Category: Football

Posted on

Michigan vs Michigan State Football – Looking Back – 2012

The third installment of this year’s look back at the Michigan-Michigan State series takes us to 2013. Brady Hoke was in his second year at the helm of the Michigan football program, and in his first year, the Wolverines had beaten two of their three main rivals. But Michigan State remained a tricky puzzle to solve.

Denard Robinson was in his final season as Michigan’s quarterback, but this game was about defense. With Michigan State’s corners playing coverage so tight that an interference penalty could be called on almost any pass play; the Wolverines’ receivers had a brutal time getting open. But this time, Greg Mattison coached Michigan’s defense, so the Wolverines had their own defensive mastermind matching wits with Michigan State, resulting in a classic defensive struggle.

Still, the Wolverines showed flashes. Fitzgerald Toussaint had a less-than-spectacular day running the ball, but he exploded for one 38-yard gain deep into Spartan territory. And then there was Mister Clutch himself, Drew Dileo, who caught four passes for 92 yards, none more important than his catch late in the game that took the ball down to the Michigan State 22-yard line, setting up a 38-yard field goal by Brendan Gibbons with nine seconds left, which gave Michigan the 12-10 win in a game that certainly wasn’t pretty, but was a much-needed win against Michigan State, which had its with Michigan for the four years preceding that game. At the time, many people thought this meant that Michigan was on its way back. The ensuing seasons proved them wrong. That win over Michigan State was the last time Michigan would look that good that late in the season under Hoke.
The game also featured some interesting subplots. Michigan left offensive tackle Taylor Lewan and Michigan State defensive end William Gholston had waged a fierce personal battle for several years, one of the nastiest matchups in the long history of this series. Gholston had been tormenting Lewan for the past two years, but in 2012, Lewan had the last laugh. The game also marked the 900th win in the history of Michigan football. Here’s hoping the Wolverines reach 1,000 wins quickly under Jim Harbaugh!

Thanks to the Big Ten Network and Youtube poster Michigan Football Highlights for the following highlight film. As always, I own nothing, the following video clip is shared strictly for entertainment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdYaZURiqJw

Posted on

Michigan vs Michigan State Football –- Looking Back – 2003

The second installment of this year’s look back at the Michigan-Michigan State series takes us to 2003. The Spartans came into the game with a 4-0 record in the Big Ten, and they were hungry for a win. They also had a new coach, John L. Smith. Michigan countered with veteran coach Lloyd Carr, whose teams had a fair amount of success in this rivalry. With both rivals enjoying a resurgence, the stage was set for a classic showdown.

Immediately, Michigan went to work with core attack, running Chris Perry behind a fearsome offensive line that included Tone Pape, Adam Stenavich and David Baas. Early in the second quarter, Perry used the blocking from that offensive line to give him enough room to leap over the goal line for the game’s first score. Michigan State wasn’t about to go quietly, though. On a fourth-down and four yards to go in the third quarter, the Spartans faked the punt and Dave Rayner ran for the sticks, but he only got a yard before Pierre Woods drove him into the ground, giving Michigan prime field position with a 13-3 lead. Buoyed by the defensive stop and the two-score lead, the Wolverines’ offense went back to work. With the MSU determined to stop the run, Michigan quarterback John Navarre used a play-action fake to freeze the linebackers and found Andy Mignery all alone for a 26-yard touchdown on the same play that Michigan used to win the Rose Bowl in 1998.

And still, the Spartans kept plugging away. On the first play after the kickoff, Michigan State quarterback Jeff Smoker found Agim Shabai for a 73-yard touchdown that seemed as if it might turn the game in the Spartans’ favor.

Wrong. On Michigan’s ensuing possession, the Wolverines mixed the running of Perry with the passing of Navarre, and with 13:31 left in the game, Navarre completed a touchdown pass to Braylon Edwards that effectively ended the game, sending Michigan on to a 27-20 win. The victory continued the season-long momentum for Michigan, which won a share of the Big Ten title when it knocked off Ohio State in the final game of the regular season, 35-21. However, Michigan would not have won any championships if not for the victory over the Spartans in the middle of the season. Carr’s Wolverines continued to dominate the Spartans, while John L. Smith’s tenure in East Lansing lasted only four years.

As I do frequently, I’ll end with a Youtube clip from the ABC broadcast. Many thanks to ABC Sports and Youtube poster WolverineHistorian for the following video clips. As always, I don’t own any rights to this content, which is being used strictly for enjoyment.

Posted on

Michigan vs Michigan State Football – Looking Back – 1973

As Michigan rides into Michigan State week with three consecutive shutouts, there are some similarities to 1973. Most people remember 1973 for an unfortunate and controversial tie against Ohio State, but few remember how truly dominant that ’73 Michigan team really was. Similar to this year, Michigan shut out three consecutive opponents in 1973, the last one being Michigan State in East Lansing. And that’s just the first similarity.

The 1973 team also featured an opportunistic special teams unit, which was active that day against Michigan State. While safety/corner/nickel Jabrill Peppers provides some occasional lightning as a kickoff and punt returner on the current team, safety Dave Brown did the same for the ’73 Wolverines, and he got things started in the first quarter that year when he took a punt return back 52 yards for a touchdown. Michigan also featured a tight end who was a matchup nightmare for opposing defenses. Paul Seal was too fast, quick and shifty for linebackers to cover, and too tall and rangy for defensive backs to deal with. Seal caught a six-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Dennis Franklin in the fourth quarter that effectively ended any hope the Spartans might have had of making a dramatic comeback. By the time fullback Ed Shuttlesworth punched the ball across the goal line, the pounding was complete as Michigan routed the Spartans, 31-0, their third shutout in as many weeks, with the others coming against Navy (14-0) and Oregon (24-0). Yes, you read that correctly. In 1973, the Oregon Ducks actually made an October road trip to Ann Arbor, something that PAC-12 and SEC teams seldom do these days.

The defense on that ’73 was another thing that was similar to the current Michigan team. In addition to the three shutouts, Michigan allowed opponents to score in double digits on only three occasions that season, in the legendary 10-10 season-ending tie against Ohio State, against Stanford in a 47-10 Michigan win, and against Indiana in a 49-13 Michigan win. Looking back, it doesn’t seem possible that a Bo Schembechler defense would ever give a Lee Corso team 13 points, even as a Christmas present!

The special teams unit was also similar to the current team. Gil Chapman was a speedy return man who would slice through opponents on kickoffs and punt returns, and placekicker Mike Lantry had started out as a walk-on who had played another sport (track & field), just as current kicker Kenny Allen started out as a walk-on with a background in soccer. And just like Allen, Lantry had a rocket launcher for a leg.
Michigan never lost a game in that 1973 season. Could Michigan complete the rest of its current season in similar fashion? It’s certainly worth thinking about.