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发帖数: 11198 | 1 Stevens: Time for RichRod to go
http://www.ourmidland.com/sports/article_e673b6e1-246f-5da3-bffb-ce9153a3b956.html
Posted: Sunday, November 28, 2010 7:00 am | Updated: 3:47 am, Sun Nov 28,
2010.
Stevens: Time for RichRod to go By the Midland Daily News Midland Daily News
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Before Saturday, when people asked, I told them that Rich Rodriguez would --
and possibly should -- get another year at Michigan, assuming that he would
have to throw the defensive coaching staff under the bus in order to keep
his job.
Not now.
Now I think RichRod is a sure-fire goner. And he should be.
The RichRod mess hit rock-bottom in Columbus, Ohio on Saturday in a 37-7
mismatch against Ohio State University. That score, by the way, means that
Rodriguez's Michigan teams have lost the past three years to the Buckeyes by
a combined score of 100-24. That's not only sad, but embarrassing.
And what makes this loss so cruel is that some Buckeyes are now feeling a
bit of pity toward the Wolverines. Can you believe that? That's the gist of
some comments that I read when I cruised some Ohio newssites on Saturday
following the game.
Good thing Bo's not alive, because he would implode if he knew that. No
Wolverine in his right mind wants a Buckeye to feel sorry for him. Even OSU
coach Jim Tressel made some comments suggesting that all RichRod needs is a
bit more time in order to succeed. Yeah, right. Tressel owns RichRod, and
therefore wants him around as long as possible.
And remember Tressel's comments after taking the OSU job 10 years ago? He
said the first order of business was to beat the school up north (Michigan).
And he's done just that -- over and over again. It's at the sad point that
the OSU-Michigan game is no longer THE game in the Big Ten. It hasn't been
that way for three years -- the length of Rodriguez's stay in Ann Arbor. The
rivalry is back to what it was in the 1960s before Bo Schembechler arrived
on campus -- total OSU domination.
That right there is enough to get RichRod the boot.
Yet, sadly, there's more.
Michigan is not even a top-25 program, much less a top-10 program, where it
should be. It finished 7-5, losing five of its last seven games. In his
first two years on the job, Rodriguez went 3-9 and 5-7.
Michigan is no longer a threat to win the Big Ten and is now mentioned in
the same breath as the Indianas and Illinoises of the world, schools
normally at the bottom of the conference. Michigan's league record in the
Rodriguez era is 6-18.
Michigan no longer even rules the state. That torch has been passed to that
school in East Lansing, which just won a share of the Big Ten title on
Saturday in impressive fashion. Michigan State owns Michigan and shows no
signs of giving up that title any time soon.
Michigan's defense is absolutely brutal, having given up 34 or more points
in eight games this season. Injuries and youth? Who cares? They're not any
good and likely won't be even when the youth grows up and the injured return
to the lineup. The defense is under-sized and lacks Big Ten-caliber speed.
Even former Michigan players are starting to weigh in. Ex-Michigan kicker
Jay Feely tweeted that he and Steve Breaston and other Wolverines are
ashamed of the product that Michigan is putting on the field.
The momentum is building and building. The kettle is getting hotter and
hotter. Wolverines can no longer stomach what they're witnessing, and
something is about to explode. Sure, RichRod has his supporters, but at this
point, I don't think it really matters.
At Michigan, three years of mediocre to bad records is shameful and
unacceptable, and that means something's gotta give -- RichRod's job.
Most Michigan fans want Jim Harbaugh back in Ann Arbor. He's turned Stanford
into a Pac 10 powerhouse, and, supposedly, Michigan is his dream job.
It's time for that dream to come true and time to end the RichRod nightmare.
It's time for the experiment to end. Michigan needs to get back to playing
Michigan football -- tough, physical and stubborn defensively.
That's what fans want. And RichRod can't make it happen.
So it's time for him to go.
Chris Stevens is sports editor of the Daily News. Email him at stevens@mdn.
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