Never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.
— John Donne
People flooded back into Michigan Stadium, ecstatic to resume the rites of autumn. Paratroopers even rained from the sky, taking the scenic way in.
Tailgate grilling scents swirled, igniting the senses. Old friends hugged, high-fived and opted for face paint over masks. They exulted in a march to The Big House, hoping for a much bigger season.
The Wolverines cooperated, mowing down Western Michigan in dominating fashion, 47-14. The Broncos could have boarded the bus for Kalamazoo at halftime, down 27-7, and never looked back.
In short, Michigan’s opening day proved perfect.
Well … almost perfect.
One Wolverine left the stadium not in triumph, but torn by the vagaries of a game that shifts from crescendo to cruel in a millisecond.
Junior wideout Ronnie Bell stood ready to enjoy the season of his life. Voted captain, Bell toiled for Michigan spurred by fury, last year’s stumbles motivating him to ring somebody else’s bell.
He stood beyond motivated, he insisted. He burned with anger over 2020, and all the slights emanating from it. He and his teammates were going to prove everyone wrong, shut everyone up.
“I demand my respect!” he smoldered.
Bell strode onto the field ready to secure it, like a grizzly snatching a salmon. He plucked a deep ball one-handed from redshirt freshman quarterback Cade McNamara, the scintillating snag waved off by an iffy offensive penalty flag.
The laundry stayed put moments later, when Bell broke away on a 76-yard TD bomb from McNamara. Bell then bolted 31 yards on a punt return, seeming ready to set sail on a special season.
But he went down, and he didn’t get up. When he tried, he went back down. He eventually left Michigan Stadium on the injury cart, looking not angry, but crestfallen.
A knee injury ushered him from sizzling to sidelined in a heartbeat.
“I’m just worried about Ronnie Bell right now,” head coach Jim Harbaugh said. “We’ll get an MRI tonight and find out the severity of the injury … our prayers are with Ronnie right now.”
Harbaugh added: “Ronnie is loved by everybody — captain of the football team.”
The injury put the only smudge on an afternoon when Michigan fans looked at each other, nodded vigorously and exclaimed: “YES! THIS is what it’s supposed to look like!”
It looked as follows…
• The Wolverines with 550 total yards to Western’s 317.
• U-M demonstrating a dynamite level of explosiveness, getting a 79-yard kickoff return by freshman tailback Blake Corum, a 74-yard end-around TD by frosh wideout A.J. Henning, a 43-yard run by freshman wideout Roman Wilson, setting up a 30-yard Corum TD bolt, and a 69-yard TD bomb by rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy.
• A starting defense by new coordinator Mike Macdonald that surrendered a touchdown the first time it took the field, then handcuffed WMU thereafter.
• Three quarterbacks seeing the field, led by McNamara’s steady effort: 9-of-11 passing for 136 yards and two touchdowns.
• No fewer than 334 yards on the ground for the Wolverines, including 111 by Corum, whose quick feet and shiftiness raised more than 218,000 eyebrows on the day.
• McCarthy, a freshman making his debut, scrambling to unleash the 69-yard touchdown pass to redshirt junior transfer wideout Daylen Baldwin midway through the final quarter.
“It was very important,” Corum insisted. “There were a lot of naysayers going into this game, that didn’t think we’d come out here and do what we did. But it was really important to make a big statement today. That’s what we did.”
“The O-line played really well today,” McNamara added. “We made a huge emphasis on playing physical during the entire offseason. I think they did that very well today.”
In short, this looked like the culmination of eight months of blood, sweat, tears, humiliation and rage. It was the sort of day The Big House used to know, with regularity: scrutinize some intense early moments, then sit back and watch the avalanche.
Those waiting 21 long months to gather back in the stadium couldn’t have asked for more, fully understanding there are those coming with far more horses than the Broncos.
They also know things can change in a hurry. Last year’s opening-night blowout at Minnesota led to home devastation seven days later. This team has a different feel, a different look, at first glance.
But everything can change in an instant.
Just ask Ronnie Bell.
“It’s very difficult seeing a teammate, a brother, out there hurt,” McNamara acknowledged. “Ronnie’s a big part of this team. I’m praying, whatever it is, for him to be able to be OK. Obviously, it’s super difficult. You hate to see it.”
It was the only thing the Wolverines hated to see on the afternoon. But it stung, even amid the celebration. Bell is more of a toll than any of them wanted the day to take.
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