Michigan athletic director David Brandon didn't know the 2012 U-M team would win 11 games in 2012, but he did know they wouldn't have a chance if he didn't do something to help fix the defense.

Enter Brady Hoke and Greg Mattison.

Though Hoke would be the first to admit the program is a long way from where he envisions it, Brandon acknowledged it was where it should have been this year.

"Is Michigan back? I just witnessed a Michigan team play in the national stage in a BCS bowl and play a really, really good 11-win team," Brandon said. "I feel very, very comfortable in telling you Michigan football is back where we need to be and where we want to be."

That said …

"I think everybody is surprised we have 11 wins this season," he added. "Maybe except the coaches and the team.

"They don't quit. They play all 60 minutes, and in some cases, longer. That was a very physical football team. Virginia Tech is very big and fast. Our kids - we took a pounding, but so did they. It was a hard-fought, physical game. We feel very fortunate to win, but it's a great feeling.

"If you look at the bowl season this year, they've been trading punches and lots of scoring. What America saw tonight was two really good defenses playing really hard. Points didn't come easy, and that made it exciting.

"Team 132 has done some amazing things this year - 11 wins. I'll go back and look at the preseason picks. I don't think too many were predicting that."

Probably not even Brandon, though he responded, "I don't predict" when asked what he was thinking.

"It says a lot," he continued. "They'll walk away from this championship with a ring. I keep telling them in there, they'll wear that ring for the rest of their life. They're going to remember this night, and they're going to remember this team. I was blessed to have that feeling three times, and I know how important it is. It's even more important years from now than it is tonight.

"For them to leave after what they've been through, and the challenges that have confronted them, to leave here with a championship ring and feeling the way they feel right now in that locker room is very special."

One that leaves a great legacy for the teams to follow.

"I don't know how Michigan raises the bar. We've had a bumpy three years, but we're Michigan," Brandon said. "We're supposed to be playing on the big stage, and we're supposed to be playing against formidable competition, and we're supposed to be in the national hunt. For years and years and years, that was Michigan, and that's what we want Michigan to be in the future."