The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1514918
FEBRUARY 2024 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 37 ❱ MICHIGAN FOOTBALL or with the game on the line. More often than not, he delivered. Not this time. "We were playing cover zero," junior linebacker Junior Colson said. "Coach [Harbaugh] was telling us all the time, this is the moment we were built for. This is the moment we came out here to play for." Michigan lined up with six defend- ers on the line of scrimmage with two in the box and covered the Bama receivers man-to-man. Milroe motioned his run- ning back out of the backfield and was in an empty set at the snap. He fielded the low snap, ran straight ahead and was de- nied by sophomore edge Derrick Moore. Perhaps nothing exemplifies how much of a collective unit the Wolver- ines' defense was all season than Moore not knowing he even made the tackle because of how much push U-M's front got, and how many Wolverines swarmed the ball carrier. "We knew exactly what was going to happen," said sophomore defensive tackle Mason Graham, the Rose Bowl Defensive Player of the Game. "When the moment gets tough, you go to your best player, and they went to their best player, and we were right there to stop it. "We said, it's fourth down, one last play. Everybody strained to the ball." Then came the elation — the great thrill of victory. Michigan players ran all over the field in excitement, hugging each other, shedding some tears, stick- ing roses in their mouths and realizing that they had gotten over the hump and were headed to the national title game. Graham was honored on stage for his defensive performance following the vic- tory in which he posted 4 tackles, includ- ing a key stop on second-and-goal from the U-M 9-yard line in overtime, burst- ing through the line to stack up running back Jase McClellan for a loss of 5 yards. MORE DISRESPECT AND ANOTHER STATEMENT Washington won the Sugar Bowl, 37-31, behind 430 passing yards and 2 scores by sixth-year senior quarterback Michael Penix Jr., the Heisman Trophy runner-up. Penix and his elite receiving corps, led by junior Rome Odunze, led college football with 350 passing yards per game coming into the title game. Michigan heard all about it at its pre- national championship game media day, fielding question after question about how it would attempt to slow down — not shut down — Penix and Co. The Wolverines took that personally and were up for the challenge. Penix completed 27 of 51 passes for 255 yards with 1 touchdown and 2 in- terceptions. His 52.9-percent comple- tion rate was a season low, as was his 5.0 yards per attempt. Washington ranked second in the country with 77 completions of 20- plus yards but connected on just one such play versus the vaunted Wolver- ine defense. Defensive coordinator Jesse Minter didn't blitz much, instead having his group sit back in coverage and take away big plays. His pass rush was able to get pressure on Penix, who was visibly in pain by the end of the game and limped up the tunnel afterward. The U-M pass rush was highlighted by sophomore de- fensive tackle Kenneth Grant's bull rush that landed the left guard on the turf be- fore notching U-M's lone sack. "We sent six a couple times just to really rush Penix, which was effec- tive," Minter explained. "Then we sent some simulated pressures at the end, on which we got some body blow hits on him. But a super big shout out to him … he looked like he was hurting after the first hit of the second half. "I think he's got a really bright future." That first hit came on a ball that was picked off by sophomore cornerback Will Johnson, setting the tone for the second half and helping earn him defen- sive player of the game recognition. The Wolverines cashed in with a field goal to take a 10-point lead. The play of the game was made by graduate nickel back Mike Sainristil, who came up with the final of his 6 cru- cial interceptions on the year. It came on fourth-and-13 at the U-M 30-yard line with less than five minutes to play. Penix's throw wound up in Sainristil's hands, and he returned it 81 yards down to the Wash- ington 8-yard line, all but sealing the win. Sainristil is a converted wide receiver and two-time captain. It was fitting that he made the big play to essentially wrap up the national title. "Just trusting the process and be- lieving that if you stick to it, you can change the narrative," Sainristil said of Michigan's journey. "To be a part of the group that did that, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else." It was also fitting that he led a Michi- gan defense that finished the year al- lowing just 10.4 points per game, the fewest by a Big Ten team since the Wol- verines' last national title-winning squad in 1997 (9.5). ❏ Sophomore defensive tackle Kenneth Grant (No. 78) — flanked by junior Josaiah Stewart (5) and classmate Mason Graham (55) — had U-M's lone sack in the national championship game, but the Wolverines' defense hit, hurried and harassed UW quarterback Michael Penix Jr. all evening. PHOTO BY DOMINICK SOKOTOFF