Two updates to "The Game" that ended in dramatic fashion in Ann Arbor Saturday night:
Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh visited President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama at the White House today. Harbaugh was there for a "higher-education awareness event" according to David Shepardson of the Detroit News.
Shepardson caught up with Harbaugh outside of the White House where Harbaugh fielded some questions about the game, and about some of the hateful comments posted online aimed at punter Blake O'Neill:
“I think they were (a) very small percentage of people that were probably drinking too much," he said. "The support that we have, that our players have, is powerful, it’s enduring. We have felt it this entire season and continue to do so.” Harbaugh said he was involved in a Hail Mary game when he was with the Chicago Bears, but never experienced a loss like the game Saturday. “I’ve seen them on TV — they’ve happened,” Harbaugh said. “Unfortunately, as coaches, this is where you have to do your best work” when you lose a game like Saturday.
Meanwhile, the hero of the game for MSU will return home after spending time in an Ann Arbor hospital to repair a fractured and dislocated hip. The injury occurred when Michigan's Jake Butt tackled Watts-Jackson on the final play.
You can hear Watts-Jackson's agony under the the celebration in the end zone:
Watts-Jackson's family first thought the injury was going to be career ending - similar to the career-ending hip injury Bo Jackson suffered in 1991.
More from Joe Rexrode of the Detroit Free Press:
"But as it turned out, it wasn't the same thing -- they told us Jalen got lucky," Rick Jackson, Watts-Jackson's father, told the Free Press. "Everything's looking good after the surgery, and this isn't gonna be a career-ending injury." Doctors reset the hip Saturday night, moments after Watts-Jackson grabbed a fumble from U-M punter Blake O'Neill and raced 38 yards for a 27-23 MSU win at the buzzer. Surgery to repair the fracture took place Sunday. Watts-Jackson is due home today in East Lansing, on crutches.
And down in Columbus, someone is hoping to cash in on the misery in Ann Arbor:
Ohio shirt company creates hilarious t-shirt mocking stunned Michigan fan https://t.co/u6puUrRmdE pic.twitter.com/jcHyRS7rXE
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 19, 2015
