The Wolverine

November 2015

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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BY JOHN BORTON J ake Rudock trudged across the Michigan Stadium turf, stunned as a lifelong Ama- zon jungle resident seeing the Himalayas for the first time. Michigan had — in the words of head coach Jim Harbaugh — played winning football against Michigan State. But it didn't win. Instead, a dropped punt snap, wild scramble and mad rush to the U-M end zone left Spartans everywhere in stunned ecstasy, and a fifth-year se- nior quarterback and his teammates wondering what hit them. "As far as I'm concerned, a loss is a loss," Rudock later commented, after gathering himself. He'd played solidly in his first — and only — Michigan State game in a winged helmet. He'd gone 15-of-25 passing for 168 yards with no inter- ceptions. His bottom line all along has been wins, in his last, trans- planted, shot at college football. This one stung badly. Like he always does, with the pre- cision of a future surgeon, Rudock fought off the emotions to go in front of the media that evening. He dealt not so much in the devastation he and his teammates might have felt, and focused on a very pragmatic re- action to adversity. "You can't let anything snag you," Rudock said. "You have to learn what we can learn from this game. It's one game. It's very disappointing. It's hard to look at anything else right now. We've just got to keep fighting. We can't let one loss lead to two." If there's anything that marks the 2015 field general for the Wolver- ines, it's the ability to dispassion- ately fight through adversity. When his two-year stint as Iowa's starting quarterback appeared over, he made the move to Michigan, learning new teammates and a new system, and laying the foundation for a new phase of life. Rudock has his sights set on medi- cine and toured Michigan's C.S. Mott Children's Hospital with his father before even making the move. The elder Rudock teared up during the tour, according to one observer, be- cause of the work being done there. So Michigan's quarterback cer- tainly sees a bigger picture than the one presenting itself the remainder of this football season. That said, he's very invested in the Wolverines' own healing process. THE 'GAME MANAGER' Rudock carries the tag of "game manager," the damning-with-faint- praise description of a quarterback who isn't going to put the team on his back, but can provide what's needed if he doesn't screw it up. Some considered former U-M quar- terback Brian Griese in that way — and didn't mind at all, while the 1997 season played out. When the Wolverines opened the Big Ten campaign in Maryland this year, Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh stood out on the Michigan sideline. He donned the U-M gear and made no attempt to hide his loyalties in front of a parti- san home-state crowd.

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