ESPN College Football

Michigan announced late Tuesday night that in addition to unretiring the No. 48 worn by former President Gerald Ford, it will unretire two other jersey numbers.

The team will unretire the No. 47 worn by Bennie Oosterbaan and the No. 87 won by Ron Kramer. Both men played end for the Wolverines, while Ford played center from 1932-34. All three men will be "honored in perpetuity" by having their names on a patch on the jerseys worn by future Michigan players, beginning this season. Michigan's coaching staff has yet to determine who will wear Nos. 47, 48 or 87 this season.

"The success and acceptance of the Desmond Howard Legend recognition led to conversations with the family members who had retired jerseys, several of whom were never recognized or celebrated in the appropriate manner," Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon said in a prepared statement. “The Ford, Kramer and Oosterbaan families want to see their family member honored in this way. We have yet to have any discussions with the Wistert or Harmon families. This program is about tradition and legacy and this is a unique way to recognize these great Wolverines."

Michigan honored Howard, the 1991 Heisman Trophy winner, during its historic night game against Notre Dame last season. Howard's No. 21 jersey will be worn by Roy Roundtree this year. Michigan is tentatively scheduled to honor Oosterbaan during its Sept. 8 game against Air Force, Kramer during its Sept. 15 game against Massachusetts and Ford during its Oct. 13 game against Illinois.

The lockers assigned to the three jersey numbers at both Michigan Stadium and Michigan's practice facility will reflect the fact that Ford, Oosterbaan and Kramer donned those numbers.

Michigan still will have retired jerseys for Tom Harmon's No. 98 and Francis, Albert and Alvin Wistert's No. 11, at least for now.

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg

Some Rushmore leftovers and the like.

Aaron from Iowa City, Iowa, writes: Hey Adam, what are your thoughts of the new tiebreaker rules? I personally don't like anything that puts more power into the voter's hands, so I am completely against them adding the BCS standings. I also liked teams being eliminated for playing an FCS team. It credits teams like Michigan State who didn't just take the easy way out and only play 11 real games in a season

Adam Rittenberg: It certainly could be a dangerous move by the Big Ten, Aaron, especially considering what happened to the Big 12 last season. But with only one division, a history of getting multiple teams to BCS games and the built-in annual rivalries like Michigan-Ohio State and Penn State-Ohio State, I don't see the BCS standings tiebreaker coming into play too much (I hope). In most seasons, two Big Ten teams with a shot for the national title game will face one another.

I definitely agree with getting rid of the old "last team to the Rose Bowl doesn't get to go" rule, and I think the BCS standings would only be used in rare cases. Now, if the Big Ten adds a team and goes to two divisions -- again, very unlikely -- any time soon, then the tiebreaker rules need to be reexamined. As far as the FCS rule, there are too many Big Ten teams that want home games at all costs, so they're going to continue to schedule FCS opponents with no return game. It's just a fact of the business when you have huge stadiums like the ones in the Big Ten. No one wants to go on the road, and the league isn't going to stand in the way.

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Paul from Johnstown, Pa., writes: Adam, Let me be the first to say, I loathe the Wolverines...but even I have to give it up for one man you totally dissed on the Michigan Rushmore...no Gerald Ford? All he did was help win 2 national titles, earn team MVP honors, and HAVE HIS JERSEY RETIRED!! Also, I may have forgot to mention that he was the leader of the free world. You don't even have him on the short-list. For goodness sakes, isn't the real Rushmore made up of former presidents?

Adam Rittenberg: Paul, you've got to read the fine print. President Ford was considered for Michigan's Rushmore, but the team had four stronger candidates. I don't know how you can have Michigan's Rushmore without Bo Schembechler, Fielding Yost and Tom Harmon. And Charles Woodson was arguably the best defensive player in college football in the last 25 years. Look at some of the other guys who didn't make Michigan's list -- Bennie Oosterbaan, AC (Anthony Carter), Fritz Crisler. You can make a case for Ford no doubt, but I can make a stronger one for the guys I included.

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Zach from Chicago writes: Hey Adam, I know there are some questions at Illinois for this upcoming season but it seems like noone is even giving them a chance this year. With Juice, Benn, Jenkins, Dufrene, Ford, Hoomanawanui all returning on offense and the addition of Terry Hawthorne, I see this as being not only the most potent offense in the Big Ten, but one of the better offenses in the country, even with Locksley gone. Mike Schultz did an excellent job down at TCU. I think even if the Illini defense is not that great, they will have the ability to win a lot of games simply by putting up a lot of points on the board. They kind of remind me of a big 12 south team this year. I just wanted to get your opinion on their chances.

Adam Rittenberg: If Illinois fills some holes and gets better on the offensive line, there's no reason why it can't be among the nation's top offenses in 2009. A new coordinator could bring some growing pains, but Juice Williams was terrific the first half of last season and returns almost all of his weapons. I would still like for a featured back to emerge -- either Jason Ford or Daniel Dufrene -- and stabilize the run game outside of Juice. But there's no reason to think Illinois can't average 32-plus points and 430-plus yards of offense per game in 2009.

My biggest concerns with the Illini are defense and team chemistry. This clearly was a bit of a fractured team in 2008 to underachieve as badly as it did. And I would be extremely hesitant to buy into the philosophy that Illinois should simply outscore its opponents. The talent is there on defense, but the coaches need to get more out of that group this fall.

(Read full post)

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg

This is another Rushmore list that can't be completely on target or totally off base. Michigan has won too much and produced too many stars to fit on one mountain. 

The Wolverines boast 18 multiple All-Americans, including three-time selections Bennie Oosterbaan and Anthony Carter, neither of whom made the final list. The winningest program in FBS history has several iconic coaches, 15 Big Ten MVPs, three Heisman Trophy winners and two Maxwell Award winners. Michigan's Rushmore could easily be made up of four coaches, but I couldn't shut out the guys who made it happen on the field.

Here's the list for the Wolverines. 

• Bo Schembechler -- He will always remain an icon at Michigan and in the Big Ten as one of the most recognizable coaches in college football history. Schemechler's teams at Michigan won or shared 13 Big Ten titles, reached 10 Rose Bowls and never had a losing season. He went 194-48-5 in 21 seasons at Michigan and later served as the school's athletic director. No figure meant more to Michigan athletics in the modern era than Schembechler. 
• Fielding Yost -- Yost laid the groundwork for Michigan's success as head coach for 25 years. His teams won six national championships, including four straight from 1901-04. Michigan went 56 games without a loss, and 20 of Yost's players earned All-America honors. He later served as Michigan's athletic director from 1921-41. 
• Tom Harmon -- Harmon won Michigan's first Heisman Trophy in 1940 and starred for Fritz Crisler's teams as a do-it-all star. He ran, threw and kicked the ball, scoring 237 points in his career. Harmon finished second in the Heisman voting in 1939 and won Big Ten MVP honors and the Maxwell Award the next season. 
• Charles Woodson -- It probably took several dynamic punt returns to secure the Heisman Trophy, but Woodson is undoubtedly one of the best defensive players in college football history. The Wolverines star cornerback is the only predominantly defensive player to win the Heisman, intercepting eight passes in 1997. The two-time All-American swept the national awards as a junior and finished his career with 18 interceptions. 

Needless to say, there were a ton of others considered for Michigan's Rushmore, including: Oosterbaan, Carter, Desmond Howard, Gerald Ford, Fritz Crisler, Dan Dierdorf and Rick Leach.