The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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36 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2016 FOOTBALL PREVIEW But the struggle to win one for Bo seemed as star-crossed as the weekend itself. Henne had a shot at another touchdown pass when Manningham broke wide open on an OSU missed assignment, but the football sailed harmlessly out of reach. "We had a shot early … he just missed it," Carr said. "You're going to miss those shots. But that was one where we had a real …" He didn't finish the statement. A decade later, the near misses still sting. With the clock winding down, Ohio State led, 35-31, and Michigan needed a defensive stop like a man trapped in a burning house needs oxygen. The Wolverines appeared to get it, apparently forcing a three-and-out that would give them a chance to take the lead. Then … disaster struck, in the ironic form of maize laundry. Smith rolled to his right on third down under heavy pressure. He delivered an errant throw under duress from defensive tackle Terrance Taylor and linebacker Shawn Cra- ble. The ball floated out of Smith's hand, while Crable remained nearly a yard away, closing in. But the 6-5 Crable didn't drop down on the 6-0 Smith, resulting in helmet- to-helmet contact. The result: a 15-yard penalty, setting up an OSU touchdown and what proved an insur- mountable 11-point lead. "They were going to have to punt," Carr pointed out. "We're going to have the ball, and we're down four. It was a crucial call." It's also one that shouldn't have been made in the minds of many Michigan loyal- ists. "I'll never forget that call on Crable," Thornbladh said. "That was ultimately what cost us that game — but you can't narrow it down to one call." The play did occur directly in front of the Ohio State bench, among a sea of scarlet. Carr questions the call to this day, but offers some perspective. "In a game like that, there is tremendous pressure on the officials," he stressed. "The guy that made the call is a good official. I'm not questioning anything, except that I didn't like the call. "You get some that go your way, and you get some that go against you. At that time of the game, that gave them a big 15-yard gain, and they went in and scored a touchdown. It really changed the complexion of it. We really had made a great three-down stop." How amazing was the No. 1 versus No. 2 showdown? Well, it sparked a nationwide debate throughout college football, regard- ing whether or not it should be played again in the national championship game. Ohio State defensive back Brandon Mitch- ell insisted: "If this was boxing, they'd defi- nitely get a rematch." But it's not boxing. And this one proved to be the final punch to the gut in a week that knocked the Wolverines flat to the canvas. A Commanding Presence Schembechler may have been hurling down a headset somewhere in the final sec- onds against OSU. But if he'd been offered a chance to speak to the team again from the other side, there's little question about the message. Get up. Get going. Get back in the game. He could deliver a motivational mantra like none other, those who experienced it can attest. "He was a tremendous speaker, and he had a great ability to move people," Thornbladh stressed. "He could identify what was on people's minds with issues, and he could address them. He was magnificent with his team. "I've heard him give great speeches — in- spirational, motivational. Certainly that 'The Team, The Team, The Team' speech is one of the great speeches ever given." Delivered in 1983, the charge to the Wol- verines is still played in part on the Michigan Stadium scoreboards prior to football games, and in other venues. We want the Big Ten championship and we're gonna win it as a Team. They can throw out all those great backs, and great quarterbacks, and great defensive players, throughout the country and in this confer- ence, but there's gonna be one Team that's gonna play solely as a Team! No man is more important than The Team! No coach is more important than The Team! The Team, The Team, The Team, and if we think that way, all of us, everything that you do, you take into consideration what effect does it have on my Team? Because you can go into professional foot- ball, you can go anywhere you want to play after you leave here. You will never play for a Team again. You'll play for a con- tract. You'll play for this. You'll play for that. You'll play for everything except the team, and think what a great thing it is to be a part of something that is, The Team! We're gonna win it. We're gonna win the championship again because we're gonna play as team, better than anybody else in this conference, we're gonna play together as a team. We're gonna believe in each other, we're not gonna criticize each other, we're not gonna talk about each other, we're gonna encourage each other! And when we play as a team, when the old season is over, you and I know, it's gonna be Michigan again, Michigan! "That was his Gettysburg Address," Thorn- bladh said. "That was an important message. You could take that and apply it to anything. He talks about how we're going to treat each other. He talks about what we're going to ac- complish, and then he projects success." Morris remembers the edge, the confi- dence and the determination that seeped into every Wolverine who weathered the storm and stayed. "Running out on the field, before practice," Morris mused. "If it's raining, or it's inclem- ent weather or something, he'd say: 'It would kill the normal man, but we're going to just keep practicing.'" The diminutive running back also loved the pre-game speeches — especially the an- gry ones. "We're going to show them Michigan," Morris intoned, employing the drill sergeant delivery they all use when they channel The Coach. "You owe it to every man, woman and child in the state of Michigan to beat this team! "The camaraderie … his laugh, when he really laughs. That's what I miss about him. I miss his laugh. You miss the stories. He always had a story for you." Schembechler's "The Team, The Team, The Team" speech in 1983 is considered one of the best ever, and it is still played in part on the Michigan Stadium scoreboards prior to football games. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS