Wolverines Defeat Eagles Handily, but Must Continue to Improve

Hopefully, for Ron English's sake, last Saturday's game will be the last time that Eastern Michigan plays the Wolverines. English has a tough enough time getting wins without scheduling Michigan to boot. There is small upside for Eastern Michigan, however: the payout. EMU's athletic department gets $465,000 for playing Michigan in the Big House.

For the Wolverines, there is little one can analyze from a win that was realistically expected. Although the team got off to another rough start, something which has become a recent trend, Michigan eventually played how it was supposed to and finished 31-3. There should be some praise for the defense, which prevented Eastern Michigan from scoring a single touchdown, but Eastern Michigan is a MAC team. Michigan's offense has struggled to find a rhythm in the beginning. Including all three first games, Michigan has been outscored by opponents 21-0 in the first quarter. (Last week, Notre Dame scored two unanswered touchdowns, and in the first week, Western Michigan scored one.) Michigan's offense has yet to score a single touchdown in the first quarter in any given game this season.

When Michigan's offense found its rhythm, it was effective, but there are some concerns. Offensive coordinator Al Borges seems unafraid to utilize speedy quarterback Denard Robinson's legs when the need arises, and the offense's halfback play has shown that the need arises quite often. The tailbacks do take a great deal of the load off of Denard, but the Wolverines have yet to establish a consistent running game utilizing them.

Across the Michigan fanbase, some people don't feel this is necessarily a bad thing when you have Denard as a threat. In fact, MGoBlog argues that the offense ought to be based on Denard's legs (i.e. his ability to run). However, personally, I get nervous whenever I see Denard take off on a designed run up the middle, because of the chance that Denard will fumble—which he did in the Eastern game—or that he'll get injured.

Michigan simply cannot get away with running Denard so much when the Big Ten schedule hits. I cringed numerous times when Denard ran into Eastern's defensive line and when he got stuffed on several runs. I'm not saying that I think Denard should never run. He is deadliest on the quarterback scramble, when he must create something out of nothing. On those plays, I am significantly less nervous, because Denard frequently gets to the outside, picks up enough yards for a first down or close to it, and then he steps out of bounds before he gets hit. This, I think, is the best use of his athletic ability, whereas having him run up the middle as though he were a halfback is asking for trouble. Michigan is dividing the carrying load between multiple running backs: Fitzgerald Toussiant, Michael Shaw, Vincent Smith, and for the last part of the game, freshman Thomas Rawls. Smith in particular seems the most improved out of all the running backs, although Toussaint and Shaw can consistently pick up good yardage. This is a good sign but it must be tempered with notion that Michigan hasn't hit the meat of the Big Ten schedule, where Michigan's running game will be harshly tested. 

The running backs scarcely put up yards against Notre Dame in the second week, which forced Al Borges to focus more on Denard's running and passing. It was clearly a priority to Borges and Brady Hoke to return some of the focus to Michigan's running backs, but Eastern Michigan, despite how well they may have been prepared under Ron English, cannot be seen as a truly adequate test.

Don't knock the Eagles, however. English has established a good running attack that gave Michigan some trouble in the first half, and it will carry over to the MAC, where they will be more successful. There is an even better indication that the Eastern Michigan program is turning around under Ron English's guidance. They have gained confidence with two wins to start the season, and although they lost to Michigan and play Penn State next week in Happy Valley, the Eagles start their conference play at home against Akron. It will be a far better year for EMU, who have a very good chance of going 4-8 or even 5-7. When the Eagles faced Michigan, they made a game of it. English should be proud of the signs of improvement seen in his team.

And despite the Wolverines winning 31-3 against Eastern Michigan, they'll need to continue to make improvements as well. Play on the field was hardly perfect. Denard Robinson's accuracy in the first quarter was frustrating to watch, as he missed most of his passes and threw an interception. Like against Notre Dame and Western Michigan, he seemed to make better reads and throws as the game progressed, and he racked up a few touchdowns with passes to tight end Kevin Koger and wide receiver Drew Dileo. Denard finished the game with a total of 293 yards, 198 rushing and 95 passing.

Michigan's defense didn't have its bearings early, but eventually they got settled and remained stout. They forced a fumble on EMU's Javonti Greene and recovered it. Michigan safety Thomas Gordon also made a one-handed inception. Jordan Kovacs and Brandin Hawthrone led the team in tackles, and Craig Roh achieved a sack for six yards. Finally, in what was perhaps the most relief for Michigan, placekicker Brendon Gibbons made a 21-yard field goal in the fourth quarter. The special teams unit has largely been a question mark for the Wolverines, and it's clear Brady Hoke is taking his time with them. You can check out highlights of the game here.

It was a good win for Michigan, but the Wolverines must improve week to week if they expect to be competitive against the upcoming Big Ten teams. Michigan's last remaining non-conference game is against Hoke's previous coaching job before Michigan, San Diego State. The Aztecs have continued the winning ways that Hoke established, and they are now 3-0 after an impressive win over Army and an even more impressive one over Washington State, who previously demolished its last two opponents with its seemingly unstoppable spread offensive attack. When asked about the upcoming game against his former Aztecs, Hoke indicated it wouldn't be easy. "I tell ya, we got our hands full," he said.

San Diego State is stout in its offensive and defensive lines, and it has great weapons in quarterback Ryan Lindley (an effective passer) and tailback Ronnie Hillman, who was named a Freshman All-American last year. With these players Hoke was able to lead the Aztecs to the Poinsettia Bowl in 2010 and win it. When Hoke departed for Michigan, Aztec defensive coordinator Rocky Long took over and has kept the continuity and consistency of Hoke's "toughness-oriented" program. Watching Long's press conferences, you'd think he took over a program that was struggling. He frequently makes sobering statements about the Aztecs' upcoming games, yet the Aztecs continue to win. Long had said that Washington State's offense genuinely "scared" him, because the only offenses his team had faced for the past three games were the triple option, and WSU's spread is the furthest thing from that. He wasn't sure how the team would handle it, but then San Diego State came out and beat WSU 42-24 at home. Long's strategy seems to underplay the upcoming opponent as much as he can before the Aztecs go out and beat them anyway. He has said that Michigan has a "huge advantage" over them because of Brady Hoke's knowledge of the San Diego State team.

That could be true, but if there is in fact a strategy to Long's words, we could be in for an upset. I was already a little nervous about San Diego State coming to Ann Arbor, urging Michigan fans not to expect an easy win in any capacity. Hoke established a program at San Diego State that could easily make it to a bowl game this year, and if Rocky Long continues what Hoke started, they could even contend for the Mountain West Conference title. They'll need to knock off TCU and Boise State to do that, but Hoke came very close to beating them last year, and if the game against Baylor is any indication, TCU may have a tendency to underestimate opponents.

San Diego State's game against Michigan does nothing for their conference play. It will simply be a feel-good win for either team. A win for the Aztecs will make them feel great that Hoke built their program essentially good enough to defeat Rich Rodriguez's, and it may even make them feel better about Hoke leaving. Will it be poetic justice for Hoke's departure? Some Aztec fans will say yes, but Hoke's separation from San Diego was no where near as messy as Rodriguez's was from West Virginia. In fact, most Aztec fans weren't surprised when Hoke left: he had said, after all, that Michigan was his dream job.

The circumstances indicate that a loss to San Diego State should not be humiliating considering how much Hoke has developed the Aztecs. Michigan fans may feel disappointed if they lose to Hoke's old team, but it shouldn't be all that painful. It won't affect Michigan's standing in the Big Ten, nor will it indicate that Hoke has his team moving in the wrong direction. If anything, a loss to San Diego State could bring a begrudging amount of comfort to the Michigan faithful: Hoke built a team that could beat Michigan. If he did that, imagine what he could do for the Wolverines. Contrastingly, a loss for San Diego State should not be damning to their program. They will have to contend against and somehow contain Michigan's Denard Robinson, and Michigan's defense is improving slowly but surely. Neither team will be a push-over. It will be interesting to see how the game plays out.

