2009 Record: 5-7 (1-7)
Head Coach: Rich Rodriguez (8-16, 3rd season...113-78-2 overall)
Offensive Coordinator: Calvin Magee (3rd season)
Defensive Coordinator: Greg Robinson (2nd season)
2009 Bowl Game: Two miserable wins away
Offense: For the first time since arriving in Ann Arbor, Rodriguez will have a returning QB to give his spread option offense some stability. He has two young QBs who have developed rather well considering the pressures of the position. Tate Forcier looke spectacular at times, and has some fire. Denard Robinson is freakishky athletic, and has his own skill sets seperate from Forcier. One of them will start, but don't be surprised if Rodriguez uses them both again. 4 players will battle it out to be the new RB (Vincent Smith, Fitzgerald Toussaint, Michael Shaw, and Mike Cox). Junior Hemmingway and Martavious Odoms return at WR, and Darryl Stonum and Roy Roundtree will rotate in as well. The line returns three starters, which will help tremendously.
Defense: Brandon Graham is gone, but there is depth on the line, so there is no need to panic. There will be a new 3-3-5 scheme, so there will be two returning starters on the line, making Greg Banks or Will Heininger the only new starter at DE. Craig Boh returns at LB, as do Jonas Mouton and Obi Ezeh. Boh is a special player and is about to break out. Kevin Leach and JB Fitzgerald are expected to push Mouton and Ezeh for playing time. The secondary will be extremely young, as CB Troy Woolfolk will be the only player (senior) older than a sophomore to man a starting spot. The staff is very high on redshirt freshman FS Cam Gordon.
Special Teams: Will Hagerup, a freshman, is expected to take over at punter for Zoltan Mesko, who was drafted by New England. A freshman is also expected to win the PK job (Brendon Gibbons). This could get interesting.
2010 Schedule
Wins: 9/18 UMass, 9/25 Bowling Green, 10/2 @ Indiana, 11/6 Illinois
Toss Up Games: 9/4 UConn, 9/11 @ Notre Dame, 10/9 Michigan State, 11/13 @ Purdue
Losses: 10/16 Iowa, 10/30 @ Penn State, 11/20 Wisconsin, 11/27 @ Ohio State
There is virtually zero chance that the Wolverines can steal a win from the loss box. There is a solid chance that they can steal three from the toss box to qualify for a bowl, albiet a small bowl. The Wolverines need to make a bowl this season to show enough progress for Rodriguez to keep his job. He has been a lightning rod and has brought scandal to previously scandal free Ann Arbor. There will be major heat in the Big House in 2010, and it will all be on the coach.
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