The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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michigan football On average, Michigan's last eight coordinators have translated to an average increase of 0.6 wins during the first year. However, if Calvin Magee's disastrous 2008 campaign (3-9 record) is taken out of the equation, the boost is 1.6 wins per coordinator. "It is so important for coordinators to make players understand the 'why' behind game plans and decisions because guys on the team buy in when they get it," Joppru said. "I know my senior year, it would be third down, and the play would come in and I already had a good guess at what plays we might run and why we thought those plays would be successful. The coaches worked us to be great at a handful of plays, and in turn we trusted them to put us in the best position to be successful. "When you have that trust both ways, you play faster, play harder. There is no second-guessing in your own game or in the game plan." Michigan Near Top 10 In Bowl Appearances Penn State's enforced idleness from bowl games opened a door for Michigan, and the Wolverines are walking through it — in one fashion, anyway. Michigan's appearance in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl brought them within one of hitting the top 10 in the nation in such postseason trips. That's not bad for a program operating for a long while under Big Ten rules that limited the conference to just one team per year making a bowl appearance. Now, though, the Wolverines want to get back to posting bowl victories and moving up that list. At present, Michigan's total of 43 bowl appearances stands No. 11 on the all-time docket, just one behind Ohio State and Penn State. With the Nittany Lions still on the no-fly list in terms of bowl games next year, via NCAA sanctions, a bowl-worthy season by the Wolverines could put them in the top 10. Meanwhile, Michigan stands tied with Ohio State at No. 14 in all-time bowl victories (20). Both the Wolverines and Buckeyes dropped their bowl games this season, with U-M 1-2 in bowls under Brady Hoke after going 0-1 in three years under Rich Rodriguez. The Wolverines went 6-7 in bowl games during Lloyd Carr's 13 years as head coach, after Gary Moeller compiled a 4-1 record in postseason contests. Michigan's longest bowl winning streak is four. The Wolverines won the first four bowls they participated in — the original Rose Bowl (not so dubbed at the time) in 1902, the Rose Bowl in 1948, and Rose Bowls in 1951 and 1965. They also strung together four straight bowl victories under Carr, beginning with the national championship-clinching win in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, 1998. Since losing a record seven straight bowls in the 1970s, the Wolverines stand 16-16 in bowl games. Here is a look at where Michigan stands, both in all-time bowl appear-