Every time they walk on to the field, football players have to brush aside any thoughts of their mortality and play like they are invincible. However, every once in a while, they are forced to see the reality of what can happen in this violent game. On Saturday, the Penn State and Michigan football players had one of those moments.

In the first quarter of Saturday's game Wolverines cornerback Zia Combs and fellow Wolverines defensive back Ernest Shazor were attempting to down a punt short of the end zone. When the two players dove for the ball, their heads collided. While Shazor got up immediately, Combs did not. He lay on the field for several minutes with no feeling in his extremities.

Eventually, all would turn out well. Combs did not break any bones, and eventually regained all feeling. He spent the night at the University of Michigan Hospital, but was out in time to participate in the Wolverines' workout on Sunday.

The Michigan players would find out at halftime that Combs would be all right, that he was only being kept in the hospital for observation, but in the first quarter they had every reason to fear for their teammate. After spending several minutes on the field, Combs was put on a stretcher in a neck brace and carried off the field, then rushed to the hospital in an ambulance.

Players from both teams stared in shock with sympathy and fear for their fellow gridiron warrior. Both teams organized group prayers. However, they still had 50 more minutes to play.

The man who made that easiest to do was Combs himself.

"The last thing he said I think when he was carried off the field was, 'Coach, tell them to play hard,' " Wolverines defensive tackle Grant Bowman said. "You've got to realize that when they want you to win the game, that's something they're trying to do. You've got to go out there and almost honor them by playing hard and playing for each other."

Winning over his critics

It didn't take long for Michigan quarterback John Navarre to change from being the most hated man in Michigan Stadium Saturday to the most beloved.

The metamorphosis was finished in three drives.

The Michigan signal caller whose title is constantly prefaced with the words "much-maligned" because of the criticism he faces from media and fans, was getting booed midway through the third quarter. He completed 17 of his 25 passes, going into the lats drive of the third quarter but only had 136 yards passing and his team had just seven points on the board.

However after Navarre threw two fourth-quarter touchdowns and led the winning drive in overtime to give the Wolverines their 27-24 victory, those fans had all changed their tune.

Navarre could easily say 'I told you so' but as he has since coming to Michigan, he has focused only on his play on the field.

"I'm not into redemption or revenge, I'm just playing football," Navarre said. "I've got my own goals, and I know what I want to accomplish. Whatever everyone else says doesn't matter, it's just what I get done here and what we do as a team that counts."

Whether he cares about it or not, Navarre's late-game heroics certainly earned him that redemption. Saturday was probably his best performance to date. He was 27-for-41 in passing for 244 yards and two touchdowns, and ran for a score on the ground.

When Nittany Lions defensive back James Millon was called for roughing the kicker late in the third quarter and the Wolverines got a first down and new life, Navarre didn't waste it.

In eight plays, he took the Wolverines 80 yards downfield, completing four of his five passes for 52 yards, including the five-yard fade route to wide receiver Braylon Edwards for the touchdown.

On the next drive with his team down a touchdown, he completed all six of his passes on a 64-yard scoring drive, culminating in another touchdown pass to Edwards, from three yards out. That score took the game to overtime where the Wolverines would win it on a three-yard touchdown run by tailback Chris Perry.

"John's a great quarterback and a true leader," wide receiver Robert Bellamy said. "What he did today is proof that he's deserving of the recognition that he should be getting."