Since the season started, Michigan has searched for its level.
At Utah, the opponent was expected to be more experienced, more physical and lived up to that.
In the games since, there usually was disparity where U-M had a major talent edge (Oregon State and UNLV), a timing edge (BYU coming off a brutal travel month) or a stability edge (Maryland's disengaged team).
Today, when No. 18 Michigan hosts No. 13 Northwestern at Michigan Stadium, there's finally an opponent the Wolverines can recognize. Because it looks awfully familiar.
More than 20 years ago, that would have been stunning.