Wolverine Watch: Michigan Muscles Its Way To Third Straight Title

By John Borton

Jim Harbaugh gave J.J. McCarthy a run for his money as a scrambler, dashing around the sidelines avoiding a Gatorade dousing. Teammates slapped helmets, hugged, and reveled in the sweet smell of success. Every Wolverine, and the adoring throng in maize and blue packing the stands, drank in Michigan’s third straight Big Ten championship.

When podium time came following the Wolverines’ 26-0 slugfest shutout of Iowa, Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti didn’t hand the championship trophy over to Harbaugh. The Michigan head coach — barred from the sidelines by Pettiti for the biggest games of the regular season down the stretch — instructed that the trophy should be given to senior guard Zak Zinter, felled by a gruesome broken leg in the Ohio State game.

Zinter received the silver football and raised it aloft, completing an amazing seven-day turnaround, including serious surgery. He came back for this. He wouldn’t miss it.

Harbaugh came back as well — but not until after Pettiti slipped away. The Michigan coach bellowed out to his team, the crowd and the world the way he felt as the clock approached midnight at Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Field.

Harbaugh leads the celebration

“It makes me feel super great, and there’s no coach that could have it better than to have these coaches, and these players, and this staff,” Harbaugh shouted out. “I’ve got one question for you, Michigan nation — WHO’S GOT IT BETTER THAN US?”

The massive Michigan contingent roared back: NOOOOOOBODY!

That’s exactly how Michigan celebrated the third chapter of its incredible turnaround since the nadir of Harbaugh’s tenure — the success-bereft, win-thin, doubt-inflicting days of the 2020 COVID season. Things haven’t been the same since. To a man, the Wolverines determined they wouldn’t be. Then they went out and made it so.

Three straight wins over Ohio State. Three straight lopsided victories at Lucas Oil against overmatched Big Ten West foes.

Only this one was wasn’t conceding anything, or going away easily. Iowa’s defense made things miserable for the Wolverines, surrendering only 213 total yards, and two touchdown “drives” covering — get this — 5 and 6 yards. Michigan didn’t win this time around by wearing down and overpowering a reeling defense, by any means.

Keys to the conquest

The Wolverines won because their own defense and special teams were even better. They won because of …

• An 87-yard punt return by freshman wideout Semaj Morgan, setting up a 2-yard touchdown burst by senior tailback Blake Corum (16 carries, 52 yards, 2 TDs).

• Two forced fumbles by grad defensive back Mikey Sainristil, one destroying Iowa’s best opportunity to score, and the other giving the Wolverines the football on the Iowa 6, where Corum again did the honors.

• Senior edge Braiden McGregor’s blindside arm chop on besieged Iowa quarterback Deacon Hill, forcing another fumble, which led to the third of 4 field goals by grad kicker James Turner, including a 50-yarder.

• An overall defensive effort that surrendered a meager 155 total yards to the Hawkeyes, 35 of them on the ground.

Oh, Iowa’s defense was plenty good, junior quarterback J.J. McCarthy (22-for-30, 147 yards) insisted.

Iowa tough on U-M offense

“They were in the right spots at all times,” he observed. “They were physical, they were gritty, and they were coached really well. It was just amazing to be able to put ourselves in that matchup, going into the next one. It was a great defense — so much respect for them.”

Michigan’s defense just proved better.

“Coach [Jesse] Minter talked about it yesterday,” Sainristil recalled. “He said we’ve got to go out there and be the best defense on the field. We’ve got to get the offense the ball, and keep them on the field. We’ve got to get the other offense sleeping, and not able to do anything — and that’s exactly what we did.”

One might have been tempted, going in, to think Michigan could lose this game against the offense-challenged Hawkeyes in only one way. That’s if Petitti tacked on another suspension just prior to the game — involving McCarthy, Corum, and all of Michigan’s offensive linemen. But Iowa plays some nasty defense, and negated Michigan’s offense in its own way the first 30 minutes.

The Wolverines managed just 111 total yards in the first half to Iowa’s 61 — just the Hawkeyes’ type of mud fight. Had it not been for Morgan’s electrifying burst and Michigan’s stonewall versus an Iowa offense not ready to rock, this one could have been 3-0 at the half. That left more than enough edge-of-the-seat emotional carryover into the final 30, and a jolt of hope for the oft-hopeless West Division.

The job’s not finished

But Michigan did what it does. Pettiti handed over the hardware. Harbaugh coached his team, and they loved every minute of it.

“It felt great,” Corum said. “His enthusiasm, his presence on the sideline, it was great having him in the locker room. I love Coach Harbaugh.”

Corum loved being part of it all, fully. He recalled his own time set aside, 365 days earlier.

“I remember Dec. 2 last year, I was just getting surgery,” he said. “To be back and see all this confetti fall, it’s amazing.”

There’s plenty that’s amazing for Harbaugh’s crew these days. Michigan stands 13-0, guided by the first Big Ten coach to ever lead a team to three consecutive outright Big Ten championships. They’ve likely claimed the No. 1 spot in the College Football Playoff and can sit back and watch others whine and wail. They can know that whatever happens from here, they’ve done a whole lot.

But if you ask them, it’s not enough.

“Like Kobe Bryant said,” Corum assured, “‘The job’s not finished.’”

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