A View From the Bleachers

By Peter Robins-Brown

The on-field debut of the Rich Rodriguez era at the University of Michigan this past Saturday, against the University of Utah, was about as successful as it had been off the field, just a few months ago.

No matter how mortified you may have been by the legal wrangling between Rodriguez and the University of West Virginia, you were in no way prepared for the abysmal performance of Michigan’s offense. If you found the whole paper-shredding incident to be a shameless fiasco, you obviously hadn’t yet witnessed the even fouler display that was to be put on by the Wolverine defense in the first half.

After one of the most brutal coaching transitions in college football history; where, in West Virginia, an entire state openly foamed at the mouth over their perceived betrayal by Rodriguez; it was important for “Rich-Rod” (as the kids are calling him) to come out and show that, despite having a roster that is ill-suited to his system, he would be able to hold off the upstart intruders from Utah.

That, of course, turned out not to be the case. Rodriguez’s famed “spread offense” was ineffective without a running threat at quarterback, or for that matter, a throwing quarterback. But everyone knew there would be growing pains on the offensive side of the ball.

More disconcerting was the defense’s listless attempts at thwarting Utah’s charge. Through the air and on the ground, the Utes pressed forward with little or no resistance from the Wolverines. Not until the second half, when Utah began to play an ultra-conservative game plan, did Michigan manage to inflict any damage on either side of the ball.

It was a terrible start for a coach and an administration that needed to begin to put the ugliness of the past year behind them.

On the other side of the country, the state’s other Big Ten team also faced off with a tough opponent to start the season. The Spartans of Michigan State traveled to Berkeley, California to take on the Cal Bears. Unfortunately, the results were much the same.

As always, Sparty will be looking to emerge from the purgatory of mediocrity their program seems to have been mired in for most of the past two decades. There is hope, though. It is very likely that Cal is a really good team, and that MSU simply caught a good team on the road early in the year.

However disappointing the season’s first weekend was in Michigan, college football is always a welcome sight. I’m looking forward to the next few months of Saturdays being spent at the shrine of college football.