The announcement on Tuesday that Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller will miss the season after re-injuring his throwing shoulder should have set off alarm bells at Schembechler Hall. That's right: Michigan must be on high alert.

Consider the reaction to the Miller news: The Big Ten is doomed, fuhgeddabout the playoff .... Well, maybe Michigan State will save the league. ... Or Wisconsin, with that easy schedule. ... Is Iowa a dark horse? ... What about Nebraska?

No one mentioned the Maize and Blue.

If a similar Big Ten calamity had occurred 10 years ago, 20 years ago, 60 years ago, there would be a standard response: Don't worry, there's still Michigan.

Miller's injury underscores the urgency for Michigan to rise. And the Big Ten needs Michigan now more than ever.

"We definitely can and we definitely need to get back up to that level," said Marlin Jackson, a former two-time All-American cornerback at Michigan and a co-captain in 2004, the most recent Wolverines team to win a Big Ten title. "Not only for the sake of Michigan football, but for the sake of the Big Ten Conference."

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