Last Saturday felt different from the previous three Thanksgiving weekends. Going into Saturday there wasn't much talk from Michigan football fans about why our team could win the Game. There were many social media and message board posts about why it was Ohio State's year and why Wolverine fans shouldn't feel bad. We were over-matched, on the road, and still riding the jubilation of a National Championship. On top of that, we were facing a three-score-point spread (the largest in the history of this rivalry) BEFORE our two best players in Colston Loveland and Will Johnson were ruled out.
It wasn't supposed to be our year and many Michigan football fans were okay with that. But then the ball was kicked off and things started happening. Davis Warren made a clutch throw on the first 3rd down of the game to pick up 14 yards and a new set of downs. Although Michigan would have to punt just four plays later it set the tone that this team could move the ball at times against the Ohio State defense. They could find a way to stay on the field, giving their defense just enough rest and flipping field position when they needed to.
Then on the following drive for Ohio State, facing a 3rd and 5 from the Michigan 11-yard line, Makari Paige broke on Will Howard's pass to hold the Buckeyes to a field goal. All of a sudden it felt like, if things went Michigan's way, they could turn this into a game. It felt like Michigan belonged on the field and although they might not do enough to win, they could hang in there and avoid getting blown out.
As the game went on, Michigan capitalized on an interception deep in Ohio State territory with a touchdown. Makari Paige laid a huge hit on Will Howard that set the tone for Michigan being the more physical team the rest of the way. Ohio State missed what should have been easy field goals. Then suddenly Michigan found themselves in a tied game that no one thought they had business being in with time running down in the fourth quarter.
Then with 12:14 left in the game, Davis Warren made the play of the day. Facing a 3rd down and 8 from his own 43-yard line, Ohio State brings a blitz and forces Warren out of the pocket. He rolls out to his right, doesn't panic, and just when it looks like the play is over and Ohio State is going to get the ball back with a chance to put together a game-winning drive, Warren fires a pass down the sidelines. The camera pans forward to a diving Peyton O'leary -- a former walk-on and Davis' freshman roommate- who makes an incredible sideline catch breaking away from Ohio State defense back Jermaine Matthews Jr. (a former four-star and top-150 recruit).
The play gave the Wolverines 18 yards and a first down and although the drive ended in an interception, it flipped field position for the final time, with only two plays the rest of the game being run in Michigan territory. It put the ball down close to the Ohio State endzone and kept it there. The play embodied everything that took place on the field that day.
Warren, a cancer survivor and former walk on who spends much of his free time volunteering at Ann Arbor's Motts Children's hospital, stepped up when his team needed him. Not having the best day statisically, when it mattered most he stayed calm under pressure and found a way to get the Wolverines just what they needed.
Many Michigan fans were in stunned disbelief and optimistic uncertainty when O'leary came up with the ball signaling first down. The same way many Michigan fans were in disbelief after Michigan took the final kneel down to run out the clock and finish a 13-10 victory that shocked the college football world.
Davis Warren will be remembered
There is a lot of uncertainty about Warren's future in the quarterback room at Michigan. He didn't have the best season, getting benched after three games and throwing multiple interceptions in this game. In some ways, he was set up to disappoint lofty expectations being surrounded by other first year starters nearly everywhere on offense and following one of the greatest Michigan quarterbacks of all time in JJ McCarthy. With the nation's #1 recruit Bryce Underwood and likely a transfer portal quarterback coming in next year we'll see if Warren decides to stay. But with all the uncertainty one thing is for sure -- Warren is forever a Michigan football hero.
Last week he did something that Chad Henne, Denard Robinson, and Tom Brady couldn't. The ultimate underdog who accomplished what many of the greatest starting quarterbacks in Michigan football history never did -- a win over Ohio State in Columbus. On a day when a depleted and overlooked Wolverine team walked into Ohio Stadium and did just enough to shock everyone, an underdog Davis Warren did just enough to help his team get there. There's a lot of credit to go around to Kalel Mullings, the entire defense, Wink Martindale, and Sherrone Moore. But with how great the last three seasons were for Michigan football, last Saturday's story and the man behind it will have it's own special place in Michigan history.