The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MICHIGAN FOOTBALL hen the offseason officially concludes, the Wolverines will return to training camp on Monday, Aug. 6, with a singular purpose, fo- cusing all of their attention on the titanic opponent standing in their way Sept. 1 — defending national champion Alabama. "We look forward to every game, but Sept. 1 is going to be a special W one," senior nose tackle Will Campbell said. "The SEC has won the last six national championships, and we need to represent the Big Ten as well as us. "We can gain a lot of respect if we beat the national champions." Head coach Brady Hoke hasn't talked a lot about Alabama, preferring to focus on the wrap-up to the 2011 season, spring football, recruiting and his myriad other tasks. That doesn't mean he's put the Crimson Tide out of his mind. Asked when he started thinking about the matchup in earnest, he smiled and admitted: "When the game was made." Hoke knows his team will be on the biggest possible stage. Alabama is coming off a 12-1 season in which it topped LSU 21-0 to capture its second national title in Nick Saban's five seasons, and the contest will be the highlight of the opening weekend for college football. Cowboys Stadium in Dallas provides the venue, and a national televi- sion audience will be looking in to see the clash between the Southeast- ern Conference's best team and the Big Ten's historical top squad, now getting back up to speed after a tough stumble. Hoke admitted the Wolverines have prepared some with the Crimson Tide in mind. "We've done a lot of work so far, in trying to get into a game plan," Hoke said. "They're a tremendous football team. They lost a lot of guys, but Nick Saban has been there long enough to restock the shelves. He's a damn good coach, and they're the kind of football team that we aspire to be, in some ways. "They're physical at the line of scrimmage, they play great defense and they're going to run the football. They've got a quarterback who has grown a ton, from the first of last year to the end of last year. From all I know, he had a great spring. "They will be a challenge." This season's meeting will mark the third time in the modern era the Maize and Blue have opened their season with a game against the reigning national champion. U-M bested Miami 22-14 in 1984 and fell 24-19 to Notre Dame in 1989. Overall, the Wolverines have faced 13 defend- ing champs in subsequent seasons during the past 50 years and are just 6-7 in those matchups. However, U-M is 2-0 in its last two such occa- sions, beating Ohio State 35-21 in 2003 a year after the Buckeyes went a perfect 13-0, while knocking off Florida 41-35 in the Capital One Bowl after UF had won the national title in 2006. Like when Michigan met Miami and Notre Dame — each were the preseason No. 1 team — it's possible the Crimson Tide will open the 2012 Year Opponent 2007 Florida 2003 Ohio State In the first game of head coach Brady Hoke's second season leading the Wolverines, Michigan will face defending national champion Ala - bama and head coach Nick Saban (inset). HOKE PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN, INSET COURTESY ALABAMA campaign atop the Associated Press and coaches polls. U-M will likely begin the year ranked in the teens. "No one expects anything of us, but we expect to win that game," redshirt junior safety Thomas Gordon said. "Last year we proved we're on our way back, but we're not back yet. Not 100 percent. We didn't win the Big Ten title. We didn't play in the Rose Bowl. "Everybody in our locker room knows that's a statement game. We want to announce that Michigan football is back, loud and clear, to all of college football, and we know that's the game to do it." That will be no easy task. Alabama is already a 14-point favorite ac- cording to betting lines, and while the Crimson Tide hemorrhaged nine starters defensively, their reserves are capable of picking up the slack for the nation's No. 1 defensive unit in 2011. However, the Maize and Blue won't give an inch, refusing to believe they cannot and will not compete for a victory. "Our goal is to win every game we play. Not 11. Not 10. Every game," Campbell said. "You can say we're a big underdog and most people ex- pect us to lose, but that's not our mentality. We're all working every day with that game in mind. Michigan Versus Defending National Champions Site Result 1 1989 Notre Dame* H L, 24-19 1988 Miami 1984 Miami* 1967 Michigan State H L, 34-0 1966 Michigan State A L, 20-7 1962 Ohio State 1961 Minnesota * First game of the season; 1 Capital One Bowl; 2 Orange Bowl 10 s THE WOLVERINE 2012 FOOTBALL PREVIEW H W, 10-7 H W, 24-12 1978 Notre Dame A W, 28-14 1975 Oklahoma 1971 Ohio State 1969 Ohio State H W, 22-14 2 H W, 35-21 H L, 31-30 L, 14-6 A L, 28-0 A L, 23-20 W, 41-35 "We have to be ready on Sept. 1. We can't wait to play our best foot- ball once we get to the Big Ten. We have to play our best from day one. That's a great motivator this summer." "To be the best, you have to beat the best, and my mindset is completely focused on beating Al- abama," sophomore rush end Frank Clark added. Hoke, like his team, embraces the challenge of starting out against Alabama, not only because of how it will make the Wolverines work through- out the summer, but also the measuring stick the showdown provides. "We're going to learn about us," Hoke said. "We're going to be a young football team, but we're going to learn where we're at, from how we prepare from the summer through the fall. We'll learn how we handle any of the distrac- tions that come along with opening up in a game with a national scale like that. "We'll see if we're a team that can be focused on what the job is at hand, and not be distracted, and we'll find out our maturity level as a team." Alabama Game Is On The Wolverines' Minds