 | NICHOLAS J. COTSONIKA The Greek Speaks |
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For the moment, forget the ugliness. Forget the seven fumbles and the six penalties. Forget the two missed field goals and the two blocked kicks. Forget the offense that wasn't generated and the defense that was good but could've been better.
Forget the downpour and the near-loss that almost dampened everything the Wolverines had accomplished seven days before.
Forget it.
Those mistakes will be examined all week. Now, for the moment, consider what this ho-hum game became.
This was a game Michigan should've won big, something like 49-0 or 35-3 or 26-6. This was a game that an eighth-ranked team should've relished like a packed, hot, cheering section relishes a cool rain. This was a game where criticism should've been washed away and hesitancy replaced by boldness - big, intimidating boldness that makes noise.
This game wasn't like that.
But a great game it was.
For the moment, try to understand what it's like to be down, 14-7, in the third quarter. Try to imagine it happening in your place, in front of 105,219 of your fans, at the hands of a team no one respected, a week after one of the biggest wins of your life.
For the moment, consider the driving rain, the fumbles that weren't caused by wetness, just hands that weren't strong enough. Consider the fear of letting progress disappear into more doubts and more questions about what is wrong with your team.
And then, for the moment, consider that Michigan faced all of those things Saturday and won. It doesn't matter how bad Boston College was. It doesn't matter whether it's Florida or Purdue. When you beat yourselves, as the Wolverines did much of the game, you lose your confidence.
This was a game in which that should've happened. But it didn't.
"When you're down, and you fight back like that, that's encouraging," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. "Our kids showed a lot of fight and a lot of heart to come back."
The quarterback who seemed like he couldn't complete a long pass, Scott Dreisbach, hit Jerame Tuman for 58 yards and a touchdown.
The defense that was mostly strong - but soft enough to allow two touchdowns - stopped Boston College's final four drives. Co-captain Jarrett Irons came up with the game-clinching interception with 41 seconds remaining, cradling the ball like a child he didn't want to lose, cradling the ball because he didn't want to lose.
But with all of the heart and desire the Wolverines showed while overcoming poor play, it was confidence and composure that allowed them to win.
For the moment, remember the Wolverines traveled to Boulder, Colo., with nothing to lose and beat the No. 5 team in the nation.
That was a game they should've lost. But they didn't.
And then, consider how much it must have taken to beat Boston College with so much to lose. Consider how hard it is to nearly "self-destruct," as Carr put it, and then come back. Sometimes it takes more composure to survive when you struggle against the weak than it does to beat the strong.
This was a game that shouldn't have been more difficult to win than the trying Colorado game. But it was.
"We were on a high after Colorado, and we needed this game to bring us down to earth," said Clarence Williams, who fumbled twice and still ran for 133 yards. "But coach has instilled in us that we're Michigan, we're special. We're confident."
They shouldn't be confident - they played a truly awful game Saturday - but they are. And that is remarkable.
For the moment, think about that before worrying about UCLA and Northwestern. And before we rightfully criticize and scrutinize, remember that a month ago, no one but the Wolverines themselves thought they might be 3-0, ranked seventh in the nation, and ranked ahead of Nebraska.
But they are. For the moment.
- Nicholas J. Cotsonika can be reached over e-mail at cotsonik@umich.edu.