Jake Rudock Must Be Mistake-Free If Michigan Has Any Hope For Big Ten Title

Michigan‘s Big Ten title hopes seemingly went out the window two weeks ago when they fell to Michigan State on the last play of one of the craziest finishes ever. Normally just one conference loss puts you in an elite group, but with three unbeaten teams remaining, the Wolverines will likely have to win out and hope for help.

Jim Harbaugh‘s defense has been an elite group this year, which is why they’re sitting in the position that they’re in this far into the season, especially following a losing season under Brady Hoke in 2014. The offense, on the other hand, has been good but not exceptional. They have explosive players like De’Veon Smith and Ty Isaac at running back, but neither has put up great overall numbers. The receivers have been a little better than expected led by Amara Darboh, Jake Butt and Jehu Chesson, but none are among the Big Ten’s elite.

The best way to describe the offense is that it’s been good enough to win games with the defense holding the opponent in check — and in many cases — pitching a shutout. Quarterback Jake Rudock has fit the mold of ordinary so far this season. Through seven games, Rudock has five touchdowns and six interceptions which is uncharacteristic of the fifth-year senior.

That said, Kirk Ferentz, his former coach at Iowa, decided to make the change to C.J. Beathard at quarterback this season, prompting Rudock to leave and take over the starting job with the Wolverines.

In order for Michigan to come out on top in the east, they’ll have to win the rest of their games, which includes a regular season finale with unbeaten Ohio State. On top of that, Michigan State will need to lose twice because they too are unbeaten and hold the tiebreaker over the Wolverines.

None of this will matter though, if Rudock can’t cut down on turnovers. Their current level of play might be good enough against the teams they’ve played so far, but when they play defenses like Penn State and Ohio State in a few weeks, they won’t come out on top just on the strength of theirs.

Jason Shawley is a Featured Writer for www.RantSports.com covering Big Ten football. Follow him on Twitter @jshawls.