Michigan Pulls Off Improbable Comeback to Beat Wisconsin 27-25

Quite a few games in the past have been deemed as a tale of two halves, but that description was never truer than on Saturday. In Michigan Stadium’s 500th game, the Wolverines came out flatter than flat in the first half. Michigan only gained a total of 21 yards, had only one first down, and threw for -7 yards. Thanks to the defense, though, the Wolverines only trailed 19-0 at the half, setting up the biggest Michigan comeback in the history of the Big House.

The second half welcomed a completely different team offensively. Michigan added a touchdown late in the third quarter to make it a game before scoring two more literally seconds apart to take the lead. The Wolverines would later add another touchdown that proved to be important as Wisconsin scored with only 13 seconds left to give themselves a chance to send the game to overtime. The 2-point conversion attempt to tie the game was successful, but a penalty negated it and forced Wisconsin to try again. On the second attempt, Wisconsin’s Allan Evridge threw an incomplete pass, giving Michigan a shocking 27-25 victory.

If the start of this game was any indication, we were in for quite the roller coaster ride. Wisconsin took the opening kickoff back 55 yards to the Michigan 38, putting them close to field goal range. After picking up a pair of first downs thanks to P.J. Hill, their drive stalled and initially appeared to end with a turnover. On 3rd down, David Gilreath caught a pass and fumbled the ball as he was fighting for a first down. The play was ruled a fumble at first, but after a review the call was changed. It was a good call since Gilreath’s knee was down before the ball came out, but the ref’s explanation was terrible as he said something like, “Video confirms the runner’s knee was down.” Most people heard the word “confirms” and assumed that the play was confirmed, but that wasn’t the case.

Following the review, Wisconsin had a chance to take a 3-0 lead with what seemed like an easy field goal. It apparently wasn’t as easy as I thought considering Philip Welch, Wisconsin’s kicker, hooked it wide left from 34 yards away. He would get a chance to redeem himself shortly after the miss thanks to a fumble by Steven Threet on the following drive. Michigan was faced with 3rd and long and Threet took off in hopes of running for the first down. He got within 3 yards of the first down marker and was hit by two defenders to knock the ball loose. A Badger fell on it, giving Wisconsin outstanding field position. Wisconsin was only able to get down to the 4-yard line as the Michigan defense held tough, but Welch did hit a field goal from 21 yards away, giving the Badgers a 3-0 lead.

After Michigan got what would be their only first down of the entire half, their drive stalled and Zoltan Mesko had to punt the ball away. Wisconsin got the ball back and eventually had 4th and 1 at the Michigan 34-yard line. The Badgers came out in a punt formation, but their punter quickly ran up under center to try to draw Michigan offside. The strategy worked perfectly as John Thompson jumped way offside when the punter faked the snap and the offensive line went down into a three-point stance. The penalty gave Wisconsin a first down and allowed them to kick a 42-yard field goal after the U-M defense again held tough.

Wisconsin did its best to keep Michigan in this game and give them lots of great opportunities. One play after another Mesko punt, Allan Evridge had his pass dropped and Charles Stewart came up with the interception. The receiver literally let it bounce right off his hands, giving Stewart an easy interception. Michigan got to start the proceeding drive at their own 45, but since they already got their one first down of the half, you already know that they didn’t move the ball anywhere.

Even with the offense doing nothing, the defense continued to play well and forced another turnover. Evridge dropped back to pass on 3rd and 4 and was hit by both Stevie Brown and Brandon Graham. The ball came loose and Will Johnson fell on it, giving the offense the ball at their own 49. Again, though, nothing would happen except for another Mesko punt. Actually, that’s not entirely true. On the first play after the fumble Michigan nearly gave the ball right back to Wisconsin. Steven Threet ran an option and pitched the ball behind Sam McGuffie. The ball rolled near the sidelines and a Wisconsin player recovered it. However, after a review the call was overturned as the defender never had possession before he went out of bounds. That allowed Michigan to simply punt the ball away rather than turn it over.

Michigan’s defense continued to play well and forced a Wisconsin three and out. Greg Mathews returned the Wisconsin punt about 11 yards all the way to the Badgers 40-yard line. Problem is he was carrying the ball in the wrong hand and had it knocked loose by a Wisconsin player’s helmet. This fumble happened near the sidelines as well, but the Wisconsin player that recovered did get possession before going out of bounds this time.

On the ensuing drive Wisconsin finally broke off a big play. It was bound to happen eventually since Michigan’s defense was on the field for so long, and it came in the form of a 46-yard run by John Clay. Clay had a huge hole open up and ran down the right side of the field before Donovan Warren knocked him out at the 5. One play later Clay got into the end zone for a touchdown, putting Wisconsin on top 13-0.

Michigan shot itself in the foot again on the proceeding kickoff when Morgan Trent fumbled on the return. He got tripped up and wasn’t securing the ball at all, allowing it to come loose for the fumble. Wisconsin recovered and got a field goal out of it, making the score 16-0. After both teams went three and out, Steven Threet threw an interception that resulted from both a bad pass and a bad route by Martavious Odoms. Wisconsin only got a field goal from the turnover, this time from 52 yards out, but the score was 19-0 and things looked bleak.

