MVP Brady is a cool fella, Law scores then sells it. ANN ARBOR, MI FEBRUARY 4, 2002 Tom Brady, Super Bowl MVP? It is hard to believe, but he did it and he deserved it. Brady made history on Sunday becoming the youngest QB to lead his team to a ring. His last minute drive to set up the winning kick was epic. I am not sure how a kick can kill 7 seconds, but it wouldn’t have mattered (I guess). When Brady started the drive I thought it was going to end in disaster. He was aided by a Patriot defense that made big plays, namely Ty Law’s 47 yard interception return. Not everyone appreciated Law’s touchdown. In the middle of his dash for the endzone, Law raised up one arm in a celebratory fashion, which some might consider taunting. “He better watch it!”, warned one experienced but anonymous fan. Brady and Law, who will head to Hawaii for the All-Pro game next week, played for the Michigan Wolverines in the 90’s. They join several former players who made a big impact this year including All-Pro’s Ian Gold & Charles Woodson, Rookie of the year Anthony Thomas and standout Jon Runyan (robbed). Brady became the second Wolverine to take the Super Bowl MVP honors, following Desmond Howard. Brady never…
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Rose Bowl 2004: Trojans Overpower Blue
Return trip to Pasadena in ’04 yields no win Congratulations to the Trojans for handily defeating Michigan 28-14 during another incredible trip to the Rose Bowl. USC did what they needed to do – they played sound, aggressive offense and went after Michigan’s defensive backs. The Trojan defense forced John Navarre to move around the pocket on big plays and we all know he just doesn’t move and throw well. Going into the game all I wanted Michigan to do was to not defeat themselves as they did at Oregon and Iowa. In hindsight that wasn’t enough as USC went out and beat Michigan. That doesn’t happen very often to the Blue. Hats off to Southern Cal and I’m glad they are getting their piece of the national championship. I’d typically rather watch a Mad About You marathon than watch M get beat, but somehow I survived this one. Pregame & Tailgate My buddy Arch and I left Venice at around 8:30 and made the trek over to Pasadena. This was my fourth Rose Bowl and second time driving (the first two we took the tour bus). As inevitably happens on the way to the game we ended up monkeying around Pasadena and running up against the Rose parade route. I have to give it to the security and volunteers…
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Michigan Downs Florida Gators in Outback Bowl 2003
Michigan Defeats Florida, Avoids stigma of 4 loss season ANN ARBOR, MI JANUARY 2, 2003 What an exciting game it was, as the Big Ten’s Michigan Wolverines outlasted the SEC Florida Gators to finish 10-3 on the year. Thanks four straight 4-loss seasons in the mid-nineties, that figure (4) has become the sign of mediocrity. Beating Florida on Jan 1 has made this a very good season for the Blue. We ran the “muddle huddle” with coach Fro at Okemos High (I understand from Lew Popoff that Coach Smith runs that at East Lansing as well). Fro used to say it was good once a year. For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, basically the muddle huddle is where most of the offensive team (except the snapper and kicker) lines up to the extreme side of the field during an extra point try after a TD. If the defense does not line up properly to defend it, a guy on the extreme side of the field signals for the ball. It is hiked and ideally run in for an easy 2 pt conversion– if you catch the defense off guard. Florida tried to run this gimmick play against the Blue and got stuffed. I don’t know if the coaches just said give it a try, or…
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Tennessee Vols Stomp Michigan in 2002 Citrus Bowl
Ouch. The Tennessee Volunteers did what is mostly unheard of, especially over the past several years – they routed a Michigan Wolverine football team in the 2002 Citrus Bowl. It was as ugly as it can get, embarrassing not only Michigan but also the Big Ten conference. So, we’ll have to see how this impacts Michigan’s plans for next year. I read that they were going to insert BYU-transfer QB Spencer Brinton into the game with 2 minutes, but never got the ball back. Where are Drew Henson, Tom Brady, Brian Griese, Todd Collins, Elvis Grbac, Scott Driesbach and Jim Harbaugh when you need them? I am sure that the Wolverines will work this out and find their next QB for 2002. As a follow-up, the impact nationally of the blow-up was lessened significantly by the other major schools that were also crushed (Colorado and Nebraska for instance).
