Now here's something that is a little creepy. Being a student at the University of Michigan and knowing what this football team has been capable of since its first days playing, I can't truly believe that it is of our own efforts that has caused this storied program to start out 0-2 for the first time since 1998 (both games have been at home, however, and Michigan hasn't lost both home games since 1959). Thinking about how these events have unfolded have led me to the inextricable conclusion that Michigan's 2007 Football Team is in fact haunted by the late and great coach, Bo Schembechler. Don't get me wrong, I didn't believe it myself (I feel like it was the Cubs fan within me that pushed me to this point), but the evidence is there and is the only thing that could explain how this disastrous season has started.

Let's start at the beginning shall we. The beginning of this story begins with the end of another’s, and that is Coach Bo Schembechler who died on November 17th, 2006. This day holds no other significance in the calendar year aside from the fact that it was the day before Michigan was about to play Ohio State University. The game had everything on the line. Michigan had an undefeated program going into this game and was ranked #2 in the country, only to be trumped by Ohio State who was ranked #1 in the country, and had been for the entire year. Ohio State was also undefeated at this point. This game was going to decide a number of things. It was going to decide who the Big Ten Champion was for the 2006 season and also the team that won was most definitely going to get a bid to the BCS National Championship Bowl Game. There was no way in knowing who was going to win the game. The analysts were split, the supporters were split, flipping a coin would probably be the best method of figuring it out. And then the game came. On November 18th, 2006, barely long enough for Schembechler's body to grow cold, Michigan and Ohio State took to the Horseshoe to duke it out for all the marbles.

With 105,708 in attendance, this match of giants lived up to expectations. It was a close battle the whole way through and ultimately Michigan ended up losing 39-42. This is the first loss under the Schembechler Curse. Michael Hart was superb as he had been all year with 144 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns. Chad Henne was no slouch either. He passed for 267 yards and had a completion percentage of 60%. This team had good players who amassed some pretty impressive statistics, but ultimately couldn't carry themselves to victory. It wasn't all bad, however. Michigan still got a bid to play against the University of Southern California in the BCS Rose Bowl Game.



Michigan would have to wait over a month and a half to get their shot to show what a great team they were. On January 1, 2007 in Pasadena, California before a crowd of 93,852, Michigan was again stunned by another defeat, this time to the Trojans of USC. This game wasn't all that pretty to watch. I remember watching the game in New York City with some friends of mine. We had been watching other games through the day anticipating Michigan's late game that day. After the first half, things looked like they were going to be close, and indeed they were. Both USC and Michigan were only able to put up a field goal each as the scoreboard read 3-3. In the second half, things started to get a little ugly. USC put up 16 points unanswered, and it was pretty much curtains from there. Michigan ended up losing 32-18, but the margin of victory was far greater.



This was a pretty sad time for Michigan. After winning 11 straight games to start out the 2006 Football season, Michigan lost the last two games following the death of one of the greatest icons in Michigan Football history. The team and the school was down to say the least. Even still, everyone knew that Michigan had a good football team and good players and that the 2007 Football season held even more promise than the last.

Were we wrong.

Michigan received a preseason ranking of #5 in the country, which considered by some was a little conservative. This belief was held by ESPN, sports gurus across the country, and fans in general. Everyone thought, rather, everyone knew Michigan was a good football team. ESPN even predicted Michigan to go through their regular season undefeated, beating the likes of Wisconsin and Ohio State. Pretty much, it wasn't a secret that Michigan had talent and a good team. The pundits forgot about the Schembechler Curse, however.

Michigan planned to start their 2007 campaign against a warm-up team from Division 1-AA, Appalachian State. Appalachian State is located in Boone, North Carolina, with an undergraduate enrollment of 14,000, and before their game against Michigan on September 1, 2007 there is no reason why you would ever talk about them (no offense and all). They gave the sporting world great reason to talk about them following this game, which will most likely be one of the greatest upsets in sports and definitely Michigan Football history.

The crowd of 109,218 were stunned as the clock ticked to 0:00 on that warm, but chilling Saturday afternoon. Final score, Appalachian State 34, Michigan 32. How could David slain Goliath? Walking away from Michigan Stadium that day, you could cut the despair and sadness with a knife. It was visible. That is why they play the games I suppose. Michael Hart, just as he had played superbly against Ohio State, played incredibly this day rushing for 190 yards and 3 touchdowns. Despite his efforts to raise his team up, they fell to an unlikely foe. Schembechler's Curse now has its exclamation point.



In order for the curse to truly be a curse, there has to be something ridiculous and significant to signify it as a curse. The loss to Appalachian State gave this 3-loss slide a reference, and that was Schembechler's death. In order to make the curse truly real, it needed to have one more casualty, and that was the game played this past weekend against Oregon.

Following the results of the week before, no one was really sure how Michigan was going to react. Would they be motivated or would they lose their wits about them? The question was answered on September 8, 2007 before a crowd of 109,733 Michigan fans. Not only did Michigan lose, but they lost big. The final score tells a pitiful tale of a team that had so much going for them just 2 weeks earlier, and now seemingly, nothing. Oregon 39, Michigan 7. Michigan allowed over 600 yards of offense. Watching the game was excruciating. Painful to the last moment. I stood by my team all throughout it and when it finally ended, I turned my back on the field and thought to myself why I was being punished for such a morose display of football. Michael Hart got his yards, 131 yards that day, but no room for even one touchdown. It was disgusting and awful to watch.



For every gray cloud there is a silver lining, however, and in this case it is that I am happy to report that the Bo Schembechler Curse has been lifted. Allow me to explain why the Curse is from this point out lifted, and why I believe Michigan will not lose another game for the rest of the season, ending up with a Big Ten Championship.

In 1968, Michigan's final game of the season was played against Ohio State under the coach Bump Elliot. This was the last game of Elliot's career as coach at the University of Michigan, and with justified cause. He lost this final game by 36 points, 14-50. This was no way to end a career, but someone had to take his place. The person who did that was Bo Schembechler who was coach of the Michigan Wolverines from 1969 to 1989. He had a winning percentage of 80% and won 13 conference titles (more than any coach for Michigan ever). The loss that Michigan had to Oregon this past weekend is the biggest loss Michigan has had since that game in 1968, the game before Schembechler became coach. Schembechler has had his impact on the team and has made a statement from the grave, a tough thing to do in any sport, and he is now at peace with the program.

Sure, this may sound a little ridiculous, but there are some eerie clues here and there that broach the subject that maybe Bo has been out there haunting the team a little. I still stand by my team, and know deep down in my heart that they will not lose another game this year. I am more than willing to propose that they win the Big Ten Championship and still go to a BCS Bowl Game. To put this into words far better than I could ever, I invoke John Lennon, "You may say that I'm a dreamer / But I'm not the only one / I hope someday you'll join us / And the world will live as one." Be smart. Be aware. Be the solution.

This post was originally written by Tyrone Schiff
University of Michigan · Organizational Studies · 10 Sep 2007