August 26th, 2022 at 10:43 AM ^
I 'member it well. Lloyd's first game as HC. Starting a RS-Frosh QB. Down 17-0 in the 4th.
Still win.
It was then I believed that no matter what, Michigan was just magic.
August 26th, 2022 at 1:18 PM ^
So do I. Remember how awfully hot it was? Had to be in the low 90's. We didn't have our season tickets back then, and got these tickets in like the 2nd or 3rd row near the field. I can't imagine what the players went through. Good thing we won!
August 26th, 2022 at 10:54 AM ^
Loved Mercury Hayes. Also loved his brother Willie Mays Hayes.
August 26th, 2022 at 10:58 AM ^
Besides being hotter than hades in Michigan Stadium that day, the game itself was one of constant frustration.
Until suddenly it wasn't!
August 26th, 2022 at 11:14 AM ^
It was also kind of a stacked Virginia squad. Mike Groh at QB. Barber twins. Germaine Crowell at WR. James Farrior, Jamie Sharper and Percy Ellsworth on D. Sneaky loaded squad.
Little did they know Scott Driesbach, arguably be the best QB #12 in Michigan history until a man name Cade came along 25 years later (Apologies to Dave Cone and Matt Gutierrez's potential), would be full on fire that day.
August 26th, 2022 at 12:04 PM ^
Well, for three quarters Driesbach was pretty rough. Fans wanted Carr to put in Griese. Then came the fourth quarter.
August 26th, 2022 at 12:15 PM ^
Tough luck career for Dreisbach. Injuries hampered him, but he did manage to get a little time in The League. Mobile, good speed, live arm.
August 26th, 2022 at 11:02 AM ^
Love this game. One of my all time favorites. The Tiki & Ronde Barber UVa team. Had a comms class with Mercury. Good kid.
August 26th, 2022 at 11:08 AM ^
Best 1-2 Wideout Combos for the School 1988-2008
Mercury Hayes & Amani Toomer
Braylon Edwards & Jason Avant
David Terrell & Marquise Walker
Chris Calloway & Greg McMurtry
Mario Manningham & Adrian Arrington
Tai Streets & Marcus Knight
Derrick Alexander & Desmond Howard (kinda, injury kept them from truly being a 1-2)
Who is my feeble brain forgetting?
August 26th, 2022 at 11:18 AM ^
Kolesar - McMurtry
August 26th, 2022 at 12:06 PM ^
Walter Smith was Derrick Alexander's partner in crime.
August 26th, 2022 at 11:16 AM ^
One of the best games I've ever seen.
I remember it as a time of transition. This was Lloyd Carr's first game as head coach after Gary Moeller resigned (which had only happened that May). We'd lost longtime stars like Todd Collins and Tyrone Wheatley. And we were coming off two straight underachieving 8-4 seasons. There was a lot of uncertainty around the team, and it felt pretty terrible when we were down 17-0 early in the fourth quarter.
And then before we knew it, Michigan had pulled off the greatest comeback win in its history, Scott Driesbach had set a school record for passing yards in his first start (236 of his 372 yards were in the fourth quarter), and Carr was a winner.
In retrospect, a lot of the guys on the 1997 National Championship team got their first action in this game (Chris Howard, Chris Floyd, Jerame Tuman, Clarence Williams, Marcus Ray, Glen Steele, and of course Charles Woodson). Who knows how things would have been different a few years later without those guys having this experience.
August 26th, 2022 at 11:25 AM ^
First game with my kids. Still feels great.
August 26th, 2022 at 12:00 PM ^
First game ever went to. Barber brothers were in control until the end.
August 26th, 2022 at 12:01 PM ^
Wasn't this Charles Woodsons first game to?
August 27th, 2022 at 3:59 PM ^
August 26th, 2022 at 12:18 PM ^
I watched that play from a parking lot Oakland University during a break from a Gus Macker. I also remember Jay Riemersma de-cleating a Cavalier after an interception and letting him know about it.
August 26th, 2022 at 12:44 PM ^
Great memory. That hit still ranks as one of the biggest hits i ever saw in person. Was seated right near it on Va sideline. Damn he wrecked that guy.
August 26th, 2022 at 1:12 PM ^
bury the lede much? How did the Macker team do???
August 26th, 2022 at 12:20 PM ^
First Michigan game of my life :) Was even sitting in that corner endzone, getting the worst sunburn of my life by far. Thank god it was worth enduring and unlike Seth my dad wasn't there to quit on the Wolverines in the 3rd quarter.
August 26th, 2022 at 12:55 PM ^
Looks like we were playing against the Fightin' Orlando Blooms.
August 26th, 2022 at 12:46 PM ^
Still iconic. Hard to find the whole wide-angle picture online but this will do.
August 26th, 2022 at 12:56 PM ^
I see a #10 UM player in the pile. Was he any good?
Also amazing that Hayes got just one foot in but made no attempt to drag his toe. Makes me cringe every time thinking what if he had stepped out without trying to drag his foot.
August 26th, 2022 at 1:07 PM ^
My dad and I went - yes it was hot as blazes - but we were in the South EZ and backs to sun (thankfully). This was the last time we walked to the game (next year took him to the monsoon game vs BC while he was in a wheelchair).
Still remember the energy during the 2 hr drive home after the game. WOW!
There is a better pic of Hayes catch from the corner of the EZ - showing the ball in his hands - from the Midland Daily News and DBs hopelessly running behind him.
FWIW: funny recalling the games where Brent and Vermeil were sidekicks. Desmond's catch was another one of those games.
August 26th, 2022 at 1:18 PM ^
I was in a golf course listening to it on the radio.
We sure could move the ball when we were behind.
August 26th, 2022 at 1:19 PM ^
Mercury Hayes Mays: hits like Mays, runs like Hayes.
Edit: Missed it by thaaat much. 😂
August 26th, 2022 at 1:52 PM ^
This was the day I lived my best day and this was just the kickoff to an unforgettable day and night.
August 26th, 2022 at 2:08 PM ^
Lloyd's first game. The team was still reeling from Gary Moeller's resignation. What a way to start a pretty damn good coaching career.
Fun fact: this game was the Pigskin Classic. It was the first time the Pigskin Classic was played away from its original location in Anaheim and remains the only time an opposing team's name was painted in the endzone at Michigan Stadium.
August 26th, 2022 at 2:32 PM ^
First game I ever attended. It was fun.
August 26th, 2022 at 2:34 PM ^
Tyrone Butterfield had the best drop I’ve ever seen in this game.
August 26th, 2022 at 10:18 PM ^
A game-saving drop to be sure.
August 26th, 2022 at 8:14 PM ^
I was at that game opposite end zone about the farthest point from the catch as the crow flies. Michigan stadium had no video boards. I just remember being the pessimistic UM fan in me already at age 23 having witnessed Kordell Stewart, MSU debacles etc, and thinking just get this over with and throw it incomplete. I couldn’t see any of the action, but the crowd was like the “wave” as the fans nearest the play spread the reaction section to section in about 8 seconds of euphoria. I jumped up on the bleacher in front of me and stepped on a “blue hairs” glasses. (Not sure why they were on the bleachers ). But I didn’t care. Just euphoric in that moment. One of the classics