Michigan football's pounding of Purdue a welcome respite from fortnite of frustration
In their maize-and-blue cocoon, Michigan football fans gathered Saturday evening to watch their beloved Wolverines brandish their power and showcase their might in a 41-13 romp over Purdue.
For 3½ hours, they could embrace a team that is among the best in the country, that has designs on winning a national championship, that may be better than any squad this school has fielded in the past 25 years. They could celebrate the uber-talented J.J. McCarthy, the quarterback who is the Heisman Trophy frontrunner. They could cheer for an unrelenting defense that has yielded the fewest points in the nation. They could savor Michigan’s crisp execution that has been evident ever since they started conference play — a period when the Wolverines have outscored their Big Ten opponents 270-44.
Most of all, they could temporarily tune out the drumbeat of bad news that has echoed the past two weeks, as the program they love has come under intense public scrutiny because of a sign-stealing scandal that is as sensational as it is bizarre.
LETTER RIP: Michigan president Santa Ono urges Big Ten not to rush punishments
Each day has seemingly brought a new development, exhausting Michigan supporters who would prefer to watch their Wolverines just dominate in peace. But instead they have been confronted with one worrying headline after another that has left doubt about how this season may end for Michigan.
Big Ten members have reportedly mounted a campaign urging league commissioner Tony Petitti to punish the Wolverines after their now-former staffer, Connor Stalions, was alleged to have orchestrated an elaborate spy ring by sending operatives to games so they could tape the play signals of future opponents. Because in-person scouting has been prohibited since 1994, the NCAA began looking into the matter last month. But a resolution isn’t expected for some time, which prompted coaches and administrators from around the league to dial up an all-out blitz on Petitti and pressure him to deliver some kind of ruling.
In an email sent to the commissioner on Thursday that was obtained by the Free Press on Saturday, U-M president Santa Ono asked Petitti to remain patient as the investigative process played out.
“The reputation and livelihoods of coaches, students, and programs cannot be sacrificed in a rush to judgment, no matter how many and how loudly people protest otherwise,” he wrote.
Among the most strident voices in that crowd is attached to the head coach standing across the field from Jim Harbaugh on Saturday.
“What's crazy is they weren't allegations,” Purdue’s Ryan Walters said Thursday on his radio show. “It happened. There's video evidence. There's ticket purchases and sales that you can track back.”
Walters’ comments served as a reminder that no matter how much Michigan fans hoped they could escape this story for a few hours, it still was right there in front of them if they wanted to look hard enough. A man in gold and black, who seemed ready to convict their treasured Wolverines, was pacing the sideline in full view of McCarthy throwing beautiful passes and receiver Roman Wilson making nifty catches and Michigan’s front seven disrupting plays, down after down.
Surely, Walters — just like them — could see that this Michigan team is a worthy contender. And that is the shame of it all, because even as controversy swirls, one fact has remained immutable for months: The Wolverines are superb.
As Harbaugh said afterwards, "They're just good...If you know football. I mean, just watch the game. Turn on the tape. That's why they're so good. They're good at it."
Harbaugh made his point after his guys played with the same panache, purpose, and precision Saturday that has marked their upward surge since Week 4. McCarthy threw for 335 yards, helping Michigan pick up points on four of its first five possessions. Star running back Blake Corum scored three times, spearheading a red-zone offense that was perfect inside the 20-yard line and remains among the most efficient in the country. The defense did its part, too. Coordinator Jesse Minter's bunch was unyielding and opportunistic, holding the Boilermakers to just 269 yards and securing their 12th interception this year when Will Johnson plucked Hudson Card's errant pass in the first quarter.
In the face of heavy criticism, Michigan made an emphatic statement.
"But we don't got to prove nothing to nobody," running back Donovan Edwards harrumphed defiantly. "We'll just keep doing what we're doing. That's going to take us very far as it has so far."
Edwards has seen nothing but success since he joined the Wolverines in 2021. During his tenure, they have gone 34-3 and won the past two Big Ten titles. His unbridled confidence, even in this time of uncertainty, is understandable. The Michigan faithful have co-opted the same mindset. They, too, are now used to puffing out their chests and believing their team will come out on top. Games like the one they saw Saturday against the overmatched Boilermakers have become customary.
For 3½ hours Saturday, inside their maize-and-blue cocoon, it again looked like the Wolverines couldn't be stopped. But who knows what awaits both Michigan and its fans outside the Big House’s walls? That uncomfortable reality, unfortunately, appears inescapable. Even the starry-eyed McCarthy has accepted that.
"The noise," he said, "isn't going to stop."
No, it isn't.
Contact Rainer Sabin at rsabin@freepress.com. Follow him @RainerSabin.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football gets an island of tranquility on the Big House grass
