Michigan football turning turmoil into triumph

I could guess the nature of a wolverine is very hostile, aggressive and willing to attack if confronted.

Michigan, of all programs, is living up to the embodiment of its mascot, taking a troubling off-season mostly noted for NCAA violations of practice hours and turned its frown upside down. The No. 25-ranked Wolverines, undefeated at 2-0 and coming off a huge win over then No. 18-ranked Notre Dame at Ann Arbor, are in good position to be a bowl team and complete a major turnaround from a disastrous 2008 season which it finished 3-9 under new head coach Rich RodriguezRich Rodriguez.

I wasn’t too sure what to think when I saw Rodriguez take over his alma mater. His style of coaching didn’t exactly match the more methodical, traditional attack that Lloyd Carr established during his long tenure before retiring. Michigan is loaded with speed on both sides of the ball and certainly has shown it this season. Start with Wolverines quarterback Tate Forcier, who I thought was a receiver running the Wildcat. He looks like a wideout, but throws like a…you know, a quarterback. At 6-1, 187 pounds, the San Diego native can certainly run like one, dashing around the defense to lead his team in rushing after two games with 107 yards.

Forcier, one of only five players on the Michigan team from California (and one of two starting, along with Los Angeles native Jonas Mouton), has thrown for 419 yards and five touchdowns. He has Steve Slaton-speed and a Pat White arm. Hell, I can just say that he’s in some ways similar to Rodriguez’s former Big East record-setting quarterback and current Miami Dolphin. With his speed and accuracy, coupled with the speed of several other skill players that Michigan randomly throws at the defense, this offense is built for 30-plus points in almost every game.

But consider how well the defense has played, far removed from its struggles last year. The defense has made key stops when it’s needed to, forcing three turnovers in a 31-7 thrashing of Western Michigan, which averaged nearly 30 points per game and over 400 yards per game last season. It then made things tough for rising Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen, as he completed just short of 60 percent of his passes against the Wolverines.

For a coach who is being reprimanded for working his players too hard, Rodriguez is throwing some dirt back into critics’ eyes. Michigan has played like its sweated every day for success like this. The team doesn’t have any eye-opening individual prospects but, as a team, they certainly fill the void. Michigan can visit Iowa Oct. 10 with a 5-0 record (games against Eastern Michigan, Indiana and at Michigan State, who were upended by Central Michigan at home last week) and an 8-4 record is very possible. The nation’s leading program in victories is reminding all of us that a little hard work and overtime means a lot more when its Michigan.