Previously: Krushed By Stauskas (Illinois 2014), Introducing #ChaosTeam (Indiana 2009), Revenge is Terrifying (Colorado 1996), Four Games In September I (Boston College 1991), Four Games In September II (Boston College 1994), Four Games In September III (Boston College 1995), Four Games In September IV (Boston College 1996), Pac Ten After Dark Parts One and Two (UCLA 1989), Harbaugh's Grand Return Parts One and Two (Notre Dame 1985)

This Game: Slightly abridged full game, WH highlights, box score

Part One: Click here.

Is Joe Tiller ready for the second half?

He is now. While he chews, sideline reporter Dave Ryan relays some of his choice words from halftime: he's "very upset" about the "inexcusable" drops by Purdue's receivers.

While Michigan holds a 21-6 lead at the break, their 272-199 edge in total yardage is largely explained by Purdue's sudden inability to catch the football, and while the Boilermakers' late-half field goal may have been a disappointment given the starting field position, it gives them a chance to cut the game to one possession to open the second stanza.

Instead, the same issues that plagued Purdue in the first half remain present. After a confused Michigan defense allowed a 27-yard slant out to midfield, leading receiver Chris Daniels lets a deep shot slip through his fingertips before Todd Howard rakes it out completely—the third or fourth drop by Daniels alone today and, according to the broadcast, the team's seventh. Brees has completed 12 passes. Daniels is wearing his frustration:

Brees wings the next one high, then—for the third time in the game—gets caught not expecting the snap on third down:

That can't be a fun feeling. Brees gets a handle on the ball but can only heave it out of play. Another promising drive ends in disappointment.

[Hit THE JUMP for more of this, plus multiple savage postgame quotes.]

Brees gets another great chance in short order after a Michigan three-and-out is followed by Vinny Sutherland  returning Cory Sargent's punt to the M 40. Daniels drops a quick out on first down. Offseason legend Grady Brooks bats the next throw to the dirt, making Brees two for his 11 passes. Brees finds tight end Tim Stratton on third down only for Dhani Jones and Cato June to stop him two yards short of the sticks.

With Purdue down 15 points and facing fourth-and-two on the Michigan 32, Tiller's choice is easy—he sends the offense back on the field. Five receivers enter the huddle; three depart the field when it breaks, replaced by two tight ends and a running back. They show a pitch to the short side, then flip the ball to the speedy Sutherland on an end-around the other way. It looks open until safety DeWayne Patmon steps into the hole and Sutherland attempts a sharp cut on the rain-soaked field:

Needed better tires. Sutherland "could only have been a victim of Darrell Royal’s old self-tackleization," says Dave Barnett.

Given another chance to put the game away, Michigan goes four-and-out, and Tom Brady is fortunate not to put Purdue right back in business with a pick-six. Sargent pins the Boilers inside their 20. Two plays later, however, they're right back in business—Brees drops a slot fade to Sutherland, who outruns cornerback James Whitley for a 66-yard touchdown:

“This place is really quiet, David,” says Bill Curry.

“First time all day,” says Barnett.

After a Michigan penalty on the initial try, Tiller pulls the kicking team in favor of going for two to cut the lead to seven. It's the right call; naturally, Brees buys extra time, throws across his body, and has his pass bonk off the hands of Randall Lane. “Nightmare," says Curry. "Nightmare city for the head coach.” It's 21-12, Michigan.

The Wolverines embark on a ten-play, 75-yard drive that is Pure Michigan. Every yard is gained by a tailback, fullback, or tight end. The longest play is a fullback screen to Aaron Shea, who's alone in the backfield after Anthony Thomas motions to a wingback position that allows him to serve as a lead blocker:

When Michigan faces third-and-one inside the PU ten, Lloyd Carr pounds his fist. Thomas gains the first down right up the gut. On the next snap, he plows over a defender on his way to the end zone:

“Adrian Beasley might have some tire tracks to remove,” says Barnett. It's 28-12, Michigan, and time is running out for a Brees-led comeback.

Instead, the Michigan defense gets more highlights. Howard demolishes an end-around for a short gain that comes back anyway on a holding call:

The drive ends with Brees and his intended receiver on two very different pages. The broadcast notes that David Terrell, who's again out there at cornerback, wears gloves on defense but not on offense. That's weird as hell, though it's hard to question the results. Terrell ends up seeing 45 defensive snaps in this game and I don't recall him allowing a catch; he's generally avoided.

An opportunity to put the game way out of reach as it moves into the fourth quarter goes awry when Tom Brady gets stepped on by a lineman and falls over.

