Best Five-Game Stretch in Michigan History?
I've been re-watching the season thanks to BTN Football in 60 minutes and I'm struck that the final five games have to be considered to be the best five-game stretch in UM football history, especially given the circumstances.
Penn State--The team finds out Harbaugh is suspended while they are on the flight to the game. There are two anti-UM narratives swirling. First, the sign-stealing issue and whether or not past wins are legit. Second, the weak schedule and whether or not UM can win ANY of their remaining three conference games. Without the head coach, we win in Happy Valley.
Maryland--The Terps were an early dark horse pick in the conference. They hadn't lived up to that by the time the game came around, but chatter about our defense not having to face a dynamic offense up to that point meant some were questioning whether or not Michigan could hold up. We did... still without our head coach.
Ohio State--They had been preparing to win for two years after taking us for granted. They were undefeated. Despite the final score being closer that the previous two games, it want the only one of the three where Michigan never trailed... Still without our head coach. I'll never forget Corum scoring after Zinter went down. Two Michigan legends...
Alabama--It is 'Bama. Michigan was uncharacteristically sloppy on special teams and fell behind (a rarity) but fought back and the overtime seemed like a forgone conclusion when it started. Michigan slays the SEC.
Washington--for the Natty. I listened to a lot of analysis in the lead up and the consensus was that Penix was unstoppable... could drop balls in regardless of coverage... threw "pennies from heaven." Michigan broke Penix. But the end of the game, Penix was unloading balls falling away from defenders because he was afraid. Nation al Champions. Not shared... Undisputed.
I went to Michigan from 1986-1990, then graduate school there until 1997. I was a varsity athlete at UM and was a student when Michigan won the basketball tourney in '89. I've never seen anything like the 2023 football team.
January 26th, 2024 at 6:47 PM ^
Offense so bad they didn’t even make the list.
January 30th, 2024 at 3:14 PM ^
Yet somehow we pulled off the upset
January 26th, 2024 at 6:56 PM ^
Yeah, they don't count.
January 26th, 2024 at 7:01 PM ^
Iowa does add to the narrative that the team had to face the #2, #3, #4, and #8 defense in the country in their last 6 games.
January 26th, 2024 at 9:37 PM ^
Yep, call it the best six-game stretch.
It's been amusing to see all these compilation videos with zero B1G championship plays in them, lol.
January 27th, 2024 at 8:29 AM ^
They don't count? To be fair, they CAN'T count cuz they never score enough to practice their numbers.
January 27th, 2024 at 9:38 AM ^
They can only count by 2s
January 26th, 2024 at 7:00 PM ^
You tryin to squeeze an inch in on me?
Full Metal Jacket (1987) - "Do you suck D$%#?" (youtube.com)
January 26th, 2024 at 8:54 PM ^
Iowa was important for those in the know (like us Mgoblog readers) that Michigan was a team that knew what it took to win and did that for each game. Not flashy, just how do we win and then doing it. That's a mature football team.
January 27th, 2024 at 11:56 AM ^
Scoring 26 on Iowa was GOOD and I will die on this hill. Sure, Penn State scored more, but PSU also ran 100 plays on them.
We throttled them, slow and steady. It was a frustrating game, but Iowa’s defense was LEGIT and the only way they win is if we throw a ton of INTs.
January 27th, 2024 at 2:41 PM ^
Nope. Terrible performance. Georgia would have scored 50 on them. We'll never beat Bama now.
January 29th, 2024 at 12:23 PM ^
Scoring 26 on Iowa was GOOD and I will die on this hill.
Honestly, that scoreline makes it look better than it was. Our two touchdown "drives" were of five and six yards, respectively. We rushed 34 times for 66 yards and were just 4-15 on 3rd/4th downs.
But it doesn't matter, it was enough to win. You don't have to look great in all three phases all the time.
January 27th, 2024 at 1:37 PM ^
In Indy, I stood up after that first field goal and proclaimed "well, that should do it!". Even the fellow Michigan fans looked at me like I was nuts. But I was right.
January 27th, 2024 at 1:55 PM ^
lol. I said the same thing (from my couch, albeit)
January 27th, 2024 at 9:17 PM ^
I'm laughing. I read the post and didn't even notice Iowa / conference championship game was omitted.
Exception proves the rule?
January 26th, 2024 at 7:12 PM ^
'17 - '18 basketball:
def. #2 MSU and #8 PSU to take the Big 10 tourney
Buzzer beater vs Houston in the second round
99 points on Texas A&M
Slug fest with the FSU Ents in the sweet 16
Crushed the Cinderella dreams of Loyola Chicago
If they had won the Natty it would be up there with this.
'12 - '13 basketball didn't have the Big 10 tourney success, but still had:
Shaka Smart VCU full court press enigma in the second round
Kansas OT stunner
Heavyweight Florida falling
Blue Blood Syracuse falling with Otto the Orange taking a tumble
Trey's block was clean
Edit: presented this as a mechanism to remember the good times and elevate Team 144's place in the context of history, not as a counter argument.
January 29th, 2024 at 11:01 AM ^
Man, so many good things. The 17-18 run was great, but no one was beating Villanova. Michigan shut down their top two players, only to get their third guy dropping 3's from everywhere (wish DJ had stayed, because I think Michigan could have won with him).
That 12-13 run has to be my favorite though. Every game it seemed like the experts were predicting Michigan to fail. Like you mentioned, the VCU full court, the Syracuse 2-3 zone, Michigan's offense destroyed them all, plus Burke's game tying 3 against Kansas has to be one of the all time great moments. A comeback and win when they had almost no chance. Michigan deserved that win in the National Championship.
