Michigan is overrated

The Michigan Wolverines started out the season showing great promise.

Their last second victory over Washington and easy win over MAC school Western Michigan showed they may be a team that deserves to be in the top eight or so in the nation.

But their showing on Saturday against a Notre Dame team trying to gain back its national stature was really a wake up call to all those who thought this may be highly ranked team all year.

The Fighting Irish had not scored an offensive touchdown in their first two games. However, this team marched down the field on a Michigan defense that looked unprepared to handle an offense unable to do much against Maryland or Purdue.

The first problem I see is the poor performance of John Navarre.

Sure, he could be a star at a lesser school with his size and average ability. But, at a school the size of Michigan and the schedule the Wolverines play, he is barely good enough to be a backup.

I know Lloyd Carr likes him and still has faith in him. This belief in him must end.

Navarre constantly throws behind, over, or short of his receivers. He doesn't seem to be on the same page. Either he is really bad, or his receivers don't know what they are doing.

I believe that Navarre is as good as he ever will be. He has shown no improvement since last year.

Michigan fans are in for a year where the Wolverines will still win more games than lose, and also continue to disappoint just when you think they are turning into a national powerhouse.

The defense is another thing that needs to be addressed.

They had trouble stopping the Irish on the ground and in the air.

Although when the blitz was on, they seemed to have a lot of success. They hit the quarterback throughout the game. The secondary gave up big plays, especially on the opening drive which set the tone for the game.

You have to remember, even though at times the defense looked good against Notre Dame, this Irish team struggled through the first two games showing a poor offensive effort.

Michigan's defense was the cure for the Irish offense's ills.

Why can't the Michigan coaching staff find a kicker?

Go to the soccer team and check out the goalie or anyone else with a big foot. Get a large lineman to kick straight on. Or, at the very least, stick with Philip Brabbs on every kick. Let him know he is your kicker.

Don't bring in someone to kick the shorter field goals when he can't do his job anyway.

Carr has two kickers, neither of whom are able to kick the ball through the uprights on a consistent basis. Again, this is OK for a smaller college, but for a school of Michigan's stature, this is unacceptable.

Finally, the coaching of the Michigan Wolverines is suspect.

In the first game, on the final series where the team had no time outs, a running play was called when three yards were needed for a first down.

Of course, he didn't make it and the clock kept running. Sure the Michigan Wolverines won in spite of that.

Against the Irish, the Wolverines had a chance to take a penalty to move the offense back ten yards and possibly out of field goal range. But, the coaches decided to give the Irish a 44 yard field goal instead of making them possibly punt without a third down conversion.

This is not just hindsight. Even the announcers noticed and couldn't believe the decisions made at these times.

Lloyd Carr said he has a good football team. They just have to stop making so many penalties and turning the ball over.

I will just add that they have to stop the pass better and be able to make field goals when the offense puts them in position to do so, and hit the receivers when they are open.

Other than these several things, I agree that the Michigan Wolverines are a good team.

Carr has a long way to go to prove that he has a good team. It is early, but this was a big setback for the Wolverines on their quest for a big bowl game.

I will continue to hang in there, but my expectations are now much lower than they used to be.