Favorite MFootball Plays
Lying in bed last night I started thinking about my favorite Michigan plays. A completely subjective combination of the drama of the moment, the significance of the game, the clutch-ness of the play call, and the amount of skill involved (not so much thinking about lucky bounces). I came up with these. I'd love to hear of yours. I won't over-explain. Those who know, will know.
5. Mike Gillette game-winning field goal against Iowa. I know this one's a surprise, but ... I've never gone as completely ape-shit at a game as I did when he hit that kick.
4. Denard to Gallon against Notre Dame, 2011. Just ... shock. I mean ... the game was over, no?
3. Desmond and Woodson punt returns against OSU (same sideline, same drama, same opponent, same Heisman-clinching significance)
2. Anthony Carter against Indiana (I continue to be grateful that I had the good fortune to be at that otherwise terrible game. The most purely magical moment in Michigan history).
1. Harbaugh to Kolesar against OSU. I assume nobody else would pick this, and I can't even justify it objectively, but ... for me, in light of the opponent, the pure quality of the throw (Harbaugh got absolutely *crushed* -- but hit Kolesar in stride), the fact that it involved two of my all-time favorite players, the fact that Bo called it ... everything came together in terms of moment, execution, ballsiness ... I don't know if I've ever seen a more perfect *play.* It wasn't luck. It wasn't a fluke. It was perfection.
(Honorable mention to Desmond's TD catch against Notre Dame and Woodson's INT against MSU, obviously). :-)
April 23rd, 2021 at 11:27 AM ^
Denard running through Notre Dame's defense like a hot knife through room temperature butter in 2010.
April 23rd, 2021 at 11:27 AM ^
Woodson INT vs. MSU. Hands down the play that comes to mind when asked this question.
April 23rd, 2021 at 11:30 AM ^
The only reason I didn't have it is because it doesn't really involve play-calling, as such. But ... legit an all-timer under any other criteria, 100%.
April 23rd, 2021 at 12:59 PM ^
I love the official calling the interception! He was as excited as the rest of us.
April 23rd, 2021 at 11:29 AM ^
Anthony Carter's play against Indiana is fun to watch and it displays all his best abilities, but, OH MY is it overrated.
The game was tied. It wasn't a come-from-behind play. IU was having a good season but was not -- and never has been -- a top-tier team.
Why all the fuss? It's partly old-timer bias and a big part Ufer going apeshit. (Aside: Some people act like it was the first forward pass in Bo's history. Clue: Look up Jim Smith's stats. Notice the YPC.)
There are so many other plays with a higher level of excitement + significance. The punt returns against OSU are a good example.
April 23rd, 2021 at 11:36 AM ^
Agree to disagree. I actually always hated Ufer. It was a *stupid* play-call, in fact -- who doesn't throw a Hail Mary in that situation?? -- but ... I mean, look at how the players and fans react. That has nothing to do with Ufer. It was madness. Yes, it was Indiana. Yes, it was otherwise meaningless. But to reject it as "old-timer bias" is, it seems to me, "youngster bias." For those of us who were there, it was flat-out magical, and the play Anthony Carter made was ... astounding. It was a shot out of the blue. An injection of magic and miracle from a program that was, previously, plodding, methodical, and dull (though undeniably effective). And I loved Jim Smith, who became the unrecognized third receiver for the Steelers. But to compare him to Anthony Carter, or to compare Bo's use of the passing game with Rick Leach at QB with what followed AC's arrival (and especially later), is simply apples to oranges.
The game was tied. It wasn't a come-from-behind play. IU was having a good season but was not -- and never has been -- a top-tier team.
I was in the stands watching that game, and I can assure you that virtually every Michigan fan in the stadium regarded a tie as the same as a loss, especially since it was Indiana, a team we hadn't lost to since before Schembechler arrived. Up until the final play, a feeling of intense, puzzled doom pervaded the whole stadium.
We also knew that a tie to Indiana would make capturing a fourth consecutive Rose Bowl bid more difficult, since OSU was undefeated and ranked #4 at the time. There was no margin for error in the conference standings.
Why all the fuss? It's partly old-timer bias and a big part Ufer going apeshit. (Aside: Some people act like it was the first forward pass in Bo's history. Clue: Look up Jim Smith's stats. Notice the YPC.)
I confess to being an old timer, but I wasn't listening to the radio, and nobody around me in the stands was, either. Ufer's PBP call certainly added to the post-game aura, but nobody in the stadium needed Ufer to tell us it was a significant play.
It was significant not only for the reasons above but because it was also the first time in Schembecher's 11 seasons at Michigan that we'd managed a true walk-off victory.
We'd had relatively few losses under Bo up to that point, but a good number of those were close games that we were unable to either come from behind or had to watch our opponent win the game in the closing seconds. The excruciatingly close and bitter season-ending disappointments at the hands of OSU in '72, '73, '74, and '75 were still fresh in the minds of Michigan fans, as were the six straight close losses in bowl games.
By 1979 there were more than a few Michigan fans who were grumbling that Bo just couldn't close the deal, and much of the grumbling centered on Bo's frustrating and archaic refusal to take advantage of the talent he had on his rosters when it came to the passing game.
A case in point is the guy you mentioned—Jim Smith—who was criminally underused by Schembechler. Smith only had 26 catches in his senior season, while Carter had 17 receptions in his freshman season. Most Michigan fans felt that he was the most dynamic receiver we'd had under Schembechler, and his reliable connection with Wangler tantalized Michigan fans.
