On Thursday news broke that Michigan star running back Blake Corum is reportedly expected to undergo knee surgery and miss the remainder of the season—meaning he will be sidelined for Saturday’s Big Ten championship game and, should the No. 2 Wolverines get there, the College Football Playoff.
The injury is deeply unfortunate for one of the most exciting stories this season in college football and a key engine to Michigan’s current undefeated run. Corum got hurt in the Nov. 19 Illinois game and tried to battle back from it in last Saturday’s Ohio State game, but was clearly hindered. After only two carries, he did not return against the Buckeyes. Corum finished the season having rushed for 1,463 yards and 18 touchdowns (with a receiving TD, as well) and averaged 5.9 yards per carry.
As to where Michigan goes from here, this isn’t something that tanks its chances at a Big Ten or national championship. Michigan has built its offense on a two-headed monster running back rotation, in part to guard against a scenario like this truly hurting it. Last year, Corum was the understudy to Hassan Haskins, and the system allowed both to stay fresh. This year, Donovan Edwards has played the understudy role to Corum. Edwards has a hand injury of his own to get healed up by New Year’s Eve if the Wolverines are in the Playoff, but he has already shown he’ll play through the pain, as he did against Ohio State. It certainly did not hinder him then, as he toted the mail 22 times for 216 yards, including ripping off explosive runs that went a long way to helping Michigan win the game.
