Remembering 2006 Michigan @ Notre Dame

Submitted by WolverineHistorian on

I'd love to hear people's memories of this game, whether you traveled to South Bend or watched it elsewhere.  This game ranks just under Judgment Day / 97 Penn State for it's pure epicness, highly anticipated, expecting-nail-biting-but-became-a-blowout-win.

I can still remember the hesitation going in to this game just because of all the flukey, stupid things that had happened to Michigan in that stadium - (a pass thrown into the stands being flagged for interference setting up a miracle FG, a ND QB dropping the football at the 2 yard line and getting rewarded a TD, a ref using an index card to measure for a Michigan first down, tipped passes, well timed fumbles and anything else you can think of going ND's way)... and then I wondered to myself, wouldn't it be great if for once we didn't have all that shit and instead just blew them out of their own stadium from the first quarter on like so many other teams had been doing for years at that point? 

The ND hype machine - always undeserving but on overdrive at that point - ranked #2 because they blew out a so/so Penn State team, Brady Quinn Heisman to be, National Champs to be (no this time we mean it!), coached by Hugh Jass Charlie Weiss... and in the end: Henne to Manningham, Henne to Manningham, Henne to Manningham, sack Quinn, sack Quinn, sack Quinn, Irish toolbag fan flipping the bird to Steve Breaston in the end zone... it remains one of the most epic and memorable blowouts EVER. 

I could literally not stop smiling the rest of the weekend.  Once Michigan went up 27-7, I did something I never thought I would do, I unmuted the TV to listen to the NBC homer announcers and not even they could put a positive spin on this game...and these were the same guys that could spin ANYTHING, like in the 90's when ND was playing a bad game against Stanford and the announcers told the viewers that the Irish players had been studying all week for midterms and couldn't practice as much...because, you know, ND is the only college that has midterms.

So anyway, I loved this game.  And I'd love to hear your memories of it. 

Voltron is Handsome

September 2nd, 2014 at 2:56 PM ^

I recall hearing much of the media say how Michigan would get their asses kicked and the reverse happened. That was an awesome game. Woodley's fumble six was sweet.

M Something So…

September 2nd, 2014 at 4:21 PM ^

...and this is what I remember most.  The noise of the Michigan fans after the game was over.  All you could hear was the chant and the cowbell.  Glorious. 

I grew up ten miles from South Bend, so beating them always means something more to me.  Let's send them out on the right note. 

mgolund

September 2nd, 2014 at 3:00 PM ^

My youngest brother was at ND at the time, and called me before the game and asked if I was even going to bother watching. On top of the thorough beat down, I especially enjoyed how Brady Quinn looked like he wanted to cry the entire time.

dothepose

September 2nd, 2014 at 3:00 PM ^

I remember I was jacked up all morning for it. Then the cable went out all fuzzy as the game began in my dorm at Lawrence Tech. But I could still hear the announcers and remember them announcing Burgess's TD return with like the second or first play of the game. After that it was the Woodley and Manningham show.

goblueram

September 2nd, 2014 at 3:01 PM ^

I was in high school, traveled down to the game with a bunch of family.  Just an awesome experience.  Two memories that stand out most are Manningham going nuts and Woodley's touchdown.  

I'm heading back to South Bend for the 4th time this weekend.  1-2 record so far, so it will be nice to leave at .500.

ijohnb

September 2nd, 2014 at 3:01 PM ^

was the game where ND "did their talking on the field" if I remember correctly.  I guess they just did not have that much to say.

Tshimanga Cowabunga

September 2nd, 2014 at 3:08 PM ^

I was a sophomore at Michigan and went with my dad and some friends. For some reason I still remember being nervous about some miracle comeback until the woodley td. The aftermath of that game and the Michigan cheers echoing throughout ND stadium is one of my favorite Michigan football memories.

ShadowStorm33

September 2nd, 2014 at 3:09 PM ^

I was at the game, had gotten faculty tickets from a family friend, with seats in the first row of the upper level, right above their student section. I'm not sure why, but I'm not sure I was ever more confident about a rivalry game in my life, especially considering some of the crazy things that happened there. I just had this feeling that they were a huge fraud and were about to get exposed big time. Maybe it was the rankings/spread; up until 2012, we hadn't lost to nd as the underdog in decades. I was actually disappointed they only got to #2 going into the game; I had been really pumped about taking down a #1 team on the road.

Prescott Burgess led things off with a pick-six, and outside of a Henne int that allowed them to briefly tie it up, it was the Manningham/Woodley & Company show all game. Watching their arrogant-ass students get silenced, and early, was particularly sweet, and the beating was so brutal (much more than the final score indicated; their first td came off the Henne int, their second at the end of the first half against a prevent D, and the third in garbage time) that the Weis straight up admitted we had kicked their ass in the post-game presser.

The win kicked off our 11-0 start behind our killer D, and my perceptions of nd overall played out. Although they went 10-3 against a soft schedule, they got annihilated by the only three good teams they faced: us, USC and LSU.

