that turned out to be one of the most curious coaching searches in the university’s history. The name of Les Miles popped up several times, usually with dubious sources. For a few hours, it seemed Michigan found its head coach in Greg Schiano, but the Rutgers coach reconsidered and removed his name from consideration.

Finally, Michigan settled on West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez, who had led several successful teams in recent years. His offensive approach favored the spread option, a strategy that Michigan defenses had found challenging to stop, at times. Defense was a different matter entirely. Rodriguez placed little focus on defense, leaving that matter to his defensive coordinator, Jeff Casteel, who chose not to join Rodriguez on the new Michigan coaching staff. Instead, Rodriguez hired Scott Shafer. Sadly, the union of Rodriguez and Shafer seemed doomed from the start.

In fact, the entire Michigan community seemed split on Rodriguez. Some welcomed a daring excursion toward what they deemed a new frontier. Others regretted the departure from many Michigan traditions. The split in the football community was punctuated by the departure of offensive lineman Justin Boren, who transferred to archrival Ohio State, a move that stunned and angered many among the Michigan faithful.

Nonetheless, on Sept. 3, 2008, with Michigan Stadium undergoing a visible expansion, the Rich Rodriguez era dawned under sunny skies, and optimism was prevalent. It didn’t last long.

Michigan’s opponent, Utah, was coached by Kyle Whittingham, now a familiar name for Michigan fans and alumni. Whittingham was Utah’s defensive coordinator when the Utes visited Michigan Stadium in 2002. On that day, Michigan won a defensive struggle against Utah. This time, the Wolverines would not be so fortunate.

Rodriguez initially chose Nick Sheridan to run the offense, but Sheridan threw an interception into coverage, and Rodriguez insert Steven Threet into the game. Slowly, Michigan fought back. Trailing 25-10, the Wolverines got a hand on a Utah punt in the fourth quarter, giving them good field position. Then Threet found Hemingway in the corner of the south end zone, and Michigan was back in the game. Freshman running back Sam McGuffie scored on a 3-yard run, leaving Michigan behind by just two points. Needing a 2-point conversion, Threet threw to Toney Clemons in the back of the end zone, but the pass was just a little too high.

Finally, on a desperate fourth down, Threet threw to Daryl Stonum on the sideline, but again, the pass was too high, and Utah outlasted Michigan, 25-23.

Michigan’s comeback showcased the potential of the Rodriguez offense, but things never truly jelled during the Rodriguez era, which lasted just three years. Kyle Whittingham went on to lead Utah to a perfect season that year. Wouldn’t it be nice if he accomplished the same feat this year?

Thanks to ESPN and YouTube poster JJ for the attached highlight video of this game. As always, we own nothing and do not profit from this blog post in any way.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIH5CMeXzfo

As always, we own nothing and do not profit from this blog post.


This and other great content can be found at newyorkwolverine.com

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Little Brown Jug — Looking Back – 2015

Looking Back is a Special Feature by Jeff Cummins

The fifth and final installment of the series looking back at the Little Brown Jug rivalry takes us back to 2015. Three years of Rich Rodriguez followed by four years of Brady Hoke left fans and alumni desperate for a positive change. Jim Harbaugh was brought home with a clear mandate: Restore Michigan to its former glory.

Halfway through the season, Michigan had shut out three consecutive opponents, but a punting mishap against Michigan State revived a lot of dreadful memories. Were the Wolverines destined to toil in mediocrity?

The 2015 Little Brown Jug game stared innocently enough. Joey Kerridge scored on a 1-yard fullback dive to give Michigan a 7-3 lead. Then Michigan quarterback Jake Rudock threw a dart to Jehu Chesson for a touchdown to extend Michigan’s lead to 14-3. For a moment, it was starting to feel like an early night for Michigan fans, but Minnesota coach Jerry Kill had instilled a feisty quality in his team, and the next three hours would have Michigan fans searching for the antacid tablets.

The teams traded punches and the lead for the rest of the game. With just a little under five minutes left, Michigan backup quarterback Wilton Speight made arguably the biggest play of his career, connecting with tight end Jake Butt in the end zone to give Michigan the lead. He then bought enough time on the conversion to find Amara Darboh for two points to ensure that a field goal couldn’t beat Michigan. Now the burden shifted back to the Michigan defense.

The defense came very close to ending the game with no drama. Minnesota faced a 3rd down and 17 yards to go, with Michigan in the driver’s seat. Minnesota quarterback Mitch Lender threw a screen pass and Michigan missed a couple of tackles, allowing Rodney Smith to gain 17 yards and the first down. Leidner completed the drive by connecting with Drew Wolitarsky, who caught the ball and landed in the end zone. For a few moments, Michigan fans were contemplating defeat.

But replay confirmed that Wolitarsky’s knee hit the ground before he reached the goal line. Minnesota had the ball inside the Michigan 1-yard line. The situation was far from ideal, but at least now Michigan had a chance. There were 19 seconds left on the clock, but when the clock started, Minnesota wasted a lot of time, only snapping the ball with about seven seconds remaining. On the next play, Leidner scrambled under pressure, and lofted a harmless pass that fell incomplete with two seconds on the clock. There was time for only one more play.

Fortunately, Michigan adhered to the old football adage, “low man wins.” Minnesota lined up in a full house backfield, but Leidner tried to score on a quarterback sneak. He crashed into a veritable wall of humanity, but he never moved the ball across the goal line. Officials reviewed the film, but the call on the field was not changed. Michigan used a goal line stand to stop Minnesota on the final play and win, 29-26.

