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Rodriguez era begins as Michigan hosts Utah

Aug 30, 2008 - 10:11 AM Utah at No. 24 Michigan, 3:30 pm EDT

ANN ARBOR, Michigan (Ticker) -- Rich Rodriguez faces a tough task in his first game in the Big House.

Rodriguez makes his highly anticipated debut as Michigan's head coach Saturday when the 24th-ranked Wolverines host upset-minded Utah in the season opener for both schools.

Following a successful seven-year stint at West Virginia in which he guided the Mountaineers to 60 victories and six straight bowl appearances, Rodriguez left his alma mater in controversial fashion last December to succeed Lloyd Carr at Michigan.

Two weeks after his Mountaineers missed a chance at a BCS championship game berth with a 13-9 loss to Pittsburgh, Rodriguez informed West Virginia officials that he was resigning on December 16 - four months after re-negotiating a new long-term contract to stay in Morgantown.

In the aftermath of his resignation, Rodriguez was implicated in a scandal involving the destruction of football documents and was sued by West Virginia for failing to honor a $4 million buyout in his previous contract. The lawsuit was settled last month.

Despite his off-field problems, Rodriguez certainly has established himself as one of the country's top coaches. The West Virginia native guided the Mountaineers to at least a share of the Big East Conference crown in four of the last five seasons and has posted a 32-5 record over the last three campaigns.

Rodriguez faces a daunting challenge to duplicate that success at Michigan, which returns just 10 starters from an underachieving team that went 9-4 last season.

Carr, who announced his resignation after the regular-season finale against Ohio State, found himself on the proverbial hot seat following Michigan's stunning 34-32 loss to Appalachian State in last year's opener here.

If Rodriguez and the Wolverines want to avoid another season-opening upset, they will have to defeat a talented Utah squad that returns 16 starters from a team that went 9-4 last year.

After going 8-4 in the regular season, including 5-3 in the Mountain West Conference, the Utes defeated Navy, 35-32, in the Poinsettia Bowl.

Fourth-year Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham boasts an improving offense led by running back Darrell Mack, who rushed for 1,204 yards and 12 touchdowns last season.

Michigan barely edged out a 10-7 victory over the Utes here in 2002, the only previous meeting between these schools.