Five things Michigan Wolverines fans should be thankful for this Thanksgiving
It’s Thanksgiving Day, and we’re here to break down five things Michigan Wolverines fans should be thankful for this year (hint: there’s plenty).
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1. Jim Harbaugh and his staff
Michigan head football coach Jim Harbaugh was taking his fair share of criticism after a 2020 season that saw the Wolverines post a 2-4 record in a shortened Big-Ten only season that was riddled with opt-outs and injuries. The hope is that it was an anomaly, but either way, Harbaugh made some tough decisions — including taking a pay cut with his contract extension, replacing six of his assistant coaches and revamping his recruiting department.
Boy, did those moves pay off. Defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald turned his unit into one of the nation’s best after it was near the bottom of the Big Ten last season. Offensive line coach Sherrone Moore, who moved over from tight ends, has done an excellent job with his group. Defensive backs coach Steve Clinkscale, running backs coach Mike Hart and others have also shined (we could go on and on about all the assistants, even the ones who were retained).
Betting on himself, Harbaugh also rolled his sleeves up, is more engaged and looks to have a stranglehold of this team (in a great way). The Wolverines are feeding off his energy and look like his teams of old.
All of that has resulted in a 10-1 record on Thanksgiving weekend, something nobody — except those inside Schembechler Hall — predicted. Football is fun again in Ann Arbor, and the buzz is palpable.
2. ‘The Game’ is back
2020 was an insane year for many reasons, with one of the oddities being that there was no Michigan-Ohio State game for the first time since 1917, after the Wolverines had a COVID-19 outbreak within their program.
Everything felt off last year, but now it’s back. And it’s exactly how you draw it up — both teams have everything to play for. The rivalry is huge as it is, but the winner heads to Indianapolis with a chance at the College Football Playoff, and the loser stays home. Two teams are alive in the Big Ten East on the final regular-season weekend, just how it should be in most seasons (in our opinion).
3. Football player leadership
There’s perhaps nobody on either side of the rivalry this weekend that knows more about what this game means than junior defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, son of former U-M All-American Chris Hutchinson. One of the reasons why Aidan returned for another season in Ann Arbor is to get another shot at the Buckeyes, and he’ll get his chance Saturday in a top-five game.
He and the other leaders — sixth-year senior center Andrew Vastardis, junior wide receiver Ronnie Bell, even with his injury, redshirt junior linebacker Josh Ross, redshirt freshman quarterback Cade McNamara and others — have really taken ownership of this team. The march to the beat of this group’s drum, don’t flinch when things go bad and keep fighting in every circumstances. They have to keep it up, of course, but it’s been fantastic to watch to this point. For all of the criticism that the coaches get when things don’t go right, the players had to step up, too — and they have.
4. Juwan Howard and his staff
Not many are high on the 4-2 Michigan basketball team at this point, after losses to Seton Hall and Arizona in the last eight days. There is plenty to work on and clean up, and it’s not going to be easy for the Maize and Blue to live up to their preseason billing this season.
However, head coach Juwan Howard, the reigning Big Ten Coach of the Year, has a tremendous staff that proved itself over the last two years. There’s less talent and depth on this team than last year — no doubt — but there’s still enough here to piece together a nice season, and we still wouldn’t totally put a cap on the ceiling of this team. There’s a long ways to go, and the future of the program remains bright.
5. Hockey, women’s hoops and wrestling are shining
Football and basketball aren’t the only things to be thankful for, as Michigan fans know and are extremely proud of. The fall sports season was fantastic, and the winter season is off to a strong start.
Michigan’s hockey team just lost two-straight to Notre Dame at home, but it still owns a 10-4-0 record and is a national title contender with a roster full of NHL talent.
Fresh off its first-ever Sweet 16 run, the women’s basketball team is off to an undefeated 5-0 start and will look to build off last season. The 12th-ranked Wolverines have a big weekend coming up, with No. 16 Oregon State being the next opponent in the Daytona Beach Invitational.
The wrestling squad is undefeated as well, and will have a great chance to keep the momentum going with a trip to Las Vegas in early December, before Big Ten play gets into full swing.
