The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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DECEMBER 2021 THE WOLVERINE 19 BY CHRIS BALAS W hat a year it's been … and what a year it still could be. That's how it felt in the aftermath of Michigan's 42-27 victory over Ohio State Nov. 27, one many veteran fans would say rivaled the 24-12 win over the Buckeyes in 1969 under head coach Bo Schembechler. Assistant coaches screamed in joy run- ning from the coaches' press box down to the field to celebrate with their players, fellow coaches and families. Some, like fifth-year safety Brad Hawkins, openly wept tears of joy. So did thousands of the fans taking it all in, whether it was at home in their liv- ing rooms, in the stands under the falling snow or on the field with thousands of others who rushed it in a surreal scene. "I was hoping they'd tear down the goalposts," junior defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, The Game's defensive MVP (in a landslide), said with a grin on his face in the postgame interview room. They celebrated for a bit more than the allotted 24 hours before turning their at- tention to Big Ten West champion Iowa. The Hawkeyes awaited them in India- napolis Dec. 4 with a Big Ten champion- ship on the line. The inaugural Big Ten championship game was played in 2011, and this year marks the first time that the Wolverines have made it. Between U-M and Iowa, one of the two schools will celebrate its first conference title since 2004, when there were no di- visions and the two schools shared the championship. From a dominant, opening-game win over Western Michigan (47-14) through a controversial, one-and-only loss at No. 8 Michigan State to the win over OSU, it was a magical run that holds the poten- tial to be so much more. Head coach Jim Harbaugh's team started the season unranked. As of Nov. 29, they were listed No. 2 by the Associ- ated Press with national title hopes. The coach struggled to find the words after the win over the Buckeyes. "I don't know if I've got a really spec- tacular quote or anything like that for you. It's just what you do," he said. "You just keep working, keep grinding, know- ing it was going to pay off. "This team has been beautifully sol- dered together as a team, as a true team. There are a lot of new players, guys like [freshmen] J.J. McCarthy, Donovan Ed- wards, Andrel Anthony and Rod Moore, many others that produced. A new staff that brought new perspective, new ideas, energy. There's a long list of guys like that, that were phenomenal. They brought so much energy and perspective and juice to the squad." And then there were guys they referred to as the 'foundation' — players from 2019, '18 and beyond. They were raised to learn that you "don't just fold or quit at the slightest whiff of adverse circum- stances," Harbaugh praised. The list of those players was too long to remember them all, the coach said, but he tried anyway. He mentioned Hutchin- son, Hawkins, redshirt sophomore run- ning back Hassan Haskins, sixth-year senior center Andrew Vastardis, redshirt junior linebacker Josh Ross, redshirt ju- nior kicker Jake Moody, redshirt junior punter Brad Robbins and redshirt sopho- more left tackle Ryan Hayes. He couldn't leave out junior receiver Ronnie Bell. His presence in the locker room and as a mentor after he suffered a season-ending knee injury early in the WMU game was huge. Redshirt freshman quarterback Cade McNamara was their leader on offense, sophomore safety Daxton Hill a star on the back end of the defense and redshirt sophomore Vince Gray a vindicated, steady performer at corner. All earned praise from their coach, who also noted there were several more. The offensive line in particular flat-out dominated the Buckeyes. "Truly committed guys," Harbaugh praised. "[There are] seniors on our team that have been here the longest, worked the most, have overcome some adverse circumstances, injury, other kind of set- backs. Just talking all players here, all those seniors … the ones which, without them, we wouldn't be where we are. "These are guys that really, literally are willing to take the team on their backs. If it was like a train, a locomotive, if it was going down the tracks, they stopped it, turned it around, started pushing — and the rest of us started pushing, too." A LONG ROAD It wasn't always easy, but champion- ships aren't supposed to be — and yes, this group already holds one title. The 2018 team shared the Big Ten East Di- vision crown after splitting with Ohio State, but that one didn't feel whole after a 62-39 loss in Columbus. This one absolutely did, especially with how they accomplished it. There's always adversity in a sea- son, and the Wolverines faced some early when Rutgers punched them in the mouth in the second half of a 20-13 Michigan victory. The Scarlet Knights dominated the last 30 minutes, finished with a 352-275 edge in total yardage and had several chances to tie or go ahead in the last quarter. U-M did just enough to escape with the victory, but that all-too-familiar doubt resurfaced. Few believed the Wol- verines would make it through their next two games, at Wisconsin and at Ne- braska, unscathed, especially given their A REGULAR SEASON TO REMEMBER Michigan Goes 11-1 And Heads To Indianapolis For Its First Big Ten Championship Game