Rodriguez’s Debut and a Historic Decline

The 2008 Michigan Wolverines finished 3-9 overall and 2-6 in Big Ten play. They scored 243 points (20.2 per game) and allowed 347 (28.9). In Rich Rodriguez’s first season after Lloyd Carr’s retirement, Michigan suffered its first losing season since 1967 and more losses in a single year than in any previous season in the program’s 129-year history. Michigan missed a bowl for the first time since 1974.

Regular Season

Rodriguez’s debut was a 23-25 home loss to Utah. Nick Sheridan started at quarterback. Utah’s Brian Johnson threw for 305 yards; Michigan rallied from 22-10 but could not finish. A 16-6 win over Miami (Ohio) followed, then a 17-35 loss at Notre Dame.

The high point of the year was a 27-25 home win over No. 9 Wisconsin. Homecoming against Illinois produced a 20-45 loss. The next week, Michigan lost 10-13 at home to Toledo—the program’s first loss to a Mid-American Conference team. Road losses at No. 3 Penn State (17-46) and a 21-35 home defeat to Michigan State followed. Michigan then lost 42-48 at Purdue.

The only other conference win was 29-6 at Minnesota. Northwestern won 21-14 in Ann Arbor. The season ended 7-42 at No. 10 Ohio State, the fifth consecutive loss in the rivalry.

Statistical and Contextual Notes

The spread-option offense was installed from scratch with a quarterback room that included Sheridan and Steven Threet. Brandon Graham was team MVP. Zoltan Mesko earned All-Big Ten honors as a punter. Michigan went 2-5 at home and 1-4 on the road.

The 2008 season stands as the nadir of the post-Carr transition. It broke two long program streaks—non-losing seasons and bowl appearances—and established the scale of the rebuild Rodriguez had been hired to complete.