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Video: Top 10 Michigan Stadium Moments

By Ace Anbender

If today’s Countdown to Kickoff video doesn’t get you excited for tomorrow, you may want to check your pulse:

3:30 pm tomorrow simply can’t come soon enough.

M Football YouTube Bracket Final: Desmond vs. Touchdown Tim

By Ace Anbender

It’s summer, the time when bloggers rack their brains for something — anything — to write about and college football fans count down the seconds until foot meets pigskin. So, welcome to my latest gimmick: The Michigan Football YouTube Bracket. I’m looking high and low for the best Michigan football moments ever captured on YouTube — divided into two categories: Game Performances/Game Winners and Spectacular Plays — and for you, the readers, to vote on the moment that stands out above the rest.

Finally, after almost three weeks worth of highlights, we’ve reached the final, and Michigan fans have once again made it known that they value performance against Ohio State over all else. How else (besides age) can one explain Tshimanga Biakabutuka’s 313-yard performance against Ohio State — certainly an iconic game, but not one that is inextricably linked with the Michigan tradition — easily taking out Anthony Carter’s winner against Indiana (only WolverineHistorian’s favorite Michigan play of all time) in the first semifinal? The choice was made much more difficult on the other side of the bracket, where Desmond Howard’s “Hello Heisman” punt return against the Buckeyes knocked off Charles Woodson’s redux of that play six years later. Now, the battle comes down to a pair of players who donned the #21 in blue — what is your choice as the best Michigan football moment captured on YouTube?

(2) Desmond Howard’s “Hello Heisman” vs. Ohio State, 1991

Path to the final: Def. Charles Woodson vs. OSU 62%-38% (Semifinal); Def. Desmond Howard vs. Notre Dame 62%-38% (Quarterfinal); Def. Jason Avant vs. Northwestern 92%-8% (First Round).

Why it should win: I don’t even know where to begin. In the sheer context of the game, the play gave Michigan a 24-3 lead right at the end of the half, ending all hopes of a Buckeye comeback in what would end as a 31-3 Wolverine victory. The 93-yard punt return was — and still is — the longest in school history by a five-yard margin. Keith Jackson’s call of the play is perfect, to the point where it is nearly as iconic as the play itself. Of course, all that pales in comparison to what the play meant for Desmond Howard — as Jackson so eloquently put it, the touchdown sealed the 1991 Heisman Trophy for Howard, and he will go down in history as the man who struck the pose, something every kid who watches college football has done countless times in their backyard since.

All that is without talking about the return itself. Despite getting driven back to his own seven, Howard fields the punt calmly as the Buckeye coverage team descends on him. With a quick stutter to the right and a hard cut back upfield, Desmond dusts the first wave of defenders without so much as getting touched. Even though several Ohio State players still have the angle on him, it’s over — all it takes is one more deft juke and Howard is streaking down the sideline, still virtually untouched, as he Usain Bolt’s the Buckeye coverage. It’s an amazing play from an amazing player on the biggest of college football stages.

(3) Touchdown Tim runs over undefeated Ohio State, 1995

Path to the final: Def. Anthony Carter vs. Indiana 66%-34% (Semifinal); Def. Braylon Edwards vs. MSU 61%-39% (Quarterfinal); Def. Mario Manningham vs. Notre Dame 82%-18% (First Round).

Why it should win: All Tshimanga Biakabutuka did was carry the ball 37 times for 313 yards and a touchdown against an undefeated Ohio State squad bursting at the seams with future NFL talent (just on defense, Mike Vrabel, Shawn Springs, and Antoine Winfield all became at least solid pros) to lead Michigan to a 31-23 upset victory. Tackling him with one man was simply futile, and he matched his power with patience and lightning-fast moves to confound the Buckeye defense. Just check out the post-game quotes for some wonderful Buckeye schadenfreude [emphasis mine]:

It was what happened after Biakabutuka got through those holes that most bothered Ohio State coach John Cooper, who lost for the sixth time in eight tries against Michigan.

“We didn’t wrap up,” Cooper said., “Time and time again we had guys there to make the tackle, but we didn’t wrap up.”

Buckeye strong safety Rob Kelley bitterly agreed with his coach.

“We didn’t tackle. I didn’t tackle,” Kelley said. “I’m sorry for the seniors, I’m sorry for the fans. I apologize. It was a disgrace out there today.”

…

“I’m tremendously disappointed,” Cooper said after the game. “I don’t know if I’ve ever been as disappointed as I am right now.”

When you’re John Cooper, that’s really saying something.

Biakabutuka’s 313 yards were good for second-most on Michigan’s single-game all-time list, behind Ron Johnson’s ridiculous 347 yards against Wisconsin in 1968. No other Wolverine back has eclipsed the 300-yard mark in a game, and Biakabutuka’s performance helped vault him past Jamie Morris for the most rushing yards in a season in school history with 1,818 — a mark which still stands despite stellar seasons from great backs like Anthony Thomas, Chris Perry, and Mike Hart in the years since. Biakabutuka was a great college running back, but I doubt Michigan fans would mention him in the same breath as guys like Thomas, Hart, Tyrone Wheatley, and the many past greats if not for his unbelievable performance in the penultimate game of his Wolverine career.

Click here for all Michigan Football YouTube Bracket posts. Voting will stay open through the end of the week, with the victor crowned on Monday. Thanks to everyone who has voted, and make sure to spread the word.

M Football YouTube Bracket Semifinal: AC vs. Touchdown Tim

By Ace Anbender

Well, the quarterfinal votes have been tallied, and the readers have made one point very clear: having an amazing play or game against Ohio State will trump anything done against any other opponent:
[end_columns]

I can’t say I disagree with the readers. There’s something truly special about the Ohio State game that elevates moments from merely “memorable” to simply “unforgettable,” and that is reflected in the voting. Charles Woodson’s Heisman-sealing punt return, by the slimmest of margins, edged out his gravity-defying interception against MSU; Tim Biakabutuka’s 313-yard destruction of the Buckeyes in ’95 advanced by a healthy margin over Braylon Edwards’ 2004 late-game heroics against, again, the Spartans; and Desmond Howard’s “Hello Heisman” punt return easily beat out his diving fourth-down catch against Notre Dame from earlier in the 1991 campaign.

The message is loud and clear: regardless of recent performance, Ohio State has been, is now, and always will be “The Game” — not that there was much doubt about that in the first place. Will we have an all-Ohio State (well, all-against-Ohio State) final? Only Anthony Carter’s catch-and-run against Indiana stands in the way…

(1) Anthony Carter’s catch vs. Indiana, 1979

Regardless of age, and despite this play happening in the middle of an otherwise-unspectacular 8-4 1979 campaign, every Michigan fan knows this play — and Bob Ufer’s immortal call — like the back of their hand. We all know the play, so I’ll skip getting bogged down in details (the video speaks for itself), but I would like to emphasize one thing: Anthony Carter was such a spectacular, game-breaking receiver that — with just six seconds remaining on the clock and simply needing 20 yards to get into reasonable field goal range — Michigan threw a post route in front of three Indiana defenders, knowing Carter could easily split them en route to the end zone. Any coach calling that play today would have their head served on a platter — instead, Wangler-to-Carter went down as one of the greatest moments in Michigan history.

