What they're saying after Michigan football's Big Ten Championship win
Michigan football captured its first Big Ten championship on Saturday night in a 42-3 drubbing of the Iowa Hawkeyes in Indianapolis. The narrative-changing victory has the Wolverines on the doorstep of the College Football Playoff with the biggest prize in the sport still there to be had.
SITE MOVE SPECIAL: Join TheWolverine.com for $1 for your first year!
RELATED: Wolverine TV podcast: Reactions to Michigan football’s Big Ten title win
Here is a collection of reactions from the local and national media after the Michigan victory.
John Borton, The Wolverine: Wolverine Watch: Big Ten champion Michigan leaves no doubt in Indy
Big Ten champions.
Near misses? Sure. Good teams? Without question. But none that finished a grueling Big Ten campaign with index fingers raised. Not since assistant coach Mike Hart finished off a 5,000-yard career in 2004 had the Wolverines emerged on top.
They hadn’t even been to Indianapolis in the decade this town has hosted the title game.
No matter, now. Whatever happens going forward, the 2021 Michigan crew goes down as a defiant, determined, inspired array of drought enders. At 12-1, a lock to become Michigan’s first College Football Playoff squad, they’ve destroyed every doubt, shattered each smirking prediction of doom.
They quietly — and sometimes, not so quietly — proclaimed it since last spring. This team is different.
And they’ve got the hardware to prove it.
“This is the best group of guys — players, coaches, MIGHTY MEN AND WOMEN of Michigan football!” Harbaugh exulted in the wake of the win. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way — and the will was really strong.”
“To win this Big Ten championship here, with the best teammates ever, and the best coach in the world, in front of everybody, there are no words that can describe it,” bellowed junior defensive end Aidan Hutchinson.
“Nobody believed in this team, outside of Schembechler Hall. Every single player invested in our culture, and what we do!”
Later, away from the field, a quieter Hutchinson reflected on what just happened.
“We defied all expectations,” he said. “Nobody thought we could do this. Nobody thought we could ever do this — especially this season. Man, we did it. And we did it in a very dominant fashion.”
Chris Balas, The Wolverine: Michigan 42, Iowa 3, Big Ten Championship: Notes, quotes & observations
For many fans, though, the rest is gravy. This improbable group of champions, led by an undersized quarterback in Cade McNamara, whose average arm is trumped by his brain and his huge heart, finally got over the hump.
For the teenage daughters and sons of Michigan fans who remember what it felt like to be champions — that feeling you’re feeling now? That’s what we’ve been trying to convey all these years, but couldn’t.
We wanted so badly to share it with you — to let you know what it really felt like to be part of something special — but it’s something you have to experience for yourselves to really understand.
And now you do, and we couldn’t be happier.
The goal, though, isn’t just one. It’s always been about enjoying it year in and year out knowing the guys wearing the uniform were going to — well, win or die trying, as Harbaugh said about the Ohio State game in the preseason, but used to apply to every season.
The expectation in the locker room is that this is only the beginning of restoring the pride in knowing that being a Michigan fan meant being part of a special culture.
“It’s the framework for how a team should be — relational, giving everything you’ve got for the guy beside you,” sixth-year senior center Andrew Vastardis said. “The expectation for how the season goes is going to be high, but I think the framework, the expectation is more so how the team operates within itself, like the brotherhood, the family, the relationships.
“We’ve put on a clinic of that this year with our brotherhood — how we care about each other, how we play for each other. And obviously goals, like accomplishments, all that outside … the framework to accomplish all that is [now there].”
The best part — you still get to watch the guys who built it play another game or two before it’s over.
Savor it, folks. You might see more talented groups come through Ann Arbor someday, but you’ll be hard pressed to find a better team.
Clayton Sayfie, The Wolverine: Best and worst from Michigan’s Big Ten championship win over Iowa
Media members were asked to submit their votes for the game’s most valuable player by the four-minute mark in the fourth quarter. There was a lot of chatter and debate as to who we should’ve picked, because there wasn’t one dominant player, but we — and quite a few others — settled on redshirt freshman quarterback Cade McNamara.
He didn’t have his best game, and struggled a bit in the first half, but he completed 16 of his 24 passes for 169 yards and a score with one interception. He hit some big throws that set up touchdowns, and if he wasn’t out there, the game could have gone differently.
However, junior defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, who actually took home the hardware, was more than deserving. He had a sack, four tackles and two quarterback hurries, and affected the play on numerous other occasions. He should be invited to New York for the Heisman Trophy ceremony later this month.
