Online oddsmakers at sports wagering giant Sportsbook.com forecast the BIG 10 Conference to be a one-horse race this year and the Michigan Wolverines are not expected to be the thoroughbred. However, that doesn’t mean coach Rich Rodriguez will not have his team competitive in its bid for a conference championship and chance for a Rose Bowl trip. The betting odds, at Sportsbook.com , on Michigan winning the BIG 10 Conference are installed at 6-1 odds, fifth best in the league behind favorite Ohio State (1-2), Wisconsin (3-1), Illinois (4-1), and Penn State (5-1). Oddsmakers don’t give the Wolverines much of a chance of winning a national championship either setting their BCS Championship odds at 75-1.
Not often do you hear the word “rebuilding” in the describing the University of Michigan’s football program but that is exactly what it is looking at in 2008. Not only are the Wolverines rebuilding from lost and defected talent; they are rebuilding while at the same time learning a new philosophy imported from West Virginia with the new staff.
Rodriguez joins the Wolverines after spending seven years as head coach at West Virginia, where he led the Mountaineers to a 60-26 record, four Big East titles and six consecutive bowl game bids. But from the looks of it, he will be starting from near scratch in his first year in Ann Arbor.
Aug 30 Utah
Sep 06 Miami (Ohio)
Sep 13 @Notre Dame
Sep 27 Wisconsin
Oct 04 Illinois
Oct 11 Toledo
Oct 18 @Penn State
Oct 25 Michigan State
Nov 01 @Purdue
Nov 15 Northwestern
Nov 22 @Ohio State