Michigan starting quarterback Jake Rudock went on to have a very good season, dominating Florida in the Orlando Citrus Bowl in a 41-7 Michigan win. Many members of the Michigan team went on to play in the NFL, but few ever played in a game more exciting than the 2015 Little Brown Jug game.

Many thanks to ESPN, YouTube, and YouTube poster CFB Fans for the broadcast of this game. As always, we own nothing and this blog post is provided strictly for the enjoyment of readers.

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Big Ten Openers – – Wisconsin — Looking Back – 2008

Looking Back is a Special Feature by Jeff Cummins

The third installment of this year’s series looking back at Michigan’s Big Ten opening games takes us back to 2008, the beginning of the Rich Rodriguez era. Landmark victories were few and far between in the Rodriguez era, but for one glorious day, Rodriguez led the Maize and Blue to one of their most unlikely triumphs, making him the toast of Ann Arbor, if only for one game.

Rodriguez never enjoyed complete support in Ann Arbor, and it showed from the beginning. After the first three games of the 2008 campaign, Michigan limped into the Big Ten opener vs. Wisconsin with a 1-2 record. Making matters worse, the game started out poorly for the Wolverines, who made repeated mental errors throughout the first half. By halftime, boos rained down from the Michigan Stadium crowd as the home team went to the locker room trailing 19-0.

Things continued in much the same way throughout the third quarter. If there was a slight glimmer of hope for the Wolverines, their effort was excellent. Their performance of details wasn’t nearly as strong.

Late in the third period, quarterback Steven Threet began to repeatedly probe the Wisconsin secondary with long passes. Finally, with more than two minutes remaining in the third quarter, Threet connected with tight end Kevin Koger for a touchdown pass that swung the momentum solidly in Michigan’s favor. The Wisconsin players, specifically on defense, had been extremely confident all day, but Threet’s scoring pass changed the feeling of the game for both teams.

Slowly, Michigan began to establish confidence, and started producing consistent gains. The spread option offense, largely a mystery to the Wolverines throughout their first three games, suddenly unveiled its potential. The momentum swing reached its zenith when John Thompson intercepted a tipped pass and weaved his way through several players for a touchdown that gave Michigan the lead and sent shock waves throughout the stadium. After Sam McGuffie punched in a short touchdown run, Michigan had a 27-19 lead, yet plenty of drama remained.

With 1:19 left, Wisconsin got the ball for one final possession. The Michigan Stadium faithful turned up the volume as loud as possible, and the defense braced for a dramatic ending. When David Gilreath pulled in a 13-yard touchdown pass from Allan Evridge, The Big House fell silent. Suddenly, Wisconsin was the team playing with nothing to lose. Michigan supporters, accustomed to four decades of stability, were getting used to a new way of life.

Moments later, Evridge connected with Travis Beckum for what looked like the game-tying conversion. Except for the flag on the field.

Wisconsin was penalized for having an ineligible receiver downfield. Michigan, which had committed penalties and unforced mistakes throughout the first half, was suddenly the beneficiary of Wisconsin’s mistake. The ensuing pass sailed high and incomplete, leaving Wisconsin with one final hope: An onsides kick.

Fittingly, Wisconsin’s attempt at an onsides kick didn’t go the required 10 yards, rseulting in a penalty that sealed the decision, and Michigan held on for a 27-25 win.

Rich Rodriguez never went on to achieve much success at Michigan. He beat Notre Dame twice, but he never led Michigan to a Big Ten championship, or to a National Championship. In fact, the greatest moment of his era probably occurred when Brock Mealer led the team out of the tunnel, coming all the way back from a car accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down.

Still, for one day, Rodriguez made good on his promise to make Michigan an exciting, winning team. The memory of that game will last a lifetime.

Thanks to ESPN, the Big Ten Network, and YouTube poster RXwolverine2 for the video of this game. As always, we own nothing and do not profit from this video, which is provided strictly for the enjoyment of readers.



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Michigan vs Michigan State Football – Looking Back – 2008

The second installment of the Michigan-Michigan State series takes us to 2008. For the preceding 39 seasons, Michigan had been coached by descendants of the Bo Schembechler coaching tree, and those coaches produced fairly consistent success, including one perfect season, one national championship, 20 seasons in which Michigan won or tied for the Big Ten championship, and last but not least, pretty consistent success against Michigan State, with the Wolverines winning 30 of the previous 39 games. This produced an expectation of success against the Spartans.

All of that changed in 2008. Having been befuddled on several occasions by coaches who ran the spread offense, Michigan hired Rich Rodriguez, a spread guru, as its new head coach. Both sides will debate the reasons, but the Rodriguez regime didn’t produce the results that Michigan fans and alumni were anticipating. Conversely, Michigan State chose the opposite path, and had hired Mark Dantonio as its head coach the year before. Dantonio brought a basic I-formation offense back to Michigan State, and his focus on the power running game probably should have concerned Michigan from the outset. In 2007, Michigan defeated Michigan State with a classic comeback victory, prompting an exchange of comments in the media between Michigan running back Mike Hart and Dantonio. The rivalry probably would have experienced a shift at that point anyway, but Hart’s comments probably didn’t help matters.

Once the game started, it featured an interesting call, which is consistent with many of the games in this series. Running back Brandon Minor caught a pass and got his foot on a pylon, but it was initially ruled incomplete. After a review, the play was ruled a touchdown, which the network broadcast later said was incorrect. Ultimately, it didn’t matter much. Michigan State seized control the game in the final quarter, and came away with a 35-21 win, signaling the beginning of a Spartan green trend in the series.

Sadly, Rich Rodriguez never did figure out how to win in this series.

https://youtu.be/VQDgV7cFUo4