Michigan AD to Step Down in 2010

Michigan announced that athletic director Bill Martin will retire on September 4, 2010.

Martin became the Michigan AD in 2000 after serving as president of the United States Sailing Association. He was brought in first on an interim basis to replace Tom Goss.

The coaches and faculty of Michigan spoke out on Wednesday to reflect on the career of their soon-to-be departed AD.

“What he’s done facility-wise and fiscally for the department has been amazing. It’s going to be sad to see him go,” said football coach Rich Rodriguez, who was hired by Martin in 2007. “I certainly appreciate everything he’s done for us since I’ve been here.”

“For nearly a decade, Bill has shown truly outstanding leadership as Athletic Director at the University of Michigan,” university President Mary Sue Coleman said in a statement. “He has not only done a superb job of attracting top coaches for the full range of Michigan sports, but he has also assembled an excellent management team to oversee all aspects of athletics operations.”

Coleman announced that Martin would remain director until Michigan has named his successor, and he will remain a special adviser to Coleman until his retirement.

Friday, October 23, 2009 at 12:04 am by bryan

Michigan rolls past Delaware State, 63-6

The Michigan Wolverines took out some of their frustration on visiting Delaware State in a 63-6 romp.

The Wolverines have struggled of late and were coming off a heartbreaking road loss to No. 7 Iowa.

The loss probably cost Michigan any shot winning the Big 10 as well as a BCS berth, which didn’t sit well with the team.

They came out against Delaware State and hung 49 points on their defense before halftime before calling off the dogs in the second half.

Michigan will have to win out and hope for some help if they want any part of the conference championship.

Thursday, October 22, 2009 at 6:41 pm by steve

Forcier probable for Delaware State

The Michigan Wolverines listed quarterback Tate Forcier as probable for tomorrows’ game against Delaware State. Forcier is recovering from a mild concussion he suffered in last Saturday’s loss to Iowa.

Head coach Rich Rodriguez is on record saying that if he’s healthy, Forcier will get the start ahead of fellow freshman Dernard Robinson, who came on in relief of Forcier against the Hawkeyes.

For an experienced upperclassman, it would be a no-brainer to sit out a week. Why take the chance? But Forcier is inexperienced and coming off the worst game of  his young career, an 8-for-19 performance with less than 100 yards passing. He could use the confidence boost as much as the opportunity to sharpen his skills in a live game situation against an inferior opponent.

Even with Robinson at the helm, though, the Wolverines should roll. But expect both to split snaps on Saturday.

Friday, October 16, 2009 at 1:27 pm by Raj Sethi

Forcier Still QB If Healthy

After suffering a concussion against Iowa on Saturday, Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez announced Monday that freshman QB Tate Forcier would still be Michigan’s starter, if he was healthy enough to play.

“Tate’s got a little concussion — I didn’t know that at the time — he got it on the last play he was in,” Rodriguez said. “He got hit pretty good. Those concussions are day to day, and I don’t think it was a severe one.”

Rodriguez replaced Forcier with another freshman, Denard Robinson, in the fourth quarter of Michigan’s 30-28 loss to the Hawkeyes on Saturday. Robinson led the Wolverines to a touchdown, however; he also threw an interception on the Wolverines’ final drive to kill the chances of a comeback.

“Tate made some plays that he’d probably like to have back, but we made a change to get a little spark,” Rodriguez said after the game. “Denard gave us a little spark at the end, we just didn’t finish it off.”

After Forcier had led frantic comebacks for Michigan for the past few weeks, Rodriguez’s decision to keep Robinson in for the end of the game seemed strange. However, Forcier was struggling all game – going 8 of 19 for 94 yards with an interception – and Rodriguez opted to stick with Robinson, feeling that Forcier’s injured shoulder may have caused him to press.

“His shoulder really limited his practice time the last couple of weeks,” he said.

With all of that said, Forcier is still in line to start for the Wolverines as they prepare to take on Delaware State this weekend.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009 at 10:07 pm by bryan

Bags Banned From Big House

For the rest of the football season, Michigan fans will not be allowed to bring bags into Michigan Stadium due to security reasons. In other words, time to find a new way to sneak in extra drinks.

On Monday, the university announced that bags of any size would be prohibited for the rest of the football season (four home games remaining). Michigan instituted this no-bag policy at its last home game against Indiana on Sept. 26.

Anyone with an exemption from a medical professional may still bring medical equipment or medicine into the stadium.

“(Security) will be able to focus their attention on other security measures and not be distracted by a lot of bags and wondering what is in those bags,” Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Diane Brown said.

The ban includes camera bags and purses.

Michigan looks to turn the season around as the Wolverines (4-2) take on Delaware State (1-3) on Saturday.

at 10:06 pm by bryan

Michigan falls to Michigan State, 26-20

The Michigan Wolverines rallied back late but it wasn’t enough in a 26-20 loss to the Michigan State Spartans.

The Wolverines found themselves trailing their rivals by two touchdowns in the fourth quarter but rallied back to send the game into overtime.

However, Michigan was unable to score on their first possession of the extra session, making life much easier for the Spartans.

Sloppy tackling ended up costing them, as the Spartans running back broke through a few Michigan defenders to get into the end zone for the game-winning score.

Thursday, October 8, 2009 at 7:58 pm by steve

Forcier’s Magic Runs Out

The legend of Tate Forcier grew, as Michigan tied the game at 20 against Michigan St. with two seconds left in the game.

But Forcier couldn’t keep his wild ride going forever, and the Michigan St. Spartans scored back-to-back wins over Michigan for the first time in 42 years, winning 26-20 on Saturday.

MSU took a two touchdown lead at the beginning of the fourth quarter, when Forcier started his wild comeback. He struck first with a 60-yard pass to WR Daryln Stonum with four minutes left, then lead his third last-second touchdown drive in four weeks to tie the game at 20 with a 9-yard pass to Roy Roundtree.

But Chris L. Rucker of Michigan State picked off Forcier in the end zone in overtime to prevent the Wolverines from scoring, and Larry Caper punched in a 23-yard run for the game winning touchdown. Michigan suffered its first loss of the season as Michigan State snapped a three-game losing streak.

Saturday, October 3, 2009 at 3:16 pm by bryan

Michigan holds off Indiana, 36-33

It certainly wasn’t as easy as expected, but the Michigan Wolverines held off the Indiana Hoosiers for a 36-33 victory.

You better believe that fans in “The Big House” were on pins and needles late in the game against an inferior foe.

The Wolverines needed 15 fourth-quarter points to gain the come-from-behind win.

Nonetheless, a win is a win, and the Wolverines have managed to remain undefeated on the season.

All of the angry fans labeling Rich Rodriguez’ short coaching tenure at Michigan a failure sure have been quickly silenced.

Friday, October 2, 2009 at 6:10 pm by steve