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). :-)
XM, is that you?
Gimme that.Henne to Manningham against PSU in '05 with 1 second left
April 23rd, 2021 at 10:00 AM ^
... after Carr convinced the officials to put 2 seconds back on the clock about a minute prior.
April 23rd, 2021 at 10:08 AM ^
I had to go on a stupid hunting trip with my father and brother during this game. Sat in the truck in the middle of Nowheresville in the U.P. to listen on the radio. They both said I was dumb for hanging back because Michigan had no shot.
Jumped out of the truck and yelled when Henne threw the dart, then proceeded to trip over a rock and fall on my face. They came back from their hunt 2 hours later and said they could hear me screaming.
//cool story bro
April 23rd, 2021 at 10:25 AM ^
That was a fun moment in an otherwise disappointing season.
April 23rd, 2021 at 10:46 AM ^
I'm sure I brought this up before, but that play and the Dreisbach-to-Hayes winning TD against Virginia in '95 are eerily similar. Not only were they both no-time-on-the-clock/score-or-lose plays, but the play before on both occasions involved a dropped pass that, if caught, would have resulted in a loss, as the receiver has zero chance of scoring.
April 23rd, 2021 at 10:00 AM ^
Ryan Leaf spiking the ball as time ran out in the 1998 Rose Bowl. Made up for the worst uncalled offensive pass interference I have ever seen when the WSU receiver shoved Woodson to the ground as he was about to get another interception
April 23rd, 2021 at 10:05 AM ^
Not quite the kind of "Michigan plays" I was thinking about, but in terms of wonderful moments, I'm with you. (And I had forgotten about the PI non-call before that). I also love the Notre Dame QB in 2011 just whiffing on the throw for a fumble deep *deep* in our end. Deeply satisfying.
Oh man, a list of referee errors that crushed us would go on forever. The terrible holding call on the fake punt in Bo's last game, the 1990 Rose Bowl, continues to haunt me.
April 23rd, 2021 at 10:38 AM ^
Yea, but what a great play. As far as the kind of "Michigan plays" you were was thinking about, the one that really stand out to me are Woodson punt return down the sideline v OSU and Denard to Gallon/Roundtree to end UTL 1
April 23rd, 2021 at 10:55 AM ^
While we are on the Rose Bowl, don’t forget Charles White’s phantom TD when he clearly fumbled well before he reach the goal line.
He fumbled on the 3 yard line
April 23rd, 2021 at 10:00 AM ^
Great play in an ugly game: Dileo power slide.
Puts Sub-Zero to shame
April 23rd, 2021 at 10:02 AM ^
Just a few, in no special order.
Sync'ed up the two punt returns - fun watching them in parallel.
April 23rd, 2021 at 10:13 AM ^
I know I'm the crabby old man who is super jaded about the football team, but I do have one that really sticks out. I think it brought out the single best reaction I had as a younger Michigan fan, and that would have to be Brabbs' GW field goal against Washington.
I could be wrong, but I think he was like 0-3 before that, and then they had the chance to take the lead with a few minutes left and we brought on someone who shanked a 30 yarder.
This may scare you, and I COULD be off- but I think the Washington's RB had the last name Alexis? I'm going all off memory here.
April 23rd, 2021 at 10:27 AM ^
My cousin and I were absolutely loaded for that entire game (due to us bringing in a bunch of carefully concealed beverages). We were in the end zone to the side of the goal posts, and when the kick from Brabbs went through, he looks over at me with this hilarious shit-eating grin and yells at the top of his lungs "Bueno!!". We drunk laughed for about 10 minutes after that.
That's our go to word now over the phone when Michigan pulls off a victory like that in basketball or football.
As for best play, it wasn't one that won or lost a game. It was on Senior Day when Loyd sent a pleading Walter Smith out on the field with a broken leg because he wanted one last play at the end of the game against Minnesota so badly, and they threw him a pass....then had to scream at him to fall down, because everything in him was telling him to run toward the goalposts. I was in the student section and we were going nuts. Just a special moment.