Despite another miscommunication that gets a receiver lit up by Whitley, Brees moves Purdue into Michigan territory once again. He even scrambles for a seven-yard gain to set up a second-and-short. Brees moves up in the pocket and fires to Keith Dawson, who's seemingly freed himself underneath Terrell's coverage. Brees doesn't realize that's because Larry Foote is looming in an underneath zone:

Jim Hermann's defense has befuddled him.

This is when Carr, Mike DeBord, and every Michigan offense in history goes full MANBALL to run clock, even if it makes for some uncomfortable late-game moments, right? This is the case for three plays, all runs by backup Walter Cross that go for six, three, and three yards to net a first down. Insert Thomas, rinse, and repeat, right?

Purdue clearly expects the same. The Wolverines come out in an offset I-formation, Brady turns to hand off to Thomas, and... what is this devil magic:

Sometimes you only need one man running a route. Freshman tailback BJ Askew follows Markus Knight's 56-yard gain with a ten-yard scoring rumble through the heart of the defense before the entire offensive line buries him in a celebratory dogpile.

From here, it's academic. This about sums up the day for Brees:

A Purdue three-and-out causes the announcers discuss if this defense will end up on the same level as the hallowed national champions from two years prior. “Well by the end of the year they may be talked about in the same breath as that ’97 group,” says Barnett.

“They’ve got a ways to go but they’re certainly moving in that direction,” Curry responds.

Drew Henson returns, so we're treated to extensive discussion of the New York Yankees. Hooray. He also throws two absolute dimes to finish the day three-for-three for 68 yards before Jeff Del Verne adds a 25-yard field goal to the ledger.

As we learn that the Michigan Stadium crowd is the second-largest in history, someone on a hot mic makes it clear they're over this whole thing:

Good news for that guy: the game's final 4:30 is pure backup/freshman/walk-on time. Both teams run clock and lose significant yardage while recovering their own fumbles. The final score: 38-12, Wolverines. The defense holds Purdue under five yards per play, while the offense moves at a 6.5 YPP pace.

There are three big storylines following the game. One is that Brady outdueled Brees, which isn't in question despite the struggles of Purdue's receivers. Brady throws for 250 yards and two scores on 25 attempts; Brees needs 49 throws to net his 293 yards, has the game's lone pick, and gets sacked twice—he'd taken one all season entering this game. Add in Henson and Michigan finishes with ten fewer passing yards on 24 fewer attempts.

The drops are the second story. Kirk Herbstreit and Rod Gilmore use the postgame show to credit Hermann's defense:

Tiller goes, shall we say, in a different direction:

''If I had that many dropped passes, I'd sue for lack of support,'' said Tiller, who somehow retained a sense of humor despite four first-half drives deep into Michigan territory -- three of them inside the 20 -- that yielded just two field goals. ''You know the old saying: 'Leave it on the field.' I think our guys brought it back in the locker room.''

I'm gonna guess the receivers didn't say much on the drive home.

Finally, Michigan's revitalized rushing attack lends hope for a special season. Thomas nets 116 yards and two TDs on 23 carries and the offensive line, which also didn't allow a sack, looks better than it has all year. Carr uses the opportunity for, uh, a brutal takedown of the Purdue defensive front (via the Daily archives):

I'm sure he didn't mean it that way, but damn, Lloyd.

Purdue's season goes off the rails (sorry) from there, as they lose five of their final eight games while facing a gauntlet of a schedule. Tiller appears to know this is coming:

But today, Purdue's Tiller conceded his Boilermakers weren't a very good team. Asked what he would do to rouse them for the next several weeks, with No. 12 Ohio State, No. 14 Michigan State and No. 2 Penn State waiting, Tiller said he was going to seek out Purdue's baseball coach.

''Then I'm going to borrow a bat,'' he said, ''and whack them between the eyes.''

I don't think that quote would fly today!

Michigan loses their next two games, at MSU and hosting Illinois, by a combined nine points. (This MSU loss is the Plaxico Burress game, not the Spartan Bob game.) They don't drop another game, finishing the season with victories over Penn State, Ohio State, and Alabama, the last one in a dramatic Orange Bowl that goes to overtime.

The defense's dominance of Brees opens up the Heisman race to the point that the player they'd seemingly eliminated from contention the previous week, Wisconsin running back Ron Dayne, wins the award in a landslide. (Peter Warrick's arrest and suspension also play a significant role in this.) Brees finishes fourth behind two other quarterbacks, Georgia Tech's Joe Hamilton and Virginia Tech's Mike Vick, while getting the eighth-most first-place votes (three).