Category: Football

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Michigan Football vs Michigan State — Looking Back — 2000

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 2000. Prior to the new year, there were widespread fears about Y2K, and what it would mean to computers around the world. There were fears of mass transit problems, complete with concerns that Y2K could seriously hurt the trains in this country.

As it turned out, the Y2K computer problems never materialized, and computer problems were really Michigan State’s only hope of stopping the A Train, Anthony Thomas. In his final game against the Spartans, Thomas rushed 25 times for 175 yards and two touchdowns, averaging a whopping seven yards per carry. Throw in a Michigan defense that had bad memories of the previous year in East Lansing, and it was the perfect recipe for a 14-0 shutout of the Spartans.

The game started with junior quarterback Drew Henson deftly mixing the run and the pass, but the Wolverines failed to score very much. In the first quarter, Thomas punched the ball over from the 1-yard line, and that was really all Michigan would need. Later in the game, the Wolverines’ defense put its stamp on this game with a goal line stand that ended with Michigan linebacker Victor Hobson stripping the ball away and Eric Wilson making the recovery to give Michigan possession of both the ball and the momentum. In the third quarter, Thomas scored on a 31-yard run that was just icing on the cake. The Wolverines’ defense had already established which team was better.

All in all, the Wolverines were young in 2000 and struggled when playing away from Michigan Stadium. The Pasadena heat doomed them in an early season loss to UCLA, and losses to Big Ten foes Purdue and Northwestern prevented the Wolverines from going to a more serious bowl. The season ended with a 31-28 win over Auburn in the Citrus Bowl, hardly a fitting conclusion to the careers of Thomas and offensive lineman Steve Hutchinson. Henson left school permanently in the offseason, lured by the baseball dollars of New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner.

Thanks to ABC Sports and YouTube poster WolverineHistorian. As always, we own nothing, and this video and blog are strictly for the enjoyment of readers.

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Michigan Football vs Michigan State — Looking Back – 1986

The fourth installment of this year’s series looking back at the football rivalry between Michigan and Michigan State takes us to 1986. Wall Street was roaring and Americans were feeling good. On the gridiron, Michigan was enjoying a very good season, though we don’t hear much about it. I suspect that’s due to a loss the Little Brown Jug game and a loss to Arizona State in the Rose Bowl. Other than those games, the Maize & Blue were hitting on all cylinders that year.

The Spartans came to Ann Arbor in 1986 much as they will this week, fresh off a loss to Iowa. They had a pair of good receivers in Andre Rison and Mark Ingram, Sr., and they had an All-Big Ten linebacker in Shane Bullough, whose family is required to send players to Michigan State every 10 years or so. Michigan had Jim Harbaugh at quarterback, with diminutive tailback Jamie Morris running behind massive offensive tackle Jumbo Elliott. Harbuagh also had a reliable tight end in 6-foot-8 Paul Jokisch, and a pair of underrated receivers in John Kolesar and Greg McMurtry. The Wolverines also had an excellent secondary, featuring All-America cornerback Garland Rivers, and Erik Campbell, who split time at safety and cornerback.

Once the game started, it was pretty clear that Harbaugh & Company would rule the day. Harbaugh connected with a wide open Kolesar early, while Morris and Thomas Wilcher each found easy running lanes outside the tackles., and placekicker Pat Moons kicked a field goal to give the Wolverines the early lead. The play that best illustrated Michigan’s dominance was the Wolverines’ first touchdown, which came when Jim Harbaugh dove into the end zone on a busted play. Even when the Wolverines didn’t perform perfectly, they were still able to ad lib their way to success.

That’s not to say that Michigan was flawless. Harbaugh threw an interception when he was hit while throwing, which ultimately led to a Michigan State field goal.

The Wolverines led by 10 in the third quarter when Harbaugh broke the game open with a 42-yard touchdown pass to John Kolesar in the north end zone to give Michigan a 20-3 lead. In the fourth quarter, Harbaugh found sophomore tight end Jeff Brown for a short touchdown pass to close out the scoring in a game in which the Wolverines dominated play much more than the score would indicate.

Thanks to CBS Sports and YouTube poster WolverineHistorian. As always, we own nothing, and this blog and video are provided strictly for the enjoyment of readers.

