The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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14 THE WOLVERINE SEPTEMBER 2020 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS Five Years Ago, 2015: Brigham Young came into Michigan Stadium Sept. 26 ranked No. 22 in the land. The Cougars left awash in pointlessness, suffering a 31-0 loss in Jim Harbaugh's fourth game as U-M head coach. The Wolverines left no doubt, ei- ther, scoring all 31 of their points in the opening 30 minutes before tak- ing their foot off the gas in the second half. Graduate transfer quarterback Jake Rudock accounted for the first two scores, running in a three-yard touchdown before making a four-yard scoring toss to Amara Darboh. Tailback De'Veon Smith broke off a 60-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, prior to Rudock dashing in from 17 yards out for another touch- down. Kenny Allen booted a 40-yard field goal to complete the scoring, while Michigan's defense completed the shutout over 60 minutes (their first of three straight). BYU's Tanner Mangum found himself under fire all day long in a 12-of-28 throwing performance, while Rudock went 14- of-25 passing for 194 yards with the one touchdown. Smith accounted for 125 rushing yards. "It's frustrating," Mangum said afterward. "They shut us down. They outmanned us, outplayed us, outperformed us. They took it to us." 10 Years Ago, 2010: Denard Robinson's two-yard touchdown run gave Michigan a 28-24 win over Notre Dame Sept. 11 in South Bend, capping a game of wild swings. The Irish scored first, in the opening four minutes, taking a 7-0 lead. Michigan then reeled off 21 straight points for a 21-7 halftime advantage. Robinson opened the U-M scoring by gunning a 30-yard touchdown pass to Roy Roundtree. A pair of scoring runs followed, including Robinson's electri- fying 87-yard bolt away from the entire Notre Dame defense. Fortunes turned dramatically after halftime, the Irish answering back with 17 straight points of their own. ND quarterback Dayne Crist fired a pair of long touchdown passes to help bring the Irish back, including a 95-yarder to tight end Kyle Rudolph. That bolt struck with only 3:41 re- maining, but Robinson took the Wol- verines 72 yards in 12 plays for the win. Robinson accounted for 502 yards of Michigan offense, capped by the game-winning final two. "I'm speechless right now," he said. "I really don't know what to say right now. That was amazing." 25 Years Ago, 1995: The Wolverines played a rare early Sep- tember game against a conference opponent, blasting Illinois 38-14 to begin the season 2-0. Michigan led just 10-0 at the half, with star tailback Tshimanga Biakabutuka carrying only three times in the opening 30 min- utes, due to a sore shoulder. He made up for lost time after the half, bolting in for three touchdowns in the opening 4:22 of the third quarter. Biakabutuka finished with 97 yards on 10 carries, and an Illi- nois offense that generated 351 yards but only 14 points came away stunned. "It was a shocking experience for us," Illini wide receiver Mar- quis Mosely said. "We expected a much closer game." — John Borton THIS MONTH IN MICHIGAN ATHLETICS HISTORY Denard Robinson not only threw for 244 yards and a score in Michigan's 28-24 win at Notre Dame in 2010, he rushed for 258 yards and two touch- downs, including the game-winner from two yards out with 27 seconds left. PHOTO BY ERIC BRONSON The Conference Should Announce Now It Won't Happen By Chris Balas The Big Ten didn't commit to a spring football season, noting in its statement it would "attempt" to play in March or April. In reality, it doesn't make any sense … nor did it ever. From what we've heard at Michigan and around the Big Ten, several top players have already left school to prepare for the NFL, so any version of spring college football would be watered down. Additionally, asking college student-athletes to play two sea- sons in six months isn't responsible. Former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer was actually the voice of reason on this one. "You can't ask a player to play two seasons in a calendar year," he said in a Big Ten Network interview. "When I first heard that, I said that. I don't see that happening. … The body, in my very strong opinion, is not made to play two seasons within a cal- endar year. That's 2,000 repetitive reps and football's a physical, tough sport. So, I don't — really don't — see that happening." Neither do we. Very likely, the Big Ten doesn't, either. It's time to call it what it is and hope we have spring practice in 2021. The League Owes It To The Athletes To At Least Try By Austin Fox Having a football season in the spring would require the Big Ten to overcome a lot of obstacles, but the league owes it to the athletes to at least give it a shot. The conference announced Aug. 11 it would "explore" the idea of a spring campaign, but that came across as nothing more than a hollow promise. "We will do everything we can to make a spring season work" would have been a more appropri- ate response from commissioner Kevin Warren. The physical toll it would take on the athletes is one of the biggest hurdles standing in the way, but playing an eight- game slate that runs from the final week of February through the first week of May (for example) would allow the players a minimum of three months off before fall camp kicks off once again in August. A three-month break is oftentimes the duration athletes cur- rently get from the end of their fall campaigns until the start of spring practices. POINT ❙ COUNTERPOINT SHOULD THE BIG TEN ATTEMPT TO HAVE A SPRING FOOTBALL SEASON?