On Saturday, In Division II, the Legend Died

(Excuse this post.)

Matt Gutierrez never lost. He was winning incarnate. And he was going to be our starting quarterback. He was replacing the statistically consistent but uninspiring John Navarre. But while waiting in the bottleneck that is the northwest entrance to Michigan Stadium, rumors began to swirl. Gutierrez wasn’t starting against Miami (OH), some freshman was. I scoffed. No way Lloyd wouldn’t play Gutierrez. Gootz was already named the starter in the off-season. And beyond that, every game he startec, he won. Why go against the proven winner?

As a 3-year starter at De La Salle high school, he always was victorious. We wanted to see that streak continue at Collectively, we were clamoring for Michigan’s all-time passing leader’s backup. And we had been for a while. But now something was amiss. The rumor continued to spread. Some said it was a disciplinary measure, others suggested grades, but the most consistent rumor was injury. Chad Henne started the game, Gutierrez was relegated to holding duty with a sore shoulder. Henne started the rest of the games as Gootz’s sore shoulder turned out to be a torn labrum.

Gootz never got another shot to start. Henne now had a year of experience on Gutierrez, Matt had no chance. Still there were some calls for the lossless one as Henne struggled and Michigan finished 7-5. Gootz continued to sit. Gootz could end up the most popular quarterback in Michigan history because he never got that start. He backed up two quarterbacks who were part of some terrific offenses, but individually looked simply alright. He was the dream backup. The leader who never got the chance to lead, the quarterback behind two passers.

Gutierrez left Ann Arbor. None blamed him. He transferred to Division II Idaho State so he wouldn’t have to sit a year. He looked tremendous in practices and intrasquad scrimmages. He finally got his chance to win again this Saturday. The Bengals of Idaho State travelled to Las Vegas to take on D-I UNLV. While Chad Henne was competing less than 50% of his passes against an overmatched Vanderbilt squad, Gutierrez found himself on the overmatched team. UNLV won 54-10. Gootz passed for 260 yards and a touchdown, but that’s really irrelevant with Matt Gutierrez. He finally lost.