ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Outside of the world of college sports, the colors maize and burnt orange don’t exist much; they’re garish without proper context.
But if Texas is visiting Michigan for a football game, it makes sense that 110,000 people would be dressed in one color or the other, looking to spend a cool September afternoon watching a heavyweight game.
However, only one team is a legitimate contender this year and it certainly isn’t the defending national champion Wolverines, who should struggle to find Mr. Brightside this time around.
Texas 31, Michigan 12.
It wasn’t that close.
The fourth quarter might as well have been played in the peace and quiet of the Law Quad, as the corn slowly drifted away toward tailgates and traffic jams while the burnt orange crowded the lower rows and let out Texas-sized cheers with Matthew McConaughey, the show’s “Minister of Culture,” leading the way.
After the fight, Texas players gathered in the southeast corner of Michigan Stadium to sing “Eyes of Texas” and celebrate with the fans, who roared in approval of it all — the team, the score, the possibilities. Linebacker David Gbenda then tried to plant the Longhorns’ flag at the 50-yard line.
It remains to be seen whether the Horns can replicate Michigan’s run to the national title — which would be Texas’ first since Vince Young’s run in 2005. It’s a long season, there’s a longer playoff run and making the SEC with an injury-depleted running backs corps might not be fun.
Yet they seemed capable of doing so on Saturday. Steve Sarkisian’s team is deep, talented and terrifying. It blocks. It tackles. It has speed and size. For all the pyrotechnics of a Quinn Ewers-led offense, this victory was won through blunt force trauma, line domination.
They had 389 yards of total offense, 4.5 yards per carry and forced three turnovers. They beat Michigan in the Michigan game.
It was a group of running backs — Quintrevion Wisner, Jerrick Gibson and Jaydon Blue — who were racking up yards (143 of them) here. It was Gunnar Helm who was catching passes (seven of them) there. It was linebackers David Gbenda or Anthony Hill Jr. who were providing some defensive violence.
It was mostly big guys coming to Big Ten country and putting on a show.
The Longhorns came here to take over everything — from the flags flying outside the Graduate Hotel here in Ann Arbor, to the bars and restaurants nearby…