Michigan football countdown to kickoff: 69 days until 2022 season
There’s much anticipation heading into the Michigan Wolverines football season, and TheWolverine.com is counting down the days until the Sept. 3 opener against Colorado State. We’ll discuss current Michigan events, upcoming season and/or take a look at a significant number that correlates with how many days remain until kickoff, whether it be a player’s jersey number, a year, a date, a score, etc.
Michigan got quite a bit of mileage out of the 1969 season, and rightfully so. Under then-first-year head coach Bo Schembechler, the Maize and Blue took down Ohio State, which seemed invincible, hadn’t lost a game in nearly two full seasons and had some saying — jokingly, to a degree — the only team that could give them a game would be the Minnesota Vikings, who won the NFL title that season.
Any Michigan fan — whether they remember the 1969 version of ‘The Game or not — can picture the old scoreboard at The Big House reading 24-12. As the clock ticked down to zero, Michigan fans counted it down, then rushed the field. Schembechler was carried off on his players’ shoulders. His Wolverines shared the Big Ten title and made a Rose Bowl appearance.
The nation rocked with the praises of the Maize and Blue that evening, and the celebration went long into the night.
The 1969 season was special on its own — sure — but it’s really remembered so fondly because it was a turning point. It began the 10-year war with Schembechler and Ohio State coach Woody Hayes, which the Wolverines won, 5-4-1.
Remember, Michigan won the Big Ten title in 1964 — just five years earlier — but head coach Bump Elliott and Co. didn’t capitalize, and failed to build momentum. Elliott and Michigan parted ways after 1968, and the rest was history. Schembechler’s era turned around the Wolverines’ fortunes for the next 40 years, and still have a big impact on today’s program. Head coach Jim Harbaugh, of course, is a Schembechler disciple, having played quarterback for the 13-time Big Ten champion in the 1980s.
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Now, Michigan is back in a similar spot to 1969. Ohio State was ‘vanquished,’ in 2021, as former radio play-by-play man Jim Brandstatter put it, an eight-game losing streak against the Buckeyes snapped just like that. It’s amazing what one afternoon inside that old stadium can do.
The Wolverines’ aim is now to make sure Nov. 27, 2021 was the first of many wins over Ohio State, that Dec. 4, 2021 was the first of many Big Ten titles in the next legendary run. It’s harder now than ever for that to become a reality, of course, but they had to get the first one under their belt at some point.
Either way, the magical scene at The Big House last November was the same excitement the stadium saw 42 years earlier. It was ‘glorious,’ and Michigan fans deserved it after a 10-year drought with no wins over their most hated rival. No matter what happens next, nobody can take it away from them.
Michigan football countdown to kickoff
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