Notes, quotes · Strategy and personnel · inside slant
One of the knocks on Rich Rodriguez since the day he took over the head coaching job at Michigan is that he has never put the Ohio State game in its proper context. those who have harped on every word Rodriguez has spoken and every move he has made will claim that he just doesn’t understand what Michigan-Ohio State means.
Rodriguez never said it was just another game, nor did he indicate that he was treating it in that manner. he just did not approach the game with the same zeal that his predecessors had, nor express the passion that his counterpart at Ohio State has always attached to the season-ending game.
Michigan got drilled 42-7 in 2008 in the first meeting with Ohio State for a Rodriguez-coached bunch of Wolverines. it was 21-10 Ohio State last year — closer and more respectable, but weather likely played a bigger role in keeping the score down than Rodriguez did.
As he approaches his third meeting with Ohio State, Rodriguez is in a very precarious place. the dominant issue is not that the hated Buckeyes have won six straight in this series, although that adds to the pressure on the Michigan side. the theme now concerns how this year’s version of "the Game" will impact the future of Rodriguez at Michigan.
Although he has the Wolverines at 7-4 and preparing to play in a bowl for the first time since the 2007 season, Rodriguez is still on thin ice as far as his future in Ann Arbor. how he fares against the Buckeyes in his third meeting with them could determine his fate. not many expect the defensively limited Wolverines to beat Terrelle Pryor and the Buckeyes, but Rodriguez will need to keep it respectable. If he allows his team to be embarrassed again on the national stage, his long-term employment at Michigan becomes more precarious.
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nbsp, ohio state game, predecessors, proper context, rich rodriguez, wolverines
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