Michigan Football: 11 Things the Wolverines Do Very Well
The Michigan football team has been deficient in many areas during the least three seasons. They’ve basically been the laughing stock of college football naysayers everywhere.
But if you gaze beyond the recent debacles at the Big House, you’ll see that everything’s just fine in Ann Arbor.
Michigan isn’t the winningest football program in the country for nothing.
You’ll also see a very healthy athletic department, blessed with wonderful traditions and fine players both past and present. The football program itself is laced with success: from its NCAA best 884 victories to the 40 players currently playing in the National Football League on Sundays.
No, there’s no reason the Michigan faithful to hang their collective heads. The Wolverines have done plenty to earn their “arrogant” tag and have no plans of giving it up.
Maybe their critics in East Lansing, Columbus and South Bend have forgotten what Michigan is all about. Here are a few items to jolt their memories.
Produce Quarterbacks
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Since Bo Schembechler began to flirt with an NFL-style passing attack, the majority of Michigan quarterbacks have spent time in the National Football League. New England's Tom Brady has been the most successful while Jim Harbaugh, Elvis Grbac, Brian Griese and Chad Henne have spent considerable time as starters.
Brady's list of accomplishments are staggering. He has three Super Bowl rings, two Super Bowl MVPs, six Pro Bowl invitations and two NFL MVPs.
Harbaugh has the highest career completion percentage for a Michigan quarterback (62.4), Grbac has thrown 25 touchdown passes in a season, and Griese led the 1997 Wolverines to a co-national championship.
Henne, who's the current starter for the Miami Dolphins, holds several Wolverine career records including 9,715 passing yards.
Individual Awards
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Michigan has had 77 consensus All-Americans over the years, with Willie Cunningham being the first in 1898 and Jake Long the most recent in 2007.
According to Michigan folklore, Cunningham's selection inspired Louis Elbel to write the "Victors," one of college football's most recognizable fight songs.
Benny Oosterbaan (1925-27) and Anthony Carter (1980-82) won the award three times, while 18 others won it twice.
Heisman Trophy award winners include Tom Harmon, Desmond Howard and Charles Woodson.
Pack the Big House
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Critics have spoken volumes about Michigan football fans in recent years. One thing they can't call them is missing. The Wolverines have led the nation in attendance 35 of the last 36 years (Tennessee broke the string in 1997).
Michigan set the single-game attendance mark of 113,090 September 4, 2010 vs. Connecticut and set the NCAA season mark also last season with an average of 111,825. The Wolverines have hosted more than 100,000 fans 230 straight times.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
42 Big Ten Championships
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Doubters claim that most of Michigan's 42 Big 10 championships came before electricity. But the Wolverines had some lean years back then, too. The Wolverines failed to win a title from 1906-17, 1934-46 and 1951-63.
Ohio State has 35 titles.. Many fans believe the best years of the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry occurred when Bo Schembechler and Woody Hayes met face-to-face.
During their illustrious careers, both coaches won 13 Big 10 championships.
Stress Education
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A few years back, ex-Michigan quarterback and current San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh said Michigan should be recruiting football players with higher academic credentials.
In truth, it's not what you bring to the table, it's what you take with you.
Sure, you can place a higher priority on incoming grades and test scores, but face it, there are football-first recruits who arrive just barely above NCAA requirements.
That's when the fun begins. Try balancing a full academic schedule along with the rigors of major college football. Please don't mention the "cake" courses some athletes are channeled into. (I took all of them).
People tend to forget that players must remain eligible. Doing that at Michigan is not easy.
Harbaugh likes to claim that Michigan is not Stanford. He's right, but other than a handful of Ivy League schools are some other private institutions, Michigan stacks up with the best schools anywhere.
Getting an undergrad degree at Michigan is a definite advantage if you're inclined to enter a Michigan graduate program.
Just to see how Michigan stacks up, here's a link to the latest world university ratings. .
Embrace Tradition
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When Don Canham became athletic director in 1968, he brought with him a foresight that would change college football forever. His idea was simple. Sell everything but football.
