Hope Springs Eternal

 I came into this college football season with very low expectations (as did the nation considering they were pre-season unranked) for the Michigan Wolverines. Coming off of a 2-4 shortened COVID season and having a very young team I predicted a 6-6 or 7-5 at best season. And here we are, the last week of the regular season and Michigan is 10-1 - hosting the 10-1 Buckeyes for the Big Ten East crown, a shot at a Big Ten championship and a potential spot in the playoffs. This team is not the most talented during the Harbaugh era, they're not the biggest nor the fastest. They have a quarterback who physically there's nothing too impressive with him. A secondary that was torched last year repeatedly and wide receivers who anyone outside of Ann Arbor couldn't name. Yet they're 10-1, they hold their fate in their hand. This team just keeps finding ways to win, and more importantly, they have fun doing it. 

It's been a while since I have been this excited for "The Game," it's hard to get excited when it's been since 2011 since Michigan won - and in this century have only won twice. Getting my hopes up is a lot like some past relationships, I've been hurt before. 

It's hard not to be excited this year though, our scrappy team and quarterback, who after two weeks I was clamoring for the backup five star freshman JJ McCarthy to play, just keeps showing up and showing out. It's hard not to love #12 Cade McNamara at this point. He's silenced out all of the noise and critics, he's taken on the pressure of having the talented McCarthy right behind him breathing down his neck, he's taken every team's best shot and he still hasn't flinched. Jim Harbaugh said he was born for this, he may be right.

 It's hard not to be romantic about this year’s team, they had a bad loss to MSU where they let a 16 point lead slip away. They could have folded up the season and fell apart, but they didn't. They fell behind to Nebraska and Penn State on the road, Michigan teams from the past would have dropped their heads and lost those games. This team continued to fight - and win. And now we have the biggest game of the year, in the Big House, with a chance to achieve all of the team's goals. Hollywood could not have written a better script up to this point. 

This year's Ohio State team is coming off of a throttling of that Michigan State team that beat Michigan 3 weeks ago. They were up 49-0 at halftime, it was the most dominate performance of any top 10 match up this season. But this Michigan team isn't Michigan State. The Spartans have the worst ranked passing defense in the country and OSU has one of the top passing offenses in the country. That game was ready made for the Buckeyes. 

Michigan has the 7th best overall defense and 8th best passing defense in the country. They have two of the best edge rushers in country in Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo who are both projected top 10 picks in next year’s draft. They have young players in Rod Moore and Junior Colson who both aren't just getting serious playing time as true freshman but are showing out, they also don't know any better when it comes to this rivalry. They have a chance to forge their own narrative over the next 4 years with the 2021 class. We have veteran guys in the line backing core and secondary like 5th year senior Josh Ross and Junior Dax Hill who are trying to end their careers on a high note vs the Buckeyes. And more importantly, this year’s Buckeyes team may have an impressive offense, but this is the most beatable Buckeyes team since 2016. If there was ever a year to have your hopes up, to believe, it was 2021. 

Michigan has to make this a battle though, they cannot allow this to become a track meet. This is like Usain Bolt going against Eluid Kipchoge. You don't want it to become a 100 meter dash, you want to make them run a marathon. With Michigan's rushing attack, a game manager quarterback who doesn't make mistakes and a defense that can take the air out of any offense they have a chance to turn that hope into reality. 

I, like a lot of Michigan faithful, was pessimistic not only going into this season but many times during it. I didn't want to get excited nor get my hopes up only to be let down again. I watched the Rutgers, Nebraska and Penn State games and said "here we go again" when things started to slip away. But I am not in that locker room, I haven't been able to experience the comradery and commitment to one another that these players have shown all year. And these players have had each other’s back and have fought all season to put themselves in a position that very few outside of that locker room expected. And, as it should every year, it now comes down to "The Game," Ohio State coming into Ann Arbor. The script may have been written well so far, but these players have a chance to make it a true Hollywood ending. It's up to them to decide if it's a Remember the Titans ending, or Mystery Alaska. They will have their chance this weekend, and finally - after many years of frustration and pessimism - I'm excited to see it unfold. Go Blue! Michigan by 100!