College Football Preview, part 1
I will eventually get around to my 2005 pre-season predictions (including a legitimate top 25 poll that RoopDogg can use for his rigged RCI). However, my first post will be one of three strolls down memory lane.
Here are the best five Michigan games I have attended since I first stepped foot in Michigan Stadium on August 31, 1996.
(Home team in CAPS. I linked the Mgoblue.com write ups for each game, but I wrote my own memories of the game without referencing the stories)
1999 – Michigan 31, PENN STATE 27
Tom Brady had finally won the B.S. competition for the starting QB job by this point of the season (since he had already led three successful and dramatic 4th quarter comebacks). Unfortunately, Brady threw the game away after building up a 17-7 3rd quarter lead. I think he threw 3 or 4 interceptions on the afternoon, but the one that appeared to seal Michigan's fate was one returned for a touchdown with about 6-7 minutes left in the fourth quarter. Down 27-17 to the team that was #1 in the country most of the season and boasting an amazing defense led by LaVarr Arrington, I was not optimistic about our chances. Apparently, I was not yet enough of a believer in Tom Brady. Brady led the Michigan offense down the field twice, scoring on a 5-yard scramble to pull within four with about 4 minutes left and throwing a beautiful touchdown pass to Marcus Knight in the back of the endzone with about 1:30 to play. Penn State drove deep into Michigan territory in the last minute, but their QB fumbled upon getting sacked and Michigan recovered, sealing a dramatic win in Happy Valley. Rushing the field at Beaver Stadium at the end was definitely the highlight of my first year in the marching band.
2005 Rose Bowl – Texas 38, Michigan 37
Yes, Michigan lost this game. However, it was one of the most exhilarating and maddening Michigan games I have ever seen. I remember Donovan McNabb exposing Michigan's inability to stop the mobile QB way back in 1998. I remember less mobile QBs like Drew Brees and Zack Kustok also exposing the defense. You better believe I was terrified about Vince Young, especially with Jim Hermann still in charge of the defense. I knew the game would be a shootout since Texas would have no answer for Braylon Edwards, either. The game did not disappoint. Michigan built up an uncomfortable two-possession lead in the fourth quarter, but Vince Young continued to terrorize the slow Michigan defense. The game came down to a ~35-yard field goal attempt from a poor kicker for Texas. Michigan partially blocked the kick, but the ball barely carried through the uprights and Texas won. I tend to not take the bowl losses so hard, so I still appreciated the exciting football game. It was still a great way to cap an amazing sixteen-day West Coast vacation that included ten days of camping in Mexico.
2000 Orange Bowl – Michigan 35, Alabama 34 (OT)
Michigan snuck into a BCS bowl with a 10-2 record despite not winning their conference. Shockingly, the Orange Bowl was not a sell-out for the game (there were about 10k empty seats). Local papers blamed Y2K and ridiculous prices for plane tickets to Miami for New Years Eve 1999 for the lack of attendance, but it was sad that these two teams could not sell out the stadium.
Alabama was a very powerful team this season, featuring RB Shaun Alexander and a great O-Line led by Chris Samuels. Alabama jumped out to a 14-0 lead. Michigan fought back with two touchdown passes to David "B.A.D." Terrell. Alabama then raced out to a 28-14 lead, but Tom Brady led Michigan back once again with another TD pass to Terrell and a short TD run by Anthony Thomas. After a late 4th quarter fumble on the 1-yd line by Thomas and a blocked FG attempt by Hayden Epstein as time expired, the game went into overtime. Michigan scored a TD on their first or second play. Alabama came back and scored quickly as well. However, their kicker inexplicably missed the extra point despite no pressure from the Michigan defense.
The OT was played in the endzone where I was sitting, and I was stunned/speechless for about 30 seconds after I saw the kick sail right of the uprights. Then I started celebrating like crazy! By the time the game ended, it was well past 1AM on a New Years Day that started around 7:30AM for the band, yet none of us were ready to leave the stadium.
Tom Brady came onto the trumpet bus after the game to thank us for our support throughout the season. He is an awesome, yet grounded individual. He will always be my favorite Michigan player.
