Where Was THIS Michigan?

Suddenly commentators and naysayers are flip-flopping, backpedaling, raining praise, and admitting wrongdoing after the unavoidable obvious like they are seasoned politicians. That doesn’t mean Appalachian State is no longer part of Michigan’s legacy or that they’ve won everyone over. It wasn’t even an hour after that bowl win before ESPN and ABC were back to showing the famous blocked field goal—they couldn’t even let Michigan have that one day unspoiled without throwing that in their faces, just as they’ve done all season.

Still, the Michigan/Florida showdown is poised to go down as the best bowl game, with Michigan's game-playing among the best bowl performances along with USC and Georgia, of the season. Suddenly, Henne and Arrington are hot.  

These Michigan players came very close to never redeeming themselves or the Michigan program, or convincing most people that they were wrong about Michigan and maybe even the Big Ten vs the SEC (because, unfortunately and unfairly, the reputation of the Big Ten is based almost solely on Michigan and Ohio State), despite having all the skill and talent in the world to not only do it but to have never put the Michigan program as low as it had gotten in the first place. And sinking to such a relative low despite that talent and skill is what frustrated so many fans.

The sad thing is that if Michigan had been as favored in this bowl game as they were in the Rose Bowl last season and/or if Carr hadn’t retired, they probably wouldn’t have won because they wouldn’t have given their all.

And that’s all those fans who have been criticized ever really wanted—for these Michigan seniors and the rest of the team to give every game everything the fans knew they had. But they rarely ever did—not collectively. This game didn’t ride on Mike Hart; in fact, Hart hurt more than he helped. And it didn’t ride on Henne. The offense did some good and bad things, and the defense did some good and bad things. But, in the end, they were finally in it together and all agreed to lay everything out there and that’s why they looked as if they could hang with any team in the nation.

The truth is, despite the school records and the great plays against schools like Notre Dame in 2006 and Purdue in 2007, we’ve probably never seen these guys like we saw them in the Capital One Bowl. They have never cared about any game that much and they have never wanted to win a game that badly. And the one thing many SEC teams (but not LSU) and other highly-respected teams such as USC, Oklahoma, and even Ohio State do in nearly every game is come prepared and motivated to play aggressively, fight to the death, never give up a big play or get complacent with a lead, and to win every game.

Sadly, that was usually not how the Michigan Wolverines played—particularly against Ohio State and strong teams outside of the Big Ten—and that is really why they never achieved many of their goals and why Michigan has not been as respected as fans feel they deserved to be until this win.

Sadly, with this win comes at the end of an era—not just the Carr, Schembechler, and “Michigan Man” eras, but the Henne-Long-Hart era (which possibly will also include exits by Arrington and Manningham).

That talent and potential that some fans knew could lead Michigan to Big Ten titles, victories over Ohio State, their rightful place among the elite college football teams in the nation, and a National Championship title are now officially gone. It’s back to square one for Michigan. Surely, Rich Rodriguez and his players will do great things for Michigan, but there’s no telling exactly when that will be.  

It is unfortunate that Carr was, essentially, totally blamed for the last few years, because it also seems rather clear that the fault lies with the players themselves, as I sincerely doubt Carr instilled the “We are Michigan, so we don’t have to play tough to win” mindset in them. Thus, give them credit for their achievements, but they are just as responsible for Wolverine (and Big Ten) letdowns as Carr ever was.

Beating Florida should be the biggest victory and best memory for every player leaving that team. They should not care that they never beat Ohio State because, as this season demonstrated, Ohio State is not as respected as the SEC is. On Jan. 1, 2008, Michigan beat a team in the SEC, and the Heisman-Trophy winner was beaten by a team that was beaten by Appalachian State.

On Jan. 7, 2008, many Michigan fans will pull for Ohio State to beat a team in the SEC. Maybe then Michigan, Ohio State, and the rest of the Big Ten can finally get the peace and some of the respect in the 2008 season that they never got this season.

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