With 4 seconds left in the half, Michigan got the ball back and everyone was hoping they would just take a knee and go into the locker room. After all, they were at their own 39 and the chances of them scoring were slim, so only something bad could happen, right? The answer to that question is emphatically yes.

Threet got hit as he threw the ball and it was picked off by Jonathan Casillas. Casillas returned the interception all the way down to the 8-yard line before he was hit out of bounds by a couple Michigan players. If he would have scored a touchdown to end the half, this game would have been over. I blame the coaches for letting this happen as the right call is to take a knee in that situation. Otherwise, well, disaster can happen and it almost did. The fans let the coaches and players know of their disgust as the team was booed as they headed into the tunnel for halftime.

It honestly was unbelievable just how bad the offense was in the first half. As I already mentioned, they had only a single first down, 21 total yards, and -7 passing yards. It literally was the worst offensive performance I can remember seeing in any football game I’ve watched. At this point many of the fans, myself included, were wondering if this team would win more than a couple games this season. That is how bad they played in the first half. It really was shocking that Michigan was only down 19, especially since they turned the ball over 5 times. Then again, Wisconsin had 2 turnovers of their own and Michigan’s defense played great considering the circumstances.

As the second half got underway, the fans cheered loudly when Michigan returned the opening kickoff. It wasn’t because the return went for a touchdown or anything like that, but there was no fumble, so sadly that warranted cheers. The same goes for Michigan’s first play of the half. Steven Threet threw an 11-yard pass to Carlos Brown for Michigan’s first first down since early on the opening quarter. The fans cheered loudly simply because it was a positive passing play and a first down, which were two things they hadn’t seen in quite a while. Michigan did have to punt as they couldn’t get another first down, but at least they didn’t go three and out.

The Wolverines got the ball back after Wisconsin punted, and this next drive changed the entire dynamic of the game and perhaps the season. Michigan started to air it out and did have success passing for a change, which helped open up the running game a bit. Threet hit Greg Mathews for a first down and then for a gain of 5 yards. Following an incompletion, Threet took off and just barely was short of a first down, bringing up 4th and inches. Despite being on their own 42, Michigan decided to go for it because they had to. Kevin Grady came in and got the handoff out of the I-formation and picked up 5 yards to move the chains and keep the drive alive.

Michigan moved into Wisconsin territory on a 16-yard pass from Threet to Mathews, and then McGuffie ran for 6 yards. Grady got the handoff on the next two plays and again moved the chains, this time on 3rd and 1. After a pair of incompletions, Michigan was faced with 3rd and 10Threet hit freshman tight end Kevin Koger across the middle for a 26-yard touchdown pass. Threet had time to throw and made a great pass right to Koger, who caught the ball and ran into the end zone to make it a 19-7 game.

Thanks to a short kickoff and a personal foul on Michael Williams, Wisconsin started their next drive in Michigan territory. The defense was put in a tough spot again, but they responded and made a huge play on 3rd and 1. Evridge attempted to pitch the ball on an option play, but Tim Jamison got a piece of it and caused a fumble. Wisconsin would recover, but the Wolverines got the ball back after the punt with a chance to cut into the lead again. Michigan actually went three and out, but so did Wisconsin after Zoltan Mesko punted the ball away. It would be the next drive where Michigan cut into the lead, and boy did they ever.

The Wolverines started at their own 15-yard line and nearly had their drive ended a few different times. First it was 3rd and 9 for Michigan. U-M moved the chains on a 14-yard pass to Greg Mathews, which came two plays after Mathews knocked the wind out of himself from diving for an overthrown Steven Threet pass that would have resulted in a gain of over 40 yards had it been caught. And actually, if the pass was thrown perfectly it very well could have been a TD. On the next sequence of plays it ended up being 3rd and 10 and Threet’s pass downfield to Brandon Minor was broken up. Thankfully, Wisconsin bailed out Michigan by roughing the passer, giving the Wolverines 15 yards and an automatic first down.

Fast forward to a few plays later and it was 3rd and 2 for Michigan. This time Threet moved the chains by using his legs. He was faced with pressure and simply ran straight up the pocket for the first down and more. Brandon Minor then ran for 11 yards and another first down before absolutely igniting the Michigan Stadium crowd. Minor got the handoff and ran through an enormous hole. He had lots of room to run before encountering any Wisconsin defenders, and once he did, a very small cut move prevented them from making the tackle. Minor accelerated and sprinted into the end zone for a 34-yard touchdown, making this a one possession game.

Not only was this a game again, but the crowd was more than into it. As Wisconsin came out for their next drive, the crowd was still going absolutely nuts and Michigan Stadium was as loud as I had ever heard it. That is, until the very next play. Allan Evridge threw a slant pass that was deflected into the air by Donovan Warren. John Thompson was right there to make the interception and he did. Thompson then took off down the field and navigated his way into the end zone for a touchdown. When Thompson scored I seriously think it was the loudest Michigan Stadium had ever been as the excitement was unbelievable. Michigan took a 20-19 lead in a game where it initially looked like they would struggle to simply get another first down.

