The Wolverines are knocking at the door — again.
After claiming their third consecutive victory over Ohio State and a perfect 12-0 record in the regular season, Michigan has another triplet in their sights: a third straight Big Ten championship. And the poetic justice of the moment is not lost on the Maize & Blue faithful, because Saturday’s championship game will also see the return of embattled head coach Jim Harbaugh to the Wolverines’ sideline.
With a win, Harbaugh will be handed the Stagg Championship Trophy by the very man who dealt him a three-game suspension amidst mounting public (and inter-conference) disdain due to the Connor Stallions scouting scandal — Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitte.
If a normal picture is worth a thousand words, one can only imagine how many syllables that image would evoke.
As for what stands in the way of Michigan achieving this literal and very symbolic victory over their mounting list of enemies, that would come in the form of the Iowa Hawkeyes. The Kirk Ferentz-led squad has become synonymous with low-scoring affairs and a stifling defense. Case in point, outside of an ugly 31-0 debacle on the road against Penn State, the Hawkeyes haven’t surrendered more than 16 points to an opposing side all season.
Then there’s the matter of Michigan losing their starting center, Zak Zinter, to a broken tibia and fibula in the second half of the Ohio State game. A leader on the offense, the Wolverines rallied quickly when Zinter left the game with running back Blake Corum breaking off a 22-yard touchdown run on the very next play. Michigan also lost their premier corner, Will Johnson, during the matchup against the Buckeyes — though he’s suggested that he’ll try to suit up on Saturday.
On the side of the Hawkeyes, fans will be deprived of what could have been — a grudge match between quarterback Cade McNamara and the team that moved off him in favor of JJ McCarthy. Sadly, McNamara suffered a torn ACL during Iowa’s Week 5 victory over Michigan State. Former Michigan tight end Erick All will also miss out on a chance to square off against his old team, also due to a torn ACL.
As for McNamara, he’s made it clear that he plans to get his teammates ready to face ‘that other team’ from Ann Arbor.
“I think this weekend specifically, I’m not just getting Deacon [Hall] ready,” McNamara said. “I’m getting the entire team as much as I can, because I know so much about that other team. From a defensive standpoint, from an offensive standpoint, I’m just doing everything I possibly can from an entire team standpoint to let these guys know everything that I possibly know.”
The stakes for both sides are clear. For Michigan, it’s the opportunity to plant their flag as the unquestioned kings of the very conference that has scorned and chastised them publicly for much of the 2023 season, along with a third straight trip to the College Football Playoff and the opportunity to erase the bad taste of ugly loses to Georgia and TCU in the last two semifinal rounds.
Not to mention the vindication of their head coach and the entire program.
But for Iowa, their ambitions are much easier to define — succeed where the rest of the Big Ten has failed. Vanquish the big, bad bullies of the conference and claim their first win in the history of the Big Ten Championship Game.
Michigan faces Iowa for the Big Ten Championship at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Kickoff at 8:17pm this Saturday.
