Best Away Game You Have Attended?
The other day I was chatting with a friend who went to the game at UCONN and it got me thinking about all of the away games I have gone to. After thinking about it, I decided my favorite was the 2006 game at Notre Dame. Notre Dame was ranked #2 for that game and was supposed to "return to glory" that year. Also, the winner of that game would be #1 for winning percentage. As we now know, Michigan dominated 47-21. That game was truly awesome to go. Now I must ask everyone else: what is the your favorite away game that you have been to (and if you haven't been to any, then do you have a favorite away game from the past?)
October 2nd, 2013 at 10:30 PM ^
October 2nd, 2013 at 10:31 PM ^
Michigan won 16-10--Illinois drove to the 2 in the final minute and was stuffed on a fourth down run.
Before the game the guy with the seat next to me asked me how the drive was.
"I walked." Which wasn't hard since I was living in Champaign that year and my apartment was about a mile from the stadium.
"REALLY????"
And I realized that even though he'd been sitting next to me all season, he didn't recognize me for some presumably alcohol-related reason, had noticed my M hat, and thought I'd walked all the way from Ann Arbor.
He was impressed.
October 3rd, 2013 at 12:31 PM ^
That 4th down stop earned us a Rose Bowl we probably didn't deserve.
October 2nd, 2013 at 10:32 PM ^
Well, I've been to 3. Both of the Rich Rod games @ Ohio State and the last Rich Rod game @ Penn State. So they basically all sucked. But I'll go with Penn State. Very friendly tailgaters.
October 2nd, 2013 at 10:32 PM ^
Haven't been to one but want to go to the Rose Bowl one day that Michigan is playing in.
I will never go out to state or down to ohio. I get disgusted just looking at their fans on TV. I can only imagine what I'd feel like in those locations.
Rather just stay and watch on TV in friendly confines and hopefully when I get "the call" for my season ticket wait being up, I can get to all the home games.
October 2nd, 2013 at 10:33 PM ^
October 2nd, 2013 at 10:36 PM ^
2008 cap one bowl.
have only been to wisconsin (2009) and osu (2010) and both of those were awful, awful results for michigan.
i think my all time favorite away game was the gtown @ syracuse game this past season i went to where otto porter lit up the orange and closed the dome. that was something special.
October 2nd, 2013 at 10:38 PM ^
Michigan played ohio in 2010? I do not recall. What say you, Mark Emmert?
October 2nd, 2013 at 10:43 PM ^
October 2nd, 2013 at 10:49 PM ^
October 2nd, 2013 at 10:52 PM ^
October 2nd, 2013 at 10:49 PM ^
2007 Illinois and Sparty were also awesome in a different way.
2006 ND I was a junior and made the trip with one of my senior friends. We were hammered and I am not proud about how we acted, but that is probably the most fun I have ever had at an away game.
October 2nd, 2013 at 10:49 PM ^
Well, it's definitely an "away game" but the Penn. St. @ Iowa game back in 2008 with the last second field goal by Iowa to knock off No.3 Penn St.
The 2011 season Sugar Bowl win was pretty damn good too.
October 2nd, 2013 at 11:24 PM ^
If we're counting non-Michigan games, the best one I was at was probably ND at MSU in 2000. MSU had 4th & 10 deep in their own territory at the end of the game, and Herb Haygood took a quick slant 70-yards for the winning score.
I was also at the UW-Stanford game last season, when the Huskies upset Stanford on a Thursday night. That was also an exciting game, but the atmosphere wasn't quite as good because it was at the Clink instead of Husky Stadium.
October 2nd, 2013 at 10:55 PM ^
October 2nd, 2013 at 11:02 PM ^
October 2nd, 2013 at 11:05 PM ^
October 2nd, 2013 at 11:07 PM ^
I had to think about this for a minute because it seems like Michigan has lost all the big road games I've attended (1993 MSU, 2000 Northwestern, 2007 Rose Bowl) and the only wins I can recall were against less-than-stellar opponents (1994 Illinois, 2003 Northwestern, IU a couple times). I guess I'd have to go with 2000 Northwestern because, despite the loss, that game is actually kind of famous and all. Plus I always have a great time in Chicago.
October 2nd, 2013 at 11:10 PM ^
Suffice it to say, I had more fun in 2009. Still, 2011's atmosphere was pretty electric.
October 3rd, 2013 at 12:35 PM ^
Were you the guy with the "We love you Rich Rod" banner?
October 3rd, 2013 at 7:46 PM ^
Alas, I sat in the student section on the other side of the stadium. Got a good view of it though.
October 2nd, 2013 at 11:25 PM ^
2007 at MSU
2008 Capital One Bowl vs. Florida
2012 Sugar Bowl vs. Virginia Tech
I've been to a couple others (a few wins, a few more losses), but those three were the best, in that order.
October 2nd, 2013 at 11:27 PM ^
I got to photograph the UConn game on the sidelines and had a blast doing it. I hereby declare myself the only person (Michigan fan or UConn fan) to really enjoy that game.
I also went to Northwestern in 2011 which was pretty fun, too.