Of course, Canham's situation was slightly unique. He had, on most Saturdays, 35,000 empty seats to fill.
So he printed one million brochures and flooded southeastern Michigan. There were photos of the band, tailgating and all the pageantry of a football Saturday.
Of course everything was already in place. The band was there, the uniforms, the winged helmets and even the legends of Fritz Crisler and Fielding Yost.
Then he hired the icing on the cake. From Ohio came Bo Schembechler, who completed the puzzle by restoring the winning tradition. The rest is history.
Fill NFL Rosters
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Michigan has always been a gateway to the NFL. From Tom Harmon and Ron Kramer of yesteryear, to Jim Mandich and Thom Darden of Schembechler's early years. Michigan was always on the NFL's map.
Schembechler's early years produced some of the hardest hitting defenders in Michigan history. Toward the end of his career, the skill players began to arrive. Rick Leach, John Wangler and Anthony Carter were the players who would eventually lead the Wolverines toward a pro-style attack.
Gary Moeller and Lloyd Carr took over where Schembechler left off. Very few knew what to call it, but Michigan became adept at the West Coach offense. Commonplace were wide receivers getting drafted in the first round. Desmond Howard, Derrick Alexander, David Terrell and Braylon Edwards all went high.
The end of the line, at least temporarily, came with Chad Henne, Edwards and of course offensive tackle Jake Long.
A Balanced Athletic Program
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For years, they called Michigan a football school. Quietly, bushels of NCAA hockey championships were won, a trampoline title here, a gymnastics championship there. Baseball, softball, even golf.
A look at the all-sports competition usually shows Michigan right up there with nationally ranked Stanford.
Who could forget the Big Chill at the Big House where 104,000 watched Michigan shut out MSU 5-0 on an outdoor ice rink.
There's something about wearing the maize and blue which breeds excellence. Never mind that the football team has been deficient at playing defense.
Rumeal Robinson, Barry Larkin, Chris Webber and hockey's Mike Cammalleri are just a few of the names which have made Michigan great.
Let's not overlook softball coach Carol Hudgins, who despite being recently knocked out of the NCAA's, has won 1,212 games why losing only 415.
Merchandising
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Sales of Michigan merchandise exploded during the short Fab Five era, They've always been close to Notre Dame and Texas, but sales those few years went through the roof. The baggy shorts and black socks didn't hurt.
The emergence of Denard Robinson last season also spiked sales. However, much of the action took place in the knock-off market, where colleges didn't get a cut off something with their school printed on it. In fact, business was so brisk, the NCAA sent a letter to Michigan, urging the Wolverine athletic department to crack down on the hucksters trying to make a buck.
The latest apparel gossip concerns those "throwback" jerseys Michigan might wear against Notre Dame next fall. You know, the ones with the stripes like nothing Michigan ever wore before.
Travel Well
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It happens every year when Michigan's playing fairly well and the Bowl announcements are about to be made. You see all these charts where a certain game will match up Big 10 No. 4 vs. SEC No. 5. The whole idea is to supposedly place the best teams in the top bowls.
In reality, it's about the money. Michigan always moves up one or two spots because they travel well. Michigan has one of the largest alumni bases in the country. So wherever the game, you'll see alot of maize and blue and alot of American Express.
Look for a huge Michigan crowd at Northwestern for the night game in October, Just hope there isn't a gale coming off the lake.
Win Games
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If you're looking for excitement, show the following sets of numbers to an Ohio State fan: 1) 57-44-6., and 2) 884-308-36 (.735).
The first set of numbers is the Michigan-Ohio State head-to-head record. If you observe all the box scores, you'll see that Michigan has won 57 games. The Buckeyes figure that number should be about 40 since Michigan's early wins are "ancient history." Remind them that John Cooper is only 73, and if Tressel is fired, he'd have at least five good years left.
The second number is Michigan's overall record. The 884 signifies that Michigan has won more games than any other school, and the Wolverines' winning percentage (.735) is also the best.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
