Michigan football knocked off Purdue to win the Big Ten championship for the second straight year and here are five things we learned.
For the first time in Michigan football history, the Wolverines have won 13 games. They did it by knocking off Purdue Saturday to win a second consecutive Big Ten championship.
How sweet it is!
Not many expected Michigan football to make it back to Indy. Most thought Ohio State would get its revenge and that the Wolverines would settle for a Rose Bowl berth.
Not so fast my friend.
Michigan football rolled through its regular-season schedule and had just two games decided by 10 points or less (Illinois and Maryland). Illinois remains the only team to lead Michigan in the fourth quarter of a game.
Saturday night was like so many other games this season. Michigan football grabbed an early lead but led by just one point at halftime. Then, the running game, which struggled to get going early, took off. Donovan Edwards’ 60-yard run to open the second half was a sign of things to come.
His 28-yard touchdown run that put Michigan football up 28-13 was a thing of beauty too. Purdue didn’t make it easy but no one should have expected them to. Aidan O’Connell is as good as it gets in the Big Ten at quarterback and Jeff Brohm sure can coach.
Yet, Michigan football is a different kind of animal. It’s solid in all three phases, has a rising star at quarterback, and five-star talent that always seems to show up in key moments.
The 43-22 victory clinched a second straight outright Big Ten championship for the first time since 1991-1992 and the Wolverines became the first program outside of Ohio State to win repeat titles since Wisconsin in 2011-2012.
It was a special run but as J.J. McCarthy said again, “We aren’t done.”
With that in mind, here are five things we learned as Michigan football won its second straight Big Ten championship game.
Michigan football is officially among CFB elite
There are a lot of other key takeaways but first, let’s give Jim Harbaugh some credit. Michigan football fans were ready to run him off after the 2020 season and now, less than two years later, he has won back-to-back Big Ten championships.
I’ll say this: I’ll never doubt the man again. I think we all got sucked into the idea that he couldn’t do this. But a flip switched after that 2020 season. He got back to the grind and this program has reached an unbelievable level of success.
When Harbaugh was hired back in 2015, Michigan football fans believed their program was going to get to elite levels and with consecutive conference titles, consecutive wins over Ohio State and now consecutive CFB Playoff appearances — elite has arrived.
We’ll see if Michigan can win a national championship. It seems the Wolverines are capable, but regardless of that, they are among college football’s elite again and they aren’t going anywhere.
And it’s all thanks to Jim Harbaugh.
J.J. McCarthy has arrived
McCarthy has been spectacular this season for Michigan football. He’s thrown just three interceptions this season compared to 20 touchdown passes.
The former five-star QB threw three last night and they were all special plays. The first was to Colston Loveland on a jump ball that was a dime. Then, McCarthy used his legs to buy time on his second touchdown pass to Luke Schoonmaker.
The final dagger was his TD pass to Ronnie Bell. Michigan was leading by nine when Will Johnson intercepted his second pass of the night. McCarthy then threw an absolute dart to Ronnie Bell on third-and-11 for a touchdown.
Michigan went for two and pushed the lead to 17 and from that point, it was basically over. Over the last two weeks, McCarthy has thrown six touchdowns and without the one poor decision, his stat line would be flawless.
The kid is growing by leaps and bounds in front of our eyes and what’s exciting is that the best is yet to come. And through 12 starts, McCarthy is 12-0. He is also a Big Ten championship-winning quarterback, just like the guy he replaced.
Donovan Edwards is a superstar
It’s not that we didn’t know this already — we did. We have seen Edwards get better and better as the season progressed, but man does he deliver in big games.
Against Penn State, Ohio State and in the Big Ten championship game, Edwards has combined for four runs over more than 60 yards. Four. Simply incredible.
His 60-yard burst to open the second half changed the feeling of the game. And it was just a simple run where the O-line squared everybody up and Edwards made one guy miss.
With even the smallest lane, he can take it to the house. The vision and patience are getting better and better, while the speed is just overwhelming.
Michigan football ran for 225 yards and it was mostly thanks to Edwards who ran the ball 25 times for 184 yards. He also answered the question of whether he can carry the load. He’s done it two weeks in a row and in every big game this season, he’s delivered a big play.
It’s something that will need to continue if Michigan football is going to advance in the College Football Playoff, but right now, Edwards looks more than up to the challenge.
Will Johnson is a Charles Woodson clone
Donovan Edwards definitely deserved to be the MVP but if there was one guy who was right in the mix, for me it was Will Johnson.
Michigan football doesn’t win the game without Edwards, but it might not without Johnson, the five-star freshman who made two massive second-half interceptions.
The first came with Purdue down 28-13. The Boilermakers were in the red zone after a big run and looking to make it a one-score game again. However, Johnson had other ideas and undercut a pass by O’Connell for the interception.
And if I didn’t know it wasn’t Charles Woodson, I wouldn’t have known.
It wasn’t just the number that looked the same, although it is. Johnson plays just like him. He’s exceptional in man-to-man coverage, he’s tough as hell and a great tackler, and showed a knack for the big play.
We can all remember Woodson making that huge interception against Ohio State to seal the win in 1995 and Johnson is following in those footsteps. Woodson was the key part of that 1997 national championship team and who knows, maybe Johnson can follow his lead in that regard too.
Either way, he’s an absolute star, and as I said last night, calling him a clone of the great Charles Woodson is the highest praise I can give.
The time is now, but the future is bright
Michigan football is focused on winning the national championship and going 15-0. The defense is spectacular and they have all the pieces to do it, even with Blake Corum being sidelined.
Beating Georgia is another animal. But the Wolverines don’t have reason to fear a rematch against Ohio State. Would it be a battle? Absolutely. The Buckeyes might still even be favored but any Michigan fan should take a Michigan-Ohio State game for a shot at the natty.
I actually believe TCU will be ranked third and if the Buckeyes can take out Georgia, they deserve a rematch with the Wolverines. They should have to take the most difficult path to win it all though and that involves a semifinal against the defending champs.
Still, it’s hard to look into the future because it’s so incredibly bright. McCarty and Edwards will both be juniors next season and ready to contend for the Heisman trophy. Colston Loveland is going to be a first-round pick and Will Johnson will be too.
That doesn’t even mention guys like Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant (both freshmen) up front. Derrick Moore also has the look of a future All-Big Ten EDGE and from top to bottom, offense and defense, this Michigan football program is loaded with talent.
Winning the national championship is a realistic goal but this isn’t a fluke and this Michigan football program isn’t going anywhere. This great run is just the beginning.