500th Big House game one for the ages
Photo: MGoBlue.com
The Big Ten opener started off looking a lot like the opening game against Utah and the last game against Notre Dame. The Wolverines couldn’t run the ball at all - much like the game against the Utes - and were far too generous turning the ball over as was the case in the Notre Dame game. At the half the team was down 19-0 and had a grand total of 21 yards of offense and one first down. It certainly looked like it would be a game most fans would hope to forget.
But the Michigan coaching staff made some nice adjustments and flipped the script in the second half, as the Wolverines reeled off 27 straight points on their way to an improbable 27-25 victory. It was the largest comeback for the Wolverines in Michigan Stadium history and might provide the spark necessary for the maize and blue to contend for the conference crown.
The Badgers were staunch against the run early, as Michigan rushed for 174 yards but most of that yardage came late after the Wolverines loosened up the Wisconsin defense by passing the football. The only difference between this game and the Notre Dame game was the Michigan defense did a better job keeping the Badgers out of the end zone when they had great scoring chances early in the game.
Photo: MGoBlue.com
Wisconsin missed a 34 yard field goal on their first drive, kicked a 21 yard field goal on their second drive, and kicked a 42 yard field goal on the next drive. The Badgers were up 6-0 in the first 13 minutes but they could have easily been up 9-0 if not by more than two TDs if the Wolverine defense didn’t do a good job defending a short field. That was the big difference between this game and the Notre Dame game two weeks ago.
During the first half the Wolverines lost more ground than the stock market over the past two weeks. The good plays were the ones that picked up no yardage and didn’t include a fumble. You actually felt a little happy to see the punt unit go onto the field as the chances of something bad happening seemed a little less likely.
Photo: MGoBlue.com
The big difference between this game and the Utah game is that Steve Threet has established himself as the leader of the offense. He had a fumble early as he scrambled to try and pick up a first down. He also had two interceptions but one came at the end of the half and the other might have been the result of a receiver not running the route correctly. While the turnovers were unfortunate the QB displayed moxie that no doubt played a role in the team digging themselves out of a 19-0 hole in the second half.
With no ability to run the ball early the Wolverines were forced to go largely with a spread passing attack. It was the one thing that worked as Threet threw often on an 80 yard touchdown drive that drew the Wolverines closer, down by a 19-7 score with 2:30 left in the third quarter. It wasn’t pretty though as he only completed 37.5% of his passes and three yards per attempt. Two drives later the QB used his arm and legs and even drew a penalty to help the Wolverines move into Wisconsin territory before Brandon Minor ripped off the first good run of the afternoon, blasting out of the backfield for a 34 yard touchdown to draw the Wolverines to a 19-14 deficit. That penalty for the Badgers was an absolute killer as Michigan failed to convert a 3rd and 15 on the play when the penalty was called.
Linebacker John Thompson intercepted the pass on the next Badger offensive play and ran the ball into the end zone to give Michigan their first lead of the afternoon. The Wolverines failed to convert their two-point attempt and held a narrow 20-19 lead. While the defense contained the Badgers offense the Michigan offense finally seemed to solve a Badger defense that had teed off on Michigan’s zone option run game. After the Badgers were forced to adjust to try and stop Michigan’s passing game, Steve Threet kept the ball on an option play on the first play of Michigan’s next drive and he picked up 58 yards. Michigan kept the ball on the ground for every play of the series, which was capped off by Sam McGuffie’s three yard TD run. The Wolverines appeared to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat with the 27-19 lead.
But of course the Badgers would come back from the dead and would eventually score a touchdown with 19 seconds left in regulation. Down two they were forced to go for a two-point conversion. They were successful on the conversion but were penalized and were forced to try the two-point conversion again. This time it failed, and after a failed attempt at an onside kick the Wolverines could celebrate the greatest Big House comeback in team history. The fact it was against a #9 ranked Wisconsin team and makes the team 1-0 in conference play makes it even better.
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