The Aztecs' offensive line and Ronnie Hillman will prove a good test for Michigan's run defense, which needs to substantially improve if it wishes to withstand the Big Ten. Pass defense isn't great either, but with Michigan's coaches focusing intensely on fundamentals, the Wolverines could do better against the Big Ten this year than they did in 2010. Michigan's first Big Ten match-up shouldn't be too hefty of a challenge as they start with Minnesota at home. The Golden Gophers have struggled but are not incapable, and they admittedly aren't exactly excited about Big Ten play. Michigan goes to Northwestern as their first road test. If they improve week to week, the Wolverines will be ready for Michigan State and, eventually, Ohio State.

Both rivals suffered losses in Week 3, prompting an array of question marks in certain areas. The Spartans' offensive line seems to be experiencing what Michigan's did last year and the year before, and their loss to Notre Dame sent the MSU fanbase into a predictable meltdown. Meanwhile, the Buckeyes' defense is still strong as ever, but they are understandably worried about their situation at quarterback. MSU's and OSU's eventual match-ups with Michigan are as close to as uncertain as possible at this point.

For the Big Ten, the 2011 season is shaping up to be one of the most intriguing. Nebraska, despite starting 3-0, might not be as dominant as we all thought, and Illinois could surprise everyone and become a contender. Michigan, of course, could be one as well. There is no such thing as a sure thing this year.

As much fun as looking at opponents' problems is, the Wolverines need to focus on what they need to do, and that means improvement. Brady Hoke seems to be developing a sense of depth on both sides of the ball, as there doesn't appear to be any egregious weaknesses at any position. Even Denard Robinson, who is considered both dangerously threatening and dangerously problematic, could improve by the time he leads the team into the Big Ten conference.

In 1969, Bo Schembechler was in his first year at Michigan and hit some bumps in the road as his Wolverines lost to No. 9 ranked Missouri and then to Michigan State. Yet he developed the team as the season went on, and when they faced No. 1 ranked Ohio State, they pulled out a spectacular upset that the Maize and Blue still cherish today. Admittedly, Brady Hoke may not be the next Bo Schembechler, but a good indicator of what Hoke can do will be seeing how his team improves. Rodriguez's teams actually seemed to get worse as the season went on—to frustrating and disappointing results. Michigan would start strong in games but then teetered off. Now, they appear to stumble in the beginning before staging a minor comeback and finishing strong. The Wolverines weren't the second-half team under Rodriguez that they appear to be today. This could mean that Hoke is definitively changing Michigan into a better program.

If he is, and if the Wolverines get better with each passing week, it'll make for an interesting season. Moreover, it could make 2011 feel like 1969.

Ron English has the Toughest Job in College Football

Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly once said that he has the toughest job in college football. It's a phrase that gets thrown a lot and is often applied to coaches who are in the hot seat at football programs which are big, storied, and successful, where the expectation to win is astronomically high. 

It's no secret that Notre Dame's fans and alumni expect—nay, demand—that the coach bring them the National Championship. It was one of the reasons why Charlie Weis was given the boot: his seasons were far too mediocre by their standards. The expectation—and, by extension, the phrase "toughest job in college football"—carries over to dozens of other programs as well: Rich Rodriguez when he was at Michigan, Urban Meyer when he was at Florida, and now Luke Fickell who is the interim coach at Ohio State.

But is it really the toughest job in college football to win at a program where wins are expected? No. The coaching jobs at Michigan and Notre Dame come with a high amount of pressure, yes, and those who take the job must be well aware of the expectations. Those who fail to do so will be fired. However, pressure alone does not and cannot dictate the level of difficulty had by a college football coach. Michigan, Notre Dame, Florida, and Ohio State, among other successful programs, do not struggle to get high quality talent. They compete for it against each other, yes, but every one of those programs can and often does have a legitimate shot at landing a five-star recruit. If you're a coach, and you've got the talent, and you're expected to win, all you have to do is coach and you'll be successful. It's not the toughest job you could have. 

Here's what is: the head coaching job at Eastern Michigan University (EMU), currently held by Ron English. He is tasked with practically building its program from the ground up. Eastern has not had a winning season since 1995. They haven't gone to a bowl game since 1987. Even though the MAC is considered a relatively weak, mid-level conference, Eastern still struggles to win against opponents like Toledo, Ball State, as well as Western and Central Michigan, which are the school's sole rivals. In the MAC's West Division, Western and Central are the two most powerful teams and easily beat out Eastern in the in-state recruiting battle.

Although I am a Michigan alumnus, I sympathize with English's predicament. He's trying to bring a U-M winner's mentality to a culture where losing is not only expected, it is practically a tradition. After English's first season, where the Eagles went 0-12, he concluded that the program required a complete overhaul. "I'm frustrated with the run defense," English said, according to AnnArbor.com. "I'm frustrated, really, with the defense, period. I mean, it's ridiculous. The way we play defense here is a travesty. What we have to do is look at ourselves as a staff and figure out how to get this thing fixed."

English has long held a reputation as a tough, no-nonsense, defensive-minded coach. He was previously Michigan's defensive coordinator in 2006 and 2007, where he coached top-ranked defenses and was named the National Defensive Coordinator of the Year in 2006. When Lloyd Carr retired in 2007, Michigan hired Rich Rodriguez as head coach, and Rodriguez wanted to bring in his own staff, which meant that he would not retain English as Michigan's defensive coordinator. That may have proven to be one of Rodriguez's most fatal errors because, in the coming years, he would struggle to find someone to effectively fill the defensive coordinator position. It resulted in numerous losses at Michigan and, ultimately, Rodriguez's firing. Had he retained English, it is possible that Rodriguez would still be Michigan's head coach today. English spent a year at Louisville before he was finally offered the head coaching job at Eastern.

Yet despite his proven abilities to coach defense, English suffered a winless season in his first year. To say that he was frustrated would be a massive understatement. English had not been accustomed to losing. "I'm tired of it at this point," he told reporters. "Losing is losing. It's the same to me. It's always difficult to swallow."

It got tougher as the team started to fall behind. While many players may have started to think that they simply weren't talented enough to win games, English strove to maintain their focus. This is what's referred to as mental toughness. "If you haven't won, you don't appreciate how hard it is to win and you're not willing to do the work," English said. "You see a lot of close games where a team loses at the end and that's because they're not really willing to do what it takes. I think you need to teach people how to win and there's a point where it's not a talent issue. It's a mentality issue."

There were other problems. English's quarterback Kyle MacMahon transferred to Grand Valley State, and the top incoming recruit for Eastern, quarterback Ryan Williams, de-committed. Still, English tried to stay positive throughout the rest of the 2009 season, even as the Eagles failed to rack up a single win. When they eventually finished 0-12 in 2009, the Eagles were picked to finish last in a 2010 preseason poll.

Feeling that he needed to completely start over, English replaced six members of his staff and asked as many as twenty-five players not to return. According to an Ann Arbor report, the players who departed did not have the right attitude. They were "either unwilling to compete the way [English] wanted or didn't want to put in the necessary academic time."

"A lot of guys didn't really care," English later told the Detroit Free Press. "I think they were beat down. These guys [at Eastern] haven't been successful in a long, long time. It takes a special group of guys to come in here and change it, and not only in terms of ability as a staff, but the ability to understand it's going to be hard."

English compared the program's necessary overhaul to revamping property in Detroit: "If you go to Detroit right now and you buy one of these old houses, are you going to try and refurbish it or are you going to knock the thing down and start over? You're probably going to knock it down and that's what we did. We said, 'We're going to take a hit here, but we're not going to tread water.' We're going to knock the thing down and start over."

He had already been making some strides in turning Eastern around. English convinced the athletic department to spend $3.9 million dollars on a brand-new indoor practice facility. For Eastern, a university that was previously rumored to be cutting its football program, such an investment was huge.

The goal, English had said, was to show recruits and players that he and the athletic department were serious and committed to turning the program around. "We have been able to invest in football for the first time in the program's history," Derrick Gragg, EMU's athletic director, told the Detroit News. "Obviously, when you invest this much into the program, the payback is that you win. And that increases school spirit and school pride with the alumni. About 80 percent of our alumni are in the state, and everybody roots for their alma mater when they win."

Then, on July 31, 2010, English found himself in hot waters with the media when he said that he was aiming to recruit players who simply loved the game of football and who had come from a family with two parents, particularly a father who was in the picture. It was the second part which sparked controversy. 

