Michigan Football Come Back!

Nov 9, 2013; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Michigan Wolverines offensive linesman Taylor Lewan (77) walks off the field after the game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Michigan Stadium. Nebraska won 17-13. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

It’s no secret that Michigan football is having a disappointing season. By no means does that mean it’s time for them to give up. Giving up just isn’t in what the Michigan tradition stands for. Michigan tradition is about being a model of excellence in academics,athletics and succeeding after graduation. Playing football for the University of Michigan is an honor and the team needs to rediscover that.

Now whose job is it to re-emphasize that? If you think that only Brady Hoke is responsible that’s incorrect. Not only is the whole coaching staff responsible but so is the entire team. Bo Schembechler made that very clear while he was head coach by holding everybody responsible for their actions.

Michigan can begin their road to redemption again by winning against a struggling Northwestern team. Northwestern started the season with four consecutive wins and were a top 25 team before dropping five consecutive games. The game is at Northwestern and last time they played there had a very exciting finish. It started with Michigan staging a game tying drive on their last possession of the game and then winning in overtime.

Coming off two embarrassing losses to Michigan State and Nebraska, Michigan needs to make a big statement. Those games saw their record drop to six wins and three losses. Michigan is now two and three in the Big Ten as well which is absolutely unacceptable. They also have not scored more than one touchdown in a game since they played Indiana.

I’m not going to get into statistics about individual performances for this team. Instead I’ll say that Michigan on the field has several obvious flawed areas to work on. These include but are not limited to the play of the quarterback, offensive line, running game, special teams and overall defense. If Michigan had a strong week of practice it will show against Northwestern. There is no better time to begin to restart your winning tradition than by beating a struggling opponent.

If Michigan loses, the season will be lost and the team will be in for a brutal summer with unlimited media scrutiny.And guess what, it will all be warranted. Michigan football has been a force for to long to have back to back mediocre seasons. Their offense is too talented to have back to back embarrassing outings. I will always be a Michigan fan regardless but they need to regain their identity, and that begins against Northwestern, go blue!