The University of Michigan is one of the top public universities in the United States. Being ranked among the best universities in the world, U of M is a more prestigious college with an acceptance rate of 20.2%. The University of Michigan is known for its excellence in academics, research, and athletics. Emphasizing the athletics portion, for the past three years, the Michigan Wolverines Football team has won the Big Ten championship. This makes them number one in the Midwest and East Coast regions. As for national rankings, in their 2021 and 2022 seasons, they were ranked third overall. This year, however, they made their way up to number one in the nation.
The Michigan Wolverines have improved tremendously over the years. Head Coach, Jim Harbaugh has been the coach since 2015. However, the Wolverines’ improvement started in the past three years. “Jim Harbaugh is a good coach,” says freshman Michael Brooklier. “He is liked by the players and has been really successful.” Brooklier has been a fan of Michigan football his whole life and he watches games with his dad. Other people however, disagree about Harbaugh. Four out of Eleven people said they thought he wasn’t a good coach. Senior and Football player, Zathan Parks says, “He’s a good coach but he’s old and needs to do something else.” Harbaugh was a quarterback for Michigan from 1983-1986. He went on to be successful in both college and pro coaching. He Coached the San Francisco 49ers in 2012 where he took them to the Superbowl. The team ended up losing against his brother who coaches for the Baltimore Ravens.
Doing better than ever before, the team’s quarterback, JJ McCarthy is one of the most talented college players in the nation. Leading the team in a 13-0 winning streak and potentially giving them a chance at the National Championship, his future football career is looking quite bright. When interviewed, many people said their favorite player was JJ Mccarthy. These people include juniors, Ava Brooklier, Sierra Dobson, and Kieran Feldkamp. Along with McCarthy, Michigan has some other amazing players. Blake Corum, the team’s running back, has scored twenty-four touchdowns just this year! “Blake Corum is one of my favorite players,” says Brooklier. “He’s just one touchdown away from having the all time rushing touchdown record at Michigan!” Brooklier also noted that he likes Donovan Edwards because he’s “a team player.” Other great players on the team are Mike Sanrisil the defensive back, Roman Wilson who plays the position of wide receiver, and Zak Zinter who got the title of “All-American Linebacker.”
Although they are a good team, Michigan has had its fair share of scandals this year. Starting at the beginning of the season, Coach Harbaugh was suspended for four games. This happened because he allegedly met with recruits during COVID-19, a dead period for college football. (A dead period is a time when coaches cannot meet with recruits.) He bought the recruits Hamburgers which is a recruiting violation. A bigger scandal that has been talked about several times over the past few months, is the sign-stealing scandal. Later in the season, Michigan was investigated by the NCAA for possibly using opponents’ signs to their advantage. (Signs are signals players and coaches use to determine what play they are going to run.) The accusations were that they were stealing signs using a method banned by the NCAA. As a result of these accusations, Jim Harbaugh once again found himself suspended for three games. Some people were angry at Michigan for this violation of rules, others didn’t think it was a big deal. “They got caught doing something they shouldn’t have been doing but they got penalized and it’s time to move on.” Brooklier remarks.
One of the games Harbaugh missed while suspended was arguably the biggest game of college football. Michigan v Ohio State. This game is a huge deal for both Michigan and Ohio State fans. Their rivalry goes back for more than 100 years, starting in 1897. This makes it the longest rivalry in college football. All 11 people that were asked said they were very excited about the Michigan v Ohio State game results. Brooklier explains he is very happy about the Ohio State game and how it ended. The game had 19.1 million people watching across the nation, all on the edge of their seats. The score was a close one, 30 to 24, Michigan on the winning side. It ended when safety Kyle McCord intercepted a pass from Ohio State player Rod Moore and “sealed” the game.
Michigan’s future is looking great. Every Michigan fan is excited about what the next few games will bring. Feeling elated after beating their biggest rivals. Michigan fans have high hopes for their favorite college team. “I’m really excited to see them back in the playoffs this year,” says Brooklier. “Their team is great in both offense and defense. Last time Michigan beat Ohio State three times in a row, they went on to win the National Championship.” Last season, Michigan made it to the playoff game against Texas Christian University undefeated. However, they ended up tragically losing which put their season to an end. This year Michigan will have to play the number four-ranked team Alabama, to make it to the championships. This game will take place on January 1st, 2024. If they end up winning, The Wolverines will either play Washington or Texas depending on who wins that game on December 29th, 2023. The championship game will be on January 8th, 2024. It has been a great season for the players and an exciting season for the fans. The odds are high for the Wolverines to win the championship, Go Blue!
