Preview - Victors: Michigan’s Journey to the 2023 National Championship

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Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890.

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DANA ELOBAID AND SAMANTHA RICH

2024 Co-Editors in Chief

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FIONA LACROIX

2024 Managing Design Editor

LYS GOLDMAN

Senior Layout Editor

ANNABELLE YE Layout Designer

ABBY SCHRECK AND SHANIA BAWEJA

2024 Managing Editors GRACE BEAL Project Lead

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CHARLIE PAPPALARDO, CONNOR EAREGOOD, JOHN TONDORA AND PAUL NASR

2023 Football Beat

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FOREWORD

By Nicole Auerbach,

Daily Alum & Senior Writer at The Athletic

Nicole Auerbach is an alum of the University of Michigan and The Michigan Daily, having written for the Sports section from 2007-2011. She covered Michigan football, among other sports. Upon graduation, Auerbach joined USA TODAY Sports Media Group as a National College Sports Reporter. In 2014, she began working as a Studio Analyst for Big Ten Network, and she later joined SiriusXM as a Host. Auerbach transitioned from USA TODAY Sports Media Group to The Athletic in 2017, where she is currently a Senior Writer focusing on national college football coverage. In 2020, she was honored as the National Sports Media Association (NSMA) National Sportswriter of the Year.

When the writers of The Michigan Daily first reached out to me to tell me that they were publishing this book to commemorate a season that ended with the University’s football team hoisting a national championship trophy, I have to admit, I was jealous.

I never got to cover anything remotely as cool as that. I’ve joked for years that I think I, personally, was bad luck for Michigan athletics. My four years in Ann Arbor began in 2007 and ended in 2011. My first game as a student

was the infamous loss to Appalachian State — I had to throw out the season-ticket T-shirt because I didn’t want anyone to ever bring it up to me again — and the final football game of my undergraduate career was Michigan’s 52-14 loss to Mississippi State in the Gator Bowl. That was also my final assignment for The Daily; we spent our New Year’s Eve as a four-person Football Beat watching the fireworks at The Jacksonville Landing (and subsequently stealing a liquor cart from someone in our hotel).

I’m pretty sure the Michigan football program’s four-year stretch during my time as a student was the worst four-year stretch in its long, storied tradition. The men’s ice hockey team I covered earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament before promptly being upset by Air Force in the first round. The men’s basketball team I covered began the season ranked No. 15 in the nation … and didn’t even play in the NIT.

Those were some lean years. I would have walked barefoot to Pasadena, Calif. to have the opportunity to cover a Rose Bowl.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I learned invaluable lessons covering the ups and downs of the teams I covered. I learned how to report on hard news by covering alleged NCAA violations within the football program under former coach Rich Rodriguez. And I learned that being a beat writer means you never get too high when the team you cover is winning and you never get too low when the team is losing. You’re a steadying force, even in a

world where loud, polarizing opinions tend to drown out the rational voices.

But, yes. I would have loved a trip to Pasadena. Or any opportunity to chronicle history, as the writers in these pages got.

What impressed me the most as I read The Daily Football Beat’s comprehensive coverage of the 2023-24 Michigan football season was how smart and incisive it was. It is quite difficult to stand out on a crowded local beat — and it’s even harder to find unique angles and write in a thoughtful manner when you’re dealing with an influx of national media coverage, too. But the Daily rose to the occasion again and again.

I loved how Paul Nasr immediately put Michigan’s third consecutive win over Ohio State into context by noting its normalcy. Connor Earegood explained a rather complicated scandal involving advanced scouting and a staffer named Connor Stalions in a digestible and informative way. From Houston, John Tondora beautifully captured what a return to the sport’s uppermost echelon meant for a program whose fight song includes the phrases “victors valiant” and “champions of the West.” Charlie Pappalardo’s column arguing that Michigan’s national championship trophy did not need an asterisk was both compelling and timely.

This group covered every storyline from a storybook season. These writers traveled near and far to provide the type of coverage that readers have come to expect from The Daily. They made us Daily alumni proud.

I may never know what it’s like to cover a national championship game as a student journalist, but I am quite familiar with the long car rides crisscrossing the Midwest that double as a rite of passage for those of us covering this team with limited budgets and bigger dreams. I know how much effort goes in behind the scenes at 420 Maynard St. — all the work from editors, photographers and designers that allows the written work to actually leap off the page, whether it’s printed or the web version. Or both.

I’m glad you all ended your season in Houston instead of Jacksonville Landing (which I’m not sure even exists anymore, actually). I’m proud that you pushed past competitors to elbow your way into crowded press conferences and locker room scrums. I’m honored to be part of the history of this newspaper, a history that now includes all of you.

But most of all, I hope you forever find joy in re-reading your coverage of such a special season. You might not remember every twist and turn — though the name Connor Stalions will likely always conjure images of refurbished vacuums — but you’ll remember these stories and these words. They say journalism is the first draft of history, and this is yours.

Courtesy of Nicole Auerbach

PHOTOGRAPHERS’ FAVORITES

SARAH BOEKE/Daily

EMILY ALBERTS/Daily

ANNA FUDER/Daily

JULIANNE YOON/Daily

KEITH MELONG/Daily

RILEY NIEBOER/Daily

JEREMY WEINE/Daily

GRACE LAHTI/Daily

TESS CROWLEY/Daily

JENNA HICKEY/Daily

LUCAS CHEN/Daily

GRACE BEAL/Daily

CALEB ROSENBLUM/Daily

LILA TURNER/Daily

KATE HUA/Daily

ALYSSA MULLIGAN/Daily

GAME ONE

MICHIGAN 30 | EAST CAROLINA 3

Bombs Away

Michigan passing attack sinks Pirates, 30-3, to open 2023 season

The coin toss that opened the No. 2 Michigan football team’s 2023 season started with a little hiccup. East Carolina’s captains initially walked toward the south end zone after the Wolverines deferred the ball until the second half.

The referee told the Pirates, “ECU, you’re over here,” and they quickly realized their mistake. They walked across the 50-yard line to swap sides before shaking hands with Michigan’s captains lined up across from them.

Perhaps that gaffe was a simple mistake, but while East Carolina (0-1 overall) eventually figured out what end zone it was defending, it never figured out how to defend it in a 30-3 rout. The Pirates didn’t have an answer to the Wolverines’ (1-0) passing attack, getting thrashed up and down the field to the tune of three touchdowns and 280 yards — no matter what end zone they were actually supposed to defend over the course of the game.

“To shortchange any win in college football, I think is ridiculous,” defensive coordinator and acting head coach Jesse Minter said postgame. “... Any time you get a chance to play against another team, it’s not about them. You want to play up to the standard that you have for yourself. So our guys really wanted to play well.”

The Wolverines stormed into the Big House

as a team boasting plenty of similarities to last season’s College Football Playoff squad, fueling their current national championship aspirations. But it was the differences from 2022 that defined their 2023 season-opening win. Who called plays was different as coach Jim Harbaugh served the first game of his three-game suspension, but how they moved down the field was different as well.

The Wolverines’ run-first identity — backed up by being repeat winners of the Joe Moore Award for the nation’s best offensive line — gave way to a passing attack that pillaged the Pirates of their upset hopes. At least for a game, Michigan was pass-first behind junior quarterback J.J. McCarthy’s arm and a relatively clean pocket.

yards by game’s end, was established after an early failure of the run.

The Wolverines’ first drive started on their own 2-yard line after an East Carolina punt. Following three rushing attempts and multiple near safeties, it ended on the same 2-yard line with a Michigan punt of its own. From there, the Wolverines began airing it out on ensuing possessions, and they did it with ease.

From the coin toss to the goal line to East Carolina’s own offense being totally overwhelmed, the Pirates couldn’t figure any of it out — ensuring the Wolverines kept their treasure to themselves.

“I mean, everyone saw what we did last year. We were smashing, pounding the football, doing our thing,” McCarthy said. “And teams are going to prepare for that, especially ECU that just went all offseason trying to stop that. So it was just an opportunity for us, as a passing game, to capitalize.”

to do that — please, we’ll keep throwing it.”

Michigan’s ground game eventually got going, with Corum scoring a 2-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to give it a 14-0 lead and contribute to its 122 rushing yards in the game. But the Wolverines consistently relied on McCarthy’s arm when it needed things to happen.

Be it third-and-longs or drives that just needed a spark, McCarthy dotted up the Pirates’ secondary in his three-touchdown showing to keep Michigan ahead of the chains. He spread the wealth to eight different receivers, found his rhythm early and often and bought extra time in the pocket with his feet to let plays develop downfield.

And he felt good the whole time.

