The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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JANUARY 2017 THE WOLVERINE 15 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS FIVE YEARS AGO, 2012: Brendan Gibbons' 37-yard field goal in overtime lifted Michigan to a 23-20 win in the Sugar Bowl, capping off Brady Hoke's first year as head coach with an 11-2 record. The victory over Virginia Tech marked the Wolverines' first ever at that bowl venue. The Wolverines found a way to win a game in which they were outgained, 377-184. They kept forcing the Hokies into field goals on drives, four of them in regulation. Then in overtime, kicker Justin Myer missed from 37 yards out, lead- ing to the game-winning chance for Gibbons. Big plays carried the Wolverines, with junior quarterback Denard Robinson firing touchdown passes of 45 and 18 yards to game MVP and senior wide receiver Junior Heming- way. "I've always had confidence in both of these guys," Hoke said. "When you have a big target and a guy who has great timing — I think it's part why Junior makes a lot of those catches, and has a big body and bodies some people out of the way. So we've always had a lot of confidence in that combination and sometimes you are going to make plays. You've got to have guys who can make those plays, and when they're the ones doing it, you feel pretty good about it." Fifth-year senior defensive end Ryan Van Bergen noted Michigan's capper on the campaign proved perfect. "We've had times where we had to face adversity throughout this whole season, and it kind of comes full circle for the seniors," he said. "We faced a lot of adversity since we've been here. This game was kind of just a microcosm for what happened to us so far as a senior class, and it's been an amazing turnaround for this year, and I think the seniors left an amazing legacy. Team 132 will be the fifth team in Michigan history to have 11 wins. That's signifi- cant when you play in a program that has the tradition that Michigan has. So we couldn't be more proud as se- niors. I couldn't be more proud of the guys that we got the opportunity to lead. It's a full team effort. And we just stayed strong all season. It's a mara- thon." 10 YEARS AGO, 2007: Michigan's basketball team knocked off Purdue in Crisler Arena, 71-55, after the Boiler- makers handed the Wolverines a loss only a week earlier in Mackey Arena. Purdue's 55 points marked its lowest tally of the season, on 11-of-34 shoot- ing from the floor. Michigan senior Dion Harris burned the Boilermakers, scoring 21 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including a blazing 5-of-7 effort on three-pointers. Fifth- year senior Lester Abram added 12 points, and senior Brent Petway slammed down four of his trademark dunks on the way to 10 points. "I was very impressed with our energy and effort defen- sively," Michigan head coach Tommy Amaker said. "We've been a team that has played very well in that category for the most part this season. We continued that, and I think our kids believe in that." 25 YEARS AGO, 1992: Freshman Jalen Rose made his debut as a super sub for the Wolverines in an 80-77 win at Iowa's Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Rose fired in 34 points, includ- ing 3 of 5 three-point makes, in the big road win. He did so despite getting held out of the opening 3:18 of the game. Rose had gained starting status by then, but had overslept during the week and arrived 20 minutes late for a team meeting. "That was our plan," deadpanned Michigan head coach Steve Fisher. "We wanted to save him from early fouls, hide him on the bench, bring him in so they wouldn't know who he was and have him score 34 points — it worked." — John Borton THIS MONTH IN MICHIGAN ATHLETICS HISTORY Jalen Rose, a member of the "Fab Five" recruiting class, torched Purdue with a 34-point effort off the bench as a rookie before going on to earn second-team All-America honors as a junior and playing in the NBA for 13 years. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN