Category: Looking Back

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

The fifth installment of the series looking back at the football rivalry between Michigan and Michigan State takes us back just one year, to 2019. It was a Michigan home game on a chilly day, and the Wolverines were heavy favorites. But strange things have happened throughout the history of this rivalry, so nobody in maize and blue was making any assumptions.

Sure enough, Brian Lewerke drove the Spartans 60 yards and capped the drive with a 1-yard TD pass to Max Rosenthal to give Michigan State a 7-0 lead. It was the last time that a team coached by Mark Dantonio would ever have a lead against Michigan.

Wolverine fans were cautious, but still confident, and their confidence was justified in the second quarter, when Michigan took control of the game. Hassan Haskins scored from one yard out, and the game was tied. Then Shea Patterson connected with Nick Eubanks for a 5-yard TD pass and Quinn Nordin kicked a 28-yard field goal to give Michigan a 10-point lead at halftime.

In the third quarter, Patterson connected with Donovan Peoples-Jones, who sprinted down the sideline and dove over the pylon into the end zone, and the game was all but over. Matt Coghlin kicked a field goal for Michigan State that served strictly as window dressing for the final score, as Michigan routed Michigan State, 44-10.

As the game ended, Michigan players paraded the Paul Bunyan Trophy around Michigan Stadium, placing a Michigan helmet on it, a far cry from the days when the Paul Bunyan Trophy was regarded merely as a “locker room trophy.” The 2019 game was the last time Dantonio coached in the series. His lasting legacy, from the Michigan perspective, might be a greater appreciation for the game, and the trophy.

Thanks to YouTube poster WolverineDevotee and Fox Sports for the highlights of this game. As always, I own nothing, and this blog post is written strictly for the enjoyment of readers.

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

The fourth installment of this year’s series looking back at the football rivalry between Michigan and Michigan State takes us back to 2015.

Michigan struggled in the first few games of the Harbaugh era, but by midseason, the Wolverines were clicking in every facet of the game, and the matchup vs. Michigan State was supposed to be the first signature victory of the Harbaugh era.

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

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

For the third installment of the series covering the football rivalry between Michigan and Michigan State, we go back to 1985. The national economy was roaring, but but the atmosphere was very different at Michigan before the 1985 season. The Wolverines had finished the previous season with an uncharacteristic record of six wins and six losses, and there was no hype around the ’85 Wolverines. Which might just have been for the best.

Michigan’s defense played as well in 1985 as it has at almost any point since 1950. Having lost to Michigan State the year before, the Wolverines entered the intrastate matchup a little more hungry than usual, and it showed when Michigan State had the ball. Defensive coordinator Gary Moeller did a masterful job coaching the defense, and his son Andy made the first big play of the game, recovering a Michigan State fumble at the Spartans’ 16-yard line. Michigan quarterback Jim Harbaugh didn’t waste any time, finding Eric Kattus for a touchdown to give Michigan an early lead. Next, the special teams got into the act, as Dieter Heren blocked a punt and Ed Hood recovered the ball in the end zone to give Michigan a 14-0 lead.

The Wolverines added a field goal in the second quarter and a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter, but those scores really weren’t necessary. The Michigan defense was playing lights-out football, and the game against Michigan State was one of their signature performances of the season. Michigan ended the game with a 31-0 win over Michigan State, holding Spartans running back Lorenzo White to just 47 yards on 18 carries. State fared no better in the air, gaining just 83 passing yards. There was virtually no drama to the game against Michigan State in 1985, and that’s exactly how Michigan wanted it.

The following week, Michigan suffered a loss at Iowa, where the Wolverines’ lack of focus and intensity probably hindered their performance. That often happens following intense rivalry games, and Michigan takes part in some of the most intense rivalries in all of sports. The Wolverines finished the ’85 campaign with a record of 10 wins, 1 loss and 1 tie. In truth, the narrow loss to Iowa quite possibly prevented Michigan from winning the national championship.

Thanks to YouTube poster WolverineHistorian and CBS Sports for the highlights of this game. As always, I own nothing and this blog post is written strictly for the enjoyment of readers.

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

The second installment of the series looking back at the football rivalry between Michigan and Michigan State takes us to 2004. Michigan was fresh off a tough, defensive win over Iowa, which might just have taken some energy out of the Wolverines. They’d need every bit of energy they could find to top the Spartans in 2004.

In the fourth quarter, with just 8:43 left in regulation, Michigan State had taken a 27-10 lead, and reporters in the press box could be forgiven if they’d already started working on the lead paragraph to their game stories. It seemed that the script was written, but Braylon Edwards had other ideas.

First, Michigan cut the lead to two touchdowns with a field goal by Garrett Rivas. Then, Brian Thompson recovered the insides kick after it bounced off a Michigan State player, and Michigan was in business. Two plays later, Edwards went up and grabbed a jump ball away from the cornerback in the end zone to bring Michigan to within one touchdown. Suddenly, a palpable shift had occurred. With 3:05 left in regulation, Mike Hart bounced outside a would-be tackle and gained 26 yards to the Spartan’s 22 yard line, and Michigan Stadium was shaking. On the ensuing play, Edwards out-jumped a defender again, and the score was tied, 27-27. However, Michigan State didn’t panic, and with time for one play in regulation, the Spartans had a shot at a 52-yard field goal, but Dave Rayner’s kick was short, and the game went to overtime.

The game went to a third overtime and Edwards gave Michigan the lead for good when he caught a slant pass and took it to the end zone. Finally, on fourth down and eight yards to go, Markus Curry knocked the ball away in the end zone, and Michigan came all the way back to claim a 45-37 win in triple overtime against Michigan State, in a game that State coach John L. Smith said the Spartans should have won.

Thanks to YouTube poster RXwolverine and ESPN Classic for the game broadcast. As always, I own nothing, and this blog post is written strictly for the enjoyment of readers.

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

The first installment of the series looking back at the football rivalry between Michigan and Michigan State takes us back to 2002. The previous year, Michigan had suffered a rather dubious defeat when Michigan State quarterback Jeff Smoker appeared not to have spiked the ball in time, but still received an additional second on the clock and completed a two-yard touchdown pass to T.J. Duckett as the clock ran out.

The Wolverines weren’t about to let the same thing happen in 2002, and they took it to Michigan State from the kickoff, winning 49-3. Well, almost from the kickoff. Michigan State got a 39-yard field goal from Dave Rayner before the Wolverines colored the game maize and blue. Running back B.J. Askew gave the Wolverines a 7-3 lead when he scored from two yards out, and when quarterback John Navarre connected with Russell Bellamy, the Wolverines took a 21-3 lead into the locker room at halftime, and most fans started planning their postgame tailgate menus.

In the third quarter, Navarre added a 12-yard touchdown pass to Bennie Joppru and a 47-yard TD pass to Bellamy. This time, there was no matter of an additional second. The Wolverines just dominated the Spartans. The rivalry game would be the last for Michigan State coach Bobby Williams, who was relieved of his job duties at the end of the season. Michigan finished the season with a trip to Tampa, where the Wolverines topped Florida in the Outback Bow, 38-30.

Thanks for ESPN for the game broadcast of this contest. As always, I do not own anything and this blog is written strictly for the enjoyment of readers.