The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1422614
NOVEMBER 2021 THE WOLVERINE 11 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS U-M Will Be Playing For Second In The Division By Chris Balas Michigan is 7-0 heading into a showdown game in East Lansing, and few outside Ann Arbor imagined the Wolver- ines would be there. Most analysts had them 7-5 overall, possibly 8-4, with a loss at Wisconsin all but assured and a game in Lincoln versus Nebraska a toss-up. Instead, U-M came out swinging, and head coach Jim Harbaugh appears to have his team back on track. There's a huge caveat, however — none of the Big Ten teams Michi- gan beat had a winning record at the midway point of the schedule, and the bigger tests were yet to come. Michigan State, surprisingly, is one of them. Picked to finish last in the Big Ten East, Mel Tucker's team instead was also 7-0 heading into the rivalry game. They, too, had yet to face decent competition, but the Spartans' balanced offense was expected to be the best the Wolverines faced all season behind quarterback Payton Thorne and running back Ken- neth Walker. Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford's injury makes that mid-November game look a bit easier, but Happy Valley is a snake pit. That will be a tough one, too. It says here the Wolverines will drop a couple tight games and go into the annual grudge match with Ohio State at 9-2 … still very good, but with the big green "L" blemish next to the Oct. 30 game, never a good feeling. Wolverines Will Have A Chance To Go To Indy By Clayton Sayfie Only three teams in the Big Ten East division — Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State — had yet to lose a confer- ence game as of Oct. 22. All three will play each other before it's all said and done, and the trio will each also get a shot at two-loss Penn State, which was ranked in the top five of the Associated Press poll before close losses to Iowa and Illinois. The Wolverines have three "red-letter games" left: at Michi- gan State Oct. 30, at Penn State Nov. 13 and against Ohio State Nov. 27. To get to the regular season's final weekend with a shot at winning the division, the Maize and Blue will more than likely need to beat at least one of the first two opponents, while not slipping up against Indiana Nov. 6 and at Maryland Nov. 20. Michigan will face tough tests in both East Lansing and Happy Valley, but neither team, clearly, is unbeatable. The Spartans are largely untested, with their best win arguably being a road victory over a below-.500 Miami team, while the Nittany Lions have question marks on offense headlined by the health of their starting quarterback. It's more than conceivable to believe a Michigan team that is 3-0 against squads with a record of .500 or better will be able to gut out a tough road win against a marquee oppo- nent and stave off the Hoosiers and Terrapins to give itself a shot at a berth in the conference title game. POINT ❙ COUNTERPOINT WILL MICHIGAN GO INTO THE OHIO STATE GAME WITH A CHANCE TO WIN THE BIG TEN EAST? This book tells the greatest football story that has never been completely told—until now! The Michigan vs Michigan State football rivalry is the story of two great universities that really don't like each other! This comprehensive book examines the origins of the rivalry that began before football was even played. Barry Gallagher weaves a complete football story about the UM vs MSU football rivalry. This book explains everything that you need to know about the "nasty" history of these bitter rivals. It is a must read for Mitten State football fans everywhere! Barry Gallagher is the best-selling author of seven books. He also blogs about the history of Michigan football at gobluefootballhistorian.com (Previously he posted over 1,000 articles on his old website gobluehistory.com.) Purchase Information: New Release Available September 23, 2021