January 29th, 2024 at 1:22 PM ^
I have always been a football fan first, hockey second and baseball/basketball somewhere behind, but... I do miss the late Beilein days. Just so enjoyable from every perspective.
January 26th, 2024 at 8:30 PM ^
Agreed. 1997 season last five games are a close second place.
Was in attendance at all five of those games this season. Skipped Iowa game.
Also attended school 1985-1989. Was in the street celebrating after Rumeal made two FTs in 1:1 situation. Great times.
Go Blue!
January 26th, 2024 at 10:04 PM ^
Apparently if you weren't there (Iowa), Carcajous doesn't even consider it a game.
Joking aside, that was an extraordinary series of games, and I'm thrilled to have even made one (I'm out-of-state).
January 26th, 2024 at 10:39 PM ^
Me too. Finished grad school in 1989 after 4 years in A2. Saw JH play QB. Chanted "Zurbrugg for Heisman" during his mop-up plays and partied after the BB natty.
Winning the 2023 football natty makes me feel young again!
January 26th, 2024 at 9:07 PM ^
I was 86-90 too! The good days.
January 28th, 2024 at 8:21 PM ^
Glad you got some UpVotes.
-6391 MGoPoints?
Wow.
Congrats.
January 26th, 2024 at 9:19 PM ^
Not gonna do the work, but I'm reasonably old, and I say for sure this was the best five in a row.
January 27th, 2024 at 12:00 AM ^
‘86-‘90 too. Best 5-6 game stretch I have seen. I was at the national championship game, and I was on South U in ‘89 after the basketball national championship. It’s great to be a Michigan Wolverine!
January 27th, 2024 at 10:44 AM ^
I'd call it the best complete season in Michigan football history. After all, Iowa was a 10-2 team in an important sine qua non game.
And who didn't think the 49-0 Michigan State game was tasty, even though they weren't very good?
January 28th, 2024 at 12:20 PM ^
Love that we shut them out at home, brilliant win
January 27th, 2024 at 12:17 PM ^
Best three year stretch
Best 6 game stretch
Best win over an SEC team
Best national title
Best season
January 27th, 2024 at 1:33 PM ^
The best 6 game stretch in Michigan football history that I’ve seen.
-At PSU without Harbaugh against a top 5 defense. Ran it down their throats the entire second half.
-Classic trap game at Maryland, between two big time games, without Harbaugh, and against another pretty good defense in #11 Maryland.
-OSU, probably the biggest regular season game against them since 06’, without Harbaugh, against another top 5 defense to go along with a pretty good offense.
-CCG against Iowa. We knew they weren’t going to score on offense, but it was another game against a top 5 defense that was arguably the most opportunistic one that generated most of their points. Michigan won going away by playing mistake free. Didn’t look pretty at times but was still a great win.
-Alabama. The Giant of CFB for years. Not their best team, but pretty darn good, against a top 10 defense and dangerous offense as they showed against Georgia. Never mind the betting lines, all the pundits thought Michigan would lose like they had the previous two years in the CFP. It was a slugfest the entire game and Michigan showed tons of character and drive, especially on the last drive in regulation down a TD.
-The CFP final. Another game that despite the betting lines the pundits were mostly picking Washington. The best and most dangerous offense they’d faced all season, but finally (after 5 previous great defensive teams) a game against a so-so defense. The first two Michigan TD’s set the tone and the defense backed up their top rating by keeping Washington in check most of the game. Won the game going away in the 4th quarter to cap a perfect season.
That 6 game stretch featured the number 2, 3, 4, 8, and 11 defenses (all legit). The one team without a great defense had a top 5 offense to contend with that was also unbeaten. It was an incredible run that showcased the player’s resilience and resolve in the face of adversity that not many NC’s had had to contend with during their runs to the championship. Just awesome.
January 27th, 2024 at 2:30 PM ^
it was awesome
next year will have a different feel. I have to admit, I wasn't too excited for the games early in the year because I knew it would be a blow out. That final stretch was epic though.
I will be pumped early in the season next year due to the tough schedule and all the uncertainty.
So glad we won it all this year! It will make the inevitable loss or two more tolerable next year, especially coupled with the fact that there is more room for error with the 12 team playoff.
January 27th, 2024 at 4:07 PM ^
Ohio State--They had been preparing to win for two years after taking us for granted.
2022 OSU did not look like they prepared to win at all. They came out in a shit defense and assumed, again, they could out-athlete us. 2023, sure they prepared to win, but the 2022 OSU effort was trash.
January 30th, 2024 at 10:13 AM ^
Last 6 games 3 top ten scoring defenses 1 top 20, 1 top 40 and 1 top 56 not that it matters much but all were formidable defenses with Washington being the lowest rated scoring defense at 24.8ppg.
The last 6 games the offense scored 24, 31, 30, 26, 27 and 34 against the top defenses for a 28.66 off ppg avg.
The last 6 games the defense gave up 15, 24, 24, 0, 20, 13 against these teams for a 16ppg avg for a 12.6ppg scoring differential vs that schedule! A two score differential!
March 15th, 2024 at 11:02 PM ^
I actually will get behind this assertion (adjusted to six games), within the specific context of what each game adds to the canon of Michigan football. All six games contributed to meaningful statistics.
Penn State- top ten victory (on the road)
Maryland- 1000th victory
Ohio State- undefeateds, top five matchup, East Division Championship, series lead stretched to ten games (61-51-6)
Iowa- 45th Big Ten championship to cap a trifecta, including a shutout
Alabama- Rose Bowl champions, defeating the roster with the highest BCR (blue chip ratio) ever, Saban’s final game
Washington- first national title GAME victory, first 15-0 Big Ten team ever
We’ve had more dominant stretches, but not more meaningful games. So, agreement here!
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