The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Wednesday, August 31, 2022 — 11A

JARED GREENSPAN
Managing Sports Editor

ALLISON ENGKVIST/Daily 

Sports

Four Michigan football questions 
ahead of the 2022 season

Last season, you’d have been 
hard pressed to find a better defen-
sive duo than Aidan Hutchinson 
and David Ojabo. The All-American 
edge rushers comprised a recur-
ring nightmare for the opposition, 
so often dominating the line of 
scrimmage and flipping the tenor 
of the game in Michigan’s favor. 
For a defense that entered the year 
with a number of question marks, 
Hutchinson and Ojabo evolved 
into a foolproof answer, assuaging 
early concerns. But with both play-
ers now in the NFL, there will be 
no such luxury for first-year defen-
sive coordinator Jesse Minter and 
company this season. In the spring, 
players and coaches expressed con-
fidence that these losses could be 
mitigated — while also acknowl-
edging that the production will be 
near-impossible to replicate. Mike 
Morris and Braiden McGregor are 
expected to assume greater roles as 
edge rushers, while Jalen Harrell, 
Taylor Upshaw and others are sure 
to be relied on, too. 

Remember that guy? Michigan’s 
offense sure does. After tearing his 
ACL early on in last year’s season-
opener, Bell is set to return to a 
receiving corps rife with weapons. 
The addition of Bell could push the 
group from good to flat-out domi-
nant — that is, if Bell can recapture 
his pre-injury form. Bell isn’t the 
most physically-gifted receiver, but 
he is shifty and cunning, and he 
used his craft to become Michigan’s 
leading receiver by yards in 2019 and 
2020. A legitimate go-to option out 
wide would not only alleviate pres-
sure for McCarthy/McNamara, but 
it would also slot the other receivers 
down a rung on the pecking order 
— presumably giving them more 
favorable matchups with the oppos-
ing secondary. And in an offense 
that already touts two top running 
backs in Blake Corum and Donovan 
Edwards, not to mention a steady 
tight end in Erick All, a seamless 
return from Bell would only make 
the opposition’s task more difficult.

1) Who is QB1?

2) Can Michigan 
mitigate the losses of 
Hutchinson and Ojabo?

3) Can Jim Harbaugh 
control — and win — 
the narrative? 

4) Is Ronnie Bell, well, 
still Ronnie Bell?

Much of the intrigue surround-
ing this iteration of the Michigan 
football team starts under cen-
ter, where the stage seems set for 
a quarterback competition. Cade 
McNamara steered the Wolverines 
to a Big Ten Championship win last 
season, and though McNamara’s 
game is not flawless, his blemishes 
are often over-emphasized. McNa-
mara is a proficient game manager, 
a respected locker room presence 
and he can sling it, too — far better 
than his critics give him credit for. 
That being said, it’s reasonable to 
wonder whether Michigan would 
have a higher ceiling with J.J. 
McCarthy as the starting quarter-
back. McCarthy, a former five-star 
recruit, saw limited action last 
season as a freshman. It’s clear, 
though, that he offers variables that 
McNamara does not; McCarthy 
has a stronger arm and is a legiti-
mate mobile threat, two skills that 
would increase Michigan’s chances 
to trump the rugged defenses of the 
Big Ten. However, McCarthy has 
nursed a shoulder injury through 
the offseason, missing spring ball 
and hindering the competition. But 
both quarterbacks should be ready 
to go as fall camp begins. 

Michigan football is an exten-
sion of its enigmatic coach, for bet-
ter and for worse. That proposition 
is as true now, entering year eight 
of Harbaugh’s tenure in Ann Arbor, 
as it was back at his introductory 
press conference in 2014. Of course, 
in the past 20 months, most people 
presumed that we wouldn’t reach 
this juncture, that Harbaugh would 
be out at some point or another. Fol-
lowing a calamitous 2020 season, 
many called for Harbaugh’s firing, 
and in the wake of a Cinderella-like 
tale in 2021, Harbaugh seriously 
entertained a return to the NFL in 
February. Nonetheless, Harbaugh 
remains. And after a year that 
unfolded like a Hollywood script 
— a feel-good story of a youthful 
coaching staff whose revamped 
culture helped a rejuvenated head 
coach return his alma mater to the 
promised land — it’s worth ask-
ing: What happens when this year 
inevitably unfolds differently? Har-
baugh did well to deflect conversa-
tion of expectations and pressure in 
March, instead stressing the “scary 
good” state of his program. But 
how long can he manage to keep 
such positive feelings afloat in Ann 
Arbor, especially among a fanbase 
crazed for sustained dominance? 
That, perhaps, is the greatest nar-
rative arc at the season’s inception. 

