If it was Michigan vs. Everybody, Michigan won, and it's letting the world know it: 'There ain't no asterisk'

HOUSTON — As the confetti, maize and blue, fell on the Michigan Wolverines, Kenneth Grant thought about those reps of bench press in the spring, the squats in the winter and the deadlifts this fall. Braiden McGregor thought about that 6 a.m. offseason wakeup call for morning conditioning, then classes, followed by hours of watching film. Colston Loveland thought about that November players-only meeting where frustrations over criticism of Michigan’s sign-stealing scandal were aired for everyone to hear.

Michigan players thought about it all, all the work, sweat and tears to reach the pinnacle of the sport on Monday night in NRG Stadium. But, in the aftermath of the Wolverines’ first national championship win since 1997, the most common one was quite clear: They thought about those haters, the critics, the outside forces who questioned all that preparation, all the work, sweat and tears, the morning lifts and wakeup calls, the film-watching and team meetings.

“All the haters have to watch us win the national championship,” said Grant, Michigan’s sophomore defensive lineman. “They can hate all they want.”

Michigan players told us so, all of us, they say. They proved us wrong, every last one of us, they claim. We fueled their fire, ignited their championship march, sparked their 15-0 finish, capped by a romping 34-13 win over Washington.

On Monday night, across a confetti-covered field and a cigar smoke-filled locker room tunnel, Michigan players celebrated in one of the more vengeful ways. Polite but blunt, calm but persistent, they brought to life their moniker — Michigan vs. Everybody — in a memorable postgame scene that can be summed up quite succinctly: We showed all you haters and you can’t take that away from us.

“We’re legends,” said McGregor, a senior edge rusher. “Everybody said we couldn’t do it. Coach [Jim] Harbaugh got suspended. ‘Oh, we’re going to put an asterisk if they win the national championship!’

“We go out here and did it. Nobody can say anything now. We proved the doubters wrong all year. Kept going. We put our heads down and kept grinding. Didn’t care what the press said and ESPN and all that. Look where we are: Natty champs.”

The natty, the 12th in the school’s history, is heading back to Ann Arbor. But with it is something more: the proof, players and coaches say, that a sign-stealing scheme that rocked college football this season was not the reason in which this team wins games.

Since the sign-stealer — Connor Stalions — was exposed and resigned from the staff, Michigan went 8-0. The Wolverines beat their in-state rival, Michigan State, by 49 points, quite literally ran over No. 9 Penn State in Happy Valley (without their head coach), beat No. 2 Ohio State (without their head coach), clobbered No. 18 Iowa, won a Rose Bowl semifinal over No. 4 Alabama and trounced the second-ranked Huskies.

“It’s like if you have kids and they question the integrity of your kids,” said Michigan offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore. “They proved who they are on the field and how they prepare. They made a statement and answered that question.”

The question: Was it the sign-stealing or the skill? Was it the rule-breaking or the talent, the illegal scouting or the preparation?

How did Michigan win? How much did the scheme contribute? Maybe we’ll never know. Or maybe we do already.

“We lived it. We lived it for three months of intense scrutiny on our program and these kids,” Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel said. “To me, it hurt because I knew how these kids were and I knew who this staff is. While we have things we have to deal with and we’ll deal with them, this is proof that they have all the character that anybody would want for a kid.”

Those questioning the legitimacy of the title — several coaches and administrators have indeed done so — need to look to the accomplishments, said Santa Ono, the Michigan president who stood in the interview room, one of the game’s footballs in his hand and a sweeping smile on his face.

“If you hear some of the people most critical of the institution, they really have done a change, a 180,” he told Yahoo Sports. “We got six wins without coach Harbaugh. Got some pretty tough wins. Alabama. This is a very deserving team.”

On a raised stage in the middle of the field, this was a celebration more than a quarter century in the making — a we-showed-you party.

A roaring crowd of maize and blue. Confetti cannons. Hugs. Tears. Newspapers with the words “HAIL YES” scrawled across their front. A whopper of a kiss (from Jack Harbaugh onto his wife Jackie). And a giant championship ring toted around by players.

Amid the celebration was a reminder of its controversy. After all, this is one the most controversial championship seasons in college football history. Standing back from the stage, occasionally offering a handshake of congratulations to Michigan celebrators, was Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti, the man who levied an unprecedented penalty by suspending Harbaugh three games based on evidence from the NCAA’s investigation into the school’s a sign-stealing scheme. Evidence linked a booster to funding the scheme and an assistant coach to interfering with the investigation.

As the on-stage celebration wound down, Petitti disappeared off the field, down a dark tunnel and out of the stadium. The Wolverines, meanwhile, partied onward, basking in that confetti. They remembered those offseason lifts, the wakeup calls and the team meetings.

They proved something here on this field, they say. They proved that stealing signs didn’t lead to this. And you cannot — and will not — take that away from them with an asterisk, their athletic director says.

“Hell nah,” Manuel said. “Why? I don’t know why. They proved it on the field. Why would somebody wanna say now that there’s some asterisk? Ridiculous. This team has proven they’re a champion. Period. End of story. There ain’t no asterisk.”