33rd Anniversary of Wangler to Carter Today

15 years old. Sitting with my brother in section 18. This was the first "greatest play I've ever seen in Michigan history." Thankfully, there've been a few more since then. Incredible memories.

I was just out of school and spent game days helping the Marching Band with whatever they needed. I sat on the sidelines (not the greatest spot for watching the game) most of the time. At the end, we all edged to the sideline to get a better view of the final play. At the time the pass was thrown, I was almost out to the hash mark so I could see. The field had hundreds on it by the time Carter hit the goal line. About fifteen seconds later the students started hitting the field. It was crazy, even without hearing Ufer until days later.

Impossible to watch this soundless gif without hearing HONK HONK HONK

I have always said; that the play before AC's miracle touchdown was so bewildering, that I had a hard time comprehending Carter's catch and run after the catch, even as an eyewitness.  The mood in the Stadium was not so much triumphalism (it was IU, after all) but more like, what did we just see?

It was very nice to see AC, appearing healthy and well, at the MSU game last Saturday. 

Yes, they did.  I was already thinking of making a post about rule changes that have been made specifically because of things that happened during Michigan games.  Here's my preliminary list:

(1) going back to limited subsitution rules after the 1945 M-Army game;

(2) clock re-starts after a fumble out of bounds, enacted after the 1979 M-Indiana game;

(3) defensive pass interference limited to 15 yards from the line of scrimmage, rather than being a spot foul, after an extremely questionable 45-yard defensive pass interference penalty costs Michigan the 1980 Notre Dame game.

Off the field, there is the suite of rule changes passed by the Big Ten in 1906 that caused Michigan to withdraw from the conference, and obviously the changes to the Big Ten football championship tiebreakers that were passed after the 1973 athletic director vote fiasco.

 

"Pounding their  fist into the steering wheel"    sort of like how I reacted to last week's game winning field goal.

Awesome story. I've always wondered what it was like to hear that play live on the radio. That and the Cal vs. Band play.

My parents still rank this as their favorite Michigan moment ever.

...is a bad ass ride now!

Clearly Don, she gives a shit more than she wants you to believe.

Please keep sitting there. You bring us good luck.

You raise an excellent point here and my guess would be it occupies a perhaps undeserved slot in Michigan lore from a purely analytical standpoint but I think I know why.   It was the first such play most of us (even us old farts like me and Don) remember seeing.  Look at your list....any plays on it before 1979?  And as I think back into my game memory (which goes back to 68 and the great Ron Johnson) I can't remember another game we won in such dramatic fashion.  I'm sure there were some but boy I cant recall any.

Also look at the gap in your list from 79 to the next one you list which occurs in 95.  That's a long time for people to enlarge the play's significance in their memory with nothing else to replace it.  Nowdays these types of wins are more commonplace - back then they werent for some reason.

I think that's why.  

You are correct in that it was an horrible game for Michigan. The team was listless, mistake prone on offense, and seemingly bored on defense. I mean Michigan could not stop Indiana! Indiana!!

It was homecoming, and Michigan was going to tie freaking Indiana!? Holy crap! Michigan always won homecoming games. Period. So the dramatics of the end game were made even more impressive and improbable in light of the game. It was so exciting because it was so unexpected. Back then the ref's made you "finish" a game by kicking the extra point even when the clock had expired and there was nothing on it. They could not clear the field to kick the point, and after much hand wringing, they finally said the hell with it. According to Ufer, it was the first time that had ever happened.

The games you refer to were all high up on the list, but all of those were "possible" in terms of a winning result. This game was on the impossible scale because of the way it all came down and the need for a touchdown (it was too far out to attempt a field goal). Anthony had established himself as brilliant even though he was only a freshman. But even for Anthony, this was impossible.

Then you've got Bo. Bo just could not seem to come up with the game winner type play. You knew or sensed very early that Bo was gonna win or lose...obviously there are a few exceptions, but I can't think of another where Michigan needed a touchdown to win with only a few seconds left and Michigan gets it done.

So I get your ranking, but if had seen all that like I did, and Larry Reid saving the day much to Corso's chagrin, and an incredible play (I mean he was tackled and then the guy...more than one... completely whiffed), you knew then you had never seen a play like that, and you had never seen a player like that. There was no comparison. Probably won't ever be.

EDIT: Bo started the season with BJ Dickey at QB, a running QB. By this game he had switched to Wangler, a throwing QB to take advantage of AC.

 

I certainly won't neg such a well thought out post, but I will respond to your call to let you know what you were missing:

First, the "game was tied" argument would not have held any water for people who were there.  A tie was as big of a disaster as a loss, and people were in shock after Indiana scored to tie it up in the last minute.  The drop in the polls would have been exactly the same, and the effect on the Big Ten standings (OSU was undefeated) would have been the same.

Second, all of those plays you list were great, but none of them met both of the following criteria at the same time:  (a) last play of the game, (b) distance to score either right at the edge or even outside the quarterback's range.  Name some games in college football history that match both criteria--Flutie, Cordell Stewart, Stanford Band.  Among the most memorable games ever.

Game winning field goals are not the same excitement level as game-winning touchdowns.  Touchdowns with 10 seconds left are not the same excitement level as touchdowns with 0 seconds left.  Touchdowns from 15 yards are not the same excittement level as touchdowns from 45 yards.  That's just the way it is, but I guess excitement can't be specifically measured, so maybe the TD in the UTL game holds more of that for you.  I can understand that, especially since it's undeniable that the UTL game was much more of a roller-coaster than a game played in 1979 could possibly have been.

 

Thanks, everyone, for responding. Some points (all good) made, in summary:

* There weren't many memorable plays in that era so it stood out more. The refs seemed to agree.
* Bo in particular wasn't known for big strikes.
* Unlike the other plays I listed, it was a *long* score (in distance).

Historical context is obviously important and it didn't have it in mind when posting.

For what it's worth, I would've put Remy Hamilton's field goal of '94 in the list. Wouldn't have changed my post too much ...

The play just had elements that made it iconic. Carter sliding through a last grasp at his shoestrings, high stepping into the endzone with those knee-high white socks, arms aloft. as a tie that would have been as good as a loss was turned into an escape. An all-time great doing one of the things that made him an all-time great.

I was 12, we were visiting some friends of my parents' in Lowell. Listened to it on the radio.

Thank you for posting that clip.  Such a nice trip down memory lane for me.

Watching the replay, it struck me how close Carter was to falling down after the first tackle attempt.  He did a great job keeping his balance.  And then he dodged the final tackle.  That's the remarkable thing - if either IU guy manages to trip him up, the play becomes completely forgotten.