October 2nd, 2013 at 11:33 PM ^
1985 @ MSU - UM dominated Sparty
1987 Rose Bowl vs. ASU - UM lost, but helped John Cooper a job in Columbus. Was a bummer while I was there, but the decade of OSU beat downs was very enjoyable.
1997 @ Wisconsin - A grind it out win in the cold the week before The Game
1998 @ Iowa - Rainy Day where UM kept Iowa in the game by continually dropping punts. Lloyd finally put Tai Strrets back to receive and found a way to use the defense to win the game.
2001 @ Wisconsin - UM was a shit show all day, but a muffed punt at the end by Wisky set up a game winning field goal.
2003 @ Northwestern - Quiet crowd, UM dominated. Navarre to Avant for the one-handed TD grab was a great play.
2005 @ Wisconsin - Lost on a last second QB draw. TERRIBLE
2007 @ Northwestern - Shawn Crable and Chad Henne carried a slugish UM to victory. Like in 2003, not a lot of energy in the crowd.
2009 @ Illinois - Roundtree TD called down at the one. Four Straight runs into the line followed by a complete RichRod style meltdown. UM's only loss at Illinois since 1983.
2009 @ Wisconsin - Another complete collapse from UM.
2012 @ Minnesota - Beautiful new stadium almost half full. Was an easy game to watch, and had a great time in Monneapolis afterwards.
2013 @ Northwestern - I am hoping for an electric crowd and an exciting UM win.
Best Experience- TIE 97 Wisky because UM had a chance for the NC and 85 Sparty because kicking those assholes in the face is always a good time.
Worst Experience- 2005 Wisky. UM had no running game without an injured Hart, and still lead the game all the way until the last seconds. I wanted to puke.
October 2nd, 2013 at 11:33 PM ^
2006 "White Out" at PSU. Mike Hart was looking at me and my dad when he scored in the corner of the endzone at the very end of the 3rd quarter. Also, our D killing 3 of their QBs was awesome.
October 3rd, 2013 at 12:31 AM ^
Nice! I was on ESPN holding a Michigan flag right after that touchdown. Skipped some high school event for a trip to that game.
October 3rd, 2013 at 12:39 AM ^
October 3rd, 2013 at 11:46 AM ^
...as well. My brother and I scored face value 45 yd line tickets from the just retired PSU CIO (PSU was a client of my brother's company). Fabulous atmosphere. Even better result. The PSU season ticket holders around us were all reasonable and well behaved in spite of the outcome.
Sure as hell beat my experience at the 2008 PSU game. What a nightmare that was.
October 2nd, 2013 at 11:42 PM ^
October 2nd, 2013 at 11:58 PM ^
October 3rd, 2013 at 12:24 AM ^
Only been to a few, but Illinois '07 was fun. That crowd was jacked and very confident it was their night after the Illini took an early 14-3 lead.
October 3rd, 2013 at 12:28 AM ^
Been to quite a few. 2006 was by far the best year, going to @ND, @PSU, and @OSU. That #1 vs. #2 game of the century was the best atmosphere I could possibly imagine, despite the obviously disappointing result. The Sugar Bowl was also the best possible trip for senior year at Michigan.
October 3rd, 2013 at 12:39 AM ^
October 3rd, 2013 at 1:01 AM ^
October 3rd, 2013 at 1:25 AM ^
October 3rd, 2013 at 1:48 AM ^
Only road game I've been to. It was a frustrating, but very exciting game.
If only the game was 5 quarters long, we'd have won. We had all the momentum in the second half, just too much of a hole to climb out of. Time ran out as we were driving to win... made it to about the Oregon 45 but the last pass was too high for Avant to pull in. At least that's the way I remember it. Never saw a recording of the game.
I remember Oregon's first drive was very long... lots of plays, lots of clock. When it finally stalled somewhere around the 10 yard-line, we blocked the FG and returned it for a TD. I was thrilled but as it was being returned, I was sweating how poorly this boded for our defense to have to go right back on the field after that long drive in the hot sun.
Loudest crowd I've ever been in. Had crappiest seats in the stadium (behind the endzone in the 2nd to last row), but they were still closer to the field than every home game I had ever been to except one in the student section back in '89.
October 3rd, 2013 at 2:00 AM ^
Yeah, that Oregon crowd was ridiculously loud. I'm still trying to figure out how 50K fans got that loud without piped in crowd noise.
1990 Notre Dame at night was pretty awesome even though we lost. Obviously The 1993 and 1998 Rose Bowls are my favorites if you count Bowl Games.
Any game in Columbus is the worst road game ever. Ohio fans are the most obnoxious assholes on the planet. It really isn't worth going to a game there. Better to just watch on TV.
The most fun I've had at a road game was at an Illinois game back in the early 90's, but only because their team was terrible, their stadium experience was awful, and I was with a ton of my friends from UM, so we spent the entire game loudly mocking pretty much everything about Illionois. Which was rather easy to do given that our team consisted of Grbac, Wheatley, Toomer, etc. at the time. I mean, what are you supposed to do when the stadium announcer loudly tells you (when Illinois is about to punt) to "Stand Up! For Special Teams!!!!!" That just HAD to be mocked.
