The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/480355
T he Wolverines, begrudgingly, ap- plaud Ohio State for proving crit- ics of the Big Ten wrong, in beating Alabama and Oregon to claim the 2014 national title, and it is the Buck- eyes' quick ascension to the top of the college football world that Michigan is looking to emulate. "I don't know if we want to model ourselves after Ohio State, but we know that you can be successful in year one of a new coach, that you can have a really good season, and that's our expectation," said fifth-year se- nior cornerback Blake Countess. After a 6-7 campaign under interim head coach Luke Fickell in 2011, OSU hired Urban Meyer and went 12-0 (the Buckeyes were not eligible for the postseason because of transgressions under former head coach Jim Tressel). Ohio State went 11-2 in 2013 and then 14-1 this past year, including a victory over Wisconsin in the Big Ten Cham- pionship Game and the two NCAA playoff wins. Michigan is coming off a 5-7 cam- paign, but with the core of this year's U-M team formed from the 2012 (No. 7 nationally) and 2013 recruiting classes (No. 5 nationally), the Maize and Blue believe they could signifi- cantly improve their win total from last year. "We have a lot more talent than what our record has been," Count- ess said. "The more we get on board within the building here, the better off we'll be, and we all want that. We know it's possible to have some im- mediate success, but it's a matter of us coming together and doing it. And not just talking about what we want." "The expectation at Michigan is high all the time," senior wide re- ceiver Jehu Chesson added. "It's not that Ohio State rose the bar. They had a great season, won a championship, but that doesn't dictate how hard we practice or play. "We want to win because we want Michigan to be a national champion." MICHIGAN FOOTBALL Michigan Aspires To Match OSU's Championship Head coach Jim Harbaugh said of U-M's quarterbacks, "We're making strides every day. They're doing a lot of little things better and better each day." PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN