Despite the win over Illinois and the NCAA ruling, the Rich Rod regime needs to go

In an epic shootout Michigan beats Illinois 67-65 a score that might reflect a WNBA game more so then a Division 1 college football game. What this victory also does is give the Wolverines a victory over a Big Ten opponent that isn’t Indiana or Wisconsin and makes them bowl eligible for the first time in three years.
In a game that contained 1,237 yards of offense it was Michigan’s offense that continued clicking the entire day.
Michigan QB Denard Robinson threw for 305 passing yards and WR Roy Roundtree set a receiving record that stood since 1966. The defense also had one of it’s best performances in Big Ten play stopping the Illinois offense on several key possessions.
In the third overtime it was a Michael Shaw’s second TD run in the overtime period and Junior Hemingway’s two point conversion that put Michigan on top and a stop on Illinois’ following possession that sealed the victory for desperate Wolverines.
Despite the win there’s still a whole bunch of questions surrounding this team. First, what is the status of Denard Robinson who left the game in the second half and was replaced by Tate Forcier? What is this defense going to do to keep opponents from scoring more than 30 points a game? Finally, is there a magic number of wins for Rich Rodriguez keep his job?
You really can’t answer that first question yet but another couple of questions arise from another Denard Robinson injury. Will he (Robinson) hold up for the rest of his college career yet alone the rest of the season and does this type of offense really work in the Big Ten? Second, in order for this defense to improve Michigan needs to rid themselves of Greg Robinson. It’s very apparent that this defensive system does not and will not work in this conference. Lastly, there shouldn’t be a magic number of wins for Rich Rod to keep his job. His fate should have been sealed after last weeks embarrassing loss to Penn State and their walk on QB, but then again I’m not David Brandon.
What’s even more embarrassing is they way Rich Rod jumped up and down like a fool with the rest of his team after today’s win. Watching it made it look like a National Championship victory and not an early November win over Illinois at the Big House. Rich Rod has managed to turn a once proud and successful football program into a program that gets excited over it’s mediocrity and that has to stop. This is all without even mentioning the constant excuses, bizarre pressers and the way he doesn’t hold his coaches or himself accountable for the lack of success in the Big Ten. I would bet that Greg Robinson still won’t talk to the media this week despite the win.
This all rest though on the shoulders of Michigan AD David Brandon, who is a very smart business man and for the most part has made all the right moves since taking over for Bill Martin. Brandon has to be very careful because keeping Rich Rod around beyond this season could turn Michigan into what Notre Dame has become, a brand name and nothing else. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I would much rather set this team back 2 or 3 years instead of 5 years or more.
Source: Ann Arbor News