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Michigan football: Wolverines a confident bunch, but is overconfidence a concern?
By Tom Brew
Published:
This stretch, they said, would define Michigan’s season. It was Wisconsin, Michigan State and Penn State back-to-back-to-back, with this week’s bye week thrown in. Three games, three ranked teams.
Define this? Sure.
What’s the definition for awesome?
Michigan is two-thirds of the way through that gauntlet, and the Wolverines have been off-the-charts impressive. They boat-raced Wisconsin 38-13 two weeks ago at home and completely dismantled Michigan State 21-7 in East Lansing last weekend.
They did it with swagger, too. Both games, they strolled out onto the field with a point to prove. This was not the old Michigan that would shrivel up in a big game. This was new.
They were more than ready. Statement games?
Statement made.
The Wisconsin win was big, because the Badgers were a team that pushed Michigan around a year ago in an easy win. This time, Michigan did the pushing, rushing for a crazy 320 yards.
Then Michigan State came. The Spartans, with the No. 1 rush defense in America, kept bragging all week that Michigan wasn’t going to run on them.
What did the Wolverines do? They ran right at the Spartans and rolled up 183 yards on the ground in the 21-7 win that wasn’t even that close.
Statement made. Again.
These past two weeks have proved a lot. Michigan’s offensive line, much maligned the past few years, keeps getting better and better every week under new assistant Ed Warinner. These guys up front don’t mind getting dirty, and they loved pushing around Michigan State’s No. 1-ranked group.
For all the chippiness before, during and after this game, what mattered most was what happened between the white lines during the game. It was revenge, sure, but it was also so much more than that. The win on the road finally erased that ridiculous 17-game losing streak to ranked teams on the road that dated back to 2006. Streaks like that, that’s for the college football bottom-feeders, not a proud team like Michigan.
“This one is for our season,” Michigan defensive end Chase Winovich said proudly after the game. “Sometimes your little brother starts acting up, and you just gotta put them in place.”
Mission accomplished there. Even though Michigan State was 8-2 against Michigan in the last 10 games coming in, the Wolverines absolutely have bragging rights now.
On both sides of the ball, Michigan is a very confident bunch. The defense isn’t willing to concede anything, and they’ll proudly retake their spot at the top of the rankings in total defense have holding Michigan State to a measly 94 yards.
The offense keeps getting better, too, although some better production in the red zone would be nice.
But what they’ve done is shake that label of not being able to win the big one. Wisconsin? Check. Michigan State? Check.
Penn State’s next, after the bye week. What’s critical for Michigan this week, though, is to not start getting overconfident. They have lofty goals, starting with winning the Big Ten East, and they haven’t won that yet. Penn State awaits on Nov. 3 and the Wolverines need to get better between now and then.
So don’t rest on your laurels, and don’t get hurt patting yourself on the back. You’re 7-1 and still unbeaten at 5-0 in the Big Ten, but you still haven’t won anything yet. You’re No. 5 in the country now, but that doesn’t get you anything here on Oct. 22.
Keep a level head and get ready for the final November push. There’s still a lot to get done.
Tom Brew has been a recognized reporter in Big Ten sports for decades. Among other projects, he writes about Big Ten football for Saturday Tradition.