Did you know that former Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon was a backup defensive end on one of Bo Schembechler's teams during the 1970's?
I only point this out to emphasize that Brandon (probably) wasn't intentionally trying to destroy Michigan football's national reputation during his tenure at the school years later. It'd be a much more intriguing story if he was some kind of secret Buckeye double agent, but this is a story about incompetence, not espionage.
In 2014, Michigan football had a problem.
Actually, they had a lot of problems. Brady Hoke was still their coach, and was still trying to do his best Tressel impersonation but without the coaching acumen or athletic talent.