One year ago, the University of Michigan football team traveled to Columbus, Ohio with one goal. That goal, of course, was to beat the Ohio State Buckeyes on their own turf and to advance to the Big Ten Championship game, where they would have a shot to advance to the College Football Playoff.
As we know, the Wolverines, despite looking like the better team for most of the afternoon, handed the game to the Buckeyes. It was an extremely painful loss, not only for the Michigan players and coaches but for Wolverines fans across the nation.
But there is one Michigan player who really took last year’s loss extra personal and it had just as much to do with what happened after the game as it had to do with what happened during it.
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In a recent interview, Wolverines defensive lineman Chase Winovich claimed that an Ohio State fan ran out onto the field after the game and hit him.
From Detroit Free Press:
“The way it ended last year, I don’t know, it just really bugged me,” Winovich recalled Monday at Schembechler Hall. “What really got me personally was the storming of the field. That fan — I still don’t know (who) it is — shot the double bird at me. And then the other fan tried to take me out.
“It’s crazy. It’s motivated me personally ever since then and I’ve tried to motivate the others. Make sure the message is known that we have to do everything we can to win this game, by all means necessary.”
Just playing against Ohio State is motivation enough for most of the Wolverines but you can bet Winovich will have an extra chip on his shoulder come Saturday afternoon at the Big House.
