Previously: Krushed By Stauskas (Illinois 2014), Introducing #ChaosTeam (Indiana 2009), Revenge is Terrifying (Colorado 1996), Four Games In September I (Boston College 1991)

This game: WolverineHistorian highlights

Welcome to 1994, baby.

Mark Jones looks exactly the same, somehow

A lot has changed for Boston College since they put a scare into Michigan at home in 1991. After reaching nine wins in his third season, highlighted by a 41-39 upset at #1 Notre Dame in late November, Tom Coughlin took the head coaching job with the NFL's expansion Jacksonville Jaguars, which also gave him a good deal of control over their personnel.

Boston College hired Dan Henning, best known for his two stints as Washington's offensive coordinator in which they won two Super Bowls, in hopes of repeating their success of targeting a top-flight NFL assistant. Whereas Coughlin had won a ring with the New York Giants in the year before going to BC, however, Henning was coming off two years as offensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions, which didn't finish better than 16th in points or 19th in total yards in his tenure despite boasting Barry Sanders, Herman Moore, and Brett Perriman.

Here are some other decisions from 1994 that turn out about as well as this one:

• Jeff Gilooly finds a creative way to get his ex-wife, Tonya Harding, a leg up on figure skating rival Nancy Kerrigan in the months before the Winter Olympics.
• To commemorate the 25th anniversary of the legendary music festival, three of the original promoters put on Woodstock '94, billed as "2 More Days of Peace and Music."
• Major League II is released in theaters with a PG rating.

Michigan enters the season ranked fifth in both polls. They have a lot of stability: Gary Moeller entering his fifth year as head coach, Lloyd Carr his eighth as defensive coordinator, senior Todd Collins throwing to junior receivers Amani Toomer and Mercury Hayes, senior Tyrone Wheatley leading a stable of touted running backs, and talent across the defense. They aren't quite as loaded heading into the season opener as expected, though, with Wheatley out two weeks due to a separated shoulder and receiver/co-captain Walter Smith lost to a season-ending knee injury.

Henning decides to start his new job with a bang:

Over breakfast at the team's hotel this morning, Boston College's Dan Henning told quarterback Mark Hartsell that he wanted to open the game against Michigan with a play called the speed pump, a bomb that he hoped would go for a touchdown.

Both Henning and Hartsell were making their respective debuts, Henning as the Eagles' head coach and Hartsell as the starting quarterback.

Henning argued with his assistant coaches over the prudence of the play. Hartsell was taking over for quarterback Glenn Foley, a seventh-round draft pick by the Jets. Henning thought it would be good for Hartsell to get his feet wet and silence the 105,936 at Michigan Stadium.

Just as Henning drew it up, Hartsell rolled right. He waited, waited, waited. Then he heaved a 74-yard touchdown pass to receiver Greg Grice. In 16 seconds the Eagles were up by 7-0, Hartsell wasn't nervous and the crowd was silenced.

Unfortunately for BC, the Henning Era is about to hit its apex.

[Hit THE JUMP to see the third-string running back take over.]

After pinning Michigan mere feet outside their own goal line, Boston College extends their early lead by two when the Wolverines aren't on the same page for the snap count, forcing Trezelle Jenkins to hold in the end zone and hope nobody notices. Somebody notices:

The announcers are oblivious to the fact a penalty in the end zone by the offense is a safety until it's announced by the referee, causing Tim Brant to say "well, look at that!" It's not their finest moment. The Eagles capitalize on the tilted field early in the second quarter, driving deep into Michigan territory, but settle for a field goal after cornerback Ty Law obliterates a tight end wearing #98:

I can't tell you if that should've been a fumble because it's 1994. Regardless, the visitors lead 12-0 after mulleted kicker David Gordon boots through a short field goal. Gordon would go 9-for-20 on field goals in 1994 but he'd look damn good doing it:

Vinatieri in the front, [404 famous long-haired kicker not found] in the back

"Well if you had your doubts about Boston College being competitive, you can forget it now," says play-by-play man Mark Jones. Then ABC opens the next drive with an ominous graphic:

MEAT (by 1994 standards)

Much like in 1991, a Michigan receiver begins to take over the game. Toomer makes a diving catch on a Collins blitz-impacted wobbler to get the team out to midfield. Not long after, that burly line opens a huge hole for Ed Davis, the starter in Wheatley's stead, who only needs to make a couple subtle cuts to get Michigan on the board. Remy Hamilton's ensuing kickoff barely crosses the 20-yard line, where it's fumbled by Not A Return Man, and a Deon Johnson recovery puts the Wolverines right back in business.

