Michigan's magical season has begun and needs to be FInished

NICHOLAS J. COTSONIKA The Greek Speaks

STATE COLLEGE - Rows of red taillights streamed from Beaver Stadium midway through the third quarter Saturday, signaling the abrupt departure of Penn State from the national title picture. It was quite a sight for the Wolverines, who have arrived on the scene with swagger and purpose, insisting that their plundering of the Nittany Lions is just part of their march toward a magical season.

"We saw the seats emptying, their fans going home, and we said to ourselves, 'They're leaving! They're leaving!'" said Michigan linebacker Rob Swett. "They gave up, and we knew it. We were dominating, and you could feel a wave of fire going down the sideline. There was a feeling like something special was happening."

The Wolverines are the No. 1 team in the nation right now, and they deserve to be after putting together such a complete masterpiece. But magic means more than a No. 1 nod from the media, the same media that, as a whole, gave the Wolverines no chance a few short months ago and have pestered them for four years now.

To make this season into the something special of which Swett speaks is an internal matter, a Michigan matter, not a media matter or even a national championship matter - and every student is involved. Make no mistake, the Wolverines would love to finish as the top team in the land, but that's not what this is about.

Magic resides in every Michigan flag and bumper sticker that dotted the highway from here to Ann Arbor this weekend. There were thousands. Some belonged to those with tickets, some belonged to those without tickets. But all belonged to students, alumni and fans who wanted to be identified with a piece of glory.

Just when it seems athletics are in trouble somewhere at Michigan, the magic shows up somewhere else. Football carried the 1980s, when basketball and hockey were mediocre. Then, there was basketball in 1989 and later its Fab Five era of Final Fours. Then, of course, there was hockey's wonderous run that culminated in a national championship, soothing the pain of basketball's tournament failures and football's four-loss seasons.

Now, it's football again. Hockey is rebuilding, and basketball in embroiled in innuendo and turmoil. So here come the Wolverines, not one of whom have played in a Rose Bowl, stung and hurting but strong, winning and uniting an entire campus like the old days. "Michigan is back," linebacker Sam Sword said.

Magic resides in Marcus Ray's determined words as he told the nation to "watch us in our last two games; we still have something to prove." Ray wasn't talking about No. 1. He was talking about Wisconsin, Ohio State and the Rose Bowl. He was talking about getting the job done completely and the Wolverines' unwillingness to share any of this.

Team first, school first. No one else's goals or expectations matter to them, and they refuse to have letdowns like the ones that killed them in the past. They are hungry, united. Since spring practice, co-captain Jon Jansen said, they have bonded, golfing together and laughing together and hanging out together. They've made an effort like never before to play as one. Saturday it showed.

This is a Bo Schembechler-type team - but could be better. As lead-footed quarterback Brian Griese waltzed his way down the sideline in the second quarter, Schembechler removed his glasses and inspected them in his private box as if he couldn't believe his eyes. He was kidding about Griese's new-found scampering ability, but it might have meant more.

With three more victories, the Wolverines will be 12-0 and may be national champions for the first time since 1948. Bo won 13 Big Ten titles, but he never went 12-0.

Credit can go all around, to the seniors, the captains, the youngsters playing like veterans, Griese, Charles Woodson or the running backs. But the magic might reside with coach Lloyd Carr. For the past three years, the media - of which I am surely a part - have pecked away at him in print.

Nice guy, but can't coach. No experience. Never should have had the job. Some of those points were - and still may be - valid. But, though it's extremely easy for me to say in the wake of such a victory, it's only fair now to give Carr the praise he deserves.

The Wolverines are 9-0 for the first time since 1986, because they've been well-prepared. Amid criticism, Carr made adjustments such as putting Griese at quarterback and naming two rookies as his coordinators. And he's been proved correct. His staff's game plan and play-calling here were superb, keeping everyone off-balance, and so was his team's mental makeup.

After the game, Carr spoke impressively as he was all season, without euphoria, laying a foundation for the future by expecting more. "We have to get better," he said. "In the Big Ten, they don't care how you did last week."

Carr's right. A magical season has begun for the Wolverines. Now all they have to do is finish it.

- Nicholas J. Cotsonika can be reached via e-mail at cotsonik@umich.edu

11-10-97