Embracing Michigan's All-White Road Uniforms

In this era of slick packaging and glitz and shine trumping tradition, the decision this week by Michigan--supposedly at the behest of coach Jim Harbaugh--to wear white tops and pants on the road this season is refreshing. The word is that the new coach wanted to pay homage to the 1974 club, along with 1975 the last to sport these uniforms, and anything that pays homage to the college football that I first remember, is alright by me. The 1974 edition of the Wolverines had another magnificent season under head coach Bo Schembechler in finishing 10-1. Why only 11 games you say? Well in losing the final game of the season 12-10 to Ohio State, with Michigan missing a field goal at game's end, the Wolverines could not go bowling as Big Ten rules at the time designated conference-winning Ohio State, via tiebreak, as Rose Bowl representative and the other nine schools as unable to go to any post-season game. That changed right after this season due to the misfortune of a Michigan program that went 30-2-1 over the 1972-74 seasons but never tasted bowl play thanks to the conference's desire to make the Rose Bowl the be-all and end-all and to a controversial vote of conference ADs after the 1973 season. For Michigan seniors in 1974, the heartbreak must have been tremendous. In 1971 they would have been ineligible to play as freshmen when the Wolverines won the conference and went to the Rose Bowl. 1971 was the final season that freshmen were ineligible. Then they played dominant ball for three straight seasons only to be thwarted time and time again from getting to the Rose Bowl, all while playing the final three seasons that Big Ten teams were banned from playing in any bowl other the the Rose Bowl. This is a rare classy move by Harbaugh, who was a young football player in Ann Arbor in the mid 70s when his dad was a coach on Schembechler's staff. This squad is not as good as the 1974 team but they will play hard.