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Posted on by Jeff Cummins

๐‘ณ๐‘ถ๐‘ถ๐‘ฒ๐‘ฐ๐‘ต๐‘ฎ ๐‘ฉ๐‘จ๐‘ช๐‘ฒ: ๐‘ด๐‘ฐ๐‘ช๐‘ฏ๐‘ฐ๐‘ฎ๐‘จ๐‘ต ๐‘ฝ๐‘บ. ๐‘ด๐‘ฐ๐‘ช๐‘ฏ๐‘ฐ๐‘ฎ๐‘จ๐‘ต ๐‘บ๐‘ป๐‘จ๐‘ป๐‘ฌ, 1997

Looking Back is a Special Feature by Jeff Cummins Highlighting Key Rivalry Games

The third installment of this weekโ€™s series looking back at the football rivalry between Michigan and Michigan State takes us to 1997. The national economy was roaring, and so were the Michigan Wolverines. Years of hearing โ€œThe Block M stands for mediocrityโ€ lit a fire under the Wolverines in 1997, and they approached every opponent with a fierce intensity.

But the Michigan State game always presents some unusual scenarios, so the Wolverines were prepared for a fight. Michigan State made the first big play when Bill Burke connected with Sedrick Irvin for an easy touchdown pass on a fake field goal, giving the Spartans a 7-3 lead.

But this series has been built on running the football, and in the second quarter, the Wolverines embarked on a 95-yard drive puntucated by the hard running of Chris Howard, featuring a 51-yard run by Howard right up the middle. Brian Griese capped the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to reclaim the lead for Michigan.

Once Michigan grabbed the lead, the Wolverines took matters into their own hands on defense, literally. The Michigan defense intercepted six passes that day, two each by Marcus Ray and Charles Woodson, including a spectacular one-handed interception by Woodson along the sideline that will be shown on highlights for 100 years.

When it was over, Michigan won, 23-7, retaining the Paul Bunyan Trophy. It marked another milestone for the Wolverines on their march to a historic season. The Wolverines finished with a perfect 12-0 record and were named national champions by the Associated Press. Head coach Lloyd Carr would become a fixture in Ann Arbor, and many players went on to enjoy excellent careers, notably Charles Woodson and Tom Brady.

This and other great content can be found at newyorkwolverine.com

About Jeff Cummins

Jeff Cummins has written about football since 1998, including nine years with The Record of Hackensack, N.J. He frequently contributes feature stories to Touchdown Illustrated, an insert in the national college football game program, published by University Sports Publications, and he has also written the official pregame stories for the game programs of the Rose Bowl, the Cotton Bowl, the Sugar Bowl, the Gator Bowl, and the BCS National Championship game. He has written the preview story for the official program for the NHL Winter Classic at MIchigan Stadium, and numerous college basketball feature stories for College Hoops Illustrated, another game program insert published by University Sports Publications. In addition, he has written stories about theater, music, physical therapy, and newsletter marketing. Heโ€™s an avid Michigan football fan and long-time New York Jets season ticket holder, and he can be reached at jeffcummins@optonline.net.