The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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JANUARY 2023 THE WOLVERINE 15 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS FIVE YEARS AGO, 2018: U-M invaded East Lansing and knocked off Tom Izzo's No. 4-ranked Spartans 82-72 on Jan. 13, 2018. Moe Wagner paced the Wolverines with a career-high 27 points, while three teammates also posted double figures. The Spartans led 37-34 at the intermission, but Michigan used an 8-0 run to grab a 42-39 lead at the 16:38 mark of the second half. The game stayed close until Michigan's 11-2 run put the Wolverines up 65-57 with 5:05 remaining. U-M went 9 of 12 from the free throw line the rest of the way, holding off the Spartans. Zavier Simpson added 16 points for Michigan, while Mu- hammad-Ali Abdur Rahkman scored 14 and Charles Matthews tossed in 10. Miles Bridges and Jaren Jackson Jr. led the Spar- tans with 19 points each. Wagner caught the Spartans' attention, both with his scoring and his in-game commentary on the court. "He's a pick-and-pop guy, and it's tough to guard him," Bridges said. "We could tell he really wanted that game." Comparing Wagner to former MSU chirper Scott Skiles, Izzo noted: "He talked it. He walked it. He played it." 10 YEARS AGO, 2013 — Trey Burke scored 19 points to lead Michigan basketball to a huge road win at Illinois, 74-60 on Jan. 27, 2013. Nik Stauskas fired in 14 points, while Glenn Robinson III and Tim Hardaway Jr. each added 12. The victory gave the Wolverines their best start in the his- tory of the program, making them 19-1. Ranked No. 2 in the nation, Michigan shot 50 percent from the field and allowed only 37-percent shooting by the Illini. An 11-0 Wolverines run wiped out an early 7-4 lead by the home team. Illinois clawed its way back within two, but a Hardaway three-pointer helped Michigan pull back away for a 35-27 halftime advantage. A 9-0 run by the Wolverines in the second half put Michigan firmly in control. Illinois rallied to within seven with less than 10 minutes to play, but the Illini got no closer. U-M answered with another 9-0 skein, going up 18 points for its biggest advantage of the game. The win came despite junior forward Jordan Morgan getting sidelined by injury in the opening moments. "Guys stepped up tonight, and we knew that with Morgan going down they needed to," Burke said. "Coach calls him the minister of defense. He's one of the older captains, and he's been in the program for years. "Once he went down, Jon [Horford] and Max [Bielfeldt] came in and stepped up." 25 YEARS AGO, 1998 — Michigan football locked up its first national championship since 1948, taking down Washing- ton State 21-16 in the Rose Bowl to complete a magical 12-0 season on Jan. 1, 1998. The Wolverines fell behind early and could have gone down by two touchdowns had it not been for a leaping end zone in- terception by Heisman Trophy winner Charles Woodson. As it was, Lloyd Carr's crew played the Cougars to a 7-7 halftime tie. Michigan quarterback Brian Griese unloaded a 53-yard bomb to Tai Streets for the Wolverines' first-half touchdown. Washington State then grabbed the lead back early in the second half, quarterback Ryan Leaf leading WSU on a 99-yard touchdown drive, followed by a missed extra point. Griese kept firing, putting Michigan up by a point, 14-13, on another bomb to Streets, this one for 58 yards. The Michigan quarterback then found tight end Jerame Tuman on a 23-yard, fourth-quarter touchdown toss. A WSU field goal pulled the Cougars within striking distance, but Michigan's defense stopped a final, frantic drive to pre- serve the Wolverines' season of perfection. "You have left a wonderful legacy for every team that ever follows you," Carr told his squad in the post-game locker room. "You just won the national championship." — John Borton THIS MONTH IN MICHIGAN ATHLETICS HISTORY After Michigan defeated Washington State 21-16 in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, 1998, head coach Lloyd Carr told his jubilant team, "You have left a wonderful legacy for every team that ever follows you. You have just won the national championship." PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETICS