Michigan's Rodriguez says he's aware of tradition

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Maybe all the talk about whether first-year coach Rich Rodriguez understands and embraces the traditions and history of Michigan football wouldn't be quite so loud if this year's Wolverines had embraced the oldest of U of M traditions - winning.

Michigan (3-8, 2-5 Big Ten) comes into Saturday's game at No. 10 Ohio State (9-2, 6-1 Big Ten) not given much of a chance to win in this rivalry matchup for the first time since the 1960s.

Rodriguez, the first person without Michigan ties hired as the Wolverines' football coach since Bo Schembechler in 1969, heard questions about his feelings toward Michigan's traditions from the day he was hired away from West Virginia.

Those questions have only gotten louder as Michigan has lost more games than any season in the 129 years it has been keeping score in football games.

This week, the questions have turned to whether he understands the depth of the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry. Does he get it?

Rodriguez grew a little testy at his weekly press conference Monday when asked if maybe he should be playing up the OSU game more.

"Maybe I have and you all don't know it," he said. "I didn't make any public statements because there are a whole lot of other things we're trying to do. I'll never diminish the importance of a Michigan-Ohio State game. Never have, never would.

"Just because I don't say something on my first day on the job doesn't mean I don't understand the importance of the game," he said.

Tradition hasn't exactly been running in Michigan's direction, anyway, since Jim Tressel arrived at OSU in 2001. The Buckeyes have beaten the Wolverines six times in the last seven seasons.

And Tressel did make a very public statement about this game on his first day on the job, telling the crowd at an Ohio State men's basketball game that they would be proud of their team in 310 days on the football field in Ann Arbor.

Tradition was one of the things Ohio State linebacker Marcus Freeman noticed when he took a recruiting trip to Michigan.

"My dad was from Columbus and he was always anti-Michigan. But when you actually got up there and realized the history they have and the respect for the program, I remember telling my dad, ‘Man, this program has a lot of tradition. It's successful. I really like it,' " Freeman said.

The last Michigan football coach who didn't beat Ohio State in his first season on the job was Harry Kipke in 1929.

Lloyd Carr's 1995 team salvaged its season by upsetting unbeaten Ohio State 31-23. Gary Moeller's first team in 1990 won 16-13 over OSU and Schembechler's 1969 team produced an upset for the ages when it beat No. 1 Ohio State 24-12.

Restoring Michigan's winning tradition - or pulling off a shocker at Ohio State on Saturday - could put an end to the questions about Rodriguez and Michigan's past.

It could take a while, though.

"That's not going to be as easily done as maybe everybody wants, but we do have a plan to get it done. It's going to take more time than I want, but if everybody will be patient and give us a little time, we'll be fine," Rodriguez said.