Surveillance Doe

September 2nd, 2014 at 3:10 PM ^

I watched this game at a girlfriend's house. I remember being very nervous going into the game. I had picked up a six pack of McEwan's for the game, and the first one lasted me the enitre first quarter for some reason. What was happening on the field was actually pretty hard to comprehend, and I was paranoid enough that I forced myself to maintain my pace of one beer per quarter for the next three quarters. When it got to the point where it was clear the rug wasn't going to be ripped out from underneath me, it was pure jubilation.

The only thing that annoyed me about this whole thing was how, at the end of the season, the talking heads ranted about how LSU and USC had destroyed that Notre Dame team, as though those teams were on another level altogether. Michigan was rarely mentioned despite pretty much identical outcomes as those other two. Hell, that Sugar Bowl was the catapult that launched Russell's draft stock into the stratosphere. 

DK81

September 2nd, 2014 at 3:14 PM ^

I have fond memories of that game. One of the few games in my life going into that I thought Michigan would need a miracle to win because ESPN was hyping ND so much. I was still young and didn't understand or hate ESPN yet. I still remember dogpile celebrations everytime we scored with my friends at my parent's house. Good times.



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saveferris

September 2nd, 2014 at 3:14 PM ^

Myself and the rest of my Michigan cronies were watching in one of our respective mancaves.  Some beer was had and the celebration got very raucous very quickly...primarily because Michigan turned things into a gamelong celebration.  Anyhow, amidst all the high-fiving, chest-bumping, and bro-hugs after every good play Michigan made, the owner of the house had taken to sprinting across the basement and kind of jump bumping into the wall, which we all thought was amusing.  However, after Woodley picked up the Quinn fumble and rumbled into the endzone for the final dagger, he raced across the room and hit the wall perfectly between the joists, leaving a body size dent in the sheet rock, and his wife staring in silent, dumb-founded disbelief.  This left the rest of us literally rolling on the floor in peals of laughter.  Priceless.

That is my enduring memory of the 2006 ND game.

CRISPed in the DIAG

September 2nd, 2014 at 3:16 PM ^

Listened to the 1st half while driving from GR to a late-season Tigers game.  The Tigers were about to close the deal on a playoff berth for the first time in forever, but everyone in CoPa was talking Michigan football.  You could tell we were in for a ride that season.

 

gustave ferbert

September 2nd, 2014 at 3:18 PM ^

scoring a touchdown and then "shooshing" the south end zone.  and then seeing the replay to discover that he owned probably the best double move in all of college football.

 

that's when I had a feeling that team was going to be something special.

Chuck Norris

September 2nd, 2014 at 3:18 PM ^

My dad and I were on our way to Chicago for a Lions-Bears games, and we stopped in South Bend to try to scalp tickets. We were unsuccessful, and had to listen to the first half in the car. We watched the 2nd half in the ESPN sports bar in Chicago. There was a great contingency of Wolverine fans there, we did a couple "overrated!" chants (ND was ranked #2 at the time I believe).

umichjenks

September 2nd, 2014 at 3:19 PM ^

football before the game. It swelled up and looked like there was a golf ball in my palm. I didn't care and watched the beat down and went to the hospital the next day. Totally worth it.

mGrowOld

September 2nd, 2014 at 3:23 PM ^

I was there.  Had easily the best away game experience ever starting with the pre-game tailgate where a BBQ pit carry-out set up shop next to us and swapped sandwhiches for beer all day, continuing with a pretty cool FM station that played amp-up music for the crowd, accelerating with the arrival of the Long's, the Henne's and the Rivas family right next to us and then to the game (I mean ass-kicking) itself.  

As the game ended we serenaded the dejected domers with "there go the Irish" as they left the stadium and then walking down those ramps literally screaming "IT'S GREAT...TO BE...A MICHIGAN WOLVERINE. IT'S GREAT....TO BE....A MICHIGAN WOLVERINE" high fiving everybody and everything in maize n blue. Then back to the tailgate where we were joined by the players family's and we sat on the curb and drank bourbon and smoked cigars until late in the night (thanks for the stogies Mr Rivas).

Still gives me chills just typing it.  Beyond fucking awesome day.  Best - Day - Ever.

Eastside Maize

September 2nd, 2014 at 3:25 PM ^

I remember Brady Quinn getting up, after numerous times being sacked, with a piece of sod on his helmet damn near the size of his facemask. Brady was tough because Crable and co. were mashing his ass.

Skapanza

September 2nd, 2014 at 3:25 PM ^

I was a junior in the MMB for this game and it was delightful. We were engaged in some chatter with the ND fans sitting behind us, but it was pretty one-sided since we were limited to "Go Blue" or "Happy New Year". They razzed us from just after pre-game up to the Woodley scoop and score, and I remember looking back and enjoying their immensely dejected faces. I want to say one was in full green body paint and he was leaning, deflated, against the top of the fence between the stands and field.

