Ultimately, that which can no longer be denied, must be.
This rule appeared to be in force last night as Brendan Gibbons' third field goal kick, Michigan's fourth of the game, left his foot and sailed to the right of Michigan Stadium's north end zone uprights. The ball's draw pulled it back between the posts, propelling Michigan to victory at last, 12-10 over their rivals from East Lansing, and causing an emotional explosion reminiscent to what happened after last season's epic last-second win over Notre Dame.
Gibbons' final act was only made possible through the heroic events of a determined band of Wolverines. First, the reinvigorated defense. Since the season's first two weeks, which saw them surrender a bountiful 33 points per contest, Greg Mattison's troops have dug in their heels up front, clamped down on the ends and blanketed the secondary, bottling up offenses and lifting Michigan's hopes back to sea level. Their last five opponents have crossed the end zone a total of four times. In fact, Michigan State's 80-yard march in the third quarter that gave them a 7-6 lead is the only touchdown the unit has allowed in the last ten quarters.
Twice the Wolverines were called on for game-saving stops, and twice they delivered. The first followed a deftly timed 26-yard fake punt called by the Spartans' coach and trick-play mastermind, Mike Dantonio. It turned a fourth-and-nine situation into new life and ultimately a first-and-goal situation for the Spartans, who trailed 9-7 and looked to gain what would seem to be an insurmountable five-point lead with under seven minutes to play.
But the winged helmets prevailed, breaking up a Maxwell-to-Derek-Hoebing certain touchdown in the left corner on first down, bottling up Le'Veon Bell (who gained a mere 68 yards on 26 carries) on second down and outrunning Bell as he swept right on third down, forcing the junior warhorse out of bounds four feet short of the prize.
Following a chip-shot field goal that put Michigan State up 10-9, Michigan drove valiantly but self-destructed from two crushing penalties. So with 2:30 remaining, the D was called upon once again to keep the Spartans from gaining a first down, and with it a fifth straight win over the maize and blue.
Again they answered. Bell was stopped for no gain. Maxwell was chased and forced into a low-percentage pass over the middle, just outside the reach of freshman wideout Aaron Burbridge--an incomplete pass that, as it turned out, would stop the clock and allow Michigan to keep their final timeout. And on third down, sophomore linebacker phenom Jake Ryan (#47, above) bottled up an inside pass to back Larry Caper, forcing a fumble. While MSU gathered the ball back for their second fourth-quarter fumble deep in their own territory, they couldn't avoid the disaster that was about to strike them after their change of possession.
On strode the day's other heroes. First, beleaguered quarterback Denard Robinson, whose 10,000+ yards are more than anyone had gained in Big Ten history yet whose one defining aspect of his career may be the albatross that lay before him, the inability to perform well much less defeat his in-state rival.
The yellow-pom-pon portion of the 113,000 buzzed fans in attendance were still abuzz over Robinson's electrifying 44-yard burst on the previous drive, awakening hope that maybe this is a sign that the Spartan stranglehold on this series may soon be broken. (Denard gained just 42 yards in last year's 28-14 loss.) This time the kid without laces used every weapon imaginable to put the Wolverines in position to win it. Vincent Smith slashed his way for 12 yards, then caught a pass for three more. Robinson himself rolled left on third down, gaining the necessary two yards by stretching the full length of his body and extending the ball to the mark (see photo at top).
Then, in the most important play of the season so far, Denard dropped back and bounced around, gaining him the time to spot another hero of the day, Drew Dileo. The well-covered junior receiver crossed over the middle near the 20-yard line and opened up enough room between defenders for Robinson to drop a dart of a pass. It was Dileo's forth reception of the day for a career-high 92 yards.
More than that, it was enough to give Michigan's "Fat Jesus" another chance to lead his team to the promised land (see my pic above).
Gibbons put the final points on a dazzling 11-2 season in 2011 with his overtime kick to beat Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl. This time, however, the stakes were even higher. The Wolverines hadn't beaten their neighbors to the northwest since the 2007 season. That was two coaches ago. George W. Bush was in office, flipping real estate was the norm and the very first iPhone had just been released. Spartan fans walked the University of Michigan golf course all afternoon saying "Four more years!", and it had nothing to do with supporting Obama's re-election. For everyone connected with the university and Ann Arbor in general, this kick
had to be good.
From 38 yards away, Gibbons ball arced and ultimately, undeniably shaved the inside of the right upright. Righting a rivalry that had threatened to run away from the Wolverines.