(3) Touchdown Tim runs over undefeated Ohio State, 1995

With future NFL stars like Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George, future #1 pick Orlando Pace, Terry Glenn, Shawn Springs, and Mike Vrabel, the 1995 Ohio State Buckeyes entered the final week of the regular season undefeated and fully expecting to easily handle 18th-ranked Michigan, who headed into the game with an 8-3 record. Instead of Ohio State dominating in the trenches, however, it was Michigan who pushed around the Buckeyes, with the offensive line opening holes all day for tailback Tshimanga “Touchdown Tim” Biakabutuka. The Wolverines kept feeding Biakabutuka the ball until he had amassed a ridiculous 313 yards and a touchdown on 37 carries to lead Michigan to a 31-23 upset that knocked OSU out of the national title picture. The above video speaks for itself — nearly 10 minutes of long run after long run for Biakabutuka, whose 1995 season stands among the finest by any Michigan running back, ever.

Click here for all Michigan Football YouTube Bracket posts, and make sure to check back tomorrow for the second semifinal.

Fun With Team Photos: Team MVPs (1926-present)

By Ace Anbender

Here’s a new video, in the same vein as the Bo Schembechler ones I posted last week, featuring every Michigan Team MVP (renamed the Bo Schembechler Award in 1995) since the award was first given to legendary quarterback Bennie Friedman in 1926. I did my best, using the Bentley Library, to use a snapshot of each player from the official team photo for the season they won (there’s no team photos in the library after 2004, and some of the more recent ones aren’t high-res):

A few things that struck me while putting this together:

Just six players have won the award twice: Brandon Graham (2008-09), Mike Hart (shared with David Harris in 2006, sole winner in 2007), Anthony Carter (1980, 1982), Ron Johnson (1967-68), Tom Harmon (1939-1940), and Ralph Heikkinen (1937-38). I didn’t know much about Heikkinen, a consensus All-American guard in 1938 and the first junior to win the team MVP award, but he has an incredibly thorough Wikipedia entry, which included some very high praise from local writers:

Detroit News sports editor H.G. Salsinger wrote: “He was Michigan’s outstanding player for the last two years. He was probably the best offensive guard Michigan ever had, and fitted perfectly into the new Michigan running attack. Fast and powerful, Heikkinen frequently blocked out two defense players. Heikkinen was the fastest charger in the Michigan line. He outmaneuvered opponents. On defense it was impossible to gain through his position, and he had a way of jamming opposing lines and making holes so that his secondary could break through and stop the ball carrier.”

Ann Arbor newspaper writer, Bud Benjamin, wrote about Heikkinen: “If ever a player deserved national recognition it is the brilliant Ralph Heikkinen, 180 pounds of inspired dynamite in a great Michigan line. . . . He came out of a small town in northern Michigan, Hike, did, a sandy haired, extremely reserved Finnish boy with an irrepressible urge to play football.”He played between 50 and 60 minutes of every game in 1937 and 1938 and not once was a timeout called on his account or a substitution made for him due to injury. “He was on his feet – active , explosive, dynamic –all the time.”
Gotta love seeing the President, Gerald Ford, who won the MVP in 1934.
Interesting that the MVP the 1948 national title team was not one of the three first-team All-Americans — Dick Rifenburg, Pete Elliott, and Alvin Wistert, the last of the three Wistert brothers and a College Football Hall of Fame member — but guard Dick Tomasi, the team captain and a first-team All-Big Ten selection.
Is it just a coincidence that the team photos went from black-and-white to color in 1969, Bo Schembechler’s first season at Michigan?
I think Rob Lytle’s blonde porn-stache could’ve made a run at the “Best Facial Hair” award from last summer’s Fun With Team Photos post — if it wasn’t for Tim Davis’ magnificent handlebars. Ditto for Butch Woolfolk and Mike Hammerstein.
If you really want to see Tim Biakabutuka in the 1995 team photo, he’s third from the left in the third row — the resolution just wasn’t close to high enough to put in the video, and I couldn’t find a big enough individual photo either. Besides, I doubt anyone will complain about the photo I used instead.
With every time I see his name mentioned or catch video of a game from the past two years, I get more and more sad that Brandon Graham won’t be a Wolverine next season. He’s in the discussion as my favorite Michigan player … ever.