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Michigan Football vs Michigan State — Looking Back — 1979

The third installment of the series looking back at the football rivalry between Michigan and Michigan State takes us to 1979. The Wolverines finished 8-4 that year, which was odd, given the fact that their roster included linebackers Ron Simpkins, Andy Cannavino and Mel Owen, receivers Ralph Clayton and Anthony Carter, and running backs Butch Woolfolk and Stan Edwards, whose sons later played at Michigan. Some of our younger readers might remember Edwards’ son, Braylon, who could play some wide receiver.

In the late ‘70s, the spread offense had yet to arrive in Big Ten football, so both teams spent much of the day operating out of the I formation, literally banging heads. In the second quarter, Woolfork scored from two yards out on a sweep to give Michigan the lead. It stayed that way into the third quarter, when Derek Hughes scored from six yards out to tie the score, 7-7. At that point, the Wolverines seized control of the game, going 80 yards in five plays, 66 of them coming on a 66-yard scoring pass from B.J. Dickey to Clayton. After that, the Wolverines were in the driver’s seat, and they put the game away when Dickey connected with Carter for a 6-yard touchdown that made the final score 21-7.

Sadly, that was the high point of Michigan’s season. The Wolverines finished with the three consecutive losses, Simpkins and defensive end Curtis Greer were named the All-America team, and the Wolverines easily reloaded for the 1978 season.

Thanks to ABC Spots and YouTube poster Wolverine Historian. As always, we own nothing, and this blog and video are strictly for the enjoyment of viewers.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1979_College_Football_All-America_Team

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Michigan Football vs Michigan State — Looking Back — 1999

The second installment of the series looking back at the rivalry between Michigan and Michigan State takes us to 1999. The economy had been roaring for several years, and so had the Wolverines, who had a perfect season and a share of the national title just two years before, and were playing very strong football in ’99. Opponents had few answers for the Michigan offense. In fact, the biggest challenge the Wolverines faced on offense was which quarterback would get the most snaps.

While most teams hope to have just one competent quarterback, the Wolverines had two in, senior Tom Brady and sophomore Drew Henson, who had been one of the top recruits in the nation just a few years earlier. Head coach Lloyd Carr used a platoon system for the two quarterbacks, with each getting playing time each game. The strategy developed depth at quarterback, but it might not have been the best strategy to use for that season.

The game started off with a matchup problem for the Michigan defense. Simply put, the Wolverines didn’t have anyone who could cover 6-foot-5 Michigan State wideout Plaxico Burress. The Wolverines even attempted to use wide receiver David Terrell at cornerback to stop Burress, but that didn’t help. Compounding the Wolverines’ problems was the Michigan State pass rush, which harried and hurried Michigan quarterbacks for most of the day. When Michigan State running back Dawan Moss scored from 14 yards out with 12:19 remaining to give the Spartans a 34-17 lead, things looked bleak for the Wolverines.

On the ensuing possession, Brady began to work his magic, spreading the ball around the field, and throwing downfield to Marcus Knight for 26 yards. When Brady connected with Terrell for a 19-yard touchdown pass with 8:11, the Wolverines were back in the game, albeit with a steep mountain to climb. Brady then found senior Aaron Shea in the end zone with less than three minutes left, and Michigan was within striking distance, needing a stop on defense to get the ball back.

Unfortunately, the Wolverines didn’t get what they needed. When Burress caught a pass on the sideline, the party was over, and Michigan State held on for a 34-31 win.

Through the years, there have been numerous controversial endings in games between Michigan and Michigan State, but this loss hurt the Wolverines as much as any loss in the series. Yes, Burress had a tremendous game, but if Brady had played the entire game, the odds are he would have gotten into his rhythm earlier in the game, and there’s a good chance Michigan would have won. For that matter, had Brady been the primary QB all season, with no platoon system, there’s a good chance that Michigan would have run the table and won its second national championship in three seasons. Instead, the Wolverines finished the season with 10 wins and 2 losses, including comeback victories over Notre Dame, Penn State, Ohio State, and Alabama. Talk to any Michigan fan or alum who watched Brady play his last half dozen games in a Michigan uniform, and you won’t find one of them who would be surprised by his success in the NFL.

Thanks to ABC Sports. As always, we own nothing, and this blog and video are posted strictly for the enjoyment of readers.