Sorry AppleBowden
Posted: Mon Nov 05, 2007 12:55 pmInside Dish: Wolverines smelling roses
By Matt Hayes - SportingNews
Forget about the national title game controversy; something just as big is brewing: If Michigan (at Wisconsin) and Ohio State (Illinois) win this week, the Wolverines--the same Michigan team that lost to I-AA Appalachian State in Ann Arbor to begin the season--will be all but guaranteed a spot in the Rose Bowl. How does that happen, you ask? Michigan will go to the Rose Bowl if it beats Ohio State and wins the Big Ten title. It also could go to Pasadena if it loses to Ohio State because the Buckeyes would play in the national title game, and the Rose Bowl wants a Pac-10-Big Ten matchup. Just think: All those Michigan fans wanted coach Lloyd Carr fired after an 0-2 start. This might be Carr's best coaching job; he has held a mentally fractured team together. . . .
Washington coach Tyrone Willingham survived another week with a win at Stanford, but you better believe his job still is in jeopardy. Washington president Mark Emmert is a football guy, and the university is having funding problems with Husky Stadium renovations projects. There are empty seats at home games. Former Falcons coach Jim Mora, now a Seahawks assistant, wants the job badly. Anyone who thinks changing coaches isn't the answer for a struggling team, please see Arizona State and Dennis Erickson. The right coach can make all the difference. . . .
SMU has contacted Terry Bowden about its coaching job, but Bowden, who last coached at Auburn in 1998, likely will wait to see what other opportunities develop. . . .
Boise State, last year's non-BCS darling, isn't yet out of the running for another BCS bowl. While Hawaii is getting all of the non-BCS attention, the Broncos continue to climb in the polls. The two teams face each other in the season finale at Hawaii on November 23. A win against unbeaten Hawaii would be a huge boost for Boise State--and just might overshadow the team's loss to Washington in September, when first-year QB Taylor Tharp was still adjusting to the job. He had no touchdown passes and three interceptions against the Huskies, and he since has thrown 20 TD passes against five interceptions.
By Matt Hayes - SportingNews
Forget about the national title game controversy; something just as big is brewing: If Michigan (at Wisconsin) and Ohio State (Illinois) win this week, the Wolverines--the same Michigan team that lost to I-AA Appalachian State in Ann Arbor to begin the season--will be all but guaranteed a spot in the Rose Bowl. How does that happen, you ask? Michigan will go to the Rose Bowl if it beats Ohio State and wins the Big Ten title. It also could go to Pasadena if it loses to Ohio State because the Buckeyes would play in the national title game, and the Rose Bowl wants a Pac-10-Big Ten matchup. Just think: All those Michigan fans wanted coach Lloyd Carr fired after an 0-2 start. This might be Carr's best coaching job; he has held a mentally fractured team together. . . .
Washington coach Tyrone Willingham survived another week with a win at Stanford, but you better believe his job still is in jeopardy. Washington president Mark Emmert is a football guy, and the university is having funding problems with Husky Stadium renovations projects. There are empty seats at home games. Former Falcons coach Jim Mora, now a Seahawks assistant, wants the job badly. Anyone who thinks changing coaches isn't the answer for a struggling team, please see Arizona State and Dennis Erickson. The right coach can make all the difference. . . .
SMU has contacted Terry Bowden about its coaching job, but Bowden, who last coached at Auburn in 1998, likely will wait to see what other opportunities develop. . . .
Boise State, last year's non-BCS darling, isn't yet out of the running for another BCS bowl. While Hawaii is getting all of the non-BCS attention, the Broncos continue to climb in the polls. The two teams face each other in the season finale at Hawaii on November 23. A win against unbeaten Hawaii would be a huge boost for Boise State--and just might overshadow the team's loss to Washington in September, when first-year QB Taylor Tharp was still adjusting to the job. He had no touchdown passes and three interceptions against the Huskies, and he since has thrown 20 TD passes against five interceptions.
