Joel Klatt understands there are any number of heartwarming stories from a college football season. However, one moment of Michigan’s magical season stood out above all the others.

In his ranking of the best moments of the 2023 season, Klatt revisited The Game. His top overall moment from the season came shortly after the devastating injury to Zak Zinter.

As the Wolverines stood dejected and watched one of their leaders depart on a training cart, fans inside the Big House rallied to send Zinter off in a positive way. That stirring scene captivated Klatt, and he believes it pushed Michigan to a strong response.

“Through my headset… it’s hard to hear the crowd unless the sound from the game is happening. Even though my headset is on, I hear the stadium start to come alive,” said Klatt. “They’re pumping up the aircast, the team is devastated and the Big House starts chanting: ‘Let’s go Zak!’ It’s not just one area, it was the whole stadium, and it was LOUD.

“The team goes from devastated to unified when this tsunami of emotion from the fans pours out onto the field. Now all of sudden, the team is like alright, let’s go do this for (No.) 65.”

The Wolverines used that push of emotion and adrenaline as Blake Corum rushed for a crucial touchdown immediately following the injury. Michigan would go on to put Ohio State for a 3rd straight time, win the B1G and the rest is history as Jim Harbaugh’s program produced a 15-0 record and national title.