2000 – Michigan 35, ILLINOIS 31
The Michigan Band was making their first trip to Champaign since the early 1980s. This was a rare big game against an Illinois team that stunned us at home in 1999. Led by Kurt Kittner, the Fighting Illini were dark horse contenders for the Big Ten championship. Michigan was reeling from a bitter screw job in Pasadena against UCLA the week before and a freak injury to starting QB Drew Henson in training camp that held him out of the first three games in favor of redshirt freshman John Navarre.
The game was on during primetime on ESPN. The Illini student section was liquored up and ready for this one.
The game started pretty slow, with neither team able to generate any offense. Trailing by a few points late in the second quarter, Michigan shocked everyone by throwing injured QB Drew Henson into the game. The mood of the most lethal offense in Michigan history (Henson, David Terrell, Anthony Thomas, Steve Hutchinson, Jeff Backus, etc) changed immediately. Michigan drove down the field just before halftime, but Hayden Epstein missed a chip shot FG, causing Henson to chuck his helmet halfway across the bench in anger.
The second half was a completely different game. I think there was a stretch where 6 straight possessions ended with touchdowns or field goals. Michigan was always playing catch up and just needed one big stop so that they could get the ball with a chance to take the lead. Michigan got that chance, thanks to a favorable call from the refs. The Illinois RB fumbled the football deep in Illinois territory, but he appeared to be down by contact prior to fumbling. However, absent instant replay, the call stood. Anthony Thomas busted a 20-yd run inside the Illini 5 yard line. He appeared to fumble on the play (I was sitting in the back of this endzone and he CLEARLY fumbled). However, the officials ruled Thomas down and the crowd was PISSED! Michigan scored a TD a couple plays later and held on for a dramatic 35-31 win. The Big Ten apologized to Illinois two days later for botching both key calls in the last five minutes of the game.
The overnight bus ride back to Michigan after the game was quite sweet after a big win in the most vicious environment I have ever witnessed. Illinois never recovered from the loss in 2000 and finished with a very poor record. However, they would rebound to win the Big Ten title outright in 2001 despite losing to Michigan by 25 points.
1999 – MICHIGAN 26, Notre Dame 22
My first football game as a member of the marching band was no cupcake for the maize and blue. A year after Notre Dame crushed the defending national champs 38-20, Michigan had something to prove. I remember that it was crazy-hot outside (90 degrees?) and I was wondering why on earth I signed up to wear a wool uniform on game days after a year of watching games in comfortable clothes in the student section. There were several second half lead changes, but unproven, unclutch, and unloved-to-date Senior QB Tom Brady won the first of several first half battles with "wonder boy" Sophomore QB Drew Henson and led the offense down the field for a late fourth quarter touchdown. Notre Dame mounted a last minute drive and appeared to complete a first down pass inside the Michigan 20-yard line with 3 seconds left (from my poor perspective in row 3 from the other end of the stadium), but the receiver was stopped just short of the chains and the refs decided that it was not close enough to measure. ND had no timeouts left, so the last 3 seconds of the clock ran down despite massive protests from the ND sidelines and Michigan won the game 26-22.
3 recent Michigan games I wish I had attended:
2002 – MICHIGAN 31, Washington 29
First game after graduating from Michigan. It was really tough watching that first game on TV after leaving school, especially since the game came down to a last-second FG. I was in Worcester with Gary1 and another friend from my South Quad days, but it wasn't the same as sitting in Michigan Stadium that afternoon.
2004 – MICHIGAN 45, Michigan State 37 (3OT)
I was so close to going to this game. Mpls Ju and I discussed visiting TheDogDoctor (our best MSU friend) and taking her to the game. However, I decided to visit Mpls Ju in Minneapolis that weekend since she was lacking funds to travel. At least we didn’t give up on our team and watched the game all the way down to the thrilling finish, though we both wish we had seen that game live.
2005 – MICHIGAN 27, Penn State 25
WE OWN…
Once again, I thought about going back for the game, but decided to go down to Philadelphia for the weekend instead. CableGirl drove up from DC on Saturday and we watched the game with some of my PSU friends in the area. Watching Michigan win their seventh in a row against JoePa capped one of the most exciting 60:00 of football I have seen on TV.
Still to come - the most heartbreaking losses I have attended, the best away game venues, game-by-game prediction for Michigan in 2006, and my preseason Top 25.
Here are the best five Michigan games I have attended since I first stepped foot in Michigan Stadium on August 31, 1996.
(Home team in CAPS. I linked the Mgoblue.com write ups for each game, but I wrote my own memories of the game without referencing the stories)
1999 – Michigan 31, PENN STATE 27
Tom Brady had finally won the B.S. competition for the starting QB job by this point of the season (since he had already led three successful and dramatic 4th quarter comebacks). Unfortunately, Brady threw the game away after building up a 17-7 3rd quarter lead. I think he threw 3 or 4 interceptions on the afternoon, but the one that appeared to seal Michigan's fate was one returned for a touchdown with about 6-7 minutes left in the fourth quarter. Down 27-17 to the team that was #1 in the country most of the season and boasting an amazing defense led by LaVarr Arrington, I was not optimistic about our chances. Apparently, I was not yet enough of a believer in Tom Brady. Brady led the Michigan offense down the field twice, scoring on a 5-yard scramble to pull within four with about 4 minutes left and throwing a beautiful touchdown pass to Marcus Knight in the back of the endzone with about 1:30 to play. Penn State drove deep into Michigan territory in the last minute, but their QB fumbled upon getting sacked and Michigan recovered, sealing a dramatic win in Happy Valley. Rushing the field at Beaver Stadium at the end was definitely the highlight of my first year in the marching band.
2005 Rose Bowl – Texas 38, Michigan 37
Yes, Michigan lost this game. However, it was one of the most exhilarating and maddening Michigan games I have ever seen. I remember Donovan McNabb exposing Michigan's inability to stop the mobile QB way back in 1998. I remember less mobile QBs like Drew Brees and Zack Kustok also exposing the defense. You better believe I was terrified about Vince Young, especially with Jim Hermann still in charge of the defense. I knew the game would be a shootout since Texas would have no answer for Braylon Edwards, either. The game did not disappoint. Michigan built up an uncomfortable two-possession lead in the fourth quarter, but Vince Young continued to terrorize the slow Michigan defense. The game came down to a ~35-yard field goal attempt from a poor kicker for Texas. Michigan partially blocked the kick, but the ball barely carried through the uprights and Texas won. I tend to not take the bowl losses so hard, so I still appreciated the exciting football game. It was still a great way to cap an amazing sixteen-day West Coast vacation that included ten days of camping in Mexico.
2000 Orange Bowl – Michigan 35, Alabama 34 (OT)
Michigan snuck into a BCS bowl with a 10-2 record despite not winning their conference. Shockingly, the Orange Bowl was not a sell-out for the game (there were about 10k empty seats). Local papers blamed Y2K and ridiculous prices for plane tickets to Miami for New Years Eve 1999 for the lack of attendance, but it was sad that these two teams could not sell out the stadium.
Alabama was a very powerful team this season, featuring RB Shaun Alexander and a great O-Line led by Chris Samuels. Alabama jumped out to a 14-0 lead. Michigan fought back with two touchdown passes to David "B.A.D." Terrell. Alabama then raced out to a 28-14 lead, but Tom Brady led Michigan back once again with another TD pass to Terrell and a short TD run by Anthony Thomas. After a late 4th quarter fumble on the 1-yd line by Thomas and a blocked FG attempt by Hayden Epstein as time expired, the game went into overtime. Michigan scored a TD on their first or second play. Alabama came back and scored quickly as well. However, their kicker inexplicably missed the extra point despite no pressure from the Michigan defense.
The OT was played in the endzone where I was sitting, and I was stunned/speechless for about 30 seconds after I saw the kick sail right of the uprights. Then I started celebrating like crazy! By the time the game ended, it was well past 1AM on a New Years Day that started around 7:30AM for the band, yet none of us were ready to leave the stadium.
Tom Brady came onto the trumpet bus after the game to thank us for our support throughout the season. He is an awesome, yet grounded individual. He will always be my favorite Michigan player.
2000 – Michigan 35, ILLINOIS 31
The Michigan Band was making their first trip to Champaign since the early 1980s. This was a rare big game against an Illinois team that stunned us at home in 1999. Led by Kurt Kittner, the Fighting Illini were dark horse contenders for the Big Ten championship. Michigan was reeling from a bitter screw job in Pasadena against UCLA the week before and a freak injury to starting QB Drew Henson in training camp that held him out of the first three games in favor of redshirt freshman John Navarre.
The game was on during primetime on ESPN. The Illini student section was liquored up and ready for this one.
