How Michigan Became the University of Jim Harbaugh

The first Saturday of the fall in Ann Arbor was emotional not because of who was there, but because of who wasn’t. On September 2, Michigan broke the huddle for its first offensive play against East Carolina in a straight line, a tactic the team had sometimes deployed in years prior as a formational diversion. All 11 players held four fingers toward the sky in tribute to someone unseen, someone revered, someone who had worn the no. 4 during his playing days. The crowd roared, and the teams got on with their game.