M Football YouTube Bracket Quarterfinal: Braylon vs. Biakabutuka

By Ace Anbender

The quarterfinal round continues with, frankly, the first matchup in which I have no clue what the outcome will be. It’s up to you, readers: Braylon Edwards’ unbelievable receiving performance against Michigan State, or Tim Biakabutuka’s astounding 313 yards against Ohio State? I don’t envy your choice…

(2) The Braylon Game vs. Michigan State, 2004

(WARNING: Video contains NSFW audio/horrible rap in general. I strongly recommend a mute. Sadly, this is the best embeddable video of The Braylon Game that YouTube has to offer.)

Braylon Edwards had an outstanding, record-breaking career at U-M, full of incredible plays and huge game performances, but if you walk up to any true Michigan fan and start talking about “The Braylon Game,” their mind will immediately hearken back to October 30, 2004, and a chilly late-afternoon tilt against the hated Michigan State Spartans. Braylon’s final numbers — 11 receptions for 189 yards and three touchdowns — are eye-popping, but it the dramatic manner in which he compiled those numbers that cements this game as one of the most memorable in the history of our in-state rivalry. Facing a 27-10 deficit with 8:43 to play, Michigan opened up their attack, with freshman Chad Henne relying on Edwards to catch deep ball after deep ball to bring the Wolverines back from the brink of defeat. The rest, as they say, is history.

(3) Touchdown Tim runs over undefeated Ohio State, 1995

Click here for all Michigan Football YouTube Bracket posts, and make sure to keep checking back as the tournament moves on.

Michigan Football YouTube Bracket: Game Performances/Winners 3 vs. 6

By Ace Anbender

Yesterday featured a matchup of two classic game-winning plays; today, in the 3-seed vs. 6-seed matchup in the Game Performances/Game Winners category, we instead take a look at two monumental individual game performances, one by one of the Wolverines’ most prolific runners, the other by a name that has become quite familiar to this bracket:

(3) Touchdown Tim runs over undefeated Ohio State, 1995

(6) Mario’s double moves confound Notre Dame, 2006

It definitely wasn’t intentional, but it makes sense that Mario Manningham is making his third (and I will admit, final) appearance in this side of the bracket — the guy had a knack for coming up big in big games. Against second-ranked Notre Dame in 2006, the only thing that could stop Super Mario was the band, as he tallied all three of his touchdown receptions in the first half — barreling into the Michigan Marching Band on the third and briefly injuring his wrist — en route to amassing 137 yards receiving on just four catches. All three of Mario’s touchdowns had a similar flavor, as he made Notre Dame’s defensive backs look downright silly with his stutter-step double move before streaking down the sideline towards the end zone. The 2005 Penn State game may have been Mario’s coming-out party, and his 2007 game-winner against Michigan State another notch in the belt, but 2006 Notre Dame was his magnum opus.

Recap:

Game Performances/Winners 1-seed vs. 8-seed: Anthony Carter vs. Indiana against Mario Manningham vs. Michigan State

Game Performances/Winners 4-seed vs. 5-seed: Mario Manningham vs. Penn State against Remy Hamilton vs. Notre Dame

Honorable Mentions

Top 15 of the Last 15: #2

By Ace Anbender

For the next indeterminate amount of time, I will be counting down my top 15 offensive and defensive players from the last 15 years. Today, I unveil my picks at #2 for each side of the ball:

As the countdown nears its conclusion, we reach the point where you can probably deduce the top athletes on each side of the ball. However, this is about the runner-ups, who were both great players in their own right (obviously). Without further ado, let me introduce the rest of my crew.

Offense: Tshimanga Biakabutuka, RB, 1993-1995

Despite spending 2/3 of his career as a backup to Tyrone Wheatley, I can’t do anything but put “Touchdown Tim” ahead of the man who kept him from the starting role for his freshman and sophomore campaigns. Why? Well, for one, if there was a single Michigan jersey I’d like to own, it’d be a #21 home blue with “Biakabutuka” on the back. Second, and much more importantly (unless you really care about my jersey preferences), he had the greatest season of any running back in school history as a junior, as well as arguably the best single-game performance of any player in the last 15 years.