The game started pretty slow, with neither team able to generate any offense. Trailing by a few points late in the second quarter, Michigan shocked everyone by throwing injured QB Drew Henson into the game. The mood of the most lethal offense in Michigan history (Henson, David Terrell, Anthony Thomas, Steve Hutchinson, Jeff Backus, etc) changed immediately. Michigan drove down the field just before halftime, but Hayden Epstein missed a chip shot FG, causing Henson to chuck his helmet halfway across the bench in anger.
The second half was a completely different game. I think there was a stretch where 6 straight possessions ended with touchdowns or field goals. Michigan was always playing catch up and just needed one big stop so that they could get the ball with a chance to take the lead. Michigan got that chance, thanks to a favorable call from the refs. The Illinois RB fumbled the football deep in Illinois territory, but he appeared to be down by contact prior to fumbling. However, absent instant replay, the call stood. Anthony Thomas busted a 20-yd run inside the Illini 5 yard line. He appeared to fumble on the play (I was sitting in the back of this endzone and he CLEARLY fumbled). However, the officials ruled Thomas down and the crowd was PISSED! Michigan scored a TD a couple plays later and held on for a dramatic 35-31 win. The Big Ten apologized to Illinois two days later for botching both key calls in the last five minutes of the game.
The overnight bus ride back to Michigan after the game was quite sweet after a big win in the most vicious environment I have ever witnessed. Illinois never recovered from the loss in 2000 and finished with a very poor record. However, they would rebound to win the Big Ten title outright in 2001 despite losing to Michigan by 25 points.
1999 – MICHIGAN 26, Notre Dame 22
My first football game as a member of the marching band was no cupcake for the maize and blue. A year after Notre Dame crushed the defending national champs 38-20, Michigan had something to prove. I remember that it was crazy-hot outside (90 degrees?) and I was wondering why on earth I signed up to wear a wool uniform on game days after a year of watching games in comfortable clothes in the student section. There were several second half lead changes, but unproven, unclutch, and unloved-to-date Senior QB Tom Brady won the first of several first half battles with "wonder boy" Sophomore QB Drew Henson and led the offense down the field for a late fourth quarter touchdown. Notre Dame mounted a last minute drive and appeared to complete a first down pass inside the Michigan 20-yard line with 3 seconds left (from my poor perspective in row 3 from the other end of the stadium), but the receiver was stopped just short of the chains and the refs decided that it was not close enough to measure. ND had no timeouts left, so the last 3 seconds of the clock ran down despite massive protests from the ND sidelines and Michigan won the game 26-22.
3 recent Michigan games I wish I had attended:
2002 – MICHIGAN 31, Washington 29
First game after graduating from Michigan. It was really tough watching that first game on TV after leaving school, especially since the game came down to a last-second FG. I was in Worcester with Gary1 and another friend from my South Quad days, but it wasn't the same as sitting in Michigan Stadium that afternoon.
2004 – MICHIGAN 45, Michigan State 37 (3OT)
I was so close to going to this game. Mpls Ju and I discussed visiting TheDogDoctor (our best MSU friend) and taking her to the game. However, I decided to visit Mpls Ju in Minneapolis that weekend since she was lacking funds to travel. At least we didn’t give up on our team and watched the game all the way down to the thrilling finish, though we both wish we had seen that game live.
2005 – MICHIGAN 27, Penn State 25
WE OWN…
Once again, I thought about going back for the game, but decided to go down to Philadelphia for the weekend instead. CableGirl drove up from DC on Saturday and we watched the game with some of my PSU friends in the area. Watching Michigan win their seventh in a row against JoePa capped one of the most exciting 60:00 of football I have seen on TV.
Still to come - the most heartbreaking losses I have attended, the best away game venues, game-by-game prediction for Michigan in 2006, and my preseason Top 25.
posted by GaryGinew at 2:23 PM
3 Comments:
Great recaps, Gary!! I'm impressed at the detail of your memory. I was just looking at some CFB sites today, getting geared up for the fall.
I think if reminiscing over old games can teach you anything, it's that if you are inclined to go to a game but might miss it to do something else, GO TO THE GAME - since those tend to be the ones you wish you'd gone to anyway! :)
PS You are coming to UM vs UMn, right?
UM-UMN is on my list of three games that I will be attending in 2006. Can't wait! :)
Face it, UT is the best. Michigan didn't have a chance.
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