Category: Football

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Michigan Football vs Michigan State — Looking Back — 1998

The fifth and final installment of this year’s series looking back at the football rivalry between Michigan and Michigan State takes us back to 1998. The new year had shined bright in Ann Arbor before the season began. Michigan finished the previous season with a perfect record, 12-0, capturing the Rose Bowl championship and a share of the National Championship. As if that weren’t enough, 5,000 seats had been added to Michigan Stadium in the offseason, re-establishing The Big House as the largest on-campus stadium in the country.

Things were so heady for the Wolverines that the team suffered what could politely be called a National Championship hangover. The Maize & Blue dropped the first two games of the season, and they entered the game vs. Michigan State sporting a rare losing record. The first half of the game was one of the most exciting in the history of the series, and it ended with Michigan leading by just three points, thanks to the fact that three Michigan turnovers resulted in 10 points for the Spartans.

The second half was nothing like the first, to the delight of everyone in Maize & Blue. The defense suddenly reverted to 1997 form, and junior quarterback Tom Brady found receiver Marcus Knight several times as the Wolverines extended their lead to 29-17. Michigan State coach Nick Saban still had a few tricks up his sleeve. On 4th down and eight yards to go, Saban called for a fake punt, and Aric Morris scampered more than 20 yards to give the Spartans a first down. Michigan State’s optimism was short lived, though, as Michigan defensive back DeWayne Patmon coolly ran under a Bill Burke pass, intercepting it to end the Spartan threat. It took until the second half of the fourth game, but the Michigan defense finally returned, and helped to set Michigan’s season back on a path to success.

Our thanks to youtube poster WolverineHistorian and ABC Sports. As always, we own nothing, and this blog and the attached videos are presented strictly for the enjoyment of readers. We do not profit in any way from this.

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Michigan Football vs Michigan State — Looking Back — 2015

The fourth installment of this year’s series looking back at the football rivalry between Michigan and Michigan State takes us back just three years, to 2015. After a rough first game, by the middle of the season the Michigan momentum train was running full steam, with the Wolverines having recording three consecutive shutout victories. The stage was set for a legendary confrontation between Wolverines and Spartans.

Both sides fought with all their might that day, which is nothing new for this rivalry. With just 10 seconds left, Michigan was clinging to a two-point lead, knowing that a good punt should secure a victory. The biggest concern was getting the punt off successfully, which most thought would be easy enough.

Still, there was an uneasy feeling about the moment. Something was off, though it was difficult to quantify exactly what it was.

Moments later, we all knew what the problem was. Punter Blake O’Neill had trouble with the snap, and somehow the ball wound up in the hands of the Spartans’ Jaylen Watts-Jackson, who sprinted to the end zone to give Michigan State its first lead of the game, with no time remaining. Just like that, Michigan State stunned Michigan, 27-23.

It all happened so quickly that it didn’t seem real. The visual of a stunned Michigan student on national TV is etched in the memories of Michigan fans around the globe. Just like that, a game that should have been a hard-fought victory became yet another in a string of losses to Michigan State.

The truth is that the loss can’t be merely pinned on just one player’s shoulders. Michigan struggled throughout the game, and the fact that the game was still in question near the end was reason enough for concern.

No video will be provided for this game. The memories are painful enough.

As always, we own nothing. This blog post is strictly for the enjoyment of readers.