More satifying win: 2005 Penn State or Saturday?

The win against ND on Saturday and it's not even close.

I was standing in the middle of the student section for the PSU game and ended up wildly hugging multiple strangers when we scored. And watching that game was only half as sweet, exciting, and deliriously enjoyable as watching last Saturday's ND game on TV with some UM friends. Not even close. Main reasons: - we already were going to have a sub-par season when we beat PSU in 2005, it was just nice to stick it to a high-ranked team - PSU is not an emotional rival, just a good team we started playing regularly a short while back - there was no 'season-defining game for both teams' build-up to PSU - we were not yet so desperate to assert ourselves as we are in a post-2008 UM world (not to reference 3-9 like it was 9/11 or anything--but you know what I mean)

this win over ND. The main reason is becuase of the level of expectation after last season. I was at both games, in the south endzone no less, and can say that both were unbelievable.

There's a reason why players aren't eligible for the Hall of Fame until they've been retired for five years. An achievement is hard to judge until the early glow has worn off. The three major rivalries are MSU, OSU and ND, which would suggest a final-seconds victory over one of those schools is bigger by definition. But how it fits in the context of a whole season makes a difference too. Last year, the comeback win over Wisconsin looked huge. The players even doused RR with gatorade, which they didn't do last week. After the Wolverines lost 7 of their next 8, the Wisconsin game seemed more like an aberration. It clearly was not a program-changing victory. Any winning TD at the end of regulation is bound to be remembered for many years. Some of us still remember Anthony Carter's catch on the final play that defeated Indiana 27-21. It was a great moment, to be sure, but in the context of the season it mattered little. Michigan finished 8-5 that year, one of Schembechler's least impressive.

The PSU win was more exciting from the standpoint of the game itself. It came with 1 second left (that Lloyd had to argue to even get at all), and we needed a touchdown to win it. Against Notre Dame, we still had 11 seconds, two downs, and the option to kick a field goal and go to overtime if we needed to. However, I'd much rather stick it to Fat Charlie than Old Joe, and the 2005 season was looking subpar by that point anyhow. This season is about overcoming the ghosts of last year and (maybe) doing something great. So: 2005 win over PSU: More exciting football game 2009 win over ND: More exciting part of football season

09 ND, because the 05 Penn State game was more of a battered Michigan pulling a lucky upset (as awesome as that was), while this is the first big game after a season of mediocrity and has shown the world that Michigan is (on its way) back.

09 ND is MUCH more important a win than the 05 PSU win.

UM-MSU 2004. Michigan came back from 27-10 down with 7 minutes to go; win in 3 OT's. I am sitting with my son (then a UM senior) in the endzone, surrounded by a group of Sparty band alums. If you have never seen college football OT live, you cannot believe it. So that game is "more satisfying" to me. But the win last week against ND may be more important.

I live in North Carolina and have only been to three games in the past five seasons. As luck would have it, PSU '05 and ND '09 are two of those games. Both games were great in their own right but I'm going with the PSU for a few reasons. PSU was higher ranked than ND. They were 6-0 at that point in the season. We know that PSU had a good team. We don't know that about ND yet. I was probably more emotionally invested in the '05 team. Lots of familiar/iconic names on that team (Henne, Hart, Long....) and we got introduced to Mario Manningham that night. We're still getting introduced to many in the current crop of Michigan players (Forcier, Stonum...). It was another step in the "Decade Of Domination" over PSU. I flew up to the game with few a friends who went PSU. I didn't have to hear their crap on the way home. PSU people were all over the place that weekend. They were chanting "This is our bar" in the old Dooley's. Sending them home not quite as happy was priceless.

I can't make a full comparison because I watched the Penn St game on TV and was in the Big House for the ND game, but the ND game was better by far for me. After going to every game last year with disappointment after disappointment, nothing felt greater than to beat ND after an awful season. The feeling I had when I saw the clock hit 0 was unlike anything I've ever experienced before, and I had to sit down with my head in my hands for a second because I was so overwhelmed of what just took place. Hard to explain, but it was the first time I felt like I was actually part of the game rather than simply a spectator making noise.