October 3rd, 2013 at 2:18 AM ^
I've talked to several people who were at Autzen in '03 who claim with 100% certainty that the crowd noise was amplified, and was pumped even higher when Navarre was under center. Feel like Lloyd hinted at it in his presser, too. It wasn't just loud, it was unnaturally loud.
The worst part about that game was the goofy series of events at the beginning of the game that caused our defense to be on the field with a lead for the entire first quarter, which left them completely gassed for an utter disaster of a second quarter.
And then Jason Avant literally cried through his postgame interview in the lockerroom because he was so pissed off about losing the game.
October 3rd, 2013 at 9:46 AM ^
I would be 100% unsurprised to find out Oregon was piping in crown noise for that game. It was definitely unnaturally loud. I was at UTL 1 in 2011 and the Oregon game, with less than half of the people, was at least TWICE as loud and maybe louder. It was "rock concert I need earplugs because my ears are bleeding" loud. And I was in the upper half of the stadium
Now, maybe there is some magical reason that the architecture in Autzen causes their 50K to get mega-amplified to the point that their crowd sounds like a fleet of F-16's taking off. But I've always suspected there was amplified crowd noise coming from somewhere that day. I been in a lot of stadiums all over the country for a lot of games and I've never heard anything that was even remotely like that.
October 3rd, 2013 at 2:26 AM ^
Only been to one away football game, and it was miserable. RR's first ND game, which we lost badly in a monsoon. The worst of it, though, was that I was just starting an MA program at ND at the time, and was always quite identifiable as the Michigan guy on campus, so I didn't get to just go home and forget about it. I got my own back, though, when we beat them the following year - I ran through their fountain after the game!
The only other away games I've attended were also at ND. I went to a baseball doubleheader which we split with them, which was entertaining enough except for the douchey high schooler fans who were sitting near me at one point. I also attended a hockey game there in the 2008-09 season which we won 2-1 in an absolute thriller. I brought a bunch of newspapers, so the whole UM section did the "who cares?" thing just like at Yost.
I've been to a number of non-UM games, but I was always backing the home team at those. I attended a lot of games at my current grad school, which is D-III. Winning our conf championship and rushing the floor last year was the highlight.
In the future I am looking forward to going to games at Maryland. As much as I hate adding them to the Big Ten, I am already planning on attending our upcoming football game there, as well as probably catching some b-ball & other sports as well. I guess this makes me part of the problem. :)
October 3rd, 2013 at 5:25 AM ^
2. 2004 Rose Bowl
3. 2002 Purdue. About 4 days prior to that game, I broke up with a long-term girlfriend who was very uncool about my football addiction. I remember waking up on that Thursday and realizing how nobody was going to try to stop me from going. Understanding that you are now "free" is pretty damn great.
October 3rd, 2013 at 6:57 AM ^
Illinois 1995 - We killed Illinois. Fun game and a friendly crowd even though we were "big" rivals.
Purdue 1996 - Terrible game. Probably the worst I have ever seen Michigan play. We just gave the game to Purdue.
Penn State 1997 - Wonderful game. I went to the alumni tailgate and traded my two upperdeck seats for one row 3 seat on about the 30. Had a great time watching Michigan destroy Penn State. Probably my greatest Michigan Football game either home or away. The only one close was Notre Dame 1991.
October 3rd, 2013 at 7:06 AM ^
October 3rd, 2013 at 7:40 AM ^
Drove up to Pasedena from where I was stationed by myself as I could find no one else to come with me. Parked not too far from the stadium and walked around, as I got closer I started to look for a ticket. I was there about 10 mins when some guy just gives me one, says his friend isn't coming. I was thinking this was great. I ran back to my car and put on all my michigan gear (I hadn't worn it thinking scalpers would ask more if I was wearing it then). I went into the stadium and took up my seat. Turns out I was in the UCLA alumni section...ok so I was getting some instant harrasment. One old guy in front of me talked the whole game, UCLA was winning thru 3 quarters but in the 4th Michigan got 2TD's, recovered and onside kick and then a FG to win the game as time ran out...It was awesome.
October 3rd, 2013 at 10:39 AM ^
October 3rd, 2013 at 12:14 PM ^
I would have to go find write up to remember more details, I just remember having a very smug grin on my face as the UCLA guy still tried to tell me how bad Michigan was even after the comeback...I just nodded my head and kept walking out the stadium. It was fun.
ok here we go.
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCk…
October 3rd, 2013 at 8:01 AM ^
comparable to seeing the maize and blue take the field in Columbus.
For a fun time, Northwestern or Indiana. Totally stress free locations. I absolutely hated going to Illinois.
October 3rd, 2013 at 9:21 AM ^
October 3rd, 2013 at 9:29 AM ^
October 3rd, 2013 at 4:49 PM ^
I'll never forget the scalpers walking around with stacks of tickets two inches thick, who were still trying to get 50 apiece.