SLAYING SLAYING
THE DRAGON THE DRAGON
2021 Win Over OSU Shows
The Path For U-M Tomorrows
BY JOHN BORTON
F
ormer Wolverines welled up with tears of joy.
Bleachers in The Big House emptied,
pouring humanity galore into a
communal on-field celebration.
Fans danced and leaped in exhilaration.
Everyone in maize and blue released
pent-up primal screams and relieved
shouts of "YES!" on a snowy afternoon
in Ann Arbor.
The Buckeyes trudged from the field, van-
quished. Michigan's 42-27 victory capped a
season of defying the "experts" and raising hopes
for the future.
How it happened and how it can happen again (and
again) filled the thoughts of Michigan coaches, players
and fans during the long offseason. In Columbus, sup-
porters raged over the affront in a series they felt their
team now owned.
Scarlet-faced coaches planned payback. Maybe not
"hanging 100" on Michigan, like OSU coach Ryan Day
foolishly mentioned last year. But not losing, either.
All of it has injected life back into an undeniably com-
pelling spectacle — Michigan-Ohio State — that had
grown moribund in its expected outcome. The early chal-
lenge Jim Harbaugh teams threw at the Buckeyes had
gotten swallowed up in cringeworthy lopsided losses.
Until last November.
26 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2022 FOOTBALL PREVIEW