ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The streak is staggering, the numbers close to crazy and an easily excitable fan base is already reveling in No. 21 Michigan's return to national prominence.
And though the players will tell you they're focused on each game at a time, and though coach Jim Harbaugh will tell you practice begets execution which begets confidence, they're just transparent enough. This stuff matters. Three consecutive shutouts? You bet they weren't going to let that chance slip away.
All week, they'd heard about it and thought about it. Their third in a row. Hadn't happened in college football since Kansas State did it in 1995; hadn't happened in this Michigan program since 1980.