ANN ARBOR >> For a Michigan quarterback to beat Ohio State at Ohio Stadium can provide incredible validation and build an unforgettable legacy. The last two who achieved that, J.J. McCarthy in 2022 and Drew Henson in 2000.

Now, it’s Davis Warren’s opportunity. But he doesn’t need validation. Not a bit. Sure, he wants to beat Ohio State on Saturday and lead the three-touchdown-underdog Wolverines to a fourth straight win in the series, but as a cancer survivor, he knows all about perspective.

Warren has learned plenty this roller-coaster season. He started the first three games but after a sixth interception was benched for Alex Orji, who also started three games but was replaced by Jack Tuttle, who made one start. Warren resumed as starting quarterback and has been in that role the last four games heading into Columbus. He is 116-of-181 (64.1%) for 1,064 yards and six touchdowns, and he has had one interception since regaining the starting job.

It is an enormous moment for any Michigan quarterback to play in the annual rivalry game against Ohio State, and even bigger to get the start at Ohio Stadium in what is widely know as, The Game. Warren said Monday he hasn’t spent much time reflecting on what Saturday will mean to him.

“I said a couple of weeks ago that it wasn’t my job at the time to have the perspective of if what was happening to me was the worst thing that’s ever happened to me or the best thing, losing the job and then coming back and playing again,” Warren said. “It wasn’t my job to have that perspective. I think the same thing applies to my journey in general, right?

“I’m in it right now. I’m focused on the moment in front of me, the opportunity I have to be in this building every day and attack it. … But when I’m in this building day to day, I try to be the quarterback that this team needs and this team wants me to be. It’s not my job to get too introspective. That can come later.”

Warren admitted to a moment of reflection within the last two weeks when he visited an end-of-treatment party for a boy named Hudson at Mott Hospital.

“Seeing the impact I had on him and his family and seeing his mom crying when he was ringing the bell for the last time, that really was a good moment for me and just so proud of him,” Warren said. “Moments like that, for sure, you think about it and appreciate it.”

Michigan is 6-5, 4-4 Big Ten and reached bowl eligibility with a 50-6 win over Northwestern last Saturday. It was an offensive explosion for a team that has been offensively deficient most of the season and ranks 128th nationally (299.7), including 127th passing (140.1) and tied for 107th in scoring (23.1 points).

Warren had his best performance of the season against the Wildcats, going 26-of-35 for 195 yards and had his first interception in four games since returning to the starting role. He threw passes to 11 different players. The team was coming off a bye, which gave Warren and the rest of the team time to work on details in what they called a “buy-in” week.

“His progression of what he’s done, and just his confidence in himself and other guys playing around him, really good, too. I think that helps,” Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore said when asked Monday what Warren did to take a step forward. “I think the receivers have stepped up, protection has been better, and those guys just have really done a really good job as a whole unit. So him doing his job and everybody else around them doing their jobs.”

Players improve with more practice and game reps, and that’s what Warren said has benefited him most.

“I take a lot of pride in trying to improve myself each and every day, something that I’ve worked at from when I first got here to now and then even from the first game to now,” Warren said. “More mature, and I think as an offense, we’re more mature as a group. We’re really coming into our own. And that’s something, obviously, you wish you could have done that a little bit sooner, but it still gives us a great opportunity going into this week.”

Scoring 50 on Northwestern was a definite confidence boost for Warren and the Michigan offense, but the Ohio State defense is at a different level. The Buckeyes rank No. 1 nationally giving up an average 241.7 yards and scoring (10.7 points).

Warren and the Wolverines have been studying Ohio State all season. Every Monday, he said, is like the Monday of game week for the Buckeyes. The attention to detail that’s focused on preparing for Ohio State is meant to be the same each and every week, but it’s clearly heightened the week of the game.

“They’re a good football team. They’re a good defense,” Warren said. “They’ve got a lot of talented guys, but I know that we’re going to be more than prepared to go in there and be us and play Michigan football and really press the envelope and put ourselves in a great position.”

The Wolverines have not had a deep-pass threat this season and have not completed a pass of 40 yards or more this season. The longest has been a 36-yarder to tight end Colston Loveland, while tight end Marlin Klein had a 33-yard reception and receiver Semaj Morgan had a 31-yard touchdown pass from Warren late in the loss to Texas.

There is not a great deal of confidence in Michigan’s pass game entering this game.

“As a group, as a passing attack, we’re ready for the challenge and we’re prepared, and we’re going to be ready for the opportunity and go out there and play with detail and have fun and cut it loose,” Warren said. “I think that’s something that especially in ’22, J.J. (McCarthy) did a great job of, and we did a great job of getting open in some explosive pass plays. Those were huge plays in the game. So, we’re going to entrench ourselves in the work this week and in the film study and in the prep.”

As Warren prepares for The Game and trying to lead the Wolverines to a fourth-straight win against Ohio State and second straight at Ohio Stadium, he said he plans to talk to McCarthy, now with the Minnesota Vikings, to get some “tips and tricks.”

“It’s a really great opportunity for us,” Warren said. “We all understand that. We know that, and I just can’t wait. Can’t wait to see us go to work this week, really entrench ourselves in the week of preparation and then go out on Saturday and play loose because of that work that we put in.”