We have never had this many credential requests for a game. I have turned down dozens of them. – Utah media director Liz Abel
Pardon us if we’re acting like the class nerd who’s thrilled that one of the cool kids is coming over to play. We’re new to this. Sheesh, Michigan is coming to town to play the University of Utah. It makes you want to sit up a little straighter and check the mirror for stray nose hairs.
“Who would ever have thought that Michigan would be coming here?” says Utah athletics director Chris Hill. “It was just not in anyone’s wheelhouse.”
Even if you had a wheelhouse or knew what one was, you wouldn’t expect to find this game in there.
Hence, the gushing.
OK, Michigan isn’t even ranked. In recent years, the Utes have been, ahem, better than the Wolverines and proved it on the field. Still, it’s MICH-I-GAN. You’re supposed to genuflect when you say that. Name the most storied college football teams in the country, and the Wolverines are in the discussion along with Notre Dame, Ohio State, USC, Alabama and Oklahoma.
“It’s a historical football program,” says Hill.
By that, he might be referring to the Wolverines’ 11 national championships, 42 Big Ten championships, three Heisman Trophy winners, 78 consensus All-Americans and a long list of famous players — Tom Harmon, Charles Woodson, Desmond Howard, Anthony Carter, Dan Dierdorf, Tom Brady, Gerald Ford …
It’s one thing to convince these blue-blood schools to schedule a game at their place — they’re big shots and they call the shots, including venues. It’s quite another to get them to come to your home stadium, or wheelhouse, or whatever. Michigan is Utah’s biggest non-conference guest ever. It’s as if Yo-Yo Ma agreed to play the old Salt Palace.
The only reason the Wolverines are here is because the Utes were so eager for the matchup that they jumped the gun on a proposal by the Pac-12 and Big Ten that never happened.
According to Hill, shortly after Utah joined the Pac-12, the Big Ten and Pac-12 began negotiating a deal in which their schools would be required to play a team from the other conference each year. “It never became an official agreement,” says Hill, “but we thought it was going to happen. Everyone was talking to each other. Anyway, we got a little help from the concept.” Before the proposal was dumped, the Wolverines and Utes agreed to a home-and-home arrangement for 2014 and 2015.
Until this season, all three of Utah’s games against Michigan had been played in Ann Arbor — a 10-7 loss in 2002, a 25-23 win in 2008 and a 26-10 win in 2014. Now might be a good time to note that these are not your father’s Michigan Wolverines, and the Utes have pretty much had their way with them.
For a game that features two unranked opponents, the rematch is drawing surprising interest. The game will be played Thursday night to accommodate a national TV audience (FOX Sports 1) and a press box stuffed with media from around the country.
“We have never had this many credential requests for a game,” says Utah media director Liz Abel. “I have turned down dozens of them.”
The Michigan debut of Jim Harbaugh is part of the draw, which accounts for media requests from the Bay Area. Harbaugh, a former Michigan and NFL quarterback, is the new coach of the Wolverines. He coached the San Francisco 49ers the last four seasons, taking them to one Super Bowl and three NFC championship games. Harbaugh and the 49ers agreed to a much-discussed divorce last winter. Before the NFL tour, Harbaugh led Stanford to a 12-1 record in 2010, so he’s not new to a college sideline (speaking of which, Harbaugh will be easy to see on the sideline of Rice-Eccles Stadium. He’s the one who looks like a human Whack-A-Mole).
“It’s a big game and it’s become bigger because of Harbaugh,” says Hill.
Until recently, Utah hasn’t had the clout to convince big-time non-conference teams to agree to play in Salt Lake City. Before the Utes joined the Pac-12, they played USC eight times during the regular season, but the last time they played in Salt Lake City was 1917. Utah has played Oklahoma, Michigan (three times), Ohio State, Notre Dame, Nebraska (four times), Wisconsin (two), Tennessee (three), Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Northwestern and Texas and couldn’t get any of them to come to SLC. They did manage to entice Pitt, Indiana, Texas A&M and UCLA to play in Salt Lake City, but that’s as big as non-conference home opponents got.
As for their biggest opponents in a season-opener at home: Texas A&M in 2004. The Utes opened against Oklahoma in 1977, Michigan in 2008 and USC in 1948, but those games were on the road.
So here they are: The Utes and Wolverines in Salt Lake City for the first time.
Put that in your wheelhouse.
Doug Robinson's columns run on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Email: drob@deseretnews.com