I left the Big House that crisp fall afternoon encouraged about what was ahead for Brady Hoke’s men. Sure, Michigan lost, but they showed a lot of moxie after some pretty weak capitulations earlier in the season, and walking out, the general feeling was that they’d run a very good Buckeyes team right to the wire – and were only a successful two-point conversion away from actually beating the undefeated rivals – and that the contest was a turning point for the program coming off a 7-6 2013.
Sure, most people thought that their offense could be upgraded if Al Borges was fired – and he was – but there wasn’t any sort of rabid panic, not after their unranked team nearly took down a true National Championship contender.
Sadly I, and the thousands who chattered around me last November as we digested the game and Michigan’s efforts on the way out of The Big House, were wrong. We were dead wrong. Based on current evidence, the Ohio State game last year was a false dawn. Over summer, somehow, the Wolverines have regressed.
Five weeks into the 2014 season, the maize and blue brigade are sitting at a shocking 2-3, with two home losses blotting their copybook. A far cry from home domination that’s been a hallmark of head coach Brady Hoke’s time in Ann Arbor.
It used to be that Hoke’s Michigan teams only struggled on the road. Now they’re struggling everywhere, and Saturday’s 30-14 capitulation to Minnesota, a game where the scoreboard after sixty minutes probably flattered the Wolverines. They were embarrassed at Notre Dame, embarrassed by Utah in Ann Arbor and again by Minnesota. Stick a fork in them now. Michigan are done for the year.
Imagine that. The Michigan Wolverines being declared dead, buried and gone in the fifth week of the season. It’s unheard of and unexpected, and no wonder the groundswell of support that Brady Hoke once enjoyed at the Big House has disappeared as quickly as most of the fans who used to pack the venerable stadium.
There were more than 100,000 fans in attendance – as there’s been more than 100,000 fans in attendance at every Michigan home game since the mid-1970s – last November when I was there, but a combination of strange ticketing schemes and the fact that their team stinks has that record in serious jeopardy. Indeed, the school will have to give away thousands of tickets if they want to keep that impressive streak going, because fans aren’t parting with their hard-earned coin to watch the mess that their beloved team has become.
I never thought it was possible, but the Wolverines under Hoke are a worse mess than they were under Rich Rodriguez. That’s really saying something. At least the Wolverines managed to beat Notre Dame under Rich Rod. They can’t even beat Minnesota now. No disrespect to the Gophers, but they’re not a traditional power, and, traditionally, Michigan’s rolled them.
The 2-3 record to close out September isn’t just bad, it’s historically bad. For the first time since the1930s, the Wolverines have three losses before the calendar turns to October, and for a proud program, one accustomed to winning Big Ten (and national) championships, it’s unacceptable.
Unquestionably, Hoke’s head is on the chopping block. A blistering debut season in 2011 saw the Wolverines beat Ohio State for the first time in a long time, and win a Sugar Bowl title. Since then, there’s been little to write home about, and there are plenty of fingers being pointed at Hoke and his coaching staff.
Let’s be honest here: the Wolverines are recruiting talented players. It just seems that being around the current state of the Michigan program is apparently sapping said talent. The offense was meant to be better this year, after Borges was jettisoned – it might’ve been a lucky thing for Borges, given how this season as progressed – in favour of ex-Alabama offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier.
That’s done little to no good. Some Michigan fans are doubtless pining for Borges to return, and Nussmeier is being criticised in Ann Arbor by all and sundry. It’s a tough place to coach football when you’re not putting up points and yards. After all, that’s the expectation at Michigan: winning games, winning conference titles, winning national championships. I don’t know that Nussmeier’s tenure could’ve started any worse than it has.
Incumbent quarterback Devin Gardner has regressed mightily this season. He was benched against Minnesota on Saturday, and the replacement starter, Shane Morris, wasn’t much better. The Wolverines have talent around Gardner, but guys like Devin Funchess aren’t getting the football enough. Turnovers are absolutely crippling whatever offensive spark Michigan have, and that isn’t much.
So where to from here? Well, Hoke would be lucky – incredibly lucky – to see out the season. He’s a dead man walking at this point, and Athletic Director Dave Brandon might be out the door, too.
Apparently Brandon’s about as popular as Hoke in Ann Arbor right now, and that’s really saying something. It would take Hoke running the table and thumping Ohio State to give him even a remote chance of retaining his job. Even that might not be enough.
Michigan need to rebuild. Again. They thought the rebuild was going swimmingly after Hoke’s first year. If they were swimming then, the Wolverines are drowning now. When Michigan football fans stop going to the game, that’s a bad sign. These are traditionally rusted-on supporters, fanatics in the best sense of the word. Seeing so many empty seats at the Big House is a shocking scene. It’s bad for college football.
So, with Hoke almost certain to be axed, talk will doubtless shift to his replacement. Les Miles and John Harbaugh will be mentioned, both Michigan men of some repute. Whether they’ll want such a big rebuilding job is the real question to be answered.
You couldn’t blame a coach for not wanting to jump onto the floundering ship. Michigan are at sixes and sevens. It’s sad to see what this program has become.
Really sad.
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