On screen, he has watched the game maybe a half dozen times. In his mind, the tape plays perpetually.
He sees himself dropping back to pass as time ticks down. He sees the ball floating, a toss that should have ended in the winning score. And he sees Ohio State safety Will Allen stepping in at the goal line, snatching hope away from the Wolverines, preserving not just the rivalry-game victory, but also laying one more stone on the Buckeyes’ path to the national title.
So, after a summer of 6 a.m. wake-up calls and endless drills, after an off-season of asking himself, “What do I need to do to get better,” quarterback John Navarre knows there is only one way to quiet the nagging voice in his head: Win.
It’s not that Navarre hasn’t won at Michigan. Last season, the Wolverines capped a 10-3 season (6-2 Big Ten) with a 38-30 Outback Bowl win over Florida.
It’s simply that he hasn’t won enough. At a school where national titles are the annual goal, and Big Ten titles are an annual expectation, Navarre, now a fifth-year quarterback, has never guided his team to either. And in Ann Arbor, where the only good bowl is the Rose, the Wolverines are trying to break a six-year Pasadena drought.
“Like a lot of fifth-year guys, a lot of fourth-year guys who haven’t tasted that championship, we want to push hard and get that championship ring, have a championship season and do good things in the bowl game,” Navarre said. “It’s time for us.”
Past due, in fact. “We expect ourselves to be due for a championship every year,” Navarre said.
Michigan has won a record 40 Big Ten titles. But it hasn’t done so since 1997, when then-quarterback Brian Griese guided the Wolverines to the conference crown, a Rose Bowl win and a shared national title.
Michigan at a glance
Home field: Michigan
Stadium, Ann Arbor (capacity: 107,501)
Avg. home attendance: 110,576
Coaching
Head coach: Lloyd Carr
Record: 76-23 in eight seasons
2002 record: 10-3 (6-2 in Big Ten)
Bowl: Beat Florida 38-30 in Outback
2003 outlook
Bowl prospects: Excellent. The Wolverines are fourth in The Associated Press preseason poll and seventh in the coaches’ poll. They have their sights trained on New Orleans and the national championship game. In their last Rose Bowl trip in 1998, they beat Washington State and earned a share of the national title.
Michigan returns seven starters on offense, six on defense and two on special teams, but kicker Philip Brabbs is injured. While Central Michigan and Houston figure to be victories, Notre Dame’s return to Michigan Stadium will be tough. And though Michigan has the talent to beat Oregon, no road game is a sure thing.
Date Opponent Time
Aug. 30 C. Michigan11:10 a.m.
Sept. 6 Houston11:05 a.m.
Sept. 13 Notre Dame2:30 p.m.
Sept. 20 at Oregon2:30 p.m.
Sept. 27 IndianaTBA
Oct. 4 at Iowa2:30 p.m.
Oct. 11 at MinnesotaTBA
Oct. 18 Illinois11:05 a.m.
Oct. 25 PurdueTBA
Nov. 1 at Michigan St.TBA
Nov. 15 at NorthwesternTBA
Nov. 22 Ohio St.11:05 a.m.
