Michigan Football: Shea Patterson can backup Woodson’s guarantee
Charles Woodson guaranteed that Michigan football would beat Ohio State in Columbus next fall. Here is how Shea Patterson can make those words ring true.
When it comes to the history of Michigan football, there have been few, if any players greater than Charles Woodson. So when the Heisman Trophy winner and national champion speaks, people tend to listen.
This past weekend, Woodson was giving the commencement speech at UM and in the process, guaranteed that Michigan football would beat Ohio State in 2018. Here are the exact words Woodson used via a post from Sports Illustrated:
"“I talked about Desmond and myself running down that sideline to victory against you know who, and you know what, you guys haven’t experienced that feeling very much against that school,” Woodson said. “It hurts my heart, it really does. But I’m telling you here today, 212 days from now, your Michigan Wolverines team will go down to Columbus, march into that stadium and we will beat you know who to bring back that familiar feeling of victory back to The University of Michigan again.”"
Of course, what Michigan fan wouldn’t be excited about that? The first thing that I thought to myself, admittedly, was too bad Charles Woodson won’t be on the field. It’s strange to give a guarantee he can’t help deliver, but maybe Woodson knows something we all know.
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Maybe he just believes that the tide is about to turn. Michigan football fans always believed it would once UM hired Jim Harbaugh, it just hasn’t happened yet. But in my mind at least, getting Shea Patterson and getting him eligible for next season is a huge step forward.
Really, when looking at the difference between Michigan and Ohio State the past few years, the biggest has been at quarterback. The Buckeyes have had J.T. Barrett running the show. Michigan on the other hand, has had guys like Jake Rudock, Wilton Speight and John O’Korn.
The Wolverines have had dominant defenses and even some pretty good skill guys on offense. UM has had all the pieces to beat Ohio State. Michigan just hasn’t found a quarterback. Now that has changed with Patterson.
Patterson is a game changer and that’s the one thing Michigan has been lacking. When the Wolverines won the big game in the past, they got great performances from guys like John Navarre, Denard Robinson, Tom Brady, Brian Griese and even Harbaugh long ago.
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That’s why fans can have hope that Woodson’s words will come true. It won’t be easy but at least Michigan football finally has a fighting chance against that team from Ohio.