Even as a freshman, Biakabutuka showed flashes of what was to come despite being the low man in a crowded backfield behind Wheatley, Ricky Powers, Ed Davis and Walter Smith. In the ninth game of the season, against Purdue, he exploded for 140 yards and two touchdowns after amassing all of five career yards in two previous appearances. As a sophomore, despite playing behind a bonafide Heisman candidate, Biakabutuka forced Gary Moeller to give him carries. Tim would finish the 1994 season with 793 yards and seven touchdowns on 126 carries, and had four 100-yard games despite going over 20 carries in a game only once on the year.

All that set the table for his junior season. After getting only seven carries in the opener against Virginia when Michigan had to claw its way back from a 17-0 deficit, Biakabutuka went nuts. His final 1995 numbers: 303 carries, 1818 yards, 6.0 yards per carry, 12 touchdowns, eight 100-yard games, four 190-yard games (yes, 190-yard), two-200 yard games. Oh, and a 313-yard game:

The fact that Biakabutuka’s performance came against Ohio State, a perfect 11-0 and ranked #2 coming into the Big House, boasting the nation’s top player in running back Eddie George (the eventual Heisman winner), vaults the game into the forefront of every Wolverine fan’s consciousness when they think of the best games by a Michigan player. I don’t want to discredit the rest of his tremendous career by saying that one game pushed him past all the other great Wolverine backs of the past 15 years, but it’s also tough to say it didn’t. Regardless, I will argue that Touchdown Tim is the best running back of the past 15 years at Michigan, and for that, he gets the #2 spot on this list.

Defense: Ty Law, CB, 1992-1994

Before that Woodson guy rolled through, Ty Law was the best corner to ever play at Michigan, and it’s a bit unfortunate for his legacy that his career was immediately followed by the eventual Heisman-winner. Talk about stealing a guy’s thunder (not that I’m complaining one bit, Charles). Like Woodson, Law was also a three-year starter at corner, a multiple-time All-Big Ten selection, an All-American, and an early-entry into the NFL Draft.

Law was a tremendous physical corner, using his 6-0, 201 pound frame to bully wideouts off their routes and gain position to knock down or intercept the ball. The numbers are good (19 career pass breakups, eight career interceptions), but you really had to watch #22 to appreciate his full impact. Like Woodson and Marlin Jackson after him, opposing quarterbacks chose to throw anywhere but at Law, so he earned every one of those stats. He also was great in run support, finishing with 164 career tackles despite not giving up completions to his man.

Ty Law was the complete package at corner, a big guy who could run with the fast wideouts and play physical with the big ones, adept at pass coverage and run support. Fittingly, he slots in at #2 on this list, one spot behind the corner who supplanted him (what, you really expected me to hold up the suspense on that one?).

Agree? Disagree? Want to share your favorite Biakabutuka and Law moments? Be sure to drop a comment, and remember that I’ll be taking submissions for your top 15 offensive and defensive players (and top five special teamers) until I’m done with the list. Post your lists in the comments, or shoot me an email at ace@thewolverineblog.com, and I’ll compile the lists for the final post alongside the lists of members of The Wolverine staff. Make sure to check back every weekday: next I post the #1 players for offense and defense.

