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1995- Michigan stuns Virginia in Pigskin Classic comeback
By Dave Johnson Newport News Daily Press
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- They talk here about the mystique, the Michigan tradition of excellence. Maybe there's something to that. The seemingly out of it Wolverines called on the gods Saturday afternoon, and Virginia recalled a perplexing habit of blowing leads. Trailing 17-0 two minutes into the fourth quarter, 14th-ranked Michigan scored three unanswered touchdowns to complete -- believe it or not -- its biggest comeback ever. Redshirt freshman Scott Dreisbach hit wideout Mercury Hayes on a 15-yard corner route as time expired, giving the Wolverines an 18-17 victory in the Pigskin Classic. And the Cavaliers, who blew a double-digit lead in the second half for the third year in a row, were left stunned in Michigan Stadium's aftermath." I guess it just wasn't meant to be," offensive tackle Chris Harrison said. "I think there must be a jinx against Virginia. Something always seems to happen to us." What a way to lose: on the game's final play, on a fourth-and-10 from Virginia's 15-yard line. Dreisbach threw a perfect pass to Hayes, who burned the Cavs' secondary with seven catches for 179 yards. Replays clearly show Hayes got one foot in bounds,
which is all that is required in college
football." It was in our grasp,"
safety Percy Ellsworth said. "All we had to do was stop them on a fourth-and-10. I
didn't come up here to compete against Michigan, I came up here to beat Michigan. We're
always saying how we want our shot at recognition. Well, this was our chance."
In the
first game of the college football season, 17th-ranked Virginia dominated the Wolverines
for 47 minutes. Rafael Garcia, who missed two earlier chances, made a field goal from 30
yards with 12:55 remaining to give Virginia a 17-0 lead. Michigan Stadium's crowd of
101,444 -- save the small group of Cavalier supporters -- was silent. Dreisbach, the first
freshman quarterback to start an opening game here in 18 years, was having a forgettable
debut: 15 of 28, 136 yards and two costly interceptions after three quarters. But the
rookie got hot. Dreisbach -- that's Dreisbach, not Staubach -- completed 12 passes for 236
yards in the final 12½ minutes. Michigan, blanked for three quarters, began finding holes
in Virginia's defense. "He played well when he had to play well," Virginia coach
George Welsh said. First, Dreisbach threw 41 and 43 yards to Hayes, whose second reception
set up a 2-yard touchdown run by Ed Davis (the point-after was blocked). After the
Cavaliers went three-and-out, Dreisbach hit Hayes on a 31-yard out pattern to make it
17-12 with 7:47 remaining. Virginia needed to eat clock and did. Just not enough. After
making three first downs, the Cavs faced a second-and-two from the Wolverine 28-yard line.
Less than three minutes remained. Virginia's play from the sideline was tailback Kevin
Brooks off tackle. Michigan showed blitz, so quarterback Mike Groh -- who missed two
series with cramps -- changed the play. Bad idea: linebacker Rob Swett, and several
buddies, buried Groh for a 4-yard loss. On third-and-six, he threw incomplete to Derick
Byrd. Welsh elected to punt from the 34, hoping Will Brice could pin the Wolverines inside
their 10-yard line. Brice's punt was perfect, landing at the 5-yard line. Sam McKiver was
perfectly positioned near the goal line. But the ball took a high hop over his head and
into the end zone, giving Michigan possession at its 20."He should have caught
it," Welsh said. Fifteen plays later, Michigan was at Virginia's 15-yard line with
eight seconds left when it got another break. Dreisbach made a rare fourth-quarter
mistake, throwing to wideout Tyrone Butterfield in the middle of the field at the 10-yard
line. Had Butterfield caught it, time likely would have expired. Instead, the ball went
off his finger tips and hit the turf. Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said Butterfield told him
he dropped the ball on purpose. If so, he wasn't wise to bat it in the air, where it was
almost intercepted by safety Anthony Poindexter. So it came down to the game's final play.
Virginia was in a zone defense, with Poindexter as a fifth defensive back. Dreisbach's
primary receiver was Amani Toomer, who had run to the left corner of the end zone.
Noticing he was covered, Dreisbach turned to Hayes. He was open. Virginia cornerback Ronde
Barber, who intercepted a pass but was toasted by Hayes all afternoon, was expecting the
slant. Instead, Hayes sprinted to the corner of the end zone. "The coaches told me to
watch the corner," Barber said. "I should have known it was coming. "The
pass had to be perfect, and it was. Barber's help from safety Paul London was late, and
Hayes got his left foot in bounds. "It looked high, but I've seen Mercury play
basketball," Dreisbach said. "I know how he can jump. "Field judge Collin
McDermott made sure Hayes had possession, pointed to the divot in the field and made the
correct call ."He was in," Barber said, "although I tried to convince the
official he was out." The scene on the field looked like a photo negative of
Colorado's stunning victory here last year. The crowd's roar was heard in sections of
Canada, and the Cavaliers lay on the field in disbelief. "That was the longest four
seconds I've ever lived through," defensive tackle Todd White said. "And then
the longest three seconds when the guy decided the call." Virginia now must guard
against letting this be a loss that defeats it twice. Some players said this easily was
the most heartbreaking defeat of their careers; others said it was second to last year's
loss to North Carolina State.But all agree the team must put it aside. "We'll deal
with it," Ronde Barber said. "We've got William and Mary next week and we'll
refine our skills before N.C. State (on Sept. 9). We didn't win, but we did some good
things. "Welsh will remind his team of that ."This is one game, we've got to get
over it," Welsh said. "We still have 11 to play. But it's a tough loss,
obviously."
ESPNET SportsZoneCopyright © 1995
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