Collins then throws, uh, this:

Yikes. Given the quote he later gives the New York Times, one can only hope this was part of an off-the-wall strategy:

"Actually I was hoping we'd get down to B.C. 7-0, 14-0," Collins said. "It was a good test. When we went down, 12-0, the guys didn't get nervous at all. I knew we'd win because we're Michigan and we have too much talent."

That's the ticket. Thankfully, no further damage is done unless you count replays.

Michigan takes over at their 23 with 1:10 left in the half and two timeouts remaining; predictably, Moeller looks to run out the clock with his backup running back, a sophomore who'd earned the nickname "Touchdown Tim" for scoring five times on 43 carries as a freshman fourth-stringer. It only took a few carries for Tim Biakabutuka to break a run into BC territory and force Moeller to change tack. It takes one pass to reveal BC's secondary has no answer for Toomer:

Just like that, Michigan leads 14-12 at the half.

In the third quarter, Toomer eludes more defensive backs to convert a third-and-14. After a holding penalty, Biakabutuka's filthy juke turns second-and-forever into third-and-reasonable, and that's all Toomer needs to rip apart the secondary for another touchdown:

"This is the Michigan we thought we'd see from the outset," says Brant. As is tradition, Michigan has waited until they got into trouble before utilizing their best players. Following another stop, long receptions by Toomer and Hayes precede another ankle-breaking effort from Biakabutuka:

Wooooooooooooo. He'd take care of the final yard on the next play, giving him seven carries for 81 yards and a touchdown. We're in the fourth quarter. Anyway, Michigan now leads, 27-12.

The Eagles are in desperation mode; Doug Flutie is nowhere to be found. Their outlook looks bleak when a fourth-and-nine pass is tipped harmlessly to the turf. We're treated to the following exchange as Biakabutuka carves another chunk play out of the BC defense:

"Look at this guy. I love to watch him run."
"Great legs!"
"You know, I think he's the next great record-setter here at Michigan. He's already got one record. He's got the longest name in NCAA history, 20 letters."

Biakabutuka rips off another eight yards, then 12, then 13, breaking the hundred-yard mark on his 11th carry. As a cruel changeup, 250-pound fullback Che Foster—now a sous chef—breaks a run off the back side and rumbles inside the five. On third-and-goal, Davis takes a pitch and finds no resistance on the edge. 34-12, threat over.

With 7:15 left, Clarence Thompson picks off Mark Hartsell, whose day peaked on his first play. 

"Turn out the lights, this one's been over for a while," says Brant.

The backups get sloppy, however, losing a fumble, and Hartsell gains a measure of redemption with a touchdown pass. After Michigan burns off most of the clock, Hartsell puts another touchdown pass on the board for dignity. The final score is 31-26, but nobody is fooled; Sunday's NYT headline reads "Michigan Makes It Look Easy, Even Without Wheatley."

record book's had some updates

Toomer earns top billing after his 179 yards places him behind only Jack Clancy (197), Derrick Alexander (188), and Jim Smith (184) in the school record book. Next is Biakabutuka, who finishes with 128 yards on only 12 carries, most coming in the second half. (Davis has 50 yards on 20 carries with two TDs and two fumbles.)

While that '91 Boston College squad fell to a 4-7 record after testing Michigan in Coughlin's first year, the '94 team drops a rivalry game the next week at Virginia Tech before going 7-2-1 in their final ten games, capping Henning's debut season with an Aloha Bowl victory over #11 Kansas State to break into the final rankings in both polls.

Michigan, meanwhile, once again follows their BC win with a memorable victory over Notre Dame—this time the Remy game—before losing four of their last ten. While they don't know it at the time, a Holiday Bowl win over #10 Colorado State, which gets the Wolverines to #12 in both final polls, is Moeller's last game as Michigan's head coach. When these programs reconvene in 1995, the stalwart defensive assistant will be the embattled interim head coach.