Another Challenge for the Board - can you remember this obscure play?

Submitted by FabFiver5 on

In light of the board's infinite football knowledge recently recovering the Aaron Shea incredible blockitude, I have another play I've been trying to find for years. I was young when I was at this game, so I don't remember many details, but any help would be appreciated...

Michigan was on offense near the south endzone (I think) and Todd Collins was at the helm. From what I can remember, he took the snap, rolled to his right, then gave the best throw fake I've ever seen. I think more than one defensive player bit on it, then Collins basically hid the ball on his hip and walked into the end zone.

I remember being blown away by the fake at the time, but can't remember any of the game details. It was a long time ago, so I'm hoping my memory of that moment isn't way off.

Ring a bell to anyone?

mGrowOld

August 10th, 2012 at 7:43 AM ^

You're way better than I am in actually remembering things that actually, i dunno, acually happened.  It's amazing to me how wrong my memory is when presented years later with actual video evidence of the plays. I watched the MIami-Michigan game again the other day from 1988 and it was like a complete different game from the story I've told from my memory.  I watched the whole thing thinking "when the hell did THAT happen and when are the plays I've described gonna occur?"

If I had presented this challenge Wolverine Historian or one of the other factual reporters on the board would have said someting like "not sure about the play as YOU described it but here's footage of John Wangler, not Todd Collins,, executing the fake as you described it, hiding the ball behind his back, not on his hip, and sprinting to the end zone.  And it would be the play I was thinking I remembered. 

Raoul

August 10th, 2012 at 7:47 AM ^

According to the Statistics Archive at mgoblue.com, Collins rushed for only one TD in his career: a one-yard run against Ohio on November 21, 1992, in Columbus.

UMgradMSUdad

August 10th, 2012 at 7:57 AM ^

Wow. I'm impressed.  A poster asks for info. on an obscure play, including the wrong player name, and the first two responses nail it.  Now I know where to come next time I can't find the TV remote.

artds

August 10th, 2012 at 9:13 AM ^

Along the same topic, I'm looking for a more recent clip from last season. There was a game last season where a scuffle occured between our players and opposing players, and Hoke can be seen grabbing two of our players by the backs of their jerseys and manhandling them back to the sidelines with a pissed off sort of "your antics are hurting the team" kind of scowl on his face. I posted this request in another thread and someone posted the clip from the Notre Dame game where Hoke had to go grab Gardner when he got all excited after the Roundtree TD, but that isn't it. Anyone remember the clip I'm talking about?

Don

August 10th, 2012 at 11:04 AM ^

For about 50 years I'd been telling people that the reason the 1961 Tigers—maybe the best AL team to not win a pennant—couldn't catch the Yankees that season was because Al Kaline broke his collarbone making a diving catch to seal a victory against the Bronx Bombers in a game late in the season. Without Kaline in the lineup, the Tigers faltered just enough in September to allow the Yankees to clinch the pennant. I saw it happen live watching the game on our grainy B&W tv.

Kaline did break his collarbone making a diving catch to preserve a victory against New York, and it did harm the Tigers greatly while he was away. The problem is that it happened in 1962 in May. I have no idea where I got the notion that it happened in '61, but I know I've been carrying it around since I was a kid. I found out I was wrong earlier this summer.

It's an illustration of why eyewitness testimony can be so unreliable. I would have bet $1000 on the accuracy of my memory.

FYI, the Tigers that year finished 101-61.

Norm Cash won the AL batting title with a .361 average, with 41 HRs and 132 RBIs

Rocky Colavito batted .290 with 45 home runs and 140 RBIs.

Al Kaline batted .324 with 19 HRs and 82 RBIs.

Frank Lary went 23-9 with 146 strikeouts.

Jim Bunning went 17-11 with 190 strikeouts.

And the Tigers still finished 8 games behind the Yankees.

Bando Calrissian

August 10th, 2012 at 11:37 AM ^

Wasn't said touchdown scored by Scott Dreisbach?  I seem to remember something like that happening with him.  I think he broke a really long touchdown run at some point, too.  70-75 yards, maybe?

bronxblue

August 10th, 2012 at 11:51 AM ^

Man, my memory is going too.  I distinctly remember both OSU and PSU playing football in 2010 (and PSU for what seems like decades), but I look at the records and that apparently isn't the case.  Crazy!

/s

But seriously, yeah, I always remember games being more awesome than they actually were.  I still remember the Phil Brabbs game my senior year as being some amazing game between Washington and UM, but in hindsight UM probably should have won by more than a last-second FG.  The moment tends to taint your memories than you realize until years later.

jongent

August 10th, 2012 at 1:52 PM ^

Another one from the past few years that I have been wondering about that hopefully the board can help out with.  I want to say it was in 2010, but I am not 100% sure.  It was either a punt return or a kickoff return where they ran a reverse and it went for either a TD or went very deep into the red zone.  I was a student at Michigan at the time but for some reason nobody remebers.  If you know of a video of it, that'd be even better.  Thanks in advance!

MichiganPhotoRod

August 10th, 2012 at 2:51 PM ^

If you would have not been looking at all of those beautiful coeds and had paid more attention to the game we wouldn't be talking about you looking at all of those beautiful coeds instead of the game.  However, if you HAVE to miss a play while in the stadium, I think the next best thing is to look at beautiful coeds.

 After all of that I still +'ed 1 you.