The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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8 THE WOLVERINE ❱ NOVEMBER 2024 A idan Hutchinson crashed to the AT&T Stadium turf in knowing agony, felled by a broken tibia in the midst of the melee. Jim Harbaugh headed to the Los Ange- les Chargers' locker room in Denver with a heart arrhythmia. J.J. Mc- Carthy lost his rookie season in the NFL to a knee issue. The architects of Michigan foot- ball's resurgence over the past three years provide a sobering reminder. There are no guarantees, in sport or in life. A former sportscaster once noted, "We're all day to day." Certainly, best wishes go out for complete recovery to the latest for- mer Wolverines felled or slowed. Hutchinson's broken leg — suffered in the third quarter of the Detroit Lions' Oct. 13 blowout win at Dallas — looked so gruesome Fox Sports wouldn't show the replay. Hutchin- son stood at the heart of two incred- ible football resurrections the past few years, those of Michigan and the Lions. Players from both teams stood by him as he was carted off, all competitiveness set aside. "It's an unfortunate loss for us," Lions running back David Montgomery told ESPN. "A big, big, big blow for us, and it's just more personal for us now because of the kind of guy that Aidan is and the kind of character that he has and what he brings to the locker room and to this team. So, I know for me personally, I'm going to take it real personal for a guy like Aidan because he was the heartbeat of this team, and he still will be." Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert didn't even know Harbaugh left the side- line for a time, until a reporter brought it up in the postgame. Paramedics treated the former U-M coach and got his heart back in rhythm. "He's tough," Herbert said. "He did a really good job of hiding that then, be- cause I was unaware of it. They did a good job of keeping calm. I hope he's OK. Is he all right?" He's all right, while Hutchinson and McCarthy will be, in time. So will Michi- gan football, yet another example of why it's best to enjoy, maximize and capital- ize on every good moment. A year ago, Harbaugh and McCarthy were partici- pating on arguably the greatest team in the history of the sport at the University of Michigan. Twelve months later, those that remain in Ann Arbor are trying to hold it together. They stood 4-2 at the midway point of the regular season, 2-1 in the Big Ten. They also appeared ready to feature their third starter at quarterback on the season. Seventh-year veteran Jack Tuttle could have been the guy from the beginning, but he wasn't healthy enough. No guarantees, remember? Tuttle gave the Wolverines hope in the loss at Washington, for a time. He rallied Michigan from a 14-0 deficit to a 17-14 lead, on the strength of back-to-back- to-back scoring drives. That hadn't hap- pened all season, for one of the statisti- cally worst offenses in the nation. The veteran later made mistakes him- self, and the Wolverines couldn't pull it out. Now they have the chance to right the ship — get better, be as good as they can, and make the most of the stretch run. Many won't get another chance, including Tuttle, senior tailback Donovan Edwards, and several defensive veterans. They'll fix what they can. Then it's up to head coach Sherrone Moore and his staff to upgrade the rest. There are no guarantees, but in today's college football, there certainly are opportunities to be grasped. Michigan football radio play-by- play man Doug Karsch put it well, speaking about the season and what looms ahead. "I know people are frustrated," Karsch said. "But this is a new era of college football, and we're all hav- ing to get used to it. You think about complete Michigan teams. This doesn't feel like a complete team, right? And we knew that might be the case coming in. And if you are not a complete team, given the transfer portal, NIL, the spreading of tal- ent, how quickly good players find a place to go play, conference expansion, the way schedules have changed … in the new era of college football, you are either domi- nant or you'd better buckle up, because you are going to suffer some losses. That's just the way it is. … "This schedule is fun, and people are having fun, they like looking forward to games and it's exciting … until you lose a game. Then everybody gets mad. And I get it. That's why coaches make a lot of money. Bottom line is, it's a new era, and it's not easy. But the good news is, it's a quick-fix era, too. If the season doesn't go the way people hope it can, you can do a lot of work in the offseason." Win all you can now, and concede nothing. Then assess and move forward. Just don't miss a chance, because chances can disappear in an instant. ❑ WOLVERINE WATCH ❱ JOHN BORTON Michigan Needs To Be Nimble For Sherrone Moore and his team, the midway point of the sea- son underscored that even with continued growth and improve- ment, the margins remain narrow and nothing is guaranteed. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL Senior writer John Borton has been with The Wolverine since 1991. Contact him at jborton@thewolverine.com and follow him on X (Twitter) @JB_Wolverine.