I wish I were kidding about this, but Brian at MGoBlog today has posted a story about the 2008 Michigan rushing stats that (in his mind, and in the minds of the sycophants that follow him) prove that Rich Rodriquez is succeeding at UM.
The basis of his statistical discovery is based on Michigan’s 3.91 yards per carry in 2008, and how that puts the ‘08 squad in 4th place of the past 8 Michigan squads in that category. Here’s the chart he uses…..
# |
YEAR |
YPC |
1 |
2006 |
4.27 |
2 |
2003 |
4.25 |
3 |
2007 |
3.97 |
4 |
2008 |
3.91 |
5 |
2005 |
3.89 |
6 |
2004 |
3.83 |
7 |
2002 |
3.82 |
8 |
2001 |
3.59 |
He follows that up by saying the following;
Fourth! Above average!
If you needed any evidence that whatever Rich Rodriguez is doing on the ground is a pretty good idea, that should suffice.
Whatever anti-depressants Sam McGuffie is taking, he really needs to stop leaving them lying around where other people can get to them.
What Brian fails to point out in his desperate attempt to pour sunshine on the gloomy masses at MGo is that he’s comparing Michigan 2008 to Michigan in the prior 7 years….and the previous 7 years rushing stats at Michigan are frankly NOT that good. Yeah, I know they had Mike Hart. But the fact is that the rushing attack at Michigan has NOT been very good in this century.
Let’s add a column to Brian’s chart and see how it looks. The new column will state what Michigan’s ranking was in the Big Ten on the same statistic, yards per carry.
# |
YEAR |
YPC |
Big Ten rank |
1 |
2006 |
4.27 |
T-6th |
2 |
2003 |
4.25 |
3rd |
3 |
2007 |
3.97 |
8th |
4 |
2008 |
3.91 |
8th |
5 |
2005 |
3.89 |
8th |
6 |
2004 |
3.83 |
7th |
7 |
2002 |
3.82 |
10th |
8 |
2001 |
3.59 |
8th |
If Brian wants to find comfort knowing that his 2008 squad has consistently remained in the bottom of the Big Ten in yards per carry, then….yes, Rich Rod has done an outstanding job!
Meanwhile, the rest of us will sit back and carefully note that Rich Rodriquez is to Michigan what Charlie Weis is to Notre Dame. A barely-average coach being propped up by blind loyalty.
————–
In other news, sophomore Michigan safety Artis Chambers has quit the Michigan football team and asked for a transfer.
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