Link to all Top 15 of the Last 15 posts

The list so far:

Offense:
15. Marquise Walker
14. Chris Perry
13. Chad Henne
12. Jerame Tuman
11. Brian Griese
10. Anthony Thomas
9. Tom Brady
8. Mario Manningham
7. Steve Hutchinson
6. Jake Long
5. Mike Hart
4. David Terrell
3. Tyrone Wheatley
2. Tshimanga Biakabutuka

Defense:
15. William Carr
14. Leon Hall
13. Ian Gold
12. James Hall
11. Rob Renes
10. Alan Branch
9. Marcus Ray
8. Dhani Jones
7. Jarrett Irons
6. Marlin Jackson
5. Glen Steele
4. David Harris
3. LaMarr Woodley
2. Ty Law

Special Teams:
5. Zoltan Mesko
4. Marquise Walker
3. Garrett Rivas
2. Steve Breaston
1. Remy Hamilton

Top 15 of the Last 15: #10

By Ace Anbender

…and you thought I had forgotten about this list. Today’s edition is going to be a little short, as I am writing from an Asheville, NC hotel with a crappy ethernet connection. If you’re on the road and need blazing fast internet, I would not recommend the Baymont Inn. Anyways…

Offense: Anthony Thomas, RB, 1997-2000

Before Mike Hart, Anthony Thomas held nearly every meaningful career rushing record at Michigan: carries, yards, touchdowns (still holds that one, with 55) and 100+ yard games. Like Hart, he saw playing time right away, rushing for 583 yards and five touchdowns as a freshman in 1997 while splitting time with Chris Howard and Clarence Williams. What sticks out for me from Thomas was his ability to hit the hole and GO — he was certainly a big back, but he had home run speed and great backfield vision. His 2000 season was ridiculous: 319 carries, 1,733 yards, 18 rushing touchdowns, nine 100-yard games — all four of those figures are second in school history for a single season. His career is worthy of a ten-minute YouTube video (compiled by WolverineHistorian, whose channel you really should be subscribed to by now):

So, you ask, why is he not higher on this list? To me, it’s simple. A lot of those holes he burst through were GIANT. Jeff Backus and Steve Hutchinson manned the left side of the line all four years of his career. I’m not saying the A-Train isn’t among the best Michigan backs of all time. I’m just saying that a lot of Michigan’s great backs would kill to be running behind the offensive lines Michigan had from 1997-2000, and their numbers would probably reflect that. Imagine Wheatley, Biakabutuka, or Hart taking the ball off-tackle behind those two road-graters. The career rushing lists might look a little different, no?

I love the A-Train. He was a great college back. And I’m putting him at #10. You can probably guess what backs are above him (hint: look up).

Defense: Alan Branch, DT, 2004-2006

Honestly, I would probably have placed Branch in the top 10 simply for providing me with this picture. I feel warm and fuzzy inside just looking at it. That is a cold-blooded killer casually leaving the scene of the crime. Awesome.

It helps that he was actually a really good player. The numbers aren’t spectacular, so I won’t even list them, but Branch had the uncanny ability to make plays beyond what any normal DT could. He could bull his way into the backfield, chase a running back down the line, or even take off and chase down a play ten yards downfield. Hell, he even had an interception against Ohio State in 2006. He’s probably the best athlete I’ve ever seen play tackle at Michigan, and unlike his linemate Gabe Watson, he seemed to utilize the bulk of his talent.

That’s all for today. Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Agree? Disagree? Want to share your favorite Thomas and Branch moments? Be sure to drop a comment, and remember that I’ll be taking submissions for your top 15 offensive and defensive players (and top five special teamers) until I’m done with the list. Post your lists in the comments, or shoot me an email at ace@thewolverineblog.com, and I’ll compile the lists for the final post alongside the lists of members of The Wolverine staff. Make sure to check back every weekday: next I post the #9 players for offense and defense.

Link to all Top 15 of the Last 15 posts

The list so far:

Offense:
15. Marquise Walker
14. Chris Perry
13. Chad Henne
12. Jerame Tuman
11. Brian Griese
10. Anthony Thomas

Defense:
15. William Carr
14. Leon Hall
13. Ian Gold
12. James Hall
11. Rob Renes
10. Alan Branch

Special Teams:
5. Zoltan Mesko
4. Marquise Walker
3. Garrett Rivas
2. Steve Breaston
1. Remy Hamilton

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