Hail to the Victors

I'll admit to buying into the Rich Rodriguez Experience. From all indications, Lloyd Carr was running a country club these last few years. That might be the explanation for his extremely talented teams never reaching their potential. Year in and year out they have been one of the most disappointed teams in the country. If Rodriguez can install any sense of accountability and toughen up the team, they should be able to reach their potential. Unless Michigan really suffers through hard times, recruiting will never be an issue. It will be extremely fun and interesting to see what Rodriguez can do with the type of 4 and 5 star athletes he could not get at West Virginia.

That being said, I am a little puzzled by the doom and gloom from most prognosticators. This especially coming after the extreme optimism for Notre Dame, with most experts thinking 8+ wins is realistic after a 3 win season. Just seems odd for most experts to think Michigan will win maybe 6 games. After all, this is a program that has not had a losing season in nearly 40 years. And if Carr were still coach, I would guess some experts would label them a darkhorse. The talent is there - it's just unproven. And this is still the Big Ten, which better than last year is still down. If they only finish .500 in the conference and 3-1 in the preseason, they end up 7-5. Based on that, I would argue that 6-6 is the worst case scenario with 8-4 a great year. While not contending for a national or even Big Ten title, it's not the end of Michigan football as we know it. Then again, ESPN is not about actual insights anymore - it's about making controversy and big bold statements. Hence, the return to prominence of Notre Dame football and the demise of the Michigan program.

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sports college football media experts ESPN Michigan Notre Dame Rich Rodriguez