A non-humorous post from (Hawkeye fan) Iowahawk, heavy on the numbers.
Tomorrow is pretty much do or die for Michigan. Considering that they still have to play Ohio State and Wisconsin, Purdue is probably their best if not only chance to win that sixth game and get bowl eligible. The season that started out so promising, with a 4-0 record, has fallen apart, their having won only one game since that start. They simply have no defense, to first order, and the games they’ve won against serious opponents have only happened because they managed to get more points on the board. In addition, their turnover percentage has been horrendous. They came close to pulling it out against both Michigan State and Iowa, but the last two games, against Penn State and Illinois, turned into blowouts. They can beat Purdue tomorrow, but only with a little help from the Boilermakers. Fortunately for the Wolverines, Purdue’s performance last week offers hope that they’ll give them a lot. It could be a very ugly game from both teams.
That one win was by a scheduling fluke, a midseason “cupcake” team that made up for the lack of a bye week. So unless by some miracle the Wolverines actually manage to beat OSU, I don’t see Rich Rodriguez coming back next fall, with only six wins and a bowl this year. He’ll have to beat both Purdue and Wisconsin, and do it in convincing fashion, to keep his job.
Thankfully, Iowahawk admits the same thing that most level-headed Iowa fans have admitted, namely that Kirk Ferentz is, in fact, sane.
The sanity I’m referring to is at the end of the article:
I’ve said to others, and I’ll repeat it here, that watching the Hawks this year is like watching the Cubs, just without all of the losing. The blood pressure and indigestion are still there, though.
I was going to say before the game that it would take more than a win against Purdue to justify Ricky Ricardo’s continued employment. Yesterday’s action made it moot, two back to back losses by late collapses against the two of the worst teams in the Big 10, cobined with the embarassing loss to rival MSU and the inevitable loss to OSU, continue the decline of a once proud program. The one lone bright spot, the Notre Dame win, looks far less impressive given the Irish’s own collapse. RR has conclusively proven that while he could succeed against subpar competition in the middle of nowhere with WV, he’s clearly not up to coaching in the Big 10. Fire him now, don’t even wait till the end of the season.