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LOS ANGELES — Inside a boisterous locker room Monday night at the Rose Bowl, Michael Barrett surveyed the scene in front of him and reflected on how Michigan football arrived at this joyous moment, where the Wolverines were now one victory from winning a national title.
Perhaps no player in these fetid, testosterone-charged quarters could truly appreciate what it took to get here more that the sixth-year linebacker.
“It’s so sweet, man,” he said, shaking his head slightly as if he almost couldn’t believe it. “Just being able to see the ups and downs of the program and coming from that 2020 season, having been a part of that, and just the 180 that the program did.”
It was truly remarkable, as Barrett noted. On the final play of Michigan’s 27-20 overtime conquest of Alabama in the College Football Playoff semifinal, Barrett set the edge, forcing Crimson Tide quarterback Jalen Milroe toward the teeth of the Wolverines’ defense. He then watched his teammates drag Milroe down 2 yards short of the goal line, marking the end of a thrilling triumph that would go down as one of the most memorable in Michigan football’s 144 years of existence.
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Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. runs the ball while looking to pass against Michigan State during their game on Sept. 16, 2023, at Spartan Stadium.
Only four years before, Barrett stood on the other side of history, feeling the pangs of heartache.
Inside a near-empty Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, he started and played 88 snaps during a disastrous 17-point defeat to Indiana, the first loss U-M had suffered against the Hoosiers since 1987. It was arguably the lowest point of Jim Harbaugh’s tenure and indubitably the nadir of his worst season since returning to Ann Arbor as…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/one-michigan-footballs-old-enemies-111132789.html
Author : Detroit Free Press
Publish date : 2024-01-04 11:11:32
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