Wangler to Carter 36 years ago today
October 27th, 2015 at 11:36 AM ^
I always liked this more than any Hail Mary (and not just because we pulled it off). Throwing 20 yards short of the endzone and asking your receiver to make a play in the open field and outrun everyone to the goal line is an even greater degree of difficulty IMO. AC was the man.
October 27th, 2015 at 9:09 AM ^
Fantastic video of one of the greatest Michigan plays ever. Btw, love the random sousaphone notes in the background - pure excitement!
October 27th, 2015 at 9:18 AM ^
Ufer always said it was the horn off of General Patton's Jeep!
October 27th, 2015 at 9:18 AM ^
That was no sousaphone, it was the horn from General George Patton's jeep that was given to Ufer. He always honked it for big plays.
October 27th, 2015 at 9:26 AM ^
Thank you much! I learn something everyday on this blog. I was born just before he died, so my Ufer history needs some refreshing! For anyone else who was has lived in the dark - nice article from Michigan Daily:
October 27th, 2015 at 9:35 AM ^
There's a free clip in there that explains the story of how Ufer got possession of that one-of-a-kind article.
October 27th, 2015 at 10:57 AM ^
As I recall, Ufer would give one toot for a PAT, two for a FG, and three for a TD.
October 27th, 2015 at 12:04 PM ^
I think you're right.
The first game after he died, there was a long, long moment of silence for him. It was real silence, too, not that shifty muttering you sometimes get.
And then, in the middle of it, there was a single toot on the horn. It was perfect.
October 27th, 2015 at 9:09 AM ^
My junior year. Hugged people I didn't even like after that play.
October 27th, 2015 at 11:20 AM ^
That was the loudest I had ever heard the crowd at the stadium after that play - before that and for many years after it. My girl friend (and future wife) had left sometime before that to go back and do some studying. On the way back, she heard the huge crowd noise and found out what happened. I've never let her forget missing The Play!
October 27th, 2015 at 1:18 PM ^
I was a sophomore.
October 28th, 2015 at 7:04 AM ^
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October 27th, 2015 at 9:12 AM ^
"They're not even going to try the extra point! Who cares, who gives a damn?!"
October 27th, 2015 at 9:21 AM ^
in section 20. The play ended in the south end zone, so I had a great view of the whole thing. My lasting impression is of then-IU coach Lee Corso. As AC crossed the goal line, Corso fell to his knees and pounded the ground in frustration and despair.
So last-second, game-changing plays happen more often than people realize. Sometimes they don't go M's way, but other times they do. Go Blue.
October 27th, 2015 at 11:24 AM ^
If you look at the play right before it, Lawrence Reid (I believe it was) intentionally fumbled the ball out of bounds as he was being tackled in-bounds to stop the clock. Pretty smart, as Michigan had no timeouts left. He did it right in front of Corso who of course, went absolutely nuts. No call!
(EDIT: sorry didn't notice the post below by Bursley)
October 27th, 2015 at 11:53 AM ^
right into Coso's gut, who then went berserk screaming for a penalty.
I was also there, also a junior. They stopped the game for about 10 minutes trying to decide if it was legal. Consulted with the head of Big 10 refs and everything.
They finally agreed that based on the rules as they stood, it was a legal play. That winter they changed the rule so it was thereafter a 5-yard Delay of Game penaly.
I also had a radio and listening to Ufer call it while it was happening was one of the greatest experiences of my life.
This is the sort of thing that makes college football so glorious. As someone above pointed out, sometimes the weird endings go your way, sometimes they don't. It's all part of the great circus of fandom.
October 27th, 2015 at 4:53 PM ^
we had a timeout left.
October 27th, 2015 at 6:50 PM ^
October 27th, 2015 at 9:21 AM ^
I had graduated, but was helping out the Michigan Band on Saturdays. I was on the sideline with about a dozen others. By the time Carter scored the TD, we were out as far as the yard numbers. The team was on the field and since there were no video boards at the time, we kept drifting further on the field to be able to see. It was a wild time and one of the loudest times I can recall.
October 27th, 2015 at 9:22 AM ^
with my old man, I was 11 yrs old and he watched the games just like that clip sounded...we'd watch it on TV and listen to Ufer's broadcast. This clip, I have no problem admitting, makes me a bit misty...
October 27th, 2015 at 9:24 AM ^
That about 2,000,000 people must have attended...
October 27th, 2015 at 9:32 AM ^
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October 27th, 2015 at 9:33 AM ^
Ah the days were the crowd could get easily on the field. We used to always try to get on the field at some point. Now there is a lot more security and the huge drop.
October 27th, 2015 at 9:35 AM ^
especially with Ufer commentary. I still love the play right before this one though, where the RB laterals the ball OOB to stop the clock, right to HC Lee Corso! Corso loses his mind. (I like Corso on Gameday, FWIW)
October 27th, 2015 at 9:39 AM ^
October 27th, 2015 at 9:50 AM ^
In the band that day. Most exciting Michigan moment I've seen in person.
