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Even with an astounding 47-14 victory over Western Michigan on Saturday, when it comes to Michigan football, all is quiet on the western front. Which is probably how the Wolverines would prefer it.
A year ago, after the maize and blue dominated then-ranked Minnesota on the road, the national media was abuzz about Michigan. Joe Milton was suddenly a Heisman contender, and the Wolverines were in the national conversation about being a potential College Football Playoff team. But the very next week, Michigan came out and fell flat, losing to huge underdog MSU en route to a 2-6 season.
So after all that, as national writers pen their winners and losers stories after the bulk of games are under the belt, for the most part, Michigan is nowhere to be found.
There were two national columns that did mention the Wolverines. Here is what they had to say as the maize and blue prepare to take on 0-1 Washington.
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Yahoo Sports
The 2020 season was a brutal one for Michigan, but Jim Harbaugh’s group started the 2021 season with an excellent outing. The Wolverines blew out Western Michigan by a score of 47-14 and used a dominant rushing attack to do so. Michigan put up 335 rushing yards with Blake Corum (14 carries for 111 yards) and Hassan Haskins (13 carries for 70 yards) leading the way. Saturday’s performance had to have given the Wolverines a nice confidence boost with soon-to-be-former-No. 20 Washington visiting Ann Arbor next weekend.
Sporting News
“How will you know if Michigan is real? We say this every time against ranked opponents: Watch the running game next week against the Huskies. Michigan rushed for 334 yards and averaged 7.8 yards per carry against Western Michigan. Blake Corum (111 yards, TD) and Hassan Haskins (70 yards, TD) were an effective tag-team, and that is the key for Cade McNamara, who hit 9 of 11 passes for 136 yards and two TDs.
[…]
”Michigan’s six offensive TDs averaged 47.5 yards per score, which is at least in the Buckeyes’ zip code. Yeah, it’s too soon for that. Better news: The Wolverines have a quarterback controversy brewing because of talent, not necessity. Will the big plays be there in a must-win game for sixth-year coach Jim Harbaugh or will the hot-seat talks return?”
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