Free Press sports writer Nick Baumgardner and columnist Jeff Seidel recap Michigan’s loss to South Carolina in the Outback Bowl on Monday, Jan. 1, 2018, in Tampa, Fla.
The day before the Outback Bowl, I wrote about reality in college football. How there's no inbetween or shades of gray at the top. You either did something or you didn't.
Michigan, I wrote, fell into the latter category. The Wolverines didn't accomplish enough in 2017 to gain ground on Big Ten front-runner Ohio State and allowed programs like Penn State and Michigan State to surge forward in an ever-competitive Big Ten East Division.