For the second time this season State trailed at the half against a team they should have overmatched. But they got rolling in the second half at least and put the game away. CJ Leslie scored 19 points. Tracy Smith scored 11 of his 16 points in the second half, in his return to the starting lineup. Ryan Harrow had 17 points. Scott Wood had 11 of his 13 points in the second half, and Richard Howell added 11.
State pulled away to win 87-72. They enter conference play at 10-4. I'd call that an unproven 10-4 though since, with the possible exception of a win over George Mason, the four quality teams they played were all losses.
I would imagine a bottom half finish in the ACC would cost Sidney Lowe his job.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
So I just finished reading Duff McKagan's article at ESPN.com
Wait? Duff McKagan writes articles for ESPN.com? Duff McKagan has functional brain cells left after his Guns 'N' Roses days?
Apparently so. I'll mark this down as the least likely thing that I expected to encounter today. *Bigfoot, The Loch Ness Monster, the surviving aliens from the Roswell Crash, and a productive US Congress filled with the spirit of teamwork all nod in agreement*
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/thelife/music/news/story?id=5988617
Apparently so. I'll mark this down as the least likely thing that I expected to encounter today. *Bigfoot, The Loch Ness Monster, the surviving aliens from the Roswell Crash, and a productive US Congress filled with the spirit of teamwork all nod in agreement*
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/thelife/music/news/story?id=5988617
Okay NOW Rich Rodriguez has been fired
It is official. Let's hope that the search for a new head football coach isn't conducted to the tune of Yakety Sax.
the mystery continues
First Rich Rodriguez was fired according to Detroit news outlets. Then he wasn't fired according to a statement from Michigan. Now he is fired, according to more sources reporting to ESPN.
Schrodinger's Coach....cat may or may not be included, but it could probably coach defense better than the current staff.
Schrodinger's Coach....cat may or may not be included, but it could probably coach defense better than the current staff.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
RichRod Gone?
The Fox affiliate out of Detroit is reporting that Michigan has fired Rich Rodriguez. There's no official word from the school yet, nor any word regarding a replacement.
I hope Michigan has a better plan than the post-Lloyd Carr retirement. At that time Les Miles of LSU was Plan A, B, and C. When he decided to stay in Baton Rouge Michigan was left scrambling.
I do feel bad for Rich Rodriguez. He seems like a legitimately nice guy. When he came to Michigan he was one of the country's Golden Boy Coaches, after building West Virginia into national championship contenders. He was up there with Urban Meyer and anyone with the last name of Stoops.
Three years later he leaves Michigan with 1 bowl appearance, no bowl wins, no winning records in the Big Ten. Only one overall winning record. Michigan is on NCAA Probation for violations under his watch. I'm sure he'll find another job quickly but his penny isn't quite as shiny leaving Ann Arbor as it was arriving.
I hope Michigan has a better plan than the post-Lloyd Carr retirement. At that time Les Miles of LSU was Plan A, B, and C. When he decided to stay in Baton Rouge Michigan was left scrambling.
I do feel bad for Rich Rodriguez. He seems like a legitimately nice guy. When he came to Michigan he was one of the country's Golden Boy Coaches, after building West Virginia into national championship contenders. He was up there with Urban Meyer and anyone with the last name of Stoops.
Three years later he leaves Michigan with 1 bowl appearance, no bowl wins, no winning records in the Big Ten. Only one overall winning record. Michigan is on NCAA Probation for violations under his watch. I'm sure he'll find another job quickly but his penny isn't quite as shiny leaving Ann Arbor as it was arriving.
RichRod Update
ESPN is reporting that Michigan's AD will be meeting with Rich Rodriguez "imminently" about his status.
Translated: Michigan will be firing Rich Rodriguez imminently.
Translated: Michigan will be firing Rich Rodriguez imminently.
Monday, January 3, 2011
ESPN is reporting that Jim Harbaugh "is not expected to return to Stanford"
No word on where he is expected to go. If he's going elsewhere I would be very surprised if it was somewhere other than Michigan. The Michigan job would return him to his alma mater, where he would be greeted as the savior arriving to resurrect the glory of the Michigan program. In addition to the frustration and embarrassment created during the Rich Rodriguez tenure, Harbaugh's return would bring back one of Michigan's most popular former players, and re-establish a direct link to the Bo Schembechler era.
If he goes to the NFL he's just another NFL coach trying to juggle some high draft picks into a more successful team. The NFL is littered with former coaches who were very successful NFL coaches. Look at Pete Carroll. Sure he took the Seahawks to the playoffs. But that's more a tribute to how crappy the NFC West was. Seattle finished 7-9 and are the first division champion with a losing record in NFL history. Sure when they fly that flag atop the stadium next season it will say "NFC West Champions" and the record won't be mentioned. But still, they finished one game better than the Lions.
If Harbaugh does come to Michigan I sure hope he handles his Stanford departure better than Rick Edsell handled his exit at UConn to head to Maryland. Edsell didn't take the team flight home after the bowl game. Players started getting texts that he was jumping ship around the time they got off the plane in Connecticut. Apparently only a few players got the courtesy of a personal phone call. That's pretty douchey. Especially for a unit that had bonded tightly in the aftermath of having a player get murdered last year.
I'm not saying there's no problem with leaving for another job. UConn wouldn't hesitate to fire him. Look at how Maryland handled Ralph Friedgen. He won 6 more games than last year. Earned a bowl game and won it. Won ACC Coach of the Year, not for the first time in his run at Maryland I believe. Had the ACC Offensive Freshman of the Year in his QB, so he had some weapons to continue solid success. And got fired anyway.
Universities don't show loyalty to coaches either, but Edsell owed his players better than a few text messages, then letting the news get spread around word of mouth. Especially after he made a player announce in front of the whole team that he was leaving for the NFL.
If he goes to the NFL he's just another NFL coach trying to juggle some high draft picks into a more successful team. The NFL is littered with former coaches who were very successful NFL coaches. Look at Pete Carroll. Sure he took the Seahawks to the playoffs. But that's more a tribute to how crappy the NFC West was. Seattle finished 7-9 and are the first division champion with a losing record in NFL history. Sure when they fly that flag atop the stadium next season it will say "NFC West Champions" and the record won't be mentioned. But still, they finished one game better than the Lions.
If Harbaugh does come to Michigan I sure hope he handles his Stanford departure better than Rick Edsell handled his exit at UConn to head to Maryland. Edsell didn't take the team flight home after the bowl game. Players started getting texts that he was jumping ship around the time they got off the plane in Connecticut. Apparently only a few players got the courtesy of a personal phone call. That's pretty douchey. Especially for a unit that had bonded tightly in the aftermath of having a player get murdered last year.
I'm not saying there's no problem with leaving for another job. UConn wouldn't hesitate to fire him. Look at how Maryland handled Ralph Friedgen. He won 6 more games than last year. Earned a bowl game and won it. Won ACC Coach of the Year, not for the first time in his run at Maryland I believe. Had the ACC Offensive Freshman of the Year in his QB, so he had some weapons to continue solid success. And got fired anyway.
Universities don't show loyalty to coaches either, but Edsell owed his players better than a few text messages, then letting the news get spread around word of mouth. Especially after he made a player announce in front of the whole team that he was leaving for the NFL.
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