Michigan's Lost Classics - Michigan at Penn State, 1999
There's been some complaints recently on the message board about how BTN always shows the same cycle of classic Michigan games. Last year's games against Notre Dame, Nebraska, and Ohio. A game from the 1997 season. An old Rose Bowl. Some original programming to top it off.
Someone speculated that lots of people go into the decision-making process for these games, from network execs to AD's. Obviously, some games are probably off the list to be shown.
This is one of those games.
Going into the tail end of the 1999 season, Michigan was looking like a team for the ages. Despite two mid-season losses, the Wolverines were in the process of ending the season strong, at 4-2 in the conference and 8-2 overall. Senior quarterback Tom Brady and Anthony Thomas led the offense, with Dhani Jones and Rob Renes on D.
Penn State, on the other hand, was going into their final home game reeling. After starting the season 9-0, Minnesota upset the Nittany Lions on the last play of their game, leaving Happy Valley with a huge upset. Still, Penn State was in the hunt for a Big Ten championship, making their game against Michigan one of 1999's last big matchups. Penn State and Wisconsin were the Big Ten's leaders, with Michigan closely behind. This game would essentially knock someone out of the race for a championship, and possibly a BCS appearance as well.
Of course, despite all of these circumstances surrounding the game, there was another subplot that factored heavily into ABC's coverage. This game was Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky's last home game, making the TV coverage Jerry Sandusky-themed. That's right. It's a Jerry Sandusky-themed broadcast.
Needless to say, the Big Ten won't be taking this game for a visual victory lap any time soon.
Watch and enjoy. The first half is in the first link, the second half is in the second. And as always, go Blue.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVdmavookY8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWu3rrP-lfM
My dad made his weekly call to my sister, a freshman in college that fall, shortly after the game ended. I usually didn't participate; but as she picked up the phone and he asked her how she was from the next room, I felt moved to talk to her as well. So I did.
"WE BEAT PENN STATE!!!!!"
She heard me just fine.
This was back in the days where we had the stupid halo rule. You couldn't come within a 5 foot (10 foot?) radius of the punter catching the ball or it was an automatic flag. We punt to PSU in the 2nd quarter and Charles Drake (RIP) got flagged for violating the halo rule. So we punt again and the coverage awkwardly comes to a full stop to avoid getting flagged again, the punter has plenty of room now and returns it for a touchdown. It was the only time the PSU crowd had something to cheer about in the entire first half and it was because of a stupid rule that was eventually changed within a couple years.
Another thing about that game was PSU quarterback Kevin Thompson making several horrid throws that SHOULD have been picked off. If even two of those passes are intercepted, this game is wrapped up much sooner and doesn't even end up being the classic it turned out to be. We held PSU's offense to only 7 rushing yards all day. We held their offense to 13 total points.
Lloyd pulled out the transcontinental pass for this game. He used this play once a season but this was the only time he added a fake injury to set up the play having Brady "limp" off the field and Henson come on to get the pass back from Dialo Johnson. The TV cameras never caught Brady leaving the field but the players on the sideline later remarked that they were all laughing because Brady's fake limp was the worst acting job they had ever witnessed.
After Brady threw the game winning TD to Marcus Knight, Lloyd looks up at the scoreboard like he's going to pass out then Fred Jackson with this huge grin on his face, pulls him back to the sideline.
I remembered Jerry Sandusky after all these years because this game was a slobberfest for him. The cameras zoomed in on him over 20 times. Every time we made a big play, the cameras zoomed in on his reaction. When Brady scores a TD run in the 4th quarter, Sandusky looks like he wants to kill himself. It's a much bigger joy to watch now.
As the final seconds ticked off the clock, Frank Beckman said on the radio that the visiting fans, after being subjected to that lame ass "We are...Penn State!" cheer all day long started screaming, "We are...Michigan!" That's another thing I wish the TV cameras had picked up.
This was always one of my favorite wins. Penn State was the favorite for the third straight year and once again, we came out on top.
i still remember reading the ann arbor news (RIP) the next day, and they always used to have the center of the sport section with a ton of coverage from the game, including awards to players/coaches for good/bad/ugly plays.
for his role on that transcontinental, brady got 3 academy awards.
classic.
may not have even happened. I can never seem to find it when I review the game tape but I remember Musberger talking a lot about Brandon Short and how his father was a double amputee and how hard his childhood was... and then at one point, I SWEAR, he busted out with "That's Brandon Short. He's a tough guy. Of course, you'd be tough too if you grew up with a dad who had no legs."
Maybe I just assumed Musberger would say something like that...
Musberger didn't call the game. Might've been a different year.
I just watched the whole game, Brent Musburger definitely was the play by play guy for this '99 game... but there was nothing about Brandon Short, his dad or being tough because of a dad with no legs, so I don't know what I'm remembering.
Well there was a roughly 7 minute chunk of the third quarter missing from the video so it could have happened during that period. And yes, it was Mussberger and Danielson calling the game.
Musberger absolutely did call this game
Bad day to talk about anything PSU-related, other than the Freeh report. Its sickening to even think about PSU today in any other context.
you know, at first I was going to disagree with you, that this game in 1999 has nothing to do with the Freeh report and all of that, but I'm sitting here watching the game and seeing the signs for Sandusky (it was his last home game):
"THANKS JERRY, YOU ARE PENN STATE"
"WE WILL MISS YOU COACH SANDUSKY"
and hearing the announcers discuss how he's leaving the profession to concentrate on his Second-Mile charity "that he's so fond of..." and, ya, I am starting to get queasy.
I always remebered this as the Tom Brady Game, but now when I watch it my flesh crawls everytime they show Sandusky. I forgot how much they focused on him. It must have stuck in my memory though, because when this whole Sandusky thing started to come out I remembered who he was. Sick.
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