[NU Sports] FORTY DAYS OF FOOTBALL: Day 12

[SjT (Stephen J. Truog)]

One game down, nine to go on the list ...

FORTY DAYS OF FOOTBALL
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> DAYS 1-10: The top coaches of the decade

10) Glen Mason, Minnesota
09) Bret Bielema, Wisconsin
08) Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern
07) Barry Alvarez, Wisconsin
06) Randy Walker, Northwestern
05) Lloyd Carr, Michigan
04) Kirk Ferentz, Iowa
03) Joe Tiller, Purdue
02) Joe Paterno, Penn State
01) Jim Tressel, Ohio State

> DAYS 11-20: The top games of the decade

10) 2000: Purdue 32, Michigan 31

> DAYS 21-30: The top players of the decade
> DAYS 31-40: The top teams of the decade

TOP GAMES
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Before we get to number 9, I realize I forgot my "Big Televen" extra for yesterday's countdown kickoff. I'll put a list of games that just missed the list at the end of this countdown, but I still found a suitable #11:

#11) WORST game of the decade: Unlike the ten-best list, this was an easy call ... 2004: Iowa 6, Penn State 4. It was an ugly day and an excessively ugly game. The Nits score two safeties but can't move the ball a bit on offense and the Hawkeyes can't do much either. Just two years earlier, the teams had played a 42-35 OT thriller that the Hawkeyes won on a controversial call ... then they gave us this abomination. Ugh.

Now back to our BEST games list (league games only - no bowls) ...

9) 2001 season: Michigan State 26, Michigan 24

The Spartan-Wolverine rivalry is one of the more underrated in the Big Ten. It doesn't have the tradition of OSU/Michigan, or the border war/high school carryover of OSU/PSU ... or even a brown jug or a pig. That's probably because only one side of this rivalry really cares about it most years. Sparty is a gnat on mighty Michigan's shoulder while the Maize and Blue are the big brother who got the sports car for his birthday while Sparty got a bike.

But that's most years. Sometimes the lil' guy wins the class/state struggle and makes Big Blue take notice that they stepped in some lime green stuff and they get annoyed that they can't get it off their shoe. And that's probably how Lloyd Carr felt in 2001 when the final second ticked away ... and then ticked away a second time in this classic contest.

The 2001 regular season didn't give us many great games. There was a back-and-forth contest between Sparty and Northwestern that had a wild finish as the teams came back from the week off following 9/11, but most of the season still seems a blur. However, the November 3, 2001 battle for Michigan (maybe they could give a big mitten trophy?) finally gave fans something to talk about. The Wolverines came into Spartan Stadium with a No. 6 ranking and a 6-1 record, clearly the favorites for Pasadena. The Spartans weren't too shabby themselves with a 4-2 record including wins at Notre Dame and Wisconsin. The stage was set for a great game under the lights.

The first half was a back-and-forth affair as Michigan's John Navarre and MSU's Jeff Smoker leading two touchdown drives each and Michigan heading in at half up 17-14 thanks to a 57-yard field goal. Sparty tied the game at 17 heading into the final 15 minutes and that's where things really got interesting.

State took the lead midway through the quarter and Michigan countered to go up 24-20 as the final couple minutes approached. Facing fourth down with 90 seconds left, MSU was bailed out by a pass interference call. With 20 seconds remaining, MSU drove down to the 3 yard line and spiked the ball with :17 remaining. However, Smoker's ensuing run did not make it out of bounds and