One-Year Anniversary of the Minnesota Goal-Line Stand

Submitted by BursleyHall82 on

Happy Halloween. Today is the one-year anniversary of the Minnesota goal-line stand - in my humble opinion, the single best moment of the 2015 season. I know that we never should have been in a tight game against Minnesota, but damn, that moment was fun.

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LSAClassOf2000

October 31st, 2016 at 10:51 PM ^

I'll never, ever understand Claeys' new-level Miles style of clock management on this series, and I remember watching this live - a Michigan fan - standing up asking my television what the fuck he was trying to achieve here. I don't think that I had ever seen anything like that, at least not in recent memory (I was pretty far into an eight-pack of Guinness and not introspecting at the time admittedly). 

Joined: 01/07/2011

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PopeLando

October 31st, 2016 at 11:01 PM ^

Our opponents have helped us out with some hilariously awful decision making. Examples: - Claeys forgets the clock is running. - Franklin and Dantonio forget basic math. - Nussmeyer forgets his quartback can run. - Frost forgets that the forward pass exists. - Ash forgets that Rutgers is Rutgers. Invites 200+ recruits (still laughing about that...) What else?

Joined: 08/01/2015

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treetown

November 1st, 2016 at 2:31 PM ^

Of these the worst is the Rutgers mistake - that was not in the heat of the moment under stress but a premeditated act that was scheduled months ahead of time. I suspect that Rutgers thought it would be nice to embarass Michigan in front of 200 recruits but instead they had their scheme explode in their face.

Joined: 11/10/2010

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stephenrjking

October 31st, 2016 at 11:13 PM ^

Worth noting: This November will be telling, but the early returns are good--contrast how we performed in stretch B1G games last season with this season. Minnesota and Indiana were ok, not great teams on the edge of bowl eligiblity, and we only beat them by the skin of our teeth. Even Maryland, a comfortable win, was a very sluggish game that took time to put away, and PSU was in question in the fourth quarter. 

Now we're hanging 78 points on awful teams and running up 20-point leads on poor teams and demolishing average teams like Penn State. This is... noticeably better. And, on one hand, that seems like an obvious observation, of course we're better. But on the other, the fear as expressed after the MSU game is that there's something fraudulent to be exploited at OSU. 

But this team has grown a lot in a year.

Joined: 03/15/2012

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Harbaugh's Lef…

October 31st, 2016 at 11:01 PM ^

And along with the one year anniversary of the Minnesota Goal-Line Stand is also the one year anniversary of the first time Wilton Speight saw real game action.

While he did end up anchoring the comeback that night, in huge thanks to the goal-line stand, he did so while looking shaky, very much so at times. It's amazing to think of the progress that he has made in one short year!

Joined: 08/22/2016

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stephenrjking

October 31st, 2016 at 11:03 PM ^

I was there with my two daughters, the first and second Michigan game ever for them respectively. It was a wild, memorable night, only partly because of football.

Football-wise it was a classic night-game vortex where tons of things go wrong and the home team plays on another level with an energized crowd.

And somehow Speight, who looked lost at first, made those two plays. And then Minnesota roared down and made that diving catch right in front of me, and I thought they scored, and actually left my seat... and it wasn't over.

So we watched from the exit. Right there at the goal line.

And they made the stop. And my daughters said they had never seen me act so excited.

What a night.



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Esterhaus

October 31st, 2016 at 11:12 PM ^

 

THAT was a last stand. Every man stood his ground and fulfilled his role. No player flinched or backed off. Every last increment of energy was harnessed onto the enemy. That's quintessential Meechigan Football encapsulated in a single moment. Bo is proud.

Joined: 03/16/2015

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WMU81

October 31st, 2016 at 11:25 PM ^

On a Halloween Cruise out of Tampa and the ship played the game.. Quite a few Michigan fans were at bar and it was awesome. Michigan fans are everywhere and they all seem to be great people!! Boat went nuts during goal line stance and headed to club fight after.. GREAT night soon followed. No matter where you are, always let it be known.... GO BLUE



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Duke of Zhou

November 1st, 2016 at 7:49 AM ^

That was a fine memory. I was very impressed that the squad was able to grind out a tough victory down the strench. It was a real turning point for Michigan football after years of failing to come through at the end of games.

Joined: 12/03/2014

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befuggled

November 1st, 2016 at 11:35 AM ^

I had been drinking, I thought there'd be a commercial break and then Minnesota would kick a field goal. I mean, why wouldn't they? Michigan's backup quarterback hadn't looked all that good except for the touchdown and the two-point conversion and they still had their starter in.

So I answered the call of nature and when I came back downstairs the clock was at zero and the scoreboard showed Michigan on top.

Joined: 07/01/2008

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FrankMurphy

November 1st, 2016 at 3:35 PM ^

Since I'm on the West Coast and the game ended at about 8 PM Pacific, I had planned to take my son out trick-or-treating after the game. If we had lost, I might have been too depressed to go out (especially since the previous game was the MSU debacle), and my wife would have had a grumpy 6 year-old and a grumpy 35 year-old on her hands.

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