The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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OCTOBER 2026 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 27 a money-in-the-bank receiver topped it all. The Sept. 10, 1994, victory engi- neered in the final minute by Todd Col- lins against Notre Dame in South Bend – with Remy Hamilton winning it via a 42-yard field goal with two seconds remaining. Collins had only 46 seconds to play when the drive began on his own 17-yard line and started with a 15-yard scramble before hitting tight end Jay Riemersma down the middle for 26 more. Collins then threw back-to-back 9-yard passes to Seth Smith to total 59 yards on four plays. That got Hamil- ton, the first All-America placekicker in program history, into very makeable range for the 42-yarder he drilled down the middle for the 26-24 triumph. Braylon Edwards' unforgettable tri- ple-overtime game against Michigan State on Oct. 30, 2004, when he con- nected with quarterback Chad Henne for the game-winning 24-yard TD catch that the Spartans failed to answer. MSU quarterback Damon Dowdell couldn't connect on third- and fourth-and-8 passes, and this nerve-rattling game was over with Michigan on top, 45-37. The Wolverines overcame a 27-10 defi- cit with 8:43 remaining in the fourth quarter. How many kids went out the next night on Halloween wearing a No. 1 Michigan jersey as a makeshift Edwards costume in honor of the wide receiver who caught 11 passes for 189 yards and 3 touchdowns? The Sept. 10, 2011, victory over Notre Dame in the first night game at Michi- gan Stadium, when Denard Robinson covered 80 yards with two passes in the final 30 seconds. There was the 64-yarder to Jeremy Gallon (caught while wide open near the right sideline and returned with a cutback run to the left sideline) before the 16-yard TD toss to Roundtree in the right corner of the south end zone. Roundtree caught it despite a defensive pass interference call that was declined with two seconds to play in the 35-31 triumph. There are some other pretty amazing comebacks, too, including overcom- ing a school-record deficit of 21 points against Minnesota in 2003. But we're going to focus on these two games, when the final plays were for all the marbles: MICHIGAN 27, INDIANA 21 Oct. 27, 1979 Ann Arbor Anthony Carter was only a freshman, but this game-winning play put him well on his way to becoming a three-time All- America wide receiver. He would join end Bennie Oosterbaan (1925-26-27) as the school's only triple honorees in that category. Quarterback John Wangler's miracu- lous 45-yard touchdown pass to A.C. has probably incited more joy and lasting memories than any other Michigan play. Radio play-by-play man Bob Ufer gets an assist in that regard because his horn- honking, crying, shouting, and hyperbole on the call of that play and its aftermath were so spontaneous and endearing. It lives on in YouTube replays that will for- ever freeze in time the high drama that played out on that cool, cloudy autumn afternoon at Michigan Stadium. The Wolverines and Hoosiers were knotted at 21 with six seconds remain- ing and the ball on the Indiana 45-yard line. Coach Bo Schembechler put his left arm around Wangler on the sideline and barked out the play – "54 Pass Post!" – before Wangler jogged into the huddle to call the play. Wangler recalled for me: "As Anthony was breaking the huddle, he said, 'Throw me the ball. I'm going to be open.' I said, 'I am. Don't worry about it.'" Each of Wangler's top three options on the play was a future NFL starter. "Ralph Clayton was running down the one sideline straight to the end zone and Doug Marsh was on the other side as the tight end, and then Alan Mitchell was out there, too," Wangler said. "Anthony was the one who was going to do the post route." Wangler made the obligatory play fake to his star tailback Butch Woolfolk before dropping back to pass. "The ironic thing is that I had to re- verse-pivot and fake an off-tackle play to Woolfolk" Wangler recalled with a chuckle. "They are in a prevent defense, and you aren't fooling anyone with a fake. I always teased Bo about that. But the next year we put in the drop-back and even some shotguns for that kind of Hail Mary situation." Wangler wasn't pressured in the pocket and fired a tight spiral down the middle of the field that Carter caught in front of two defensive backs at the 20- yard line. Neither Hoosier defender was able to corral him, and another Indiana defensive back made an attempt to get Carter with a diving tackle but ended Michigan receiver Anthony Carter averaged a phenomenal 27.2 yards per catch in his first season and established a then-Big Ten record with 37 career touchdown receptions. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY