Michigan is better than Eastern Michigan in football

The mighty Michigan Wolverines proved that they are without a doubt the best football team in Washtenaw County. In an amazing display of fortitude, Michigan bounced back with an impressive domination of the Sisters of the Poor. I understand that home games against weak competition are vital for Michigan’s athletic department. Bill Martin should schedule zero non-conference road games. There really is no incentive to play anyone on the road. Having said that, if you crush Eastern Michigan 55-0, please don’t make it into something it’s not. I read a comment about how balanced the UM offense looked. Really? You mean Michigan looked balanced against Eastern Michigan? I don’t want to hear post-game quotes about how Henne looked good and the offense and defense dominated. Where was all that last week?

Like I said, I won’t fault the team for playing Eastern, but I’m tired of hearing how much the team has improved in one week because they crushed one of the worst teams in D-1 football. Lloyd Carr had nine months to prepare his team for the Notre Dame game and failed miserably. I doubt that they miraculously improved considerably in one week after the Notre Dame game. I suppose you could take the angle that it does no good to rehash the Notre Dame loss. I would agree with you if the Notre Dame loss was an isolated incident. The fact of the matter is that the leadership of Michigan football needs to be dealt with. The only constant over the last ten years has been the coaching staff. Michigan coaches might try to spin it. The media might try to spin it (although some of them are finally catching on). Some fans will surely try to spin it. But, the fact remains that Michigan underachieving is not a one time deal.

I guess what I’m saying is that it doesn’t matter if Michigan wins this week or next week. It doesn’t matter if they bounce back to finish 9-3 (which stinks in my book). You can’t fix a weed problem by cutting the weeds. You have to pull them out by the root. By falsely proclaiming “problem solved” after every bounce-back win over Eastern Michigan and Northwestern, the weeds are simply being cut halfway down. It’s possible to avoid the “bounce-back victory” all together if the roots were pulled. I go through this same process every year. I watch everyone jump back on the ship after a string of expected victories only to be disappointed again and again. It’s a cycle. There are a lot of people that don’t see it because they don’t want to see it.

Michigan should win 90% (which is why they’re favored in close to 90% of their games) of their games based on talent differential alone. Yet, when they beat an average team, somehow that proves Michigan’s place in the college football world. Michigan will likely go into a hostile environment in Madison, Wisconsin this week and beat a Wisconsin team that they’ve beaten six times in a row. The Michigan “National Championship with one loss” hype train will get some steam and the Notre Dame debacle will be forgotten forever. That’s just how it goes. But, at least Michigan beat Eastern Michigan 55-0.