Bowl Game set, Coach very not set.

One of the 800lb question marks surrounding Michigan football has been answered:

Michigan will play in the Capital One Bowl in Orlando against the Florida Gators.

The good: Highest profile non-BCS game, with the largest non-BCS payout, and there's always a bit of extra prestige to playing on New Years Day rather than in late December

The bad: We are likely to get destroyed by Florida.

The ugly: OSU has snuck back into the National Championship game, against Les Miles' LSU Tigers. And we Michigan fans thought we were conflicted over who to pull for in last year's title game? Furthermore, the entire Big 10 is going to look very ugly when the bowl season has completed. Check out some of these other "neutral site" matchups:

Ohio State vs. Louisiana State in New Orleans (BCS Championship Game)
Illinois vs Southern Cal in Pasadena (Rose Bowl)
Michigan vs. Florida in Orlando (Capital One)
Penn State vs. Texas A&M in San Antonio (Alamo)

Even Purdue has to play against a team in its home state, as it drew Central Michigan in the Motor City Bowl! Although the Boilers may be the only Big 10 team favored to win their matchup. The other Big 10 bowl matchups:

Wisconsin vs. Tennessee (Outback Bowl, Tampa, FL)
Michigan State vs. Boston College (Champs Sports Bowl, Orlando, FL)
Indiana vs. Oklahoma State (Insight Bowl, Tempe, AZ)


Coach Search

Status? One giant clusterfrack. Bill Martin apparently contacted Miles' agent this morning, verified what Miles said in his press conference yesterday--that he intends to sign the extension and stay at LSU--and is now moving on. There are no obvious front-runners at the moment, although Michigan's current Defensive Coordinator Ron English is apparently being granted a second interview and would appear to be the leader at the moment.

Hardly an inspiring choice, but at least it's not Mike DeBord.

Brian Kelly from Cincinnati (formerly CMU and Grand Valley State) appears to not be a candidate for reasons so far not publicly known, which is a shame as I've been waffling between him and Miles for a while now. His resume thus far appears to be a combination of Urban Meyer's and Jim Tressell's prior to their current appointments.

If Kelly is in fact out, I'd love to see us swing for the fences and try and pull Jeff Tedford away from Cal. The Bears had a disappointing season this year, but his track record at an academic Pac 10 also-ran has been incredibly impressive. But I don't think that is likely.

I want to clarify my position on Miles a bit, but will save that for another post.