Big Ten Report: Time for Michigan to quit talking and start walking

Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez fnds his program facing an NCAA investigation. (Icon SMI)

 

Following last weekend’s lopsided loss to Penn State, Michigan defensive lineman Brandon Graham told the media, “People aren't going to remember this. They are going to remember how we finish.”

Agree. Everything about Michigan’s 2009 season up to this point has been forgettable – the quick start, the mid-season fade. When fans look back on the 2009 Wolverines, all they’ll care to know are two key points: How the team did in post-season play, and, more important, how it did against Ohio State.

That 4-0 beginning to the year is ancient history. The Wolverines are out of the conference race, and could conceivably lose three of their remaining four games to end the year with a 6-6 mark.

To add to all of this, it was announced this week that the NCAA will follow up on allegations of misconduct in the program. A story which first appeared in the Detroit Free Press about practice scheduling violations now may push Rich Rodriguez deeper into the hole he’s already sitting in. Rodriguez has denied and defended all of this publicly.

Michigan – the home of coaches Fielding Yost and Bo Schembechler, and of college football legends Benny Friedman and Tom Harmon – is now the biggest mess of a program in the country.

But, again, Graham has the right outlook. There is no controversy too big, no loss too embarrassing, that a respectable finish and an almighty win over Ohio State can’t take care of.

 

• Michigan State announced this week it has purged a pair of running backs from its roster: Caulton Ray and Andre Anderson. No reason was given for the action. Michigan removed cornerback Boubacar Cissoko from its roster, citing a violation of team rules.

• One bit of good news for the Spartans: this week Greg Jones can be expected to reach the 100-tackle mark for the second straight season. Jones leads all conference players with 12.1 tackles per contest – the best conference total since J Leman’s 2006 campaign for Illinois. That number, plus his five sacks, makes Jones a strong contender for Big ten defensive player of the year honors.

 

• Eric Decker, arguably the best wide receiver in the Big Ten, will miss the rest of this season with a sprained left foot he suffered in last weekend’s loss to Ohio State. Decker ranks second in the conference in receptions and receiving yards.

 

Saturday, Oct. 31

New Mexico State at Ohio State, 11 a.m.
Purdue at Wisconsin, 11 a.m.

Indiana at Iowa, 11 a.m.

Michigan at Illinois, 2:30 p.m.

Penn State at Northwestern, 3:30 p.m.

Michigan State at Minnesota, 7 p.m.
**all times CT

 

QB Adam Weber, Minnesota

In an important game against Michigan State, Weber must guide the Gophers offense without his favorite safety net, Eric Decker. In the last three games Weber has struggled: no touchdown passes, five interceptions. A loss this week would make a bowl bid unlikely; a win could push Minnesota back into contention. Much of that pressure will be placed on the junior quarterback’s shoulders.

 

Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor commenting on the criticism he’s faced in recent weeks. Pryor threw for two scores and rushed for another in the Buckeyes win over Minnesota last Saturday:“You hear he can't throw and he can't do this or that. The criticism is a bit crazy and you have to live with it …”

Mike Beacom is the Big Ten football editor for Lindy’s