ANN ARBOR, Michigan – The “Texas Takeover” event included dark orange cowboy hats and blazers, a line of black SUVs and dozens of orange and white balloons lining the stairs of a fancy hotel where a Saturday night suite was available for more than $2,900.

On Michigan football weekends, it’s not uncommon to see the Graduate Hotel in Ann Arbor filled with deep-pocketed alumni from both universities. Michigan fans saw just how deep the Texas coffers run when they walked into the Graduate and saw it decked out from floor to ceiling in Longhorns decor.

Whether it’s a coincidence or not, the company behind the Graduate hotel chain, AJ Capital Partners, lists Cooper Manning as its director of investor relations. Cooper’s son Arch — you may have heard of him — is the backup quarterback at Texas. Hotels market themselves to home team fans, but at least this weekend, guests had the advantage.

Dignitaries spotted at the hotel included Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who made his way through Friday night accompanied by security. “Governor Abbott, how are you, sir?” a Texas fan called from the sidewalk. Down the street, a group of VILs (Very Important Longhorns) nibbled on appetizers and sipped wine at Sava’s, where approved guests were led to the front of the line and escorted through an opening in a giant papier-mache football.

For one weekend, Michigan fans saw what happens when the SEC’s newest high rollers come to town. It was shocking, and not just to the fans who had spent $2,000 on a hotel room. When the scene shifted to Michigan Stadium on Saturday, the Texas gala just continued.

The No. 3 Longhorns marched into Ann Arbor and inflicted a 31-12 defeat on No. 10 Michigan, officially ending the Wolverines’ era of dominance. Nothing, not even the glory of last season’s national championship, could make Michigan’s performance look better. Texas fans were the ones celebrating in the streets, and Michigan was the team that cleaned up the mess.

“It’s a loss,” said coach Sherrone Moore. “We haven’t seen anything like this in a long time. You can definitely feel it. Our kids feel it. They feel it more than anyone else.”

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Michigan has often been the team to take over another’s stadium for its own private party. On Saturday, Texas and its fans did the same at Michigan Stadium, where the Wolverines had won 23 straight games before Saturday’s loss.

As Longhorn fans streamed into the lower section of the stadium, Texas players gathered in the corner of the end zone to sing “The Eyes of Texas.” When they finished, linebacker David Gbenda made a brave but unsuccessful attempt to plant a Texas flag in the middle of the field. The flag immediately fell to the ground, but the Longhorns made their point.

“It was great,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “What an atmosphere. What a moment for our players and our team when they sang ‘The Eyes of Texas’ at the end with so much orange in the stands.”

The 2024 season brought a new world order in college football. Texas and Oklahoma joined the SEC, the Big Ten added four schools from the Pac-12 and the College Football Playoff expanded to 12 teams. With so many changes, it was clear that games like Saturday’s would have a different feel.

For Michigan, “different” is not enough of a description. This team has grown accustomed to hanging on in September, outplaying other Big Ten teams and playing deep into the postseason. The Wolverines hoped they could continue to do that, just not as easily.

The game against Texas in Week 2 was a litmus test to see how Michigan would fare replacing so many key pieces from last year’s national championship run, including coach Jim Harbaugh, quarterback JJ McCarthy, running back Blake Corum and a whole host of crucial players on defense. The results are in, and they don’t look encouraging.

“It sucks because you come into this game knowing there’s a lot on the line,” quarterback Davis Warren said. “We have to take a long, hard look in the mirror at what kind of team we want to be, who we want to be.”

Moore had a tough time in his first season as Michigan’s head coach. He lost 13 draft picks and a number of assistant coaches, but inherited the high expectations that come with winning a national championship. Michigan fans dismayed by Saturday’s performance can take comfort in thinking about the championship trophy, and many of them surely will. But that won’t last forever. Soon, fans will want to see signs that Michigan is still a team with playoff capabilities.

The team that took the field on Saturday did not look like a CFP contender. The offense seemed inferior, at least until the fourth quarter when the game was already decided. A defense that was supposedly one of the best in college football failed to live up to expectations against a Texas offense with similar credentials.

Michigan fans have been spoiled by their team’s discipline and consistency over the past three years. The Wolverines were rarely in bad position on defense and always well prepared for the ball on offense. On Saturday, Michigan threw two interceptions, lost a fumble and allowed seven plays of 20 yards or more. Moore said many of those mistakes are easily correctable, but anyone who watched the game saw problems that could linger for a long time.

Quarterback is one of those problems. Warren’s final stats don’t look bad: 22 of 33, 204 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. But in the first half, when the game was still within reach, Warren threw for 49 yards. He does everything you’d expect from a former walk-on, but a couple of years of recruiting failures and a lack of quarterback support from the transfer portal have put the Wolverines in a bind.

We have all been reminded many times that a September loss is not a dealbreaker in the 12-team CFP era. That may be true, but this loss still felt final for Michigan, which, according to The athlete‘s predictions. For now, the Wolverines are more likely to fight for a decent bowl game. The fast track to the CFP is reserved for Texas, Georgia, Ohio State and maybe a few others.

That’s something Michigan fans can live with after all the good times they’ve had. They were in the same position as the Texas fans who flooded Ann Arbor this weekend, and they know what it takes to build a team capable of having the kind of moment Texas had at Michigan Stadium on Saturday.

It’s not cheap, but it’s definitely fun.

(Top photo: Aaron J. Thornton / Getty Images)