Chase Winovich dreamed of this. It’s why he stiff-armed the NFL for one more season, pulled a winged helmet over his blond mane and dove into action.
The fifth-year senior defensive end and his teammates see November stretching out before them like an undiscovered diamond mine, ready to be claimed. Some of them came close enough two years ago to witness the sparkle.
Others, stepping into starting roles last year, have known only an on-field fade, the exact opposite of a November to remember. Now, all of them together enter the final month of the regular season at 7-1 overall and 5-0 in the Big Ten, ranked No. 5 in the nation, their highest preseason goals still up for grabs.
This is it. This is the quintessential carpe diem for Michigan’s seniors, and all those who know they might never be in this position again.
Winovich, for one, intends to seize it like he would a limping quarterback on a half-speed rollout.
“For me, personally, I’ve got eight quarters left in The Big House, and my time is coming to an end here,” he offered on Monday at Schembechler Hall. “It’s very special to me to see Michigan in a position where if I leave it and we do big things here, hopefully, it’s leaving on a great note.
“It’s what I envisioned coming back, and what I envisioned coming to Michigan in the first place.”
It’s Winovich who first gave public acknowledgement to Michigan’s “Revenge Tour.” That’s payback, he insists, not only for the teams that smacked down the Wolverines during last year’s 8-5 season, but to make up for the season itself.
Still, there’s something special about retribution in football, and these Wolverines look and sound ready to continue making it happen.
“We had revenge to give out on the people who were bullying us, just beating up on us last year,” Winovich pointed out. “They kind of took advantage … we were in an in-between year.
“Something about that gave me a bad taste in my mouth. Me personally, I wanted our lunch money back, and I wanted them to pay interest.”
So far, so good in that department. The cheddar chompers out of Wisconsin looked like Swiss at the end, against an improved and determined Michigan rushing attack.
A Michigan State squad in its own “in-between year” tried to bluster and intimidate its way past the Wolverines. Some 15 rushing yards and a $10,000 fine later (that’s $666.67 per ground yard, if you’re keeping track), the Spartans lay face down on their lightly marred logo.
Now comes Penn State, the squad that in 2017 swiped Michigan’s lunch money and executed a full-team wedgie in the process. The Nittany Lions’ white-out became a whitewash, including seven sacks on U-M quarterbacks and 506 yards accumulated in a 42-13 rout.
That doesn’t happen to a Don Brown defense. Especially twice. Don’t expect The Don to turn the other cheek.
“I wake up every morning and I think about it,” Brown said, at the start of Michigan’s self-proclaimed improvement week. “Honest. They handed it to us last year. I did a poor job against them.
“Obviously, the players feel the same way. We've got two weeks of preparation to put our best foot forward and I feel good about us doing that.”
Brown invented intense. This week, he may turn up the heat even more, especially with U-M players noting he didn’t appreciate a final-seconds tack-on touchdown and subsequent sideline laughter by the Nittany Lions.
“He’s always a super passionate guy, so not that much has changed from week to week,” Winovich observed. “But I’d say the guy is definitely a little more amped up this week, and that’s saying something.”
Only days remain, before the next stop on the Revenge Tour. This one isn’t in the Nittany Lions’ den. Offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead, who tormented the Wolverines a year ago, is long gone. Still, Penn State stands two plays away from being undefeated, instead of 6-2.
But the biggest difference in this game — like in every other Big Ten contest Michigan has played — rests in the Wolverines themselves. Winovich sees it, feels it and knows it’s why he’s still here.
“It’s nobody’s fault for what happened last year, but it’s a big relief this year, knowing we can score touchdowns on a pretty consistent basis, move the ball and control time of possession,” he said.
And shut teams down. And gain the upper hand on special teams. And look a smirking bully right in the eye and leave him sputtering, and ultimately speechless.
It’s delicious revenge, with the prize of a luminescent lifetime memory. Time to go out and grab it.
---
• Talk about this article inside The Fort
• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, The Wolverine
• Follow us on Twitter: @TheWolverineMag, @BSB_Wolverine, @JB_ Wolverine, @AustinFox42,@Balas_Wolverine, @DrewCHallett and @Qb9Adam.
• Like us on Facebook