But it ultimately comes down to Carter himself—he had an electric impact when he was in the game that was very similar to Denard's. While I'd agree that the circumstances surrounding the game weren't the same as games against OSU or ND or MSU or bowl games, for that moment in time, it was a legit big deal.
I also was in the stands for that game, and will agree with Don. The mood went from funereal to unbelieving to euphoric in just a few seconds. That crowd experience absolutely puts this on my personal list (either at the top or behind Wheatley's Rose Bowl 4th quarter long run, depending on how I'm feeling).
April 23rd, 2021 at 11:30 AM ^
If you're going to mention Denard to Gallon I figure you at least need to add the Roundtree part to it.
I'll throw in John Milligan's interception to seal the '89 Rose Bowl. It was a great comeback and one of our few highlights in that game over the years.
April 23rd, 2021 at 11:31 AM ^
Not in any particular order of being my favorite but:
1.) Biakabituka making multiple wild runs vs OSU
2.) The play before AC's TD vs Indiana. The M player "FUMBLED" it out of bounds to stop the clock, and Indiana HC Lee Corso caught it.
3.) Dennard's 87 yd TD vs ND.
4.) Wheatley making multiple wild runs in the Rose Bowl game.
5.) Braylon making multiple TD vs MSU in 4th Q.
The list can go on and on.
April 23rd, 2021 at 11:34 AM ^
Oh yeah, The Michigan player crushing the PSU player on the sidelines in an early match up after PSU joined the league. Both players had to leave the game. (Pre-targeting penalty enforcement.)
April 23rd, 2021 at 12:06 PM ^
a huge, huge hit.
i can't describe it as a 'favorite; play, though, since it ended daydrion taylor's career.
At the time, I was completely fired up about it. In retrospect, the play's pretty sickening.
i remember watching it live, i remember the chatter afterwards, and i've seen it a few times since, but watching that segment, with it replayed and replayed and replayed...my god. it's absolutely terrifying.
i'm 55 years old, and i've loved football for every single one of those years. but i watch plays like that, and i'm practically physically ill. sometimes this game that we love so, SO much is nowhere near worth the sacrifices these kids make.
April 24th, 2021 at 12:15 PM ^
TY for that video clip...
April 23rd, 2021 at 11:34 AM ^
Double post deleted.
April 23rd, 2021 at 12:00 PM ^
mike gillette, but not the field goal you mentioned - the fake punt and 40-yard touchdown run to seal a win against sparty. (start at 0:37):
i happened to be watching with an entire house full of sparties, which made it even sweeter.
April 23rd, 2021 at 12:26 PM ^
I remember that. And him almost being tackled by the ref.
There was a newspaper article the next day in which Gillette says he was trying to get the ref to move, but he had to whisper because he didn’t want to tip the defense. The ref obviously didn’t hear the whisper.
April 23rd, 2021 at 12:35 PM ^
Nice call. :-)
I miss the TP streamers after TDs.
And Marshmallows.
April 23rd, 2021 at 12:19 PM ^
BRABBS.
“He might have it...
HE’S GOT IT!
MICHIGAN WINS!!!!”
April 23rd, 2021 at 12:21 PM ^
Lamarr Woodley’s fumble return TD against ND in 2006. Capped off an incredibly satisfying game.
April 23rd, 2021 at 12:30 PM ^
My top play has to do with Ufer's call of the play. 1973. Easy Ed Shuttlesworth. 4th and 1.
Grbac to Howard against ND has gotta be on that list. Not only the game situation, the diving catch and the rivalry, but at that time just going for 4th and 1 was seen as VERY risky. I remember sitting on the floor and rocking in place as soon as it became clear they weren't kicking.
And if you do go for it, you play MICHIGAN football and RUN behind a FULLBACK. Putting the ball in the air was a shock to everyone watching.
Awesome throw and catch. Made cover of SI.
I have a special place in my heart for any of the awesome game winning plays that crushed the hopes and dreams of the Domers. Just among this subset, it's hard to pick the favorite. I think I will go with the first night game in stadium history.
It's funny how, once you start thinking about it, other memories appear. I have to add the 1989 onside kick against UCLA in the Rose Bowl (but not in the Rose Bowl). "Michigan" -- I thought at the time, and continue to think now -- "never gets onside kicks!" Leading to an astonishing come-back win.
Any play that doesn't result in negative yardage from running into 8 in the box.
(Sorry. Just read the spring practice recap and feeling the full weight of BPONE.)
Demetrius Brown to John Kolesar on 4th down for the game winning TD against Alabama in the '87 season Hall of Fame Bowl was pretty cool.
Not something you expected to see from Michigan at the time.
Keith Jackson summarizing the game at the end: "I don't know what it proved, but it sure was fun watching it."
Griese to Tuman in the Rose Bowl.
April 24th, 2021 at 12:40 AM ^
First game was Harbaugh leading the defeat of OSU in ‘85.
Saw Desmond get mugged in the endzone for the two pointer. That was not cool...
Desmond catching the pass from Grbac was very cool. Desmond running back the punt against OSU was even cooler.
I sat high in the stratosphere endzone, looking down on the game like NCAA 14 against State in 98. First game after getting out of the Corps. Sitting with my best friends and Anthony Thomas rips out a fifty plus for touchdown. It was perfect in the bright sunshine...
Heh. My dad left the Wangler to Carter game early. Poor guy...
April 24th, 2021 at 10:31 AM ^
Wangler to Carter still my favorite