Michigan Marching Band drum major David Hines, Jr., coils low before springing up to lead the band out of the tunnel and onto the field before the game. (Photos link to larger images.)

Arms and mellophone raised, the leader of a line of horns sets the standard as he charges across the field during the pre-game program.

A trombone section flashes a line of blue legs and silver slides as it steps its way down the field in the pre-game program.

Michigan Marching Band Director Scott Boerma exhorts the band and at the same time energizes the sea of maize-clad fans in the stands who pick up on the high-energy chants, cheers and cadences that the band plays throughout the game.

Horns and tubas gleam in the fading light of late afternoon. The pink-clad fans behind the band were part of a group that formed a pink Block M as a breast cancer awareness message during the game.

This member of the Alumni Marching Band demonstrates that he still has the smile, high step and arched-back form necessary for leading the band.

A Michigan Marching Band trombone player aims high as he sends notes toward the far reaches of the crowd of 112,784 at Saturday's game.

Josh Albee, a junior from Clarkston, flashes his cymbals overhead during a Michigan Marching Band drum line presentation on the field during a break in the game.

There's no time for snacking for Alumni Marching Band member Audrey Cook, who holds an apple in her mouth so she doesn't miss any drum beats on the sideline during the third quarter. Cook, a resident of Whitmore Lake, is sitting next to Lynn Koch of Troy and Jerry DeShaw of Holland.

Becky Wortmann, a freshman from Dexter, whips her maize and blue banner through a post-game routine with the flag squad as spectators empty the stadium.

The 360-member Michigan Marching Band closes ranks as it heads up the tunnel to exit a nearly-empty Michigan Stadium at mid-evening Saturday, after Michigan's 38-28 loss to Iowa. Since starting practice at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, band members logged nearly a 12-hour day by the time they filed out of band headquarters at Revelli Hall later in the evening.