Taken in context, English had been having some difficulty coaching players who were not committed to giving him their full effort in practice, who had either resigned Eastern as a bad team not worth playing for or that finishing the season was pointless. Many of these players had problems with authority. In their minds, when someone like English arrived, demanding excellence and instilling punishments, it may have been difficult to completely accept his role and submit to his coaching. In assessing some of these players who rebelled, English determined that their problems with authority may have come more from their character or background, and so he told reporters that he wanted to recruit players who weren't projects, who at least already understood what it was like to have a strong male authority figure in their lives.

Here is English's direct quote from MAC media day:

"You know what the real focus was? We wanted to recruit football players that love football. I felt like we had a lot of guys who really didn't love football. They maybe were playing football so that they could go to school or whatever, but not for the love of playing football. So when we went out, we wanted to do two things. We wanted players who love football, who have the physical ability to play football and then the other thing we wanted was guys that could be coached. We wanted guys that had a father in their background because, if you don't, the hard part is some guy like me coming in and corrects you. So you're working—that's a whole other dynamic. A guy that's raised by his mom—and please don't take me wrong—but the reality is you have to teach that guy how to be taught by a man. That's part of it."

It may have been a little too candid of a comment. NBC Sports called English a jerk and wrote that it was an insult to single mothers everywhere. In the Detroit Free Press, Mick McCabe wrote that "English has insulted every single mother in Michigan, not to mention a ton of high school coaches…Don't take him wrong? How do we take him right? English was given ample opportunity to explain his seemingly moronic and sexist comments, but declined to return several phone messages."

Although English initially shrugged off the media reports as inconsequential, he eventually apologized for his comments. "It was my error," he explained. "Where I've been, in high-profile situations, you always have to be very careful about what you say. But I want to say I made a mistake."

When asked if he meant to deliberately offend single mothers, English responded, "I don't know how you could say that. It doesn't even make sense. I know with families with the way they are today, there are going to be divorces and there are going to be single parents. As a program, if we said we're only recruiting players with two parents in the home, our recruiting pool would go from big to very small."

It is further reinforced from the fact that English himself came from a relatively broken home. In an open letter to parents and readers following his public apology, English described at great length his own background and how he did not mean to insult single parents. "Had it been a discussion on those topics, I would have shared that my twin brother and I are products of being raised by our grandmother, Mamie Blaylock," he wrote. "My mother (who was not married to my father) passed away when I was 18 months old. In addition, I would have spoken about several coaches and other men who played an equally important role in whatever I have been able to achieve as a person...To suggest I would dismiss or negate the critical role played by single parent mothers or, men who serve as mentors in young men's lives, would contradict the very way I was raised, which would be absurd."

His coming season in Fall 2010 would not be any easier. Eastern started out 0-6, losing a close battle at home to Army, 31-27, in the opening game. The Eagles were later blown out mercilessly by Ohio State, 73-20, in Columbus. The Buckeyes' victory included a trick play where quarterback Terrelle Pryor received a 20-yard pass in the endzone late in the third quarter, when the Eagles were already down 45-20. English was reportedly upset by that play because it was unnecessary and unsportsmanlike. Eastern Michigan would go on to lose its next two games against the Ohio Bobcats and the Vanderbilt Commodores. Both games were lopsided defeats.

Then, English and his team finally snapped the losing streak. In a game that was almost certainly a nail-biter, EMU won in overtime against Ball State. The Eagles made a 21-point comeback that was the biggest in school history. It was also English's first victory as a head coach.

"You could have easily fallen into the trap of saying, 'Oh, here we go again—another loss,' but we were confident in ourselves and I think that's what got us the win," said Alex Gillett, Eastern's sophomore quarterback. "It takes a little while for it to set in and say, 'This really happened for us and we finally got this win that we've been working so hard for.' Everyone was out there and everyone's emotions were just on their sleeves."

The Eagles celebrated in the endzone after the game-winning touchdown, crying and embracing each other. When they went back to the locker room, the players doused English in Gatorade. He said the win was more gratifying than relieving. "I was happy," he told reporters. "Don't get me wrong: I was happy, but it's sad because you can never really enjoy it because you have to get onto to the next game. It's sad because you should enjoy the wins more, but you don't because you're trying to win the next game."