Second-best part was the play before that, when Lawrence Reid intentionally "fumbled" the ball out of bounds to stop the clock. That's when Corso went ballistic.
God, I loved A.C.
October 27th, 2015 at 10:04 AM ^
My parents drove up from Pittsburgh to see me and the game. I couldn't have asked for a better game for them to see.
October 27th, 2015 at 9:52 AM ^
will be remembered for the next 100 years
October 27th, 2015 at 9:54 AM ^
I believe this is the correct Corso "It's just not fair, god damnit" pose...
October 27th, 2015 at 1:35 PM ^
well, if Corso hadn't been a complete pussy by kicking the PK for a tie rather than going for two, maybe Karma would have treated him better. Seriously, who has the opportunity for one of the biggest upsets in a decade and opts for a tie instead.? I have never been able to stomach Corso since---even before his buffoonish stint on Gameday.
October 27th, 2015 at 9:57 AM ^
I remember the whole play unfolding like it was yesterday!
October 27th, 2015 at 10:06 AM ^
October 27th, 2015 at 10:26 AM ^
Lawrence Reid intentionally fumbled the ball out of bounds to stop the clock and set up the winning play. That's what infuriated Corso since it was perfectly legal at the time.
October 27th, 2015 at 11:34 AM ^
And it was made illegal later on - but then they legalized spiking the ball. If the game were today he'd just go down and we'd spike it.
October 27th, 2015 at 11:07 AM ^
I was a freshman. I had been sitting in section 33, but unfortunately not with my usual friends. That was the game I sat with a woman who was also a freshman and a friend from high school. We had a long term love/hate relationship. Some dispute arose, she wanted to leave early, I walked out with her to show my loyalty, and then we got into a little fight about leaving early. (Guess who wanted to stay.)
She stomped off. I ran back in to the entrace of Section 35 and watched the last few plays, including FB Lawrence Reid "fumbling" out of bounds to Corso to stop the clock with 6 seconds left. The last play and the pass to Carter was glorious. A guy standing next to me, who I did not know, grabbed me and lifted me up in the air. I was 6'1" and weighed 185 pounds. I was not used to being lifted up.
I still regret not being with my buddies and storming the field. But it was a great day.
My older brother (who was listening to the game on the radio) told me the next day that Ufer went spastic. I have enjoyed the youtube clips for years. I particularly like the replay on Michigan Replay, where after playing the clip, Bo turns to Brandstatter and asks "What's Valhalla, anyway?"
October 27th, 2015 at 11:12 AM ^
Notice Lee Corso's dance of protest with the offficial Pat Fitzgerald-style:
October 27th, 2015 at 12:35 PM ^
I was there with my future wife, directly across from the action. I recall that after Reid flipped the ball out, the entire stadium went quiet with an "uh oh, what was that?" reaction.
A great game!
October 27th, 2015 at 11:21 AM ^
October 27th, 2015 at 11:27 AM ^
October 27th, 2015 at 11:30 AM ^
October 27th, 2015 at 11:31 AM ^
She normally found football so dull that she'd routinely read a book while sitting in the stands, even during Ohio State games. She even got excited at the final play and was jumping up and down with the rest of us.
The best part of the replay for me is Bo jumping up and down like a 10-year old who's just gotten what he wanted on Christmas morning.
October 27th, 2015 at 11:31 AM ^
Michigan was playing very poorly that day and should have been way ahead of IU by the end of the game. On top of that, the weather was chilly and gray, which dampened the mood of the crowd for the entire game. Everyone was dreading a humiliating tie during the 4th quarter. Up until The Play, there had been little to cheer about and the crowed had been pretty quiet. When Carter scored, it just released all this pent up spirit and the noise level was unbelievable. Memories.
October 27th, 2015 at 11:46 AM ^
People were leaving. Scads of them left. They had given up and were actually worried about how quickly they could get their car out of the parking lot.
Then THE PLAY happened. After I stopped celebrating I remember thinking, " those people that left are really going to regret it."
October 27th, 2015 at 11:43 AM ^
If you look really closely at the mass on humanity on the field at the end you can see my very young self. Actually, you can't, but I was in there somewhere.
October 27th, 2015 at 11:49 AM ^
I was born 3 months after this game. If I had a DeLorean, this would be one of the moments I would go back to see.
October 27th, 2015 at 11:51 AM ^
I heard the crowd from my front yard...on Longshore drive. A buddy from my boy scout troop (23) left the game early that day. We never let him forget it.
Ufer was a one-of-a-kind miracle. This call still brings tears to my eyes.
October 27th, 2015 at 12:03 PM ^
October 27th, 2015 at 12:06 PM ^
An penguin with a hot herring in his cummerbund?
If worms had machine guns, birds wouldn't be scared of them?
Perhaps Harbaugh is partially possessed by Ufer?