suppose Rodriguez gets Michigan to 6-6 in the regular season next year and then the Wolverines kill some team in a small bowl game. What will be the consensus as to Michigan's future on Rodriguez? My guess is that most ND fans would think that he has a reasonable chance to succeed.

It points out the difficulty of being objective about one's team. Because of emotional investment, it's easy to swing one way or the other depending upon particular games.

That said, I'd be breathing much easier about Weis if ND had finished 8-5 or 9-4 last year. I still fear that some of Weis's bad tendencies towards hubris will kill him again if things start to improve.

This is one reason why I was alright with Weis getting another year, and why I'm not sure that looking at the raw win/loss numbers is the correct way to ascertain the future of a Coach in a situation that Rodriguez is in this year (and Charlie found himself last year).

Watching the 2008 season, despite the fact that we lost some games that we shouldn't have (UNC, MSU, SU, Pitt), I believe any rational observer could compare the two and realize that our 2008 team overall looked nothing like the 2007 team. At times they were inept, and the lack of a run game was disturbing, but our offense was far more dynamic than it was in 2007 and we were much more of a threat than we had been the year before. We can bemoan the narrow losses, but the 2007 team wouldn't have been in most of them at the end.

UM, on the other hand, by looking at their schedule, could possibly end up 6-6 while still looking almost as bad as their 2008 counterparts. Home wins over Western Michigan, Eastern Michigan (Southern Michigan must not have been available), Indiana, Delaware State, and Purdue, while snagging a game from either Iowa, Wisconsin, or Illinois while not being competitive against PSU, OSU, ND, and the remainder of the Iowa/Wisconsin/Illinois would probably put UM on only the barest of upward trajectories.

That being said, it's also possible that UM wins those 6 games by quite a bit, and is competitive in their remaining 6. That would put them on a distinct upward trajectory. As for the likelihood of this occurring? Honestly -- I have a problem finding that 6th win in the UM football schedule. I don't think their team is on par with any of Iowa, Wisconsin, or Illinois. Luckily for Rodriguez, they should be able to beat last years win total solely on the strength of the Western Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Indiana, Delaware State gauntlet they have to run.