The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1503142
THE WOLVERINE 2023 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 83 A Game That Sets The Tone For 2023 The Wolverines decked Ohio State on Nov. 26, 2022, in Columbus, Ohio. Jenkins became one of a small army of winged- helmeted warriors to hang Michigan's first victory over Ohio State in The Horseshoe since 2000. The memory for those young men will never fade. "Oh, it meant everything," Jenkins of- fered. "The whole world was talking about, this is their year. This is their revenge tour. Everybody was doubting us. It was only us. Like I've been saying since I've been here, it was Michigan versus everybody. "We went in there, the world doubted us, and we pulled that dub [W]. We did what we do best. "All the dedication, the hard work we did as a team, it paid off. I don't think there was a greater feeling than that moment, stand- ing on that field with a win, for the first time in, what, 22 years?" Two moments from the 45-23 beat- down of the Buckeyes forever embedded themselves into Jenkins' memory. "The first moment was when we got on that bus and started going into Columbus," he mused. "At this point in my career, I'd never been to Ohio State, never been to Columbus, Ohio, ever. "This is my first time getting into that environment. I'd heard a lot of stories about it. But as we really started to get in there, you could really feel the energy. You could really feel the hatred from the fans, all the smack talking they were doing. You could tell, we were in uncharted territory. "As a team, that's part of our culture. We fuel up on it. We love being in that hostile environment." They loved it even more when they took it over. Michigan actually trailed at the half, 20-17, but the Wolverines fought back from two 7-point deficits in the opening 30 min- utes. Buckeye fans, hoping for a blowout after their team lost at Michigan the year before, sat nervously hoping for the dam to break. It did — but not in the way they so des- perately hoped. "When we came out that tunnel in the second half, we knew we were right there with them," Jenkins said. "We made the adjustments necessary. You could really feel the energy just really shift into that second gear. "We were just ready to come out and ball out. As it started to come to fruition, man, that moment, that whole second half is just burned into my memory." The Wolverines scored less than four minutes into the third quarter, on sopho- more quarterback J.J. McCarthy's 45-yard TD bomb to freshman tight end Colston Loveland. McCarthy then capped an 80-yard U-M drive with his own 3-yard touchdown run to open the fourth quarter, followed by the 75- and 85-yard Buckeye- electrocuting TD sprints from sophomore tailback Donovan Edwards. All this while, the Michigan defense lim- ited OSU to a 27-yard Noah Ruggles field goal over the final 30 minutes. "It was indescribable," Jenkins said. "I don't think I could ever describe how good I felt in that moment. From the second we stepped on there, with the fans smack- talking, to the second the game ended, you could see crying faces, you could hear the silence. We were talking back to them. There's no better feeling than that. "Going over to all of our fans, planting the flag. I can't even describe that. That's a core moment. Honestly, it was one of the biggest moments in recent Michigan foot- ball history. We enjoyed that." How does a team go from that high to performing against a Purdue squad much less highly regarded in the Big Ten cham- pionship contest? Discipline and motiva- tion, Jenkins noted, which also mark watch words for 2023. "We had to come together and focus as a team," he said. "How do we go to that next level, not as individuals but as a team? As you could see, that really carried over. It was really blocking out that complacency and blocking out that noise. "Regardless of the accolades, you've still got the next game. You've still got the next team. You're ready to play, ready to go for that block M. Every team we play, it's going to be their Super Bowl. Everybody is going to try and catch us when we're lacking. "It's just understanding, complacency can't exist in our locker room. You can't have complacency at all. You've always got to have that chip on our shoulder, preparing for the next team, giving them the respect that they deserve so we can take that re- spect away on game day." It's what they're seeking from the 2023 opener until the season's end, wherever that may be. To a man, the Wolverines want it all. Nobody wants it more than the man with the big motor. "All I'd say is, get ready," Jenkins insisted. "Bring that attitude, bring that energy. We're going to put on a show this year. The biggest thing about this year is, we're go- ing to try to come out perfect. Everybody deserves it. The fans deserve it. We deserve it. The coaches deserve it. "This year's the year." ❑ For Jenkins and his U-M teammates, securing Michigan's first win at Ohio State (45-23 last fall) in two decades created memories that will last forever. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL