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Posted on by Phil Callihan

Little Brown Jug — Looking Back – 2015

Looking Back is a Special Feature by Jeff Cummins

The fifth and final installment of the series looking back at the Little Brown Jug rivalry takes us back to 2015. Three years of Rich Rodriguez followed by four years of Brady Hoke left fans and alumni desperate for a positive change. Jim Harbaugh was brought home with a clear mandate: Restore Michigan to its former glory.

Halfway through the season, Michigan had shut out three consecutive opponents, but a punting mishap against Michigan State revived a lot of dreadful memories. Were the Wolverines destined to toil in mediocrity?

The 2015 Little Brown Jug game stared innocently enough. Joey Kerridge scored on a 1-yard fullback dive to give Michigan a 7-3 lead. Then Michigan quarterback Jake Rudock threw a dart to Jehu Chesson for a touchdown to extend Michigan’s lead to 14-3. For a moment, it was starting to feel like an early night for Michigan fans, but Minnesota coach Jerry Kill had instilled a feisty quality in his team, and the next three hours would have Michigan fans searching for the antacid tablets.

The teams traded punches and the lead for the rest of the game. With just a little under five minutes left, Michigan backup quarterback Wilton Speight made arguably the biggest play of his career, connecting with tight end Jake Butt in the end zone to give Michigan the lead. He then bought enough time on the conversion to find Amara Darboh for two points to ensure that a field goal couldn’t beat Michigan. Now the burden shifted back to the Michigan defense.

The defense came very close to ending the game with no drama. Minnesota faced a 3rd down and 17 yards to go, with Michigan in the driver’s seat. Minnesota quarterback Mitch Lender threw a screen pass and Michigan missed a couple of tackles, allowing Rodney Smith to gain 17 yards and the first down. Leidner completed the drive by connecting with Drew Wolitarsky, who caught the ball and landed in the end zone. For a few moments, Michigan fans were contemplating defeat.

But replay confirmed that Wolitarsky’s knee hit the ground before he reached the goal line. Minnesota had the ball inside the Michigan 1-yard line. The situation was far from ideal, but at least now Michigan had a chance. There were 19 seconds left on the clock, but when the clock started, Minnesota wasted a lot of time, only snapping the ball with about seven seconds remaining. On the next play, Leidner scrambled under pressure, and lofted a harmless pass that fell incomplete with two seconds on the clock. There was time for only one more play.

Fortunately, Michigan adhered to the old football adage, “low man wins.” Minnesota lined up in a full house backfield, but Leidner tried to score on a quarterback sneak. He crashed into a veritable wall of humanity, but he never moved the ball across the goal line. Officials reviewed the film, but the call on the field was not changed. Michigan used a goal line stand to stop Minnesota on the final play and win, 29-26.

Michigan starting quarterback Jake Rudock went on to have a very good season, dominating Florida in the Orlando Citrus Bowl in a 41-7 Michigan win. Many members of the Michigan team went on to play in the NFL, but few ever played in a game more exciting than the 2015 Little Brown Jug game.

Many thanks to ESPN, YouTube, and YouTube poster CFB Fans for the broadcast of this game. As always, we own nothing and this blog post is provided strictly for the enjoyment of readers.

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