The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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8 THE WOLVERINE NOVEMBER 2019 T he preseason Big Ten fa- vorite status of Jim Har- baugh's football team crashed and burned black in a whiteout. But there's no AAA in college football, and the Wolverines still need to get home. The big blue SUV already stood severely dented after a rollover in Wisconsin. But the travel misery in Happy Val- ley — complete with a 21-0 ditch and a stirring comeback only to suffer a 28-21 loss — almost certainly totaled Michigan's championship chances. The loss at Penn State Oct. 19 officially marked the earli- est date for a second Big Ten loss by U-M in the Harbaugh era — by two days. In 2017, the Wolverines got mugged at Penn State 42-13 on their way to an 8-5 record, 5-4 in the Big Ten. That one fell on Oct. 21. Aside from that low point of the Harbaugh era, the Wolverines haven't suf- fered a second Big Ten defeat in a campaign until the final game of the regular season. Ohio State delivered the decisive loss No. 2 in Harbaugh's first two years as head coach, including a memorable theft in 2016. That offi- cials-aided gut punch likely barred Michigan's first conference champi- onship since 2004 and a first foray to the College Football Playoff. U-M could have again kicked down that door last fall, but it kicked back, ferociously. Michigan didn't lose a Big Ten game until it traveled to Columbus as the fa- vorite. The decisive defeat in the Snakepit again sent championship hopes off the cliff. Now, Harbaugh's crew faces a nasty final stretch, including rivalry games against Notre Dame, Michi- gan State and Ohio State. On top of that, the Wolverines come face-to- face with the modern-era challenges of pushing through when big prizes aren't present. The talk at Penn State proved pre- dictably brave, even in defeat. "It's so hard, because we were so close," junior defensive end Kwity Paye offered. "It comes down to ev- eryone doing their job. Our defense let up one too many touchdowns. The offense played great. We've just got to keep fighting to the end of the season." "You just put steel in your spine and come back on Monday to seek improvement," Harbaugh said. "Be better today than were yesterday, better tomorrow than today. Part of character is putting steel in the spine and coming back Monday." Steel seems in short supply these days — and not just at Michigan. Across the nation, college football players are checking out early, when there's no title or playoff on the line. U-M played its last bowl game without several top players, who were protecting themselves for an NFL opportunity. In John U. Bacon's new book, Overtime, Harbaugh expresses a controlled frustration towards that trend in the game he loves. While declaring his deep affection for those who skipped their final chance to pull on a winged helmet, Harbaugh noted: "I told them they should play, but they took advice from other guys. I think they'll regret it one day — but I want nothing but the best for them." He added, "On the last day of the 1941 baseball season, Ted Williams was hitting .39955. If he didn't play in the doubleheader, he knew they would have rounded that up to .400 — the first guy to bat .400 in 11 years, and there haven't been any since. "He could have sat out, no problem. But he played both games, he hit 6 for 8, and he finished at .400. I admire that. I'll just leave that there." To the college football fan, there remains plenty for which to play. The rivalries, the pride, even the hope that the top teams might start finding the ditches them- selves. But former Michigan defensive end Ryan Van Bergen (2007-11) wonders if the steel might carry too high a tariff these days. "It's actually getting tougher than when I was in school," Van Bergen noted. "Guys have started sitting out of bowls games, because they're protecting themselves. "Before that started happening, you would still say play for the se- niors. It doesn't matter if you're not playing for a Big Ten championship. This is these guys' last go-around, and they deserve our best effort, be- cause it's the last time they'll put the uniform on. "That kind of feels like it's losing its relevance. There's plenty you can do to keep momentum, but to us, that was the big sword to carry. You've got to do this for your se- niors." Now it's pride and showing ev- eryone you were a good team that just made some mistakes, Van Ber- gen said. It's a test of leadership. There's no joyride in pushing the SUV home. But many are watching to see how well it's accomplished. ❏ Editor John Borton has been with The Wolverine since 1991. Contact him at jborton@thewolverine.com and follow him on Twitter @JB _ Wolverine. WOLVERINE WATCH JOHN BORTON Huge Home-Stretch Challenge The 28-21 defeat at Penn State Oct. 19 marked the earliest date for a second Big Ten loss by U-M in the Jim Harbaugh era. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL