They did it. If there were any questions about this team's mettle, or their ability to regroup after an emotional, exhausting victory over Ohio State just one week ago, those were answered tonight. No emotional letdown, no flat performance. Instead, just dominance en route to a resounding 42-3 victory that leaves no doubt about who the best team in the Big Ten Conference is. The Michigan Wolverines are your 2021 Big Ten Football Champions. 

Pretty cool. 

Michigan got the ball to begin the contest after Iowa deferred upon winning the opening coin toss. The Wolverines went three-and-out as Iowa looked to assert itself defensively. The Hawkeyes then cobbled together a savvy drive that went 59 yards over 10 plays, helped by a defensive pass interference call on Daxton Hill on a 3rd & 7 play. From the first few snaps it was clear what Iowa was trying to do to neutralize Michigan's defense: run into a brick wall to set up play-action pass and then heave the ball quickly (combined with cut blocks on Aidan Hutchinson) on obvious passing downs. For a little bit, it worked. They got into the Michigan red zone, but Chris Hinton and David Ojabo helped blow up a 3rd & 5 from the Michigan 12 and the Hawkeyes settled for a 33-yard FG attempt. Their star kicker Caleb Shudak pushed the kick wide right and Iowa got nothing from that drive. 

Michigan responded, and quickly took a lead they never relinquished. Facing first down from their own 33, the JJ McCarthy package saw Corum carry the ball and get a hole off the right side. Corum, looking noticeably healthier than a week prior, got into the open field and turned on the jets, getting a lead block from McCarthy himself, who improbably appeared to outrun Corum on the play, helping to escort his back into the end zone. 7-0 Michigan. In hindsight, that was all the points they would need.  

After a quick Iowa three-and-out, Michigan took little time to put more points on the board. On their first play of the next drive, Michigan dialed up a trick play that saw Cade McNamara throw a backwards pass to Donovan Edwards, who then unleashed an even more improbable laser of a ball nearly 50 yards down the field to a wide open Roman Wilson, who scampered in for a TD. 14-0. All the juices were flowing and it appeared Michigan could put the game away early. 

Iowa, to their credit, responded with another strong drive, going 71 yards over 10 plays. They again used their TE Sam LaPorta to pick up a crucial third down, and then entered the red zone. But the Wolverines continued their strong red zone performance from last week and forced an incompletion on 3rd & Goal from the four yard line. Ferentz settled for a FG to cut the lead to 14-3 near the end of the first quarter. 

Corum's getting healthy... watch out [Fuller]

Michigan's offensive momentum seemed to continue after AJ Henning got 29 yards on a run into Iowa territory, but two plays later a pass thrown behind an open Erick All by McNamara bounced off the TE's hands and into the waiting arms of Iowa LB Jack Campbell. For a moment, it seemed as if the turnover voodoo that Iowa needed had struck. That said, the air went out of the balloon when a tripping penalty set the Hawkeyes back 15 yards and brought the drive to an unsavory conclusion, a Tory Taylor punt. 

The first quarter was exciting, but the second quarter was not. Beginning with that Iowa punt, seven consecutive possessions ended in punts between the two teams, who were rolling around in the metaphorical mud and playing the field position game. Cade McNamara seemed out of rhythm for the Michigan offense, who had to limit the playbook after starting three straight drives inside their own ten yard line. The Wolverine defense did its job though, shutting Iowa down (and dodging a potential targeting call on Rod Moore), and after a McCarthy Hail Mary attempt landed in the arms of an Iowa DB after the clock had hit 00:00, Michigan headed to halftime up 14-3. Not incredible, but well on the way to victory. 

Defense was dominant again [Patrick Barron]

Both teams headed to halftime with a chance to adjust, and it was the Michigan coaching staff who ran circles around the Hawkeyes' staff. Mike Macdonald started sending LBs into the backfield to counter Iowa's play-action bootlegs, while Josh Gattis keyed in on opportunities in man coverage. Just like last weekend, the Wolverines won the first two possessions of the half emphatically, forcing an Iowa punt and then stitching together a 10-play, 82 yard drive that put the game in a stranglehold. Haskins and Corum rushed Michigan into Iowa territory before McNamara delivered the best ball of his night to Luke Schoonmaker in man coverage down the seam, which got Michigan to the four. On the very next play, Hassan Haskins walked into the end zone. 21-3. 

At this juncture, Iowa's backs were against the wall and they proceeded to do the one thing they absolutely could not do, which was both eat up tons of time AND not get any points. The Hawkeyes drove 60 yards over 7:13 (now using backup QB Alex Padilla), yet turned it over on downs in the Michigan red zone after the Wolverines saw their fourth down play call coming a mile away. When Michigan reclaimed possession, there was just over 16 minutes to play and the game was all but over. 

The game was essentially finished at this point, and the fourth quarter saw Michigan break Iowa's will, running the score up perhaps as a way to impress the almighty College Football Playoff committee. They blocked a Tory Taylor punt and then quickly cashed in a TD on a Haskins dive following a circus Schoonmaker catch. After another Iowa punt, Michigan went 81 yards in 8 plays following a flea flicker to Erick All, which was capped off by an All one-handed TD catch. The starters came off the field, and so it was Caden Kolesar who intercepted a Padilla pass to set up Michigan's final TD, which was scored by a Donovan Edwards one-yard run. As the final seconds rolled off the clock, Michigan had blown out Iowa 42-3 and won themselves a ring. 

