FOX CFB Analyst On Michigan Stadium: 'I've Never Seen Anything Like It In My Career'

It's a sight you never want to see during a football game. On Saturday, Michigan offensive lineman Zak Zinter went down with a severe leg injury in the second half against Ohio State. The Big House, which had been rocking for a better part of the afternoon, went quiet. The Wolverines all dropped to a knee.

As the team looked on in disbelief, the 110,000 fans in the who went quiet did something that one FOX college football analyst said he'd never experienced before. Discussing the situation on his podcast this week, Joel Klatt - who was on the call for the Michigan vs. Ohio State game - described what he witnessed inside of Michigan Stadium as the medical staff worked on Zinter.

"So Zak Zinter, No. 65, the guard from Michigan, we know he pretty clearly broke his leg," Klatt said. "The players that saw him immediately on the ground, they knew...and the air leaves the building. And it is quiet, you can hear a pin drop. There is a lot of emotion from his teammates. There was just an outpouring of emotion."

Klatt said that he noticed Trevor Keegan, the other starting guard and best friends with Zinter, was overcome with emotion. "Keegan, and this is in a commercial break, was hitting the ground with his helmet...crying."

As the Wolverines were struggling to come to grips with the fact that Zinter's injury was serious, something happened inside of Michigan Stadium that was truly incredible.

"And then something happened that I've never experienced before calling games," Klatt said. "Never experienced it before. Through my headset - I have my headset on during the timeout, and it's hard to hear the crowd unless the sound from the game is happening. Even though my headset is on, I hear the stadium start to come alive. They're pumping up the air-cast, the team is devastated, and the Big House starts chanting...if I get emotional I'm sorry...'let's go Zak, let's go Zak!' And it's not just one section, it's not just one area. It was the whole stadium, and it was loud. It was so loud that I took my headset off to hear it, and I was blown away. I've never heard a stadium that loud in a commercial break, ever. This was completely human-element driven. No music, no band, no PA announcer."

"It was incredible, I've never seen anything like it in my career."@joelklatt shares the emotional moment when thousands of @UMichFootball fans loudly chanted "Let's go Zak" as @zak_zinter was carted off the field during an injury timeout ❤️6️⃣5️⃣ pic.twitter.com/D7Kvta7WU0
— The Joel Klatt Show: A CFB Pod (@JoelKlattShow) November 28, 2023

On the very next play of the game, senior running back Blake Corum took the handoff and proceeded to score on a 22-yard touchdown run. As he reached the endzone, Corum looked directly into the FOX camera and flashed the number "65" with his fingers.

The Wolverines, as they have all season, took a negative and turned it into a positive. The crushing blow of losing Zinter could have been deflating in a close battle with a heated rival, but the Wolverines used that emotion to their advantage, and ultimately secured a 30-24 victory over the Buckeyes.

It seems unlikely that Zinter will return to the field as Michigan continues its run toward a national championship this season, but there's absolutely no doubt that his impact on this football program will remain strong in the days and weeks ahead.