The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MICHIGAN FOOTBALL 2,418 makes it the most productive by any pair of rushers in any Michi- gan season. Robinson and Tous- saint have combined for 2,174 in the games leading up to the Sugar Bowl. With a combined 245 in the bowl, they would rank as the Wolverines' most productive single-season pair of rushers ever. Now, legitimate quibbles can be Brady Hoke is only the second Michigan coach in school history to win 10 games in his first season in Ann Arbor, joining Fielding H. Yost (11-0 in 1901). PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL seasons" that, until recently, seemed pretty miserable to Michigan fans. But 8-4 gave way to 12-0 in '97, with Heisman Trophy winner Charles Woodson leading the charge on a national championship squad that refused to lose. • 2005-06 — Lloyd Carr's Wol- verines suffered through an injury- plagued 2005 season, slumping to their worst record (7-5) since '84. The '07 team responded much like the '85 crew did, running off victories in the first 11 games. Only a 42-39 shootout loss in Columbus kept U-M from the national championship contest. The 2011 team joins those others with a win over Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl. It's not for a national championship, or a Big Ten title. But if Michigan pulls it off, few would argue the '11 campaign shares a spe- cial feeling along with the elite eight it joins. DENARD ROBINSON AND FITZGERALD TOUSSAINT COULD BE TOP TANDEM Junior quarterback Denard Robin- son and redshirt sophomore tailback Fitzgerald Toussaint have already raced into Michigan history. Robin- son, with 1,163 rushing yards, and Toussaint, with 1,011, became only the second U-M tandem in history to top 1,000 yards in the same season. They're the first since Gordon Bell (1,388) and Rob Lytle (1,030) did so in 1975. That's twice, in Michigan's 132-year football history. Michigan fans should keep the number 245 in mind. At the mo- ment, the Bell-Lytle combo's total of 30 THE WOLVERINE JANUARY 2012 raised over the fact that Bell and Lytle established their total in 12 games, rather than 13. Others will mention great Michigan rushers who per- formed in 11, 10 or even fewer games. Still, an all-time high stands as just that, all other considerations aside. Robinson and Toussaint became only the 12th pair of Michigan run- ners to combine for more than 2,000 yards rushing in a season. Here's a Great Game Performances Tom Brady Spearheads A BCS Bowl Victory When Michigan squares off with Virginia Tech Jan. 3, it will be making its sec- ond Sugar Bowl appearance. However, the first, following a 9-2 regular season in 1983, was not memorable; the Wolverines fell 9-7 to Auburn. This year's game will also represent the Wolverines' 25th appearance in one of four BCS bowl contests — the Rose, Fiesta, Sugar and Orange — though just the fifth since the arrival of the Bowl Championship Series with the 1998 season. In the lone victory — a 35-34 overtime decision over Alabama in the 2000 Or- ange Bowl — quarterback Tom Brady stole the show, throwing for 369 yards and four touchdowns. In the process, he compiled a passer rating of 169.9 — which ranks as the third-best single-game bowl effort in U-M history. "Brian Griese's Rose Bowl game was a great game, but this one was right there with it," U-M quarterbacks coach Stan Parrish said after the game. "Tom Brady played to exhaustion. To throw that many balls [46] and not get picked off … that's a fast team, and he just took care of the ball and got it to the right guys. He played like a champion." Brady spent two seasons jockeying with wunderkind Drew Henson, ceding snaps at the quarterback position to his understudy. But in this game, Brady's last in a Michigan uniform, it became apparent he was the only one capable of leading the Wolverines to victory. The senior signal-caller helped rally U-M back from a 14-0 deficit, connecting with sophomore wide receiver David Terrell for a 27-yard touchdown late in the second quarter and a 57-yard touchdown to start the third quarter. He would again rally the Wolverines from a 14-point deficit in the fourth quar- ter, leading a 10-play, 59-yard drive that culminated with junior tailback Anthony Thomas' three-yard touchdown run with 1:01 left in regulation. In overtime, Michigan scored on its first play when Brady connected with red- shirt sophomore tight end Shawn Thompson for a 25-yard score. The Crimson Tide scored on their second play, but an extra point attempt sailed wide, giving U-M the win. "Brady won 20 games, and went through the toughest set of circumstances, that year, that any guy will ever go through," Parrish said. "Good things happen to good people. That extra point went wide right maybe for him tonight." Terrell was the Orange Bowl MVP, finishing with three touchdowns and 150 yards on 10 catches, but no one has forgotten what Brady did that night. "Being Orange Bowl champs, and beating the SEC champs, is a great way to end a career," he said. — Michael Spath rundown of the dazzling dozen. 1. 1975, Bell/Lytle, 2,418 — With a freshman quarterback in Rick Leach, Bo Schembechler relied heavily on the running facets of the option at- tack, Bell and Lytle doing the heavy lifting. (12 games) 2. 1976, Lytle/Harlan Huckleby, 2,381 — The parts shifted a bit the following year, but the ground game didn't slow. Lytle led the way with 1,469 yards, while Huckleby rushed for 912. (12 games) 3. 2010, Robinson/Vincent Smith, 2,303 — There weren't many left- overs in Robinson's 1,702-yard rush- ing season, but Smith came through with a solid 601. (13 games) 4. 2011, Robinson/Toussaint, 2,174 — With one more game to play, this combo has a shot at the top. (12 games)