Eastern's victory over Ball State showed the Eagles they could win. More importantly, it showed progress. For English, a Michigan Man, it seemed like his efforts at rebuilding the program were finally paying off. The Eagles went on to win only one other game in 2010, against Buffalo. Perhaps the most crushing defeat came on November 26, as the Eagles looked to leave the season with a win. Instead, they were blown out 71-3 by Northern Illinois. Eastern finished the season 2-10.

Few are aware that English is saddled with obstacles that other programs, other coaches do not have to face. While admittedly some other struggling programs may be facing similar obstacles, the perfect storm of problems that Eastern deals with makes its situation unique. EMU is located in Ypsilanti, which is literally a stone's throw away from Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan. As such, many people who grow up in Ypsilanti and are fans of college football are more likely to be fans of Michigan than they are of Eastern. Fan turnout at Eastern's Rynearson Stadium for football games on Saturday is abysmal. The Eagles are lucky if 4,000 of the stadium's 30,000 capacity show up to watch a game, when other, more exciting games (such as Michigan's) are happening at the same time.

Keeping morale up is also a constant battle. The players are so used to losing games that it is sometimes difficult for English to rally them to play a decent second half. In one the most depressing press conferences that I've ever seen a coach give, English and two of his players (defensive back Chris May and tailback Dwayne Priest) took questions from reporters after a 45-17 loss to U-M in 2009, English's first year. If the reporters harbored any sympathy for English and his team, they certainly didn't show it by sparing them any tough questions. English was asked if he had seriously expected to beat Michigan at any point in the game or going into the second half. May and Priest then looked at the reporters, their faces marked with defeat, pain, and disillusionment. Still, English answered with resilience.

"We expect to win," he said. "We really do. I know people think that's hard to believe. We expect to win every game. So the mood was we need to do what it takes to win the game."

Finally, English faces a tough battle in recruiting. Though he cannot go after the four and five star talent as Michigan or Alabama can, thus by definition making his job as a coach tougher to win tough games, he still can target recruits who are ranked or given three, two, or even one star. Yet even those are not easy. Eastern is rarely a recruit's first choice when they have Western or Central as options. The proximity to Ann Arbor perpetually keeps the Eagles in U-M's shadow, which also might have a negative effect on recruits, who want to have fan support on game day. There is no such competition for attention in Western Michigan's Kalamazoo or Central Michigan's Mount Pleasant. There is also the overall statistic held by Eastern of 428-519-47. The Eagles cannot be seen as a winning program in anyone's book.

These obstacles make winning at Eastern a nearly impossible feat. No one has a tougher job in college football than Ron English. However, despite his setbacks, he is convinced that he can make Eastern relevant again—or at least make it into a better program than when he found it. To some degree, he has already done that. He believed that the number one reason why Eastern and its previous coaches were largely unable to be successful in the past was from the lack of support. Now, the university's president, the regents, and the athletic department have all met English's requests and have committed to bettering Eastern Michigan's football program. They have upgraded their campus from a rough outdoor practice field to a state-of-the-art indoor practice facility as good as any out there. English and his staff are hoping that it pays off with recruits, who will see that Eastern cares about its program.

Some would say that it all starts with wins, but having any type of winning streak at Eastern right now is unforeseeable. Instead, English must focus on winning the games he can, and particularly beating the rivals, Central and Western. Defeating your rivals is a strange thing and has an odd effect. Even in a losing season, it is satisfying. It lifts morale, and it keeps alumni, fans, and donors happy. If English could do one thing to show that he's moving in the right direction, it would be that. Beat the rivals.

English was asked if he had a message he wanted to give to fans about believing in Eastern's football program. "If you look at it, basically our president and regents bought into the message, and they tried to do the things that it would take for our program to be successful, and we can't be successful without people in the stands," he said. "I mean, it's just so hard to do that because the players are motivated, obviously, by a home crowd. We really want you to come. We're going to play as hard we can play, and we're so excited. And you can come out and see our new uniforms. There are going to be a lot of giveaways; you know, we have a great promotional campaign and a great marketing campaign going. So I think it will be a different atmosphere in Rynearson, and I think the people will have fun, and I really hope that they come out."

For the players at Eastern Michigan who still have doubt, English has put up a sign along the wall of the locker room that reads "Embrace the Process." It is similar to Bo Schembechler's sign at Michigan which said "Those who stay will be champions."