That was my first non-MSU away game, and my first time in a hostile environment (to the extent South Bend can be considered "hostile") when the fans of the other team really and truly expected to win. To spank them so thoroughly was a special treat, and I remember that game as one of my all-time favorites from my undergrad years, just below Braylonfest and the New Math game.

As a nice bonus, I had a close-up shot of myself and one of my section mates on mgoblue, but I don't think they have a game photo archive from 06, or at least I haven't been able to find it.

Here's to a repeat on Saturday night!

funkywolve

September 2nd, 2014 at 3:26 PM ^

when UM went up 20-7 and missed the PAT,  all the crazy endings over the years started flashing through my mind and I figured the missed PAT would probably end up costing UM the game.  In the end, they could have missed every PAT and it wouldn't have mattered.

WMUgoblue

September 2nd, 2014 at 3:30 PM ^

This was my freshmen year Western and I had just taken the amtrak home for the weekend to celebrate my sisters birthday. If I recall correctly there was a ton of top 25 matchups that weekend headlined by our game and the Auburn-LSU clash; anyhow our family was having a nice weekend and as our game was going on my dad handed me a beer.



It was the first time my parents had really accepted me drinking as a minor. One of those weekends where you find out your family is a lot cooler once both their kids are in college.

gwkrlghl

September 2nd, 2014 at 3:38 PM ^

I wasn't a fan till I arrived as a freshman in '06 so I saw Vanderbilt and then this. It was awesome, but certainly not as sweet as if I had been a fan for years prior.

Still love watching the highlights and hearing "Oh, wide open"

LSAClassOf2000

September 2nd, 2014 at 3:49 PM ^

I was actually at a viewing party that was roughly half ND and half Michigan at a house near Chicago (we were visiting some of my wife's relatives, but I talked my way into a party across the street with the help of one of my wife's cousins). By the time halftime rolled around, the ratio was more 80% Michigan and 20% ND, and it was almost exclusively Michigan by the time the third quarter ended. No amount of Tom Hammond smiling insincerely could console them after a certain point. 

pasadenablue

September 2nd, 2014 at 3:50 PM ^

I was playing football with my buddies at a park near Platt Road.  Our plan was to play some ball and then watch some ball.  After spending most of the afternoon making those cats look like fools, at the end of the morning, I caught my finger in a kids jersey while making a tackle, and broke the crap out of it.  Of course I kept playing a couple snaps, cuz yay for being 19 and playing football.  But eventually I realized that I needed to go to a hospital.  2 hrs later, and I got no clue whats going on gamewise.  A resident spent 20 excruciating minutes setting my finger properly for the cast and of course I can't look it up online because I didn't have a smartphone yet.  I leave St. Joes with a cast on my hand and arm, and turn the radio on in the car (dad was driving).  Its 21-7.  WHAT???  Then Manningham scores again.  WHAAAAAAAT?  I ended up at my buddy's house, we watched the game, and chilled and shit.  I ended up getting nacho cheese sauce on my new cast, cuz brotha needs nachos son.

El Jeffe

September 2nd, 2014 at 3:55 PM ^

I remember thinking "HOLY FUCKING SHIT!!!" about nineteen times.

  1. Burgess pick
  2. Terrible Henne pick-almost-six
  3. "Oh, wide open"
  4. ND kickoff fumble
  5. Hart over the top
  6. Arrington sideline catch of Hennelaser
  7. Manningham #2
  8. Manningham #3
  9. Late first-half ND touchdown
  10. Burgess pick #2
  11. Crable Branching Quinn
  12. Henne badly overthrowing Breaston in the endzone
  13. Crable's lion-chasing-antelope sack of Quinn
  14. Leon Hall diving INT
  15. Woodley's scoop and score of Quinn Yakety Sax

Okay, so that's 15.

 

greenwood

September 2nd, 2014 at 4:01 PM ^

It was my freshman year. Watched the game in our dorm room and distinctly remembered Prescott Burgess's pick 6. Made a facebook group called 'Brady Quinn' is a candy ass and that got reported and deleted a few days later.

buckeyekiller1

September 2nd, 2014 at 4:05 PM ^

I watched this game with two of my ND friends. Before the game they were talking shit all day about how bad they were going to kick our ass, etc. Once the first few drives were over I knew they were in for a long day. About half way through the second quarter they both went down to the basement to watch the rest of the game because I was giving them so much shit.

I wouldn't have been so obnoxious if they hadn't been before the game, but they were so I returned the favor. I reveled in that victory all night because you could see that the rest of the season was going to be special.

AFWolverine

September 2nd, 2014 at 4:12 PM ^

I had forgotten how much of a curb stomp this game was. Like many of you I recall being nervous going into that week and was psyched out of my mind when the Burgess pick happened. 2 plays in. Just beautiful. That, and 2011 The Game are my favorite rivalry games of the past decade.