Coach, interrupted.

If he only knew.

The "suspense" is finally over, as Michigan pulled the plug on the Rich Rodriguez Experiment, ending one of the worst 3 year runs in school history, in which the Wolverines posted a 15-22 record.  The most important stat during this period is the 0-6 record against Ohio State and Michigan State.

Bo Schembechler once said that "Only a Michigan man will coach Michigan".  According to various interpretations, I have come to understand that it means someone who identifies and understands, what it means to be associated with the University of Michigan.  I'm not really sure, but that's the vibe I get.  Of course I could be wrong, and if so, will the real Michigan men please stand up and educate me.

What I do know however, is that if you're the head coach at Michigan, you have to BEAT Ohio State.  If you're the coach at Ohio State, you do not lose to THAT SCHOOL UP NORTH!!  Failure to beat the other consistently could result in you looking for another line of work.  It's just that simple; anything less is unacceptable.  Ask John Cooper or Lloyd Carr how it worked out for them.

After Bo, there was Gary Moeller, then Lloyd Carr; Michigan Men.  So when it became news that Rich Rodriguez would be the next man to lead Michigan, that just didn't sound right.  First of all, he's a Mountaineer through and through, having played for West Virginia.  Secondly, he just didn't look like he fit the bill of a "Michigan Man".  He bled West Virginia "blue and gold" and not Michigan "maize and blue".  It was doomed from the start.

Rich Rod had taken West Virginia from the middle of the pack in the Big East, to one game short of playing for the national title.  Over his final three seasons, he had a 32-5 record and the Mountaineers were not only contending for Big East titles but BCS Bowl games as well.  From the looks of it, he had a good thing going on at Morgantown and had attained a cult hero status.

All that changed when he bailed on his team three weeks before the Fiesta Bowl, to become the next coach at Michigan.  As doomed as it seems, I can't fault him for taking the job.  How often does a job like this become available?  Whatever it is that West Virginia had, Michigan had more of it or just better; history, facilities, recruiting pool, money.  Michigan even helped buy out his contract at West Virginia.

However, once he landed in Ann Arbor, you knew things weren't going to work out when: your star quarterback transfers because he can't see how he would fit your offensive schemes, you star receiver opts to enter the NFL draft (probably because he just doesn't want to play for you) and a key lineman transfers to - get ready for this - Ohio State!!  In case you're wondering, I'm talking about Ryan Mallett, Mario Manningham and Justin Boren (in that order).

When Terrelle Pryor, then a highly recruited quarterback who would have fit Rich Rod's offensive scheme perfectly, chose Ohio State over Michigan, it really killed any chances of Rodriguez making an immediate impact in his first season.  Seeing the kind of player Pryor has turned out for the Buckeyes, you can see why his services were in high demand.

Everything else pretty much went haywire after that.  Where do you start, the back to back losing seasons?  The NCAA Violations?  The fact that his "run-first spread option" offense just wasn't getting it done (even though Denard Robinson ran it like a natural)?  Or even worse; a school that had built a reputation for being one of the better defenses in the country, couldn't even stop a 1-AA team?  If they had anything resembling a defense, they might have been better than the 7-5 record they posted in the regular season.

Having gone lost to Michigan State and Ohio State in his three seasons, the 52-14 beatdown his team suffered at the hands of Mississippi State in the Gator Bowl had all but sealed his fate.  By then, everyone had seen enough and it became a matter of just how fast can they fire this guy.  This whole situation was taking it's toll on him.  The guy was breaking down in banquets, quoting Bible verses and lines from Josh Groban (and this is when you know you can't get any lower).  In the press conference after the Gator Bowl, when reporters kept asking him about his future, his response was , "you're asking the wrong guy."  Knowing what happened next, they probably figured who the right guy was.

For what it's worth, at least he gave it a try, but it just didn't work out.  Maybe he's better off now and I'm sure he'll get another chance sometime.  Whatever direction Michigan goes from here, you can at least hope that they'll try and get it right this time.

Leaders, legends....LOSERS!!!

In case anyone was even paying attention, the Big Ten opened the New Year by going 0-5 in their respective bowl games.  It could be 0-6 if you want to count Nebraska, judging by the way they played against Washington; a team who they routed 56-21 in Seattle, earlier in the season.  The Cornhuskers aren't officially in the Big Ten, but they might as well be.

Let's look at how it all went down.

1. Texas Tech 45, Northwestern 38: The Red Raiders jumped to a big lead and were able to withstand a late rally by the Wildcats.
2. Alabama 49, Michigan State 7: This game was effectively over when the Tide went up 28-0 at the half; thanks to a 21 point second quarter.  Mark Ingram and Julio Jones put on quite a show in what could possibly be their final collegiate game.  And Nick Saban, way to stick it to you former employers.
3. Florida 37, Penn State 24: The Nittany Lions held a 24-20 lead going into the final period, but Florida put up 17 points including Ahmad Black's interception return for a touchdown to seal the game.  Urban Meyer got to sign off on a winning note.
4. Mississippi State 52, Michigan 14: The Wolverines led 14-10 at one point in this game.  Fortunately for Miss St, Michigan didn't have a defense; and that explains where the 42 unanswered points came from.  This pretty much was the final nail in Rich Rodriguez' coffin.
5. TCU 21, Wisconsin 19: In their first ever Rose Bowl (something that Brent Musburger didn't fail to point out every other minute), the Horned Frogs did enough to hold off the Badgers.  First, they stopped Wisconsin on a 2 point conversion attempt that would have tied the game, then recovered the ensuing onside kick; winning the Granddaddy of them all for every little school out there.

Just based on these results, would it be fair to say that the Big Ten is overrated?  I'll let you decide.