The 2005 PSU game was similar to this year's Super Bowl in that is fondly remembered for the exciting fourth quarter, but the reality was that the first three quarters were boring but for James Harrison's INT on the last play of the first half. Remember, the halftime score of that game was 6-3. On the contrary, the ND game was the Thrilla in Manila. Both teams looked beaten at times (ND down by 11 points twice and Michigan looked beaten in the second quarter and the fourth we had to punt with five minutes left) before coming back. Add in the underlying factors (two programs attempting to reemerge as powers and storm brewing over last season and the Free Press charges, etc.), and this was a much more satisfying win.

the nd game for sure. it was a much needed relief point after 18 months of consternation and losing. all the wvu, rich rod, too many hours bs were shed at least for a week if not longer. the psu game was like having sex after abstaining a week the nd game was like having sex after it being withheld for a year.

Saturday.

The PSU victory on the last play was wildly exciting, and it is always nice to stick it to PSU. This past Saturday, the hugging, high fives, etc. were really no different. But there was a difference. The game itself was a series of ups and downs. First us then them, again and again. But there was something more. Last year, we had a 3-9 season. The whole year was replete with RR's contract dispute and a sense of utter futility on the field. People leaving the program and decommits were routine. Those of us at the games saw how often our wideouts were open with no one to throw a semi-accurate pass. abject embarrassment. The week before this season started was worse. Our program, and to me at least, our university was under attack by the scumbags from Freep. RR's press conference seemed to touch an emotional note in many of us. The win over WMU gave us hope; the win over ND gave us proof positive that we were again a team worth watching. Not all the way back, but getting there. It validated things is a big way. That, as much as the ending gives the ND game my vote.

Without question. Way more at stake.

The Penn State game is definitely one of Michigan's all-time greatest wins, even though it was not a good season for us overrall. That was Penn State's only loss that year. So essentially, we knocked them out of the BCS title game, a very satisfying feeling indeed. However, Saturday was more exciting for several reasons, many of which have already been mentioned here. I agree with all of the above, and throw in a couple more: *The UM-ND rivalry has seen a lot of dramatic, last-second finishes; I hate it when we add to the number on the losing side, I LOVE it when we add to it on the winning side. *Others here have already said that part of the excitement from Saturday is what this means for the program. Amen to that, with a little more depth and detail: --Vindication (as if it were needed) of RR's general offensive philosophy, game planning, and play calling --A star is born in only his 2nd college game--and he looks like John Elway --6-6 predictions for Michigan's '09 season suddenly look pessismistic instead of optimistic --The game was HUGE for recruiting *Recruits who were present must have been blown away by the whole environment, experience, and result *All recruits can feel confident that M has turned the corner *Potential negative impact of the Practicegate non-scandal is blunted by a historic win *This was already mentioned by another poster, but it's worth mentioning again: one way to measure great games is by the number of times the lead changes hands. Saturday's game is an instant classic--and it's all ours! Ultimately, this game is more exciting for what it says about the immediate and long-term future of Michigan football: it's looking bright. VERY bright. Get your shades on!

The PSU game itself was awesome. Great drama and an amazing play to win it with triple-zeroes on the clock. I also love seeing it replayed because my buddy Adam is the dude who jumps out into the endzone right when Manningham hauls it in. Still, it was really just a lone bright spot in the middle of an otherwise crappy season (capped off by an even crappier bowl game against Nebraska). Hindsight is of course 20/20, and I'm willing to rescind my statement if we end up 7-5, but right now it looks like Saturday's win was a huge turning point for the program. Coming after last season and with all the off-the-field nonsense/controversy swirling around the program, the win changed everything. Listening to radio on the west coast I went from hearing "there is a mutiny under way at Michigan that will lead to disaster on the field." to hearing, "Michigan is back (shouted with glee at ND's expense) and Tate Forcier is already a superstar who should get way more hype than Matt Barkley." Also, I hate Notre Dame WAY more than I dislike Penn State (and if the rest of you don't, you should), so if the scales were even close, that would have pushed Saturday's game over the edge on its own.

Back in '05 I think Mich had beaten PSU for like 90 million years in a row. Mich lost to ND last year. Throw that on top of everything else that went on. The win Saturday is definitely more satisfying.