Since the lead was only 1, Michigan decided to go for 2 to make it a field goal game. Threet rolled out to his right side and couldn’t find a target, so he ended up getting sacked, keeping the score at 20-19. Feeding off the momentum of the interception and the crowd that wasn’t quiet for the rest of the game, Michigan’s defense forced a three and out to give the offense a chance to pad their lead. On the very first play of the drive Steven Threet faked a handoff to Brandon Minor, and since the fake was so good, he had room to run and lots of it. Threet took off for 58 yards and as he was being tackled he smartly covered the ball with both hands to prevent a fumble.

Michigan then pounded the ball down to move closer and closer to the end zone. Grady went for 4 yards and McGuffie for 10 and 2. Then disaster nearly happened as Threet dropped the snap out of the shotgun. He picked the ball back up and actually managed to get back to the line of scrimmage, but the broken play made it 3rd and goal from the 3. Michigan got into the I-formation just like old times and McGuffie fought his way into the end zone for a touchdown to give Michigan a 27-19 lead with just over 5 minutes remaining.

Wisconsin had plenty of time to make a comeback of their own, and they did finally start to move the ball again. They nearly did go three and out, though, as a pass on 3rd and 9 was barely caught, at least according the officials. David Gilreath fell to the ground as he caught the pass and it looked like he may have let the ball come loose when he hit the turf. The call was reviewed, but there apparently wasn’t enough evidence to overturn it, so the drive continued.

The Badgers were able to move the ball and before you knew it they were all the way down to the Michigan 5-yard line. That is when Allan Evridge dropped back to pass and was drilled by Brandon Graham. The crushing blow caused Evridge to drop the ball and Terrance Taylor quickly jumped on it, giving the Wolverines possession and a chance to close out this game. All they needed was one first down, but to the credit of Wisconsin’s defense, Michigan came up 3 yards short and had to punt. That left the door open for Wisconsin as they had one last chance to tie the game.

Wisconsin took over 64 yards away from the end zone with only 1:19 left. Evridge was sacked by Brandon Graham again, but he quickly answered back by hitting P.J. Hill for a gain of 20 yards. Then following a false start, Evridge found Lance Kendricks in traffic for a gain of 29 yards. After a 5-yarder to Travis Beckum and an incomplete pass, it was 3rd and 5 and the Badgers silenced the Michigan Stadium crowd for the first time since late in the 3rd quarter. Evridge found Gilreath in the end zone for a 22-yard touchdown as Gilreath managed to hang on after taking a hit from Stevie Brown and being covered by Morgan Trent. The touchdown made it 27-25, meaning the Badgers still had to convert a 2-point conversion to send this game into overtime.

On the 2-point try, tight end Travis Beckum, who was injured and only came into the game when Wisconsin went down in the fourth quarter, initially lined up on the right side. He then quickly ran over to the left side as he apparently was in the wrong spot at first. In the confusion of all this, Beckum lined up on the line of scrimmage. Since he was covering (next to) the tight end, technically the tight end was an ineligible receiver, which is grounds for a penalty if the TE runs downfield.

Beckum caught a pass from Evridge that would have tied the game, but since the tight end was an ineligible receiver downfield because of how Beckham lined up, a flag negated the successful try and backed up Wisconsin’s next attempt 5 yards. On the second attempt, Evridge threw a pass too high for an open receiver and it went out of the end zone, meaning Michigan still led 27-25.

Wisconsin’s only remaining hope was to recover an onside kick, but it went out of bounds, giving Michigan the ball. Threet took a knee that set off the party in Michigan Stadium as the Wolverines won 27-25 after coming back from not only a 19-point deficit, but quite possibly the worst offensive half in Michigan football history. Once the clock hit triple zeros, the team ran over to the student section for a celebration that went on for quite a few minutes.

This win is important for so many reasons that I can only list a few. For starters, Michigan is now 2-2 rather than 1-3. The entire outlook of this season changed with the win as at halftime most thought Michigan would be lucky to win more than a couple games. Now, though, a bowl game is at least within reach. Also, Rich Rodriguez prevented his honeymoon from ending early with this win. There was so much criticism of Rodriguez at the half, and if the offense would have played anywhere near as bad in the second half, there are a lot of people that really would have begun questioning this hire if they weren’t already. Instead, for now there will be little criticism about the Wisconsin game even though the offense was so bad in the first half.

Heading into next week, Michigan does have a lot of work to do. They have to learn to take better care of the ball as they have turned it over 11 times in the last two games. The offense may get into spells where they can’t do anything, but the players should at least know how to take care of the ball. Aside from that, they have to prepare for Illinois. It’ll be homecoming at the Big House and a chance for Michigan to get above .500 for the first time this season. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC.