This is the year when Michigan must perform or Rich Rodriguez is probably done as coach. I feel when he took the job it would take a few years and they have had some growing pains and many transfers along the way.
Running the spread offense is not easy and you really need special players with certain skills to get the most out of it. Not everyone will always have Pat White and Steve Slaton so the spread does not always work. You must have talent or it does not really matter how great your offensive scheme is.
Michigan has a good young quarterback in Denard Robinson that should be able to run and pass well enough to run the spread with ease. He is a strong and fast kid with a nice arm that can make the big plays with his arm or legs.
Robinson played very well in the Wolverines opening match-up to start the college football season. He had over 300 yards total offense and seemed to play with poise and composure. While UConn was not the greatest team in the world, they were not too bad either.
The real question is going to be if the defense is good enough to allow Michigan to win 8 – 10 games. I think that is what is needed for Rich Rod to stay a few more years. The Wolverines need victories and going to a small bowl game does not make the fans in Ann Arbor very happy at all.
I saw many fans with the Denard Robinson jersey on and think this guy could be as good as Pat White was running the spread. I bet the bookstore at the school is selling these by the boatloads at this time. We will know more after the Notre Dame game but it appears they are for real this year and could give the teams in the Big Ten a run for the title.
Update: Robinson just had a huge game against ND. I think he had over 500 yards of total offense. Now he is in the Heisman race. Wow, what a game!
The 2011 season is now under way and Michigan has a new coach and a different game plan. Maybe they can find some defense to help Denard.
