Sports Betting Blog

Rich Rodriguez was fired from his post as the Michigan Wolverines head coach.  Athletic Director, Dave Brandon gave the official announcement on Wednesday, after he meet with the head coach on the two previous days. He publicly stated that the he believes that the decision to remove Rodriguez is the best call for Michigan Football.

Rodriguez had had some success over at West Virginia before he moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan. His performance with the Wolverines was far from what the fans would have expected from what they like to call a “Michigan Man”. Rodriguez finished his tenure 15-22 overall during the last three years. He was 6-18 in conference games and 11-11 at home.

The school has decided to take its chances and assume the responsibility over Rodriguez pending contract. The school will pay an estimated $2.5 to Rodriguez in order to buy the rest of his contract. Director Dave Brandon didn’t miss a beat and began its nationwide search for the new Head Coach.

Among his preferred picks, Brandon said the he would like to bring in Jim Harbough from Stanford to be the Wolverines new coach. Harbough himself was a starting quarterback with Michigan and it would be a great fit, according to them, giving the fact that he is a “Michigan Man”. Another prospect is former assistant coach Brady Hoke, who has made quite an impressive job ahead of San Diego State.

Truth is, there is very little chances that Harbough would end up in Michigan. Rumor has it that Harbough could be leaving Stanford and there has been some speculation implying that he might even take a job with the pros.

Rodriguez on the other hand left Michigan on a sour note. The Wolverines won seven games and a chance to play at the Gator Bowl. Still, that was of very little relief as his squad took the hardest pounding in the program’s bowl history. The Wolverines 38 point loss to Mississippi State was nothing short of just simply embarrassing.

Legacy. Few fans take a team’s historical performance so seriously as do college football fans. Probably because contrary to most other professional leagues in the country, there is some sort of sentimental involvement between fans and a college team that surpasses geographical location of a school or their Alma Matter status. And that is when things get very interesting, because sometimes, a program is expected to perform brightly just because it has historically been quite an efficient and powerful school.

For instance, when the football season starts, one expects the Florida Gators, the Alabama Crimson Tide, the Michigan Wolverines, the Texas Longhorns, and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to have a great season. But that is not only because of their rooster, or because of the numbers the team was able to crush during the previous season, but a matter of the team’s legacy and the really high standards to which its fans expect it to live to. And that puts a great deal of pressure upon these programs.

Here are this season’s losing college football programs. Let’s start with the Bulldogs. Georgia has had a good comeback. After a very rough early season, the Bulldogs are finally starting to put in together back to back wins this season. They now have managed to string together 4 wins in a row to make this a 5-5 season so far. But there is one issue keeping the Bulldogs from really demonstrating their potential: Georgia has still not won a game to a winning-record team this season. And that’s just not going to make the cut.

The Miami Hurricanes are not experiencing their best season ever either. At 6-3 overall and 4-2 in conference play, the Hurricanes could be doing much worse, but their chances of playing in the a Bowl game are not looking so bright right now. The Hurricanes got some kudos last week when they put down Maryland 20-26, to stay behind Virginia Tech by a two game deficit.

The Michigan Wolverines are also 6-3 overall and 2-3 in the Big Ten Conference. They are now bowl eligible, but yet, it is uncertain if the team lead by Rich Rodriguez could really get it together and pull off something worth taking into the end of series bowl game. If they can get pass their serious issues on the defense, Rodriguez might not only secure his job, but even gain some respect in the community.

The Fighting Irish are also struggling on their end of the pool. They have now lost to both Navy and Tulsa on consecutive games, yet Notre Dame has managed to hold to a 4-5 record this season. If they want to make it into a Bowl game, the Fighting Irish will need to win at least two of the games they have left this season. They will face Utah, Army and South Carolina. Its not going to be easy, but if they guys from Notre Dame put their heart into it they might just pull off the trick.

The USC Trojans and the Texas Longhorns are not living to their great name either. The Longhorns fell to Kansas State 39-14, and have now lost 4 of their last 5 games. So the trick here is to recognize that the defending Big 12 Champion might not make it to a Bowl Game unless they manage to win over Oklahoma State, Florida Atlantic and Texas A&M. At least two out of three and they might have a chance.

Now, the USC Trojans are not doing too well. They have lost three of their last 5 games and because of an NCAA sanction; the Trojans are staying in town this upcoming season. Probation, probation.