Welcome back to the hot seat

The other half of our blogging duo (the 'Eye) is too superstitious to write anything about the disaster taking place with the school up north. Looks like the 'Eer's preseason prediction just may come true.

Just a few weeks ago everyone in Ann Arbor was buying into RichRod and the Wolverines when they opened the season 4-0. Oh, how things have changed. Following today's embarrassing 38-13 loss at Illinois (2-6) the Wolverines may miss a bowl for a second consecutive year.

Rodriguez's team has gone 1-4 in its last five games and now sits at 5-4 with a dismal 1-4 record in the Big Ten. Former Syracuse coach Greg Robinson's defense is terrible and Tate Forcier looks more like a true freshman at QB each week.

Welcome back to the hot seat Rich. If the losing skid isn't enough, certainly the potential for an NCAA investigation that could lead to major infractions won't sit well with the big boosters.

So right now 6-6 appears to be the best possible finish for the Wolverines, a big letdown after all of that early season promise. But look at the UM's remaining schedule and 5-7 may be more realistic: travel to Madison to face Wisconsin and finish the season in the Big House against rival Ohio State, who is riding a five-game winning streak in the series.

Realistically, Michigan's only shot at getting to six wins is next week's home game with Purdue. However, the Boilermakers upset Ohio State earlier and they would relish the idea of spoiling the Wolverines' season.

So is 6-6 or 5-7 enough of an improvement for RichRod to survive? Probably. Is there some nefarious plot against RichRod? Nah, it's just karma.