The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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THE BIG PICTURE ❱ MICHIGAN, TEXAS CLASH IN BIG TEN/SEC SHOWDOWN The then-No. 10 Wolverines and No. 3 Longhorns met in a top-10 matchup at Michigan Stadium on Sept. 7 in a showdown of College Football Playoff teams from last season, and a pair of hopefuls for this year. With the entirety of the college football world descending upon Ann Arbor, whether it was ESPN's "College GameDay," FOX's "Big Noon Saturday," Barstool Sports and others, Texas came in and walloped U-M by a score of 31-12. The loss ended a streak of 28 consecutive regular- season wins that dated back to 2021. It tied a record for the Big Ten, previously shared by the 1901-03 Wolver- ines and 2005-07 Ohio State Buckeyes. It also snapped a streak of 23 consecutive wins at Michigan Stadium, which was the third-longest in program history. Texas Heisman hopeful quarterback Quinn Ewers was the difference-maker, going 24-for-36 for 246 yards passing and 3 touchdowns, and converting a handful of backbreaking third downs early in the game to put U-M on its heels. Any chance of a victory hinged on the Wolverines' defensive performance, but they could only rack up 4 tackles for loss and did not record a sack in the outing. The dawn of the 12-team CFP means that these two programs could very well run it back sometime in the postseason. At the very least, Michigan has an opportunity with its goals ahead of it moving forward to make another push for its fourth straight trip to the playoff. There are no shortage of showdown games left on the schedule, so the hope is that the early-season loss serves as a blip on the radar instead of a season- definer. – Anthony Broome PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL 6 THE WOLVERINE ❱ OCTOBER 2024