The Wolverines defended their Big Ten Championship, defeating Purdue 43-22
There is no mistaking it now. The Michigan Wolverines are the dominant program in the Big Ten.
Last year when Michigan won the conference, the prevailing view outside of the program and fan base was that the Wolverines had a great year, but that OSU was still king in the Big Ten.
Now, after beating the Buckeyes and defending their conference championship, it’s without a doubt that Michigan wears the crown of best program.
Jim Harbaugh and his staff have built a program that plays like Big Ten teams of old. Use a heavy dose of the run game to score and wear opponents down, while using a defense that suffocates the life out of teams with their speed and physicality. It’s a program that legendary Michigan coach, Bo Schembechler, would be proud of.
This year’s repeat is, in my opinion, more impressive than last year’s championship run because Michigan entered the year having dealt with a crazy offseason of distractions.
There was the usual leaving of key players to the NFL, such as defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, and players graduating or leaving via the portal. However, Michigan also dealt with Harbaugh entertaining NFL coaching options, such as with the Minnesota Vikings. Typically, coaches flirting with these jobs can ruin recruiting efforts and gut a program as assistants look around for jobs.
That seemed to be the case, as recruiting momentum did slow down, and Michigan saw both their DC and OC leave the team.
But Harbaugh would ultimately remain with the Wolverines. He would find Jesse Minter as his new DC, and replaced former OC, Josh Gattis, with Sherrone Moore and Matt Weiss.
Those moves worked on the field, as Michigan remained one of the best defensive units in the country, and the offense continued to be one of the nation’s best, at least in terms of rushing.
As for recruiting, the continued success on the field and the stability now locked in place, has improved Michigan’s ranking from the 40’s or 30’s nationally, to 21st overall, with time still to go to improve that 2023 class.
Michigan now heads to the 2022 college football playoff, where they will attempt to conquer the one goal that eluded them the year before: winning the national championship.
Though, even if they fall short again, it appears that Michigan will be a regular fixture in the playoff and the new standard for all Big Ten programs to chase.