Worst play I've seen: "Jet Rocket 999" and Kordell Stewart. I met Kordell once and asked him if he remembered the name of the play, and it rolled right off his tongue with a big smile.
April 23rd, 2021 at 10:44 AM ^
Speaking of Walter Smith, let me add Todd-Collins-to-Walter-Smith on one of the clutchest QB plays I've ever seen against Notre Dame in 1994. Amazing play by both of them.
April 23rd, 2021 at 11:25 AM ^
You are thinking of Seth Smith and his dive OOB in the 94 ND game, perhaps?
Seth it was. For the record.
April 23rd, 2021 at 10:58 AM ^
Just looked it up.
Rich Alexis.
Wow. How about that memory??? Weird I can't remember what I had for lunch yesterday, but I can remember Washington's starting RB in 2002.
Start at about 27:48 into this clip.
Got some pretty massive breaks.
Our WR that caught the ball on 4th down and dropped it- they ruled that a fumble. I don't think that would have any chance of standing in 2021.
What a great finish to a game. Of course, I was also on vacation, drinking and eating at the Tip A Few in Grand Haven.....that improved the experience for sure!
April 23rd, 2021 at 11:21 PM ^
The kickers were 0 for 3. He started and missed one. Then 2 other guys took turns and missed. Then they went back to Brabbs for the last one. My first game having student tickets. Maybe the best game I've been to. That or beating OSU in the 100th game, but that didn't have the drama.
April 23rd, 2021 at 10:40 AM ^
The Kolesar TD was the only one I saw in person; the '79 Indiana game was one of two games that I missed between about 1978 and 1983. I am not at all bitter.
To be honest, though, I would have picked Kolesar's game-winning catch against Ohio State in 1988--a 41-yard bomb from Demetrius Brown after Ohio State had come back to take the lead with under two minutes left in the game.
Which also came after Kolesar had returned the kickoff 59 yards; Kolesar personally accounted for every yard on the winning touchdown drive.
In retrospect that game makes no sense. It was the worst Ohio State team of my lifetime (4-6-1, with blowout losses to Indiana and Pittsburgh), but scrappy first year coach John Cooper had them come back from a 20-0 halftime deficit to nearly pull off the upset. Nobody at the time would have thought Michigan fans would think fondly of the man in later years.
April 23rd, 2021 at 10:46 AM ^
And that after a crappy 1987 OSU team pulled off the upset on behalf of lame duck coach Earl Bruce. Infuriating.
April 23rd, 2021 at 10:49 AM ^
Brabbs fg to beat Washington after a Norwood type of day !
April 23rd, 2021 at 10:51 AM ^
At Minnesota , throwback to Navarre for long gainer . Took him 34 seconds to run 40 yards
April 23rd, 2021 at 10:52 AM ^
Excellent choices. I would add Woodson’s one-handed interception against MSU.
April 23rd, 2021 at 10:57 AM ^
One handed and somehow managed to stay in bounds.
Superman.
April 23rd, 2021 at 10:59 AM ^
I was trying to think about basketball plays, but they're all buzzer-beaters, so ranking them is sort of meaningless. Still, I live for meaninglessness:
- Roy Tarpley, Triple-OT against Iowa
- Sean Higgins vs. Illinois
- Trey Burke vs. Kansas
- Jordan Poole vs. Houston
(Notes: I would add Stu Douglass's shot against MSU, but I was living in Europe and didn't see it. Also, not Rumeal's free throws. Awesome moment, of course, but no. Finally, not a play as such, but I will never forget Gary Grant celebrating after our first win at Indiana in approximately 427 years: The first "return of Michigan basketball after a decade in the desert" moment in my lifetime.)
The screen where Mitch McGary killed a man in the NCAA's against VCU.
April 23rd, 2021 at 11:08 AM ^
The most recent "great play" under JH would have to be Patterson to Peoples-Jones in the rain vs MSU. We were a top 10 team and looked on the cusp of being a playoff team at that point. While MSU was putrid on O that year they did have an elite D and we were coming off a loss in 2017 to them. That play with the Gus Johnson call and DPJ's celebration was the last "big play" of any meaning for our program. The last game where we really felt like we were nationally relevant was a few weeks later when we curb-stomped Penn St and went into Columbus as favorites.
