54 days until Michigan football: Jim Harbaugh's 54th win was a huge one
There’s much anticipation heading into the Michigan Wolverines football season, and TheWolverine.com is counting down the days until the Sept. 2 opener against East Carolina. We’ll discuss current Michigan events, the upcoming season and/or take a look at a significant number that correlates with how many days remain until kickoff, whether it be a player’s jersey number, a year, a date, a score, etc.
Michigan football has 54 days until the 2023 season kicks off. It has designs again of being a title contender and coming for every trophy it can. There was a time not too long ago when that seemed impossible. Early in the 2021 season, we got a glimpse of a program that was turning the corner.
The Wolverines went to Wisconsin in the fifth game of the 2021 campaign with a 4-0 record, but were coming off a 20-13 home win over Rutgers that shook the confidence of some fans, and rightfully so. This was a program coming off a 2-4 COVID season in 2020 with plenty of questions about where a turnaround would come from.
Michigan had not won a lot of big road games to that point, and Wisconsin had always been a tough place to play. The Wolverines came out and hammered the Badgers 38-17, winning their first game at Camp Randall Stadium since 2001.
Michigan got the scoring started with a 34-yard touchdown pass from Cade McNamara to Cornelius Johnson, followed by a 26-yard Jake Moody field goal to take a 10-0 lead with 13:17 to go in the first half. Moody added another field goal from 47-yards out to extend the lead to 13-3 with 27 seconds remaining in the second quarter. Wisconsin QB Graham Mertz hit Chimere Dike for an 18-yard touchdown quickly before halftime to narrow the deficit to 13-10.
But Michigan was not to be denied that day, outscoring the Badgers 25-7 the rest of the way with the Wisconsin touchdown coming in garbage time. The Wolverines flexed their muscles in a defeat that saw them completely unfazed by the Wisconsin atmosphere or the doubt people had in them. This was a 1-2 Wisconsin team coming into the game, so it was not exactly a vintage Badgers team. But a statement was made nonetheless.
“It was a really, really good ball game played by our team in all phases,” Harbaugh said after the game. “It was physical. The intensity in which our guys are playing with on defense, a tremendous game. Six three-and-outs, two turnovers caused. Just playing hard. Can talk about that — just playing hard with tremendous intensity. Saw the same thing with the offense. Our guys are playing confident. They were playing physical — in all areas, really. The offensive line, the tight ends, the backs, receivers, quarterback. He stood in there and made some big plays. Well-rounded in the passing game and the running game and special teams, as well. They had a great game. Got us a big turnover early in the game on the punt. Stole a possession and got points out of that.
“So yeah — tremendous team win. I think the most impressive thing continues to remain our guys, how hard they’re playing, the intensity — playing hard and the intensity.”
Michigan would go on to finish the regular season with an 11-1 record before earning win No. 12 in the Big Ten title game against Iowa. The season would come to an end in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Orange Bowl in a 34-11 loss to Georgia.
Michigan football countdown to kickoff
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