“This one just felt effortless,” McCarthy said, comparing it to becoming a starter last season. “It felt uplifting, every single snap. It just felt like everything was going right, and it was a beautiful feeling.”

By the time the Wolverines grew their lead to a practically insurmountable 30-0 clip in the third quarter with a touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Roman Wilson — his third of the game — Michigan had attempted 26 passes compared to 16 rushes, a whole new dynamic compared to previous game plans. That airraid tone, resulting in McCarthy’s 280 passing

East Carolina’s game plan didn’t bother senior running back Blake Corum, even if it came after him aggressively.

“I expected them to drop a little bit more, especially after (McCarthy) started throwing it over their heads,” Corum said. “... They wanted to stop the run, and I think they would die trying, but overall (our) average per run was still up there. But if teams want

In a week one game against an overmatched opponent, Michigan did what was expected. But with a pass-first approach, it did it in some unexpected ways.

That left the Pirates with plenty to figure out. And from the coin toss to the goal line to East Carolina’s own offense being totally overwhelmed, the Pirates couldn’t figure any of it out — ensuring the Wolverines kept their treasure to themselves.

PHOTO: JEREMY WEINE/Daily

STRIKES AND GUTTERS

GAME THREE

MICHIGAN

31 | BOWLING GREEN 6

Michigan defense overcomes offensive turnovers, paves way to 31-6 victory over Bowling Green

Two minutes into the second half of the No. 2 Michigan football team’s contest with Bowling Green, the Wolverines found themselves in a position they hadn’t been in all season: They were in a dogfight.

Up 14-6 after committing three turnovers in its worst half of football all season, the Wolverines were teetering with their offense struggling to build momentum.

And then, Kris Jenkins and the defense built that momentum for them.

On the Falcons’ first play from scrimmage in the second half, the senior defensive lineman leaped for an underthrown ball, picked it out of the air and ran it to the 2-yard line, setting up a touchdown on the next play for senior running back Blake Corum. And on the following Bowling Green possession, the Michigan defense did it again. Graduate linebacker Michael Barrett recovered a fumble and set up a mid-range field goal. In just a matter of moments, the Wolverines’ defense had completely reignited the offense.

In a contest in which Michigan’s (3-0 overall) offense struggled with ball security, its defense played hero to the tune of three forced turnovers and no surrendered touchdowns, keeping the Wolverines on track in a 31-6 victory over the Falcons (1-2).

“The recipe for winning around here has been, you’ve got to play great defense,” act-

ing Michigan coach Sherrone Moore said.

“Those guys (the defense) are doing an outstanding job, and the other phases have got to keep building to get to their level.”

On Michigan’s very first drive, the offense seemed to be functioning at full capacity. It breezed into the end zone with an efficient four-play drive highlighted by a 53-yard run from Corum. But after that first drive, the offense stagnated.

On three straight possessions, the Wolverines’ offense turned the ball over. Twice, junior quarterback J.J. McCarthy threw untimely picks, and once junior tight end Max

Bredeson bobbled a kickoff. But despite receiving gifts from Michigan’s offense, the Falcons were limited by its defense.

“You know it was just one of them days,” Corum said of the first half. “We were ready, we had a great week of practice, but it was just one of those days.”

The Wolverines’ stout defense limited Bowling Green to just two field goals in the first half and kept itself afloat. Then in the second half, it came alive.

With Jenkins’ interception and Barrett’s fumble recovery, Michigan’s defense jump-started its offense. It engineered a

near instantaneous 10-point surge a mere five minutes into the third quarter.

“It was really important,” Corum said of the defensive turnovers. “Anytime the defense can get a turnover, or a pick, or a fumble recovery — it’s huge. It’s a changing point in the game.”

McCarthy built on that momentum midway through the third quarter, launching a 50-yard touchdown to graduate wide receiver Cornelius Johnson — who caught a bouncing ball to make the score 31-6. However, Michigan was challenged again, as on the very next drive as McCarthy threw another interception.

But the defense never blinked.

No matter where the Falcons started with the ball, they were stuffed by the Wolverines’ defense on drive after drive. Michigan forced 10 tackles for loss, managed three sacks and collected three turnovers all while allowing just 205 total yards and 85 in the second half.

And the Wolverines’ defensive production came from all corners of the field. Of their 10 tackles for loss, only one player — graduate cornerback Mike Sainristil — accounted for more than one.

