The culture is strong as ever
It would have been easy for this team to point fingers after the Oklahoma game. That's not what happened. Without their head coach, and despite what could have been a game-changing mistake by Biff Poggi, the Wolverines had his back, just like they had the back of Sherrone Moore.
Michigan football is 8-0 with a suspended head coach over the past three seasons. That says a lot about the players and the culture they have built. It would have been easy to fall apart after the Hail Mary.
Nebraska had all the momentum and a half to play. What did Michigan do? Kicked a long field goal on the first drive of the third quarter, forced a three-and-out, then ripped off the Marshall TD run.
You couldn't dream up a better response than that. It was "championship" football as Gary Danielson said on the CBS broadcast in the fourth quarter.
Crippen, a senior leader, was a huge part of this win. So were other seniors like Derrick Moore, Rod Moore, Rayshaun Benny, Ernest Hausmann, and others.
When people question whether Sherrone Moore can maintain what Jim Harbaugh built, games like this, and the win over Ohio State are a reminder that he can. And in some ways, he already has.