[AFTER THE JUMP: Click for The Takes]

Pretty neat, imo [Patrick Barron]

Michigan completely dominated Iowa tonight. The Hawkeyes had three good drives, but got only three points total on those drives. For another week, the Michigan defense in the red zone was stout and I did think that Kirk Ferentz's coaching staff came with a good gameplan. They targeted Michigan's LBs in coverage and then relied on play-action to get their receivers open. It got them a few solid drives. But they couldn't cash it in when it mattered and the fact they gained 190 yards on those three drives, but just 89 total on their other 10 drives, says a lot. This is the second straight time that Michigan's defense has held Iowa to just three points, following 2019's 10-3 win. 

The pass rush wasn't overwhelming, but that's in part due to Iowa scheming around it. They came ready to address what figured to be the biggest mismatch, but in the process had to sacrifice timing on throws (chucking it early before a guy was open). Michigan keyed in on the running game and they were successful, holding Iowa to 104 rushing yards on 33 carries (3.2 YPC). In the passing game, Iowa was 19/38 on 4.2 Y/A, 0 TD and 1 INT. In total the Hawkeyes gained 279 yards on 71 plays (3.9 Yards Per Play), with some of that coming against reserves. The defense did its job. 

Offensively, it was uneven for a time, and Michigan relied on big plays throughout, but when you put up 461 yards and 42 points on what was an SP+ top 10 defense, who's complaining? Cade McNamara didn't have his best game, but he still was 16/24, averaging 7.0 Y/A with a TD pass, in addition to the bad luck interception. His aforementioned throw to Schoonmaker down the seam was a beauty. The rushing game was largely halted on a down-to-down basis (Haskins had only 3.3 YPC) by an Iowa defense selling out to stop it, but the big plays hurt them. Cornelius Johnson, McNamara, Corum, and Henning all had 15+ yard rushing plays, and the 67-yarder was crushing. 

Edwards -> Wilson was the highlight of the night [Barron]

The passing game picked up yards in chunks in what was a team effort- 10 different Wolverines caught the team's 18 passes. All and Wilson hauled in the TDs, but nearly everyone was getting involved in that very deep group of passcatchers. And of course, we can't talk about the offense without mentioning Donovan Edwards again, whose bomb to Roman Wilson is the greatest ball thrown by a skill position guy on a trick play your author has ever seen. A tight spiral fifty yards down the field, thrown by your RB. What the f***? 

The Michigan Wolverines are your B1G Champions for the first time in 17 years, and outright champions for the first time in 18 years. Decades worth of haunting infographics have been extinguished and each of these 130+ players will get a chance to hoist the trophy. For a team that entered the fall of 2021 unranked and shrouded in mystery, this has been a season beyond anyone's wildest dreams. When they are announced as a member of this season's College Football Playoff, they will be the first team to ever start the season unranked in the AP Poll and then qualify for the CFP. Your author predicted 7-5 in this year's Hail to the Victors. Michigan is now 12-1. 

I would say it is unbelievable, but it wasn't to everyone. The players and coaches all believed, and they are why we get to bask in this glory. This is the mentally toughest, and the best coached team of the Harbaugh era by a country mile, and the first to have a truly dynamic offense and defense. They pose far more danger to an opponent than the 2016 or 2018 teams, who presented dominant defenses but slow moving and not fearsome offenses. We'll see how far that can take them into December/January. 

A toast to Jim Harbaugh [Fuller]

For Jim Harbaugh, this is the culmination of a seven year project. It was a long and winding road to get here, one that took heartbreak and misery, and constant reinvention of the staff and team. At this time last year, it seemed as if the Harbaugh era was dead in the water and would ultimately come one fateful spot in Columbus, Ohio, short of realizing glory. Now he has reached that peak, and the memory of JT Barrett falling to the Horseshoe turf fades like a dying fire. All it took was a complete staff shake-up, a pay cut, and a culture reorganization from the players. Nothing but incredible things to say about what Harbaugh did this season. 

For the players, this has to be the greatest moment of their playing careers up to this point. Though it is a primarily younger core of players (those from the 2018-2020 recruiting classes) who got it done (Hutchinson, Haskins, McNamara, All, Ojabo, DJ Turner II, Colson, Corum, Wilson, Cornelius Johnson, etc), I couldn't help but think about the grizzled veterans as the time ran down. Andrew Stueber, Andrew Vastardis, Brad Hawkins, and Chuck Filiaga stood out in particular, 5th and 6th year players who did their time and sat through so many painful moments, from the 2018 Outback Bowl meltdown to multiple painful losses to Ohio State, from several fanbase freakouts after MSU losses to the lowest of the lows last fall. They stayed in Ann Arbor and believed in this team, and for those players, the victory champagne will taste the sweetest. 

Michigan now awaits their fate from the College Football Playoff committee. The Wolverines are certain to be included, but the question now comes down to their ranking, opponent, and venue. With #1 Georgia getting pummeled in the SEC title game, the pole position now is up for grabs between Alabama and Michigan. Both teams beat expectations with wins today and both teams are 12-1. The CFP's tendencies make it seem more likely that 'Bama will grab the top spot, slotting Michigan in at #2, but we shall see. If Michigan is #1, they would likely face Cincinnati. If #2, they would likely face Georgia. The Bearcats are a dangerous yet still largely unproven 13-0, while the Bulldogs saw their juggernaut status be wiped away after a disastrous 17-point loss to Alabama that smashed the veneer of their supposedly all-time great defense. 

The two venue options are Arlington, TX, for the Cotton Bowl, or Miami, FL, for the Orange Bowl. At the moment, it seems like Miami is more likely. Both semifinal games will take place on Dec. 31, 2021, one at 3:30 PM EST and the other at 7:30 PM EST. The playoff matchups will be announced tomorrow (today) at noon EST on ESPN.