After Johnson’s touchdown, Michigan’s offense didn’t score again, but its defense didn’t budge either. It blanked the Falcons for the rest of the contest and carried the Wolverines to a convincing 31-6 victory.

But despite the win, Michigan showed genuine gaps in its game for the first time this season. With four turnovers and an offense that struggled to get going, the Wolverines showed fallibility.

Michigan had ended up in a dogfight that it didn’t expect to be in. It was a fight that the Wolverines won comfortably, and its defense was what delivered the knockout blow.

GAME ELEVEN MICHIGAN 31 | MARYLAND 24

Michigan relishes 1,000th win in program history

PAUL NASR 2023 MANAGING SPORTS EDITOR

COLLEGE PARK — As he was whisked into a cramped media room in SECU Stadium, Sherrone Moore looked the part of a guy who’d just made history.

Shouts of congratulations from road fans in the concourse squeaked past his entourage of support staff and into his ears as he was guided in, and as Michigan’s acting head coach got to his seat to face the media, some new bling came along with him. Sitting to Moore’s left was a brand-new hat spelling out what the historic occasion was for those who didn’t already know it — the hat featured a maize-outlined football that read ‘1,000’ across it.

So those congratulatory yells weren’t for just leading his Wolverines past an upset scare against Maryland, and the new merch wasn’t for remaining undefeated heading into The Game. What happened in Maryland, no matter how ugly of a win, resulted in a one-of-a-kind moment: Michigan became the first program in the NCAA to reach 1,000 wins.

“It’s historic, to be part of this university, this place, this team, so really cool just to be a part of it,” Moore said postgame. “The guys were just ecstatic to get that 1,000th win, but they all knew exactly what time it was right after that. They all know what’s ahead.”

In a game that had the makings of an upset, with Maryland hanging around late and Michigan’s offense sputtering, the

outcome was anything but. Traveling to a road stadium half-filled with Michigan fans, the Wolverines brought with them more than just their team and staff, and more than just the new merch featured postgame.

They also brought signs commemorating 1,000 wins. Michigan’s bags were fully packed; it had prepared for a postgame celebration, and after what turned out to be a four-quarter struggle which suggested they might have jinxed it, the Wolverines got to enjoy the fruits of their labor.

After junior quarterback J.J. McCarthy took one final knee to end the game, the entire team came together on the field, posing with the signs they brought with them in a celebration they clearly thought was likely as they loaded their travel

equipment. Some Michigan fans stormed the field too, trying to join in on the fun before Maryland’s public address announcer and security ordered them away.

While Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh missed out on the moment due to his suspension for the program’s alleged sign stealing, his players certainly didn’t. Some have been part of just the 11 wins from this season, others have wins accumulated over the last few years, but all of them can now stake claim to being part of the 1,000th.

Junior linebacker Christian Boivin, a primarily special teams contributor who blocked a punt against Maryland, was just as part of the celebration as anyone. He rocked a 1,000 wins shirt under his custom name-tagged blue collar workman

shirt, a testament to the blue-collar mentality that goes into 1,000 wins.

Graduate linebacker Michael Barrett, playing in his sixth season at Michigan, arguably knows what 1,000 wins means better than anyone on the team. With the program since 2018, he’s become the winningest player in school history en route to the millennium mark.

“Being able to see the ups and downs of the program, being able to thrive through it and just being part of the winningest and being the winningest — it feels great,” Barrett said.

For players like senior running back Blake Corum, who has made individual history by climbing the ranks of Michigan’s rushing touchdown leaders, being part of the record books doesn’t ever get old.

“It’s a blessing to go down in history,” Corum said. “... This is going to go down in the books forever. It feels great to be part of not only a university but also a great team.”

From the top down, being part of Michigan’s 1,000th win gave the Wolverines plenty to be proud of after a game that featured little to celebrate. Moore was feeling that energy, too. Before being whisked back out of the presser and off to Ann Arbor, he shared that he was in a gift-giving mood.

The win had nothing to do with it — it was Moore’s daughter’s birthday. Moore got her wireless headphones, stuff for her kindle and plenty more, but the 1,000th win wasn’t included in the gift list because “she doesn’t care about that,” Moore quipped as he headed for the door.

While his daughter might not see 1,000 wins as a gift, the Michigan program certainly does. Thanks to Moore and his Wolverines’ grind-it-out win at Maryland, it can boast a claim no other program can.