Can you believe that? Just two years ago we were favorites in Columbus, and if we played this past year the spread would have been near 30 for the Buckeyes.
Jim's 6 years haven't been as hoped, but to think how fast we went from being right there to where we are now...it's pretty damn sad.
April 23rd, 2021 at 11:08 AM ^
All three last-minute/second game-winning touchdowns against Notre Dame from 2009-2011...especially the one in 2011 under the lights. Just completely epic.
April 23rd, 2021 at 11:48 AM ^
Not the most monumental but certainly exciting is Denard's first play from scrimmage. I think we all felt like we had one of those video game players who is rated all 99's on our team. We were kinda right?
You could always count on Charlie Weis doing something stupid to show how smart he was.
The 2009 game was winding down with Notre Dame leading, and they could have run it down to well under a minute if they ran the ball on third down and then punted.
Instead Weiss calls for a long 3rd down pass against our 5-star CB (Donovan Warren) that went incomplete and stopped the clock, giving Tate Forcier enough time to work his moxie magic.
Charlie Weis snatches defeat from the jaws of victory.
Miss you, Big Guy.
XOXOXO
April 23rd, 2021 at 11:09 AM ^
The first one that popped into my mind was Denard's 83 yard run at Notre Dame.
"And they'll never catch him! Denard Robinson, shoelaces flapping in the wind!"
Was such a memorable play because we'd seen glimpses of how special he could be, but that was his coming out party nationally- against ND to boot.
April 23rd, 2021 at 11:13 AM ^
Didn't Roundtree catch the TD, or do you mean the pass before the TD that got the yards?
April 23rd, 2021 at 11:14 AM ^
I'll go with plays that have occurred since I became a fan. In no particular order:
1) Denard going off 88 yards against ND
2) Roundtree taking down ND with two seconds left on the clock in UTL 1
3) Avery sealing the deal by picking off Braxton Miller in 2011. That was a bad OSU team that almost beat Michigan, but wins are wins are wins.
4) Khaleke Hudson trucking an MSU receiver in the 2019 matchup. It was a clean hit but he absolutely leveled and de-cleated the guy. He followed that up with blocking a punt and set Michigan up for a Nico TD. Can't tell me that rivalry didn't mean something to him.
5) Jourdan Lewis one-handed pick to seal the deal against Wisconsin. One of the most remarkable defensive plays I've ever seen.
6) Jake Ryan sacking David Wilson for what must've been a 20-25 yard TFL in the Sugar Bowl.
7) De'Veon Smith instant transmission run against BYU. How he emerged from that pile is absolutely beyond me.
8) Devin Gardner carrying his entire team, program, and the fanbase on his back and almost willing Michigan to a win against OSU by himself. The particular play I'm thinking of was near the end of the game when a play breaks down, nothing is open, and he breaks contain and runs for it. Proceeds to juke Bradley Roby on a broken foot and keep the drive alive. Gardner had balls of steel that day. His coaches failed him, because he deserved to be mentioned as being in the pantheon of the greatest individual game performances in the history of the sport. He played like an All-American Heisman finalist that day.
9) Frank Clark destroying Braxton Miller on that sack in the 2012 game. How Miller didn't fumble the ball or even just miss a series after that is beyond me. But that's OSU's luck for you.
In 2011, Miller just overthrew an open receiver late behind our defense that could have won the game for them. Good receiver too, forget his name. Anyone?
Miller had 3 or 4 wide open touchdowns that he missed that game. We really did get lucky, for once in our damn lives
The 2011 season in a nut shell.
DeVier Posey. He was one of their star wideouts who got suspended along with Pryor and Herron for tattoogate. I think he got suspended 10 games and was able to come back the week before the Michigan game.
He burned JT Floyd b-a-d, BAD on that route. Floyd just got lucky that Miller overthrew Posey.
I need this framed and hanging in my office...
There is a Herbstreit version of this picture out there.
It's my favorite Michigan play, every Saturday in the fall at 9:01 AM.