The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1029353
OCTOBER 2018 THE WOLVERINE 15 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS FIVE YEARS AGO, 2013: Michi- gan moved to 6-1 overall and 2-1 in the Big Ten in a wild scoring, 63-47 shoot- out against Indiana Oct. 19. The Wol- verines led by only two, 42-40, heading into the final frame, but three fourth- quarter touchdowns allowed Michigan to escape. Running back Fitzgerald Toussaint rushed for four touchdowns in the win, while wideout Jeremy Gallon hauled in touchdown passes of 21 and 50 yards from quarterback Devin Gardner. Gard- ner passed for 503 yards and the two touchdowns, while rushing for 81 yards and three more TDs. Toussaint led the way on the ground, with 151 yards. Gallon set a Michigan record with 369 yards receiving, in a game featuring an incredible 1,323 yards of total offense between the teams. Gardner heaved a sigh of relief over securing a victory, regardless of his new school records of 584 yards of total of- fense — one yard shy of the Big Ten's all-time best mark — and 503 passing yards. "I just wanted to win the game," he said. "It came down to a defensive stop. I didn't know anything about the re- cord [for total offense]. "But it's a dream. I guess I could never have dreamed to play a game like this … it's all about the offensive line. They gave me time to read the defense. And when I had opportunity to make plays that's what I did." 10 YEARS AGO, 2008: The No. 8 Wolverines hung on to beat Ohio State in hockey, 4-3, at Yost Ice Arena Oct. 31. Tim Miller netted the game-winning goal for the Wolverines, breaking a 3-3 deadlock in the final period to cap the first of three wins in four chances on the year over the Buckeyes. Louie Caporusso scored on the power play to give Michigan a 1-0 lead early, then Brandon Naurato pushed the advantage to 2-0 with a goal at 8:48 of the second period. The Buck- eyes answered a minute later, on a power-play goal, but Aaron Palushaj got that one back to make it 3-1. Ohio State scored two straight to tie the game, but Miller allowed the Wol- verines to hold serve at home. The win pushed the Wolverines to 5-2 overall, 2-1 in the CCHA. 25 YEARS AGO, 1993: Gary Moeller's Wolverines knocked off No. 7 Penn State, 21-13, in the first-ever meeting between the teams at Beaver Stadium Oct. 16. A ferocious goal-line stand by Michigan helped U-M emerge victorious in the historic showdown. It was the 1,000th game in the storied history of Penn State football, played in front of the biggest crowd ever at Beaver Stadium (96,719). Michigan tailback Tyrone Wheatley helped spoil things for the home crowd, racing away for 192 yards on 32 carries. But it was the Michigan defense that truly broke the Nittany Lions' hearts. They stood six inches away from a sec- ond-half touchdown, but could never cover that ground, getting turned away by the Wolverines four times. Penn State head coach Joe Paterno noted: " They are awfully good on the goal line. They have a clever little scheme where they pinch and then loop out. If you run the sweep — we were debating that — and they loop out, you're in trouble. So you have to guess against them. "I guessed they would loop out, ex- pecting something like a bootleg pass, and I thought we could run right at them. So we went with the two [quar- terback] sneaks and we just didn't make it go." Derrick Alexander's 48-yard punt return touchdown spurred Michigan back from an early 10-0 deficit. "At that point," Wheatley noted, "I was thinking we needed something spe- cial, and Derrick came up and made a play that turned the game around." — John Borton THIS MONTH IN MICHIGAN ATHLETICS HISTORY Devin Gardner set U-M records with 503 passing yards and 584 total yards of offense in a wild 63-47 win over Indiana Oct. 19, 2013. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN