The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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28 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2023 FOOTBALL PREVIEW through and talk about the ability to make big plays. You've got to have guys step up and make plays. "It can't always be, 'Oh, he was there but he dropped the ball,' or 'He was there but he didn't make the tackle.' That's where Michigan has really made a huge leap, in the fact that they've been able to go out there and make those plays. It's been individuals stepping up and making their team better when it mattered most. "Doing it in Columbus is not easy to do. Yeah, it's great to get a win in Michigan, it feels good, you get to celebrate with everybody … but when you have the abil- ity to do it down there, it's just different." Donahue concurred, noting Michigan's coach knows all about how big it is to go down to the Buckeyes' lair and snare a win. "Any time in this rivalry, when you can win on the road, it is always a big feather in the cap," he said. "I remember being at the '86 game, where Jim Har- baugh predicted victory, and that was at Ohio Stadium. It only added to that vic- tory. I remember listening to Harbaugh after last year, saying it's one of the big breakthrough wins in Michigan football history. "It was against a really good Ohio State team, and they've been really, really good. But they dominated in the Michigan way, running the football, the quarterback taking care of it, not turning it over, and just imposing their will on the defense in the second half, really taking it to Ohio State. But when you win on the road in this rivalry, that is always cause for con- cern for the loser." Ohio State faces trying to pull off a win in Ann Arbor to keep Michigan's sudden streak from growing to three victories in a row. That won't be easy, despite the Wolverines finding a formula, Donahue pointed out. "Ohio State is bringing back a really good team," Donahue said. "But [junior Kyle] McCord is kind of an unknown at quarterback. He's a five-star Philadel- phia kid, who was Marvin Harrison Jr.'s quarterback in high school. You look at Ohio State, and there's five, maybe six, first-round draft choices that are in their final years of eligibility. "I think the Ohio State offensive line is the biggest concern that they have. They had to go into the transfer portal to get a couple of the guys. I don't think they're as talented as what Michigan has done in the transfer portal, along the offensive line. "Going on the road at the end of the year with Michigan, the stakes are going to be enormous. It has College Football Playoff implications, Big Ten title implications. What else is new? It's all going to be hang- ing in the balance, no doubt about it." Jansen insisted Michigan's effort to ex- tend its win streak against the Buckeyes begins long before the Wolverines take the field Nov. 25. It's already begun. "It's more of a what are they going to do all year long to make sure they're ready for Ohio State," Jansen opined. "We know Ohio State is not stupid. We like to make jokes and say that they are, but this is a team, this is a defense, and a coordina- tor, and an offense that still has a lot of talent. They're going to be explosive of- fensively, and they're going to find ways defensively to stop what Michigan does well, and that's run the ball. "So, for Michigan, you've got to still find a way to get Donovan Edwards and [senior tailback] Blake Corum the ball in the backfield, but also coming out of the backfield. That's the beautiful thing about these guys. They're really good at catching passes and providing multiple ways that you can threaten the defense. "Then you've got Colston Loveland. You've got A.J. Barner, the [senior tight end] transfer from Indiana. You've got re- ceivers. You've got a quarterback that is more experienced, more confident, has more command of the offense. And it's going to come down to, how does Sher- Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy waved goodbye at Buckeyes fans streaming toward the exits during the fourth quarter of U-M's 45-23 win in Columbus last season. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL Michigan's victories over Ohio State the past two seasons brought joy and relief throughout Michigan fandom. The latest one, in Columbus, means the tide may have indeed turned, noted Michigan radio play-by-play man Doug Karsch. Karsch has been around the Wolverines for a long time, working as a sideline reporter on the Michigan football broadcasts for many years prior to moving up- stairs, and also hosting sport talk radio shows in Ann Arbor and Detroit that dealt heavily with the Wolverines. "I didn't feel like Michigan would have turned anything until they won back-to- back games," he cautioned. "Winning on your own field is one thing, but going down to Columbus and winning — and winning the way they did, going away — was awfully impressive. "The win in 2021 was great. But in some ways, 2022 was more significant. It signified it wasn't a fluke." Karsch empathizes with Michigan fans who absorbed the shock of Buckeye dominance for the better part of two decades, and understands their jubilance with what Jim Harbaugh fashioned in recent days. "It was a long drought," Karsch said. "It was a long 20 years. It's rather significant that it's happened for a new head coach down there, too. That's not lost on us, to do it to a new coach early in his tenure. "These things build on themselves. There is a massive amount of pressure on [Ryan] Day, like there was on Harbaugh. With Harbaugh, Michigan stuck with him, believed in him, and they're being rewarded for it. "It feels like the program is up and running the way it had been for so many years. It feels like Jim has figured out the college football formula and is recruiting the right kind of guys." Listening to the Buckeyes bemoan their fate last November felt familiar as well. "I remember having a thought that a Michigan player was preserving himself in the Ohio State game back a ways, when you got down to Columbus," Karsch mused. "I don't know how true it was or not, but some people thought Jaxson Smith-Njigba could have been playing in that [2022] game, but he was preserving himself for the next level. "It felt like the tables had turned. It was a bit of a culture shift both in Ann Arbor and Columbus — both for the better for Michigan. "Leaving Columbus last year and listening to their postgame show, having been a part of many a Michigan-Ohio State postgame show in the last two decades after games that didn't go well, I'll just say that postgame show sounded very familiar. "That might be indicative of nothing, but I was like, 'Wow! I've hosted this show.'" — John Borton Doug Karsch Says Turnaround Brings Back Memories