Anthony Broome, The Wolverine: Cade McNamara’s game ball performance for Michigan football
McNamara was not the best player on the field for Michigan on Saturday night. It has not been how the Wolverines have won this season. Despite that, he has been everything this team has needed and more. He won the job because he runs the offense and puts together scoring drives. All year, he has helmed clutch drives in “gotta have it” situations. It has not been sexy, but it does not need to be. This team gets by on hard work and determination and stats be damned, its quarterback embodies that.
The future will be determined at a later date, but the present is what matters most. McNamara is a Big Ten champion at Michigan. It is the only thing that matters.
Tom Fornelli, CBS Sports: No. 2 Wolverines win first Big Ten title since 2004, clinch playoff berth
It’s hard to say a win is anything but dominant when the final score is 42-3, but it was a 21-point fourth quarter that made the game look a lot more out of hand than it truly was — not that you ever got the sense the Hawkeyes were going to win the game. Still, aside from the two big touchdown plays in the first half, the Michigan offense struggled to put together long drives against the Iowa defense. From late in the first quarter until halftime, Michigan had five offensive possessions that lasted only 23 plays, covered 85 yards and ended with three punts and two interceptions (though the second interception was on a Hail Mary to end the half).
Things changed in the second half. Michigan’s best drive of the night was its 10-play, 82-yard touchdown drive to start the third quarter. That put the Wolverines ahead 21-3 and sealed the game for good. The Wolverines would put together one more long touchdown drive in the fourth quarter, but two of its three fourth-quarter touchdowns started at the Iowa 36 following a blocked punt and an interception.
Now, this is picking nits for sure, but the Wolverines are off to the playoff now. They can’t afford to go to sleep on offense for an entire quarter and expect to win against the teams they’ll be facing.
Heather Dinich, ESPN: College Football Playoff takeaways: Alabama, Michigan, Cincy make things easy for committee
Saturday’s championship game slate started with a win by Northern Illinois to take the MAC title. Baylor followed that with a stunner against Oklahoma State to secure the Big 12 championship. Then it was Utah State’s turn; the Aggies dominated San Diego State to win the Mountain West. Michigan topped it all off with a victory in the Big Ten title game.
What do all those conference champions have in common? They were all terrible last year.
NIU went from 0-6 to 9-4. Baylor went from 2-7 to 11-2. Utah State jumped from 1-5 to 10-3. And Michigan went from a miserable 2-4 to 13-1 and a likely playoff berth.
Chalk it up to the wild impacts of COVID-19, which created havoc for first-year coach Dave Aranda at Baylor; to better health, like Aidan Hutchinson’s return from a season-ending injury at Michigan; or to a smart coaching hire, as Blake Anderson turned around Utah State.
Whatever the magic formula was, when you add it all up, it’s a combined improvement of 38 wins between them.
David Kenyon, Bleacher Report: Pushed to the Brink in 2021, Jim Harbaugh Finally Delivers Michigan football a CFP Trip
The immense joy of toppling a bitter rival could’ve vanished if Michigan faltered at Lucas Oil. Given the frustration of Harbaugh’s tenure, perhaps it was only fitting for Iowa to strip away that happiness after U-M toppled Ohio State.
That never came close to happening, though.
Two first-quarter touchdowns of 65-plus yards propelled the Wolverines to a rapid 14-0 lead, and Haskins scored twice more. They contained a limited Iowa offense all night, outgaining the Hawkeyes 461-279 and running away with the Big Ten title.
Most importantly, the dominant night triggered Michigan’s coveted celebration as the Playoff-bound kings of the Big Ten.
Only 12 months ago, 2021 seemed it could be Harbaugh’s last ride.
But as confetti fluttered past his name on the Indianapolis Colts’ ring of honor, this victory ensured Harbaugh’s story in Ann Arbor is nowhere close to finished.
Bob Wojnowski, Detroit News: Wojo: Wolverines pound their way to Big Ten title, intent on more
When some wondered if Michigan’s offense was too stodgy to win a championship, Harbaugh and his overhauled staff stuck to the plan, while gradually easing in freshman quarterback J.J. McCarthy. Offensive coordinator Josh Gattis said repeatedly it wasn’t that they couldn’t throw, it was that they chose instead to build an identity on a pounding run game.
All the while, the Wolverines simmered and stirred, and even enjoyed being told last week they’d been given a 2% percent chance of winning the Big Ten before the season. I can’t vouch for the accuracy of those odds, but I can vouch for the depth of the motivation. McNamara walked into the interview room toting the huge Big Ten trophy, set it on the table and could hardly stop looking at it.
“Guys on this team, we’ve gone under some scrutiny and we battled through it,” McNamara said. “One of the first things I thought of after we won was coach Harbaugh. After last season, it was so tough, not just for us players, but for coach Harbaugh too. And we know there’s not one person who cares more about Michigan than him. We want to win for coach Harbaugh, and we were just so happy we could give him that joy because he deserved it.”
Shawn Windsor, Detroit Free Press: Michigan football’s amazing renaissance story is still far, far from ending
Let’s face it, Iowa is difficult to watch. Difficult to play, too, because Hawkeyes head coach Kirk Ferentz doesn’t much care about artistry or flow or the forward pass unless he’s calling the bootleg, an 80s and 90s staple.
It worked a few times early. Then again, “worked” is relative for an offense that scored three points.
Credit the Wolverines’ defense, of course, along with the usual superlative play of Aidan Hutchinson — he won game MVP — and David Ojabo and Daxton Hill, who was flagged for a pass interference penalty on Iowa’s first drive of the game then spent the rest of the game running Hawkeyes down.
It was a dominant performance, especially on the scoreboard, and in a game of style points, the 39-point margin could help convince a few committee members to give U-M the top slot in the CFP field over Alabama.
The Crimson Tide walloped top-ranked Georgia on Saturday afternoon and their résumé — and reputation — probably give them the nod over U-M for the No. 1 spot.
Do the Wolverines deserve the top spot, Blake Corum was asked:
“42-3? You tell me.”
If nothing else, the margin should keep these Wolverines at No. 2, setting up a probable showdown with Georgia. (Undefeated Cincinnati should get the fourth spot.)
Austin Meek, The Athletic: Michigan football finally gets what it wanted most, but the Big Ten title is not the end
Michigan blew past most of the modest expectations by midseason. If the Wolverines had stopped there, it would have been hard to count this season a failure. The difference between a good season and a great one is what happened the past two weeks against Ohio State and Iowa. The Wolverines played their best games in their biggest games, which hasn’t always been the case at Michigan. After dominating the Buckeyes to win the Big Ten East for the first time in Harbaugh’s seven seasons, the Wolverines arrived in Indianapolis feeling the full weight of what was at stake: the Big Ten championship, a trip to the CFP and a shot at the national title.
Harbaugh spoke to the team about those goals Friday night, acknowledging the magnitude of the moment. It would have been easy to cave under the pressure, but this team seems to steel its spine when other teams might have wilted.
“I don’t know if it was pressure, but this game meant a lot for this program, this team, this family, these fans — everyone who has had hands on this thing,” center Andrew Vastardis said.
In addition, the Wolverines were playing for Tate Myre, a standout football player killed in the shooting at Oxford High School earlier in the week. It was Aidan Hutchinson who suggested honoring Myre with a jersey patch bearing his No. 42. After Donovan Edwards plunged into the end zone with 1:25 remaining, the Wolverines looked up at the scoreboard and realized they had scored exactly 42 points.
“God works in mysterious ways,” Hutchinson said.
Nick Baumgardner, The Athletic: Jim Harbaugh, Michigan football end Big Ten title drought with team few will forget
At one point, McNamara started to shake his head before just stating out loud: “The physicality of this offense is just …” and he paused before running back Blake Corum cut him off: “It’s crazy.”
One chair to the right was senior center Andrew Vastardis, who sat — eyes closed, mouth curled into a content smile — silently nodding in agreement, almost cathartically so after helping completely turn around the fortunes of an offense that barely looked like it could walk and chew gum at the same time a year ago.
He also took it one step further. This team, Vastardis said, should be remembered as a blueprint team for Michigan’s football program moving forward. Not the team’s exact style or scheme. But the overall makeup.
The standard for what it takes to hold your part of the rope and be part of the team at Michigan got a facelift in 2021. Vastardis and the rest of his cohorts hope it never changes again.
“I think this is the framework for how teams should be. Relational. Giving everything you’ve got for the guy beside you,” Vastardis said. “The framework, how the team operates within itself — the brotherhood, the relationships. We’ve put on a clinic with that this year. Our brotherhood. How we play for each other.”
McNamara would later follow with a simple statement: “That,” he said, “was Michigan football, playing Michigan football.”
The Harbaugh way. The hard way.
It took Harbaugh seven years to pull this off. No one thought that would happen when he got here. Just like no one ever thought Michigan’s football program would see a Big Ten title drought that took 17 years to finally snap. But it happened.
And at long last, it’s all over.
