The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1513253
6 THE WOLVERINE ❱ DECEMBER 2023 Michigan football grabbed its 1,000th win in program history on Nov. 18 with a 31-24 victory at Maryland in a game the Wolverines simply had to survive. Head coach Jim Harbaugh was in the second game of a three-game suspension imposed by the Big Ten for the sign-stealing scandal, and the team did everything it could to get out of College Park with a victory. The Wolverines roared out to a 23-3 lead in the first half before the Terps nar- rowed the deficit and pulled to within one score by crunch time. U-M made enough big plays to secure the win and achieve history — includ- ing a Christian Boivin punt-block that resulted in the first of two safeties, Derrick Moore's fumble-recovery return for a touchdown, 2 interceptions by Mike Sainris- til and 2 rushing TDs from Blake Corum — even without Harbaugh on the sideline. "First, we need to edit coach in there," acting head coach Sherrone Moore said of the team's postgame photo taken on the field at SECU Stadium with a backdrop of Michigan fans who stuck around to relish in the moment. "There's enough technology in the world today to get that done, so we can do that." "It would have been great to have him on the field with us to take that picture," Sainristil said. "But there's no doubt in my mind that when we head back to this airport, he's going to be there waiting for us." The victory was symbolic of the culture that was built by Harbaugh, so his fingerprints were still all over it. "We have a strong culture here, and he knew we were going to go out and fight until the end, fight for each other and come out victorious," running back Blake Corum said. "He always says, 'It's not about the coaches, it's about you guys.' We definitely appreciate that. We play for Coach Harbaugh." — Anthony Broome PHOTO BY DOMINICK SOKOTOFF THE BIG PICTURE ❱ U-M GRABS HISTORIC 1,000TH VICTORY AT MARYLAND