Wolverine Watch: Michigan smashes three big lies on the way to a championship showdown

Michigan destroyed a flotilla of falsehoods on the way to its Saturday night showdown with Iowa for the Big Ten title.

Not tough enough. Not modern enough offensively. Not committed enough. Not together enough.

They were together on the Michigan Stadium turf last Saturday, along with thousands of their fans. The Victors, rejoicing, but ready for much, much more.

Here are three of the biggest lies they shed in reaching that moment, and pointing to the future — both immediate and long term:

1. Redshirt freshman Cade McNamara can’t get it done at quarterback

It’s always tough when there’s a hotshot true freshman QB in the wings. There’s something about him that captures the imagination of all, and it’s not unwarranted in this case.

J.J. McCarthy looks like a star in the making. He’s got the arm, the moxie, and increasingly the experience to become a great college quarterback.

Meanwhile, McNamara has Michigan at 11-1, No. 2 in the polls and No. 2 in the College Football Playoff rankings. The Wolverines are a win away from their first Big Ten title since Mike Hart ran wild, and three wins away from a national championship.

Their only loss occurred when the Big Ten wrongly took a touchdown off the board for U-M in a four-point loss, and admitted it afterward. In that game, McNamara threw for 383 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including a 93-yard scoring toss.

In other words, McNamara played 12-0 football for an 11-1 team. Hardly the early narrative, which insisted McCarthy HAD to supplant his elder for Michigan to enjoy any chance this season, including challenging the unbeatable Buckeyes.

Related Stories

Playing for a title means the world

Wolverine TV: Players preview Iowa

Former U-M All-American and two-time captain Jon Jansen observed: “Not only was it, ‘It’s got to be J.J.,’ it was ‘We can’t throw the ball because of Cade. We can’t do all of these things because of Cade.’

“He’s simply gone out there and done what the coaches have asked him to do. He is one of the more mentally tough players on this team, and that we’ve seen. He has been able to block out all that extra noise.”

He’s also delivered, again and again, including during game-winning drives in wildly hostile atmospheres at Nebraska and Penn State. He also supplied a steady-enough effort to post Michigan’s biggest win over Ohio State since 1997.

“His anticipation — throwing to a spot, throwing on time, not necessarily waiting for somebody to be open,” Jansen said, when asked what has surprised him the most about McNamara. “We saw it a lot in the Michigan State game, especially with the tight ends. When [sophomore tight end] Erick All turned, that ball was there.

“When [freshman wideout] Andrel Anthony turned, same thing. He said that was the best ball he’s ever caught. He was running to a spot, and the ball was just there.

“That’s the biggest surprise for a kid who hasn’t had a whole lot of time in the shotgun, of being able to deliver those balls and trust that your receiver is going to be there. After losing [junior wideout] Ronnie Bell … that was his biggest receiver, the one he trusted most. Him still being able to throw to a spot has been, to me, the biggest surprise.”

Him standing on the brink of championship-level achievement registers, for some, as an even bigger one.

2. Michigan is no longer capable of beating Ohio State

Some almost gave up. Face it, taking down the Buckeyes ranks right up there with taking down the mafia. Oust one crime boss, and another takes his place.

Too much talent accumulated, by any means necessary. Too much swagger. Too many wins over Michigan teams devoid of a single player who’d ever experienced a victory in this series.

They didn’t know how. They didn’t understand what it took. Well, this group — head coach, dramatically reworked staff, and players — figured it out.

They not only beat the Buckeyes, they beat up on them. The deepest cries of pain out of Mordor in the wake of Michigan’s 42-27 soul cleansing involved the physical manhandling the Wolverines delivered on both sides of the line of scrimmage.

“They’re a good team,” Michigan offensive coordinator Josh Gattis said on the Inside Michigan Football radio show. “They’re a finesse team. They’re not a tough team. And we knew that going into the game that we can out-physical them, we can out-tough and that was going to be the key to the game, and that’s what we prepared for all year long.”

The Buckeyes aren’t invincible. They never were. Harbaugh appeared to defeat them in 2016, but missed it by that much (or didn’t). It just took the right crew, with the right plan and the right execution to begin turning the tide.

The Wolverines got embarrassed the last two times these teams met. It helped bring defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald off the Baltimore Ravens roster and into the game-planning for OSU. The difference proved night and day.

Remember all the way back to the third game of the season, the 63-10 rout over Northern Illinois? The biggest memory from that one came off the prophetic lips of NIU coach Thomas Hammock, who’d worked both in the Big Ten and for John Harbaugh with the Ravens.

“What I see on tape, they built their team to beat Ohio State,” Hammock said. “You’re not going to out-athlete Ohio State, so what they said is we’re going to get dirty. Credit to them, because they stay committed to that.”

They got down-and-dirty physical with OSU, and muscled the Buckeyes out of the way. And now, they know how.

3. Jim Harbaugh can’t win the big one

Many thought Harbaugh might not even return for 2021. Following a COVID-crushed 2020 in which his team tumbled to 2-4, his contract renegotiation involved a big-time pay cut.

He just wasn’t the same, they said. It’s simply too late to fix this.

Harbaugh fixed it. He got himself into his best personal shape since his playing days, perhaps as a sign of what was to come. He dramatically reconfigured his staff, bringing youth, energy and plenty of football savvy to the mix.

Harbaugh and this staff changed the game. Part of it involved going back to what worked in the past. Part of it involved adapting to the roster, making sure everyone jumped on board and committed to the most eye-opening reversal in Michigan football fortunes since 1969.

The man who pulled Stanford off the dung heap and took the San Francisco 49ers to the Super Bowl once again flipped all the right levers. Landing Macdonald can’t be overvalued, according to the most prolific U-M tackler of all time.

“I just like the adjustment we made on defense,” former All-American linebacker Ron Simpkins said. “They’re playing a more pro-style defense, and utilizing our defensive ends as outside linebackers, where they can stand up and rush the quarterback. It put us into the 21st century, in relationship to football.

“You look at Rashan Gary. Think of him in the Michigan defense now, as a standup outside linebacker, as opposed to a two-technique guy as a down lineman. He was rated the No. 1 player in the country coming out.

“If he’d have played that position at Michigan, he would have developed so much faster. And then with the ability to drop back every now and then in pass coverage, it gives you a whole different offset. You almost wipe his side of the field off. You’re not going to run the ball towards this guy, because you just can’t block him.”

Harbaugh looks as happy as he’s been since the day Michigan brought him back. This team can, and should, finish the Big Ten job on Saturday night, remaining men on a mission.

After that, all bets are off. As Harbaugh would say, they have the license and the ability. In the process, they’ll continue exposing lies and busting myths.