And, I mean, it's been - 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. But I think the framework, the expectation is more so how the team operates within itself, like the brotherhood, the family, the relationships. "You know, the expectation for how the season goes is going to be high. "It's the framework for how a team should be, relational, giving everything you got for the guy beside you," center Andrew Vastardis said. But the idea of a backup quarterback careening down the sideline to impede defenders 50 yards downfield paired a real-world visual with a season’s worth of culture-laced rhetoric. So much of the program’s self-described culture change was difficult to explain, relying instead on cliches about brotherhood, work ethic and a stronger sense of commitment dating to offseason workouts in January. It’s a play that embodied the type of next-level effort players and coaches had mentioned when describing why this group of Wolverines was different from the Harbaugh teams that wilted in prior seasons. He found a new gear as he broke into open space down the sideline - a gear he lacked when defenders caught him during a 55-yard scamper last week - and thrust U-M in front with a 67-yard score. Corum accelerated across the line of scrimmage midway through the first quarter before cutting to the right and forcing an Iowa defensive back to whiff. Running back Blake Corum, who suffered a foot/ankle injury in a win over Indiana and returned against Ohio State last week, chipped in the kind of game-breaking run the offense lacked in his absence. On a night when Macdonald’s defense soared, the offensive contributions were largely distilled to a pair of big plays in the first half before a flurry of scores when the game was already out of reach. There are a thousand other little things that go into it, but when you're around a group of guys and you watch them making sure that they give it their best, their very best, you know, every single day." Nobody ever thinks it's that simple, but it's that simple. And then you just - just that simple thing. I think back to the (San Diego) team we had in 20 and the Stanford team in 2009, 2010 and the 49er teams, '11, '12, and '13. "There's no team I love more than this team. The Hawkeyes went three-and-out (or four-and-out) more often (six times) than they moved the chains on third down (five times). Hutchinson, who scored his 14th sack of the season, was named the game's MVP.
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Tailback Tyler Goodson, who amassed more than 1,100 yards this season, was held to 50. Petras and Padilla combined to complete 19 of 37 passes for 175 yards and an interception. HAIL!: A look back at Michigan football's past conference titles U-M GRADES: Offense mostly fine, everything else near perfect in Big Ten title gameīIG TEN INSIDER: Why Michigan's Big Ten title will reverberate in the years ahead
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He’d smothered the Hawkeyes’ running game to the tune of 3.2 yards per carry. He’d devised a plan that limited an offensively challenged Iowa squad to a single third-down conversion in nine attempts during the first two quarters. The game hinged on fourth-and-3 from the 15-yard line.īuoyed all season by a defense repaired, restored and recharged through the arrival of coordinator Mike Macdonald, whose NFL-style scheme freshened the staleness from a previous regime, the Michigan football team leaned again on its 34-year-old wunderkind. He benched quarterback Spencer Petras partway through the third quarter and turned instead to Alex Padilla, whose most recent outing against Nebraska saw him complete six of 14 passes for 76 yards.Īnd for a moment, the Hawkeyes flickered with a rare, sustained drive, marching 60 yards on 13 plays to claw their way across midfield and into the red zone for the third time. INDIANAPOLIS - Trailing by 18 points in a game his offense barely participated in, Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz gave a final roll of the dice.