The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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THE WOLVERINE 2018 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 35 He also recalls Notre Dame's 27-23 win at Michigan in 1993, one of only seven Irish victories ever in Ann Arbor. "In '93, when they went up there, after the book came out, 'Under The Tarnished Dome,' which just skewered Lou Holtz and the entire operation … Notre Dame was a 9.5-point un- derdog," Somogyi recounted. "That opening series, when [quarterback] Kevin McDougal went 43 yards for a touchdown, that really put Notre Dame back into the national title picture." The flip side stands out as well for the long- time Irish historian. Perhaps no loss carried quite the resounding emphasis of Michigan's 47-21 blasting of the Irish at Notre Dame Stadium in 2006. "Every loss to Michigan is crushing, in so many ways," Somogyi said. "That 2006 one … I was worried. Notre Dame was the preseason No. 1, second year under Charlie Weis, because their first year they went up and upset Michigan, Brady Quinn and all. "I just said, boy, Michigan is going to come in really hungry. It's the same feeling I have about Michigan this year. In 2005, Michigan was 7-5 and they were favored in the Big Ten that year. They lost early to Notre Dame and just kind of floundered from there on. "I just kept saying all year, watch out for Michigan. They always play well against Notre Dame. They're going to come in angry. It was 47-21. That was one that certainly stuck out." That's far from the only painful memory for the Irish, Somogyi assured. "Losing in the last second to Remy Hamil- ton in '94, that kind of stuck, badly," he said. "It's like, well, they got them back this time for the Harry Oliver field goal. It was on the same side of the field. It looked like Notre Dame had the game won, and they made a late drive." That one, however, wasn't the worst. Mich- igan beat the Irish 24-23 in 1986, in Notre Dame Stadium, behind the quarterback that will lead them into South Bend as head coach in 2018. "The most painful one for me? Lou Holtz's first game, in '86," Somogyi said. "I just thought they played fabulous, and you just wanted to top it off with a victory. "I think it was the only time in Bo Schem- bechler's 21 years there that a team did not punt against Michigan. But they had three turnovers inside the red zone. The Notre Dame Stadium crowd gave a standing ova- tion to the players as they walked off the field. "It just hurt so much not to come away with that victory. That one really hurt." Jansen can't help but put Michigan's 21-14 win over the Irish in 1997 at the top of his list. It holds that lofty spot even though it proved far from the Wolverines' finest moment on offense during that national championship season. "We turned the ball over three times," Jan- sen recalled. "We had the lead, and we had so many opportunities to put that team away. We just couldn't capitalize on it. "Our defense, as we came to know that whole year, was one of the best defenses that ever played at Michigan. If we didn't have that defense in that particular game, I don't even want to think about what might have happened. "It was such an emotional game. We'd score and go up, and then we'd do something. We were on about the 40-yard line and we fumbled. Our defense stands up and gets us the ball back. They make a goal-line stand. "There's just so much — the highs and lows, the ebb and flow of that game was un- believable. To win that game, at home, was an unbelievable high." The low arrived just one year later, at Notre Dame. Coming off the national champion- ship, under the direction of arguably the great- est quarterback ever to command a huddle, the Wolverines fell 36-20, then came home to get smoked by Syracuse 38-28. "The emotion of that game was not just that we lost to Notre Dame, but we followed up a national championship and undefeated season by opening up with a loss to Notre Dame," Jansen explained. "Any time you win a cham- pionship, especially a national championship, that bull's-eye gets really big. Everybody wants to knock the king off the throne. "When we left, we had been knocked off. That hurt a lot. To follow it up, we played Syracuse at home and Donovan McNabb … he's still running around Michigan Stadium. "You're 0-2, after winning the national championship. That was a huge blow to a lot of confidence." The way both programs are scheduled out in the future, it's highly unlikely they'll meet with any regularity, at least the type they knew from 1978-2014. But when they do square off — such as in 2018 and '19 — it will remain special. Jansen considers himself as big a fan of Michigan battling in the Big Ten and winning the national championship as anyone. Yet he clearly loves this matchup. "There is emotion when these two teams play, because of how successful these pro- grams have been and how much pride the people who wear the maize and blue, or the Golden Domers, have in their program," Jan- sen said. "When you win that game, you're jacked up. You're excited. When you lose it, you're as low as you can be until you get out to practice the next day. "There's a lot of excitement, and there's a lot nationally, this coming year. A lot rides on that game." ❏ Remy Hamilton won the 1994 showdown in South Bend by making a 42-yard field goal — his fourth of the day — on the game's final play to secure a 26-24 victory. PHOTO COURTESY BENTLEY HISTORICAL LIBRARY