Ann Arbor — With a thump and a crunching thud, Michigan’s record and quarterback situation dramatically changed. Its veneer got dented and its path got tougher.
But nothing else has to change, really. The Wolverines built their identity on defense and power, and that’s what they’ll have to lean on, now more than ever. Wilton Speight’s shoulder injury complicates things, no doubt. John O’Korn might be a fine backup but he’ll have to show it in a quick turnaround, at home against Indiana Saturday and then in a brutal environment at Ohio State.
Jim Harbaugh wasn’t expansive on the left shoulder injury that will sideline Speight for a while, but if there’s a crisis brewing, there’s no outward hint of it.