Gameday Guide

LYS GOLDMAN
Daily Sports Writer

Fall in Ann Arbor is special. The 
campus is abuzz as students return 
for the beginning of the school year; 
the weather and scenery are abso-
lutely beautiful; and, of course, foot-
ball season is in full swing. Football 
and the University of Michigan go 
hand in hand. Saturdays in the fall 
— whether you care about the sport 
or not — are some of the best days of 
the year. You’ll wake up earlier than 
you wake up for classes. You’ll walk 
out of your dorm and down State 
Street in a sea of maize and blue. 
You’ll join 110,000 other fans in the 
biggest stadium in America. You’ll 
make some of your favorite memo-
ries, ones that you’ll never forget, 
even after your time as a Michi-
gan student is over. All that to say, 
gamedays are incredible. But they 
can also be daunting. So, to help 
ease any nerves that you may have 
as the first Michigan football game 
approaches, here’s a comprehensive 
guide to navigating gamedays in 
Ann Arbor. 

Preparation
Depending on what time the 
game is scheduled for, you might be 
waking up pretty early on Saturday 
to start getting ready and tailgating. 
Most students in my dorm hall last 
year were up and ready (and blast-
ing music) by 7 or 8 a.m. for noon 
games. So try to go to bed early the 
night before – you’ll need lots of 
energy to make it through the day. 
Another good idea is to make a plan 
with your friends the day before 
about when you’ll meet and where 
you’ll go before the game. The din-
ing hall is usually a good place to 
start the day, but make sure to check 
the weekend hours. If you aren’t 
able to make it to the dining hall, 
try to grab some quick breakfast 
from your room or another place on 
campus. And last but not least, don’t 
forget your MCard — you’ll need it 

to get into the stadium.

What to wear
There’s really only two pieces of 
advice I have to give on the topic 
of clothing: Dress for the weather 
and wear anything maize and blue. 
It’s usually warm out for the first 
few home games before the infa-
mous Michigan winter starts to 
kick in — make sure to check the 
weather beforehand and plan your 
outfit accordingly. Within weather 
constraints, anything with a block 
M is fair game. If you need to find 
gameday clothes on campus, check 
out the M Den for anything you can 
imagine with a Michigan logo. For 
cheaper alternatives, try the Wal-
greens or CVS on campus. Another 
great option is borrowing from your 
friends, roommates or hallmates. 
Most people come to school with 
tons of maize and blue clothes, and 
they are usually happy to let you 
borrow for a game.

Pre-game festivities
There are tons of tailgates and 
events around campus that you 
can go to before the game. Almost 

every fraternity has a tailgate, 
many of which are on big streets 
like Hill, Oxford and Packard. Fra-
ternity tailgates are popular spots 
for freshmen, and they’re relatively 
easy to find. Lots of alumni also 
have tailgates closer to the stadium 
and around the golf course next to 
the Big House. My biggest piece of 
advice for pre-game festivities is 
to explore! You don’t necessarily 
need a set-in-stone plan for tailgat-
ing; you’ll definitely stumble upon 
events as you walk towards the 
stadium. Some of my favorite pre-
game memories — like fist-bump-
ing Charles Woodson and getting 
on TV before the Ohio State game 
— were unplanned. If you need 
a break at any point (gamedays 
can be exhausting), East Quad is a 
great place to sit down for a bit and 
get some food. When you’re ready 
to head to the stadium, follow the 
maize and blue masses. All roads 
lead to the Big House on gameday.

At the Big House
The Big House definitely lives 
up to its name, and it can be stress-
ful to navigate at first. You’ll enter 

through Gate 10 for the student sec-
tion, which is very easy to find (look 
for the huge crowd of students mov-
ing towards the stadium from State 
Street). Your mobile tickets will 
have a section, row and seat num-
ber, but most students don’t stick to 
their assigned seats; it’s easy to move 
around and sit with your friends 
once you get inside. Be aware, 
though — you’ll probably have little 
to no cell service in the stadium. It 
can be very hard to communicate 
with and find your friends, so make 
sure not to lose them in the crowd. 
Once you secure a bleacher spot, 
prepare to be on your feet for the 
entire game. The student section 
initiates lots of cheers, so become 
familiar with those. The Michigan 
fight song, Hail to the Victors, is 
definitely the most important. It’s 
played every time Michigan scores 
a touchdown and at various other 
times throughout the game. Addi-
tionally, “Pump it Up” and “Mr. 
Brightside” have become Michigan 
football anthems — you’ll definitely 
want to sing along to those. And at 
the beginning of the third quarter, 
the band plays “Can’t Turn You 
Loose” by Blues Brothers. Everyone 
in the student section starts doing 
an accompanying dance; watch the 
cheerleaders or the students around 
you and follow their lead for this 
one. There will be other songs and 
cheers that are played throughout 
the game, but those are the basics to 
know and love.

After the game
Follow the crowds to the sta-
dium exits when you’re ready to 
leave. Take a well-deserved nap 
once you get back to your dorm and 
make sure to get some food. You’ll 
probably notice either a collective 
euphoria or defeat in the Ann Arbor 
air depending on the outcome of the 
game. But either way, gamedays are 
some of the best experiences that 
you can get as a Michigan student. 
Take advantage of them; you don’t 
get all that many.
BECCA MAHON/Daily 
FILE PHOTO/Daily 

