Critic's choice

Much-maligned Wolverines triumph on their biggest stage

Chris Perry ran for 154 yards and two touchdowns as Michigan won the Big Ten title. Danny Moloshok/Getty Images

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Once upon a time, John Navarre was the quarterback who couldn't win the big one.

Once upon a time, Braylon Edwards was the most famous resident of coach Lloyd Carr's doghouse.

Once upon a time, Chris Perry looked like a fraudulent Heisman candidate.

Was once upon a time really only six weeks ago?

It didn't seem that way Saturday, when the fifth-ranked Michigan Wolverines forever buried any potential disappointment the 2003 season once exhibited, beating archrival, fourth-ranked Ohio State 35-21 to claim the outright Big Ten title. In the process, the trio of Navarre, Edwards and Perry forever etched their names in Maize and Blue lore.

"The true test of leadership," said Carr, "always comes when things go poorly, and these guys passed the test."

For the better part of two seasons, a 24-1 run that included last season's national championship, the Buckeyes had redefined defensive dominance in the Big Ten. To conquer the champs would require a particularly dynamic offense, one capable of moving the ball with the run and the pass, and the Wolverines provided just that.

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Playing behind a brilliant offensive line that didn't allow a sack, Navarre spread the ball around the field to the tune of 278 yards on 21-of-32 passing. Edwards caught seven balls for 130 yards and two touchdowns and would have had an 87-yard score on top of that if not for a holding call.

And Perry was, quite simply, an All-America running back. Despite a pesky leg injury that kept him off the field briefly, he broke tackle after tackle, several of them in the open field, on the way to 209 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns.

In the mob scene on the field after the final seconds ticked down, Michigan fans and players jumbled together in a sea of smiles and rose stems. Both the performance and the celebration were exactly what they'd envisioned since Ohio State did the same thing to them in Columbus a year ago.

And yet, as recently as Oct. 10, with the Wolverines standing at 4-2 following stunning losses to Oregon and Iowa and trailing Minnesota 28-7 headed into the fourth quarter at the Metrodome, the last thing most people outside Ann Arbor expected was to see Michigan headed to its first Rose Bowl in six years. (The Wolverines also have an outside shot at the Sugar Bowl if several teams above them lose).

Something clicked that Friday night in Minneapolis and it continued for five more games, three of them (Purdue, Michigan State, Ohio State) coming against top 10 teams.

"[The outright Big Ten title] is something we haven't had in awhile," said Navarre. "Once we knew we had that goal in our hands and we controlled it, we had a greater will than any team we played because it was something we hadn't had."

"We knew we were a better team than our [4-2] record," said Perry. "We just kept that in our hearts and souls and worked hard to succeed."

The careers of Navarre and Perry largely mirror the direction Michigan's program has taken since its 1997 national championship.

Though the Wolverines shared two other conference titles since then (1998 and 2000) and have played in a New Year's Day bowl every year, the natives were starting to get restless earlier this season, especially having watched the hated Buckeyes take the sport by storm last season.

Similarly, though Navarre has broken nearly every Michigan passing record and though Perry was a 1,000-yard rusher last season, each had garnered their share of criticism, Navarre for his struggles in crushing losses the past couple of years, Perry for failing his first three seasons to become the kind of elite runner Michigan's had in the past.

Both players took it to another level this season, with Navarre completing nearly 60 percent of his passes for more than 3,000 yards and Perry rushing for almost 1,600 yards. Edwards, plagued by drops and missed routes throughout his career, wound up with more than 1,000 yards and 14 touchdowns.

For Carr, who's spent much of the past four years defending Navarre to the media, Saturday provided a chance to usher one final, frustration-driven, "I told you so."

"I have no problem with criticism -- if you come to Michigan and play in this arena, you're going to get criticized," said the coach. "But there were people who went overboard, people who wrote things about this kid and tried to humiliate him. I think some of those things were despicable. ... At Michigan, it's Notre Dame, Michigan State and Ohio State, and he was the winning quarterback in all three games. John is an unbelievable human being. The way he's handled all the things written and said about him, I have so much admiration."

"And Chris Perry -- there's one guy around here who wrote that Chris Perry is an average running back, with average speed. Chris Perry is a first-team All-American, and in my opinion, there's no better running back in America."

Fittingly, Navarre spent his entire postgame session with reporters clutching the Big Ten trophy. And when it came time to give way to Perry, the running back did an impromptu dance before posing with the prize. "To be honest with you, all those people who said this week that this would be my 'defining game,' I thought that was b.s. I didn't think this game would define me, but the reality was that's how the media was going to see it, so I worked even harder."

Whether or not it was Navarre's defining game, it was certainly the defining game for the Wolverines' season, which, just six weeks ago, looked like it would end entirely differently.

"We've tasted greatness beore, but we had never really succeeded in accomplishing something great," Perry said. "Until today."

Stewart Mandel covers college sports for SI.com.