Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez has made it painfully clear time and time again that he would like this offseason to end — and soon.

He’s lost sleep, he’s been witness to hordes of upset alums (even though he claims he receives only support) and he’s watched as one of the nation’s other premier football programs —USC — received a swift haymaker from the NCAA Committee on Infractions.

And when Rodriguez and the rest of the Michigan contingent take their place in front of the same committee, he fully knows the brunt of the NCAA’s questions will be about him.

After all, Michigan has admitted to four of the five major NCAA violations. They know they overpracticed their players. They know their quality control staff overstepped its bounds.

But their refusal to admit that coach Rodriguez didn’t usher an environment of compliance, that fifth and most intriguing violation, puts the white-hot spotlight directly on the third-year coach.

And then there’s the curveball. What about the impending NCAA investigation at West Virginia? Will that have any effect on how the committee views Rodriguez and his “compliance?”

According to the procedure’s rules, the committee’s job is to focus on only one case at a time, ignoring any other peripheral cases. But as Florida attorney and NCAA investigations expert Michael Buckner told the Daily earlier this week, the committee members are still “human beings.”

“The West Virginia case, this weekend, will be that silent party in the room, that everybody knows is there, but no one’s going to talk about,” Buckner said.

So with all the secrecy and questions surrounding that room in Seattle, how will the meeting shake out for Rodriguez’s Wolverines?

Worst Case Scenario

Just ask Mike Garrett.

Garrett is the former USC athletic director who looked on as his program fraudulently paid Reggie Bush’s and O.J. Mayo’s way to Southern California.

Now, whether it was excessive or not, the Trojans punishment is about as severe as it gets: a loss of 30 scholarships over three years, a two-year postseason ban and the loss of its 2004 national title.

Any way you spin it, that’s about as tough as it gets. And with the Pac-10 beginning to build up beyond USC, the Trojans’ loss of that many scholarships could severely affect its place as conference royalty.

It’d be ridiculous to assume that Michigan would receive punishments that hefty, and if they did, it would be an enormous mistake by the NCAA. USC saw that their players received monetary benefit, which compromises college athletics far worse than a few too many practices or coaches on the field. But it’s clear that the committee doesn’t take too kindly to folks ignoring “compliance,” and the USC case makes that extremely clear.

And the fact that Rodriguez’s former program in Morgantown will likely get slapped with a compliance-related charge could weigh down on Michigan’s case, whether the committee says it does or not. That could technically make Rodriguez a repeat offender. But again, the NCAA says it won’t break its own rules.

In all likelihood, the worst thing the Wolverines should see is a slight reduction in scholarships — one that is far from the extreme level that USC saw cut. But as modest as that sounds, a loss in scholarships is the last thing Michigan needs as it tries to rebuild and gain depth, something that plagued the team the last two seasons.

Best Case Scenario

Obviously, the best outcome from the Seattle meeting would be a slap on the wrist and a warning, but chances are the NCAA will take at least a little bit of action.

Athletic Director Dave Brandon has, on more than one occasion, said that he believes the Wolverines' self-imposed sanctions were enough. And from the outside looking in, despite the major violations and the limited effect the sanctions should have on a day-to-day basis for the football team, he’s probably on the right track.

The NCAA tends to look most poorly on schools that fail to own up to their wrongdoings. Just look at the NCAA’s verdict against the Baylor, Georgia and Minnesota basketball programs in the past decade. The NCAA doesn’t like liars.

So the fact that Brandon has repeatedly assured the public that Michigan made mistakes on several occasions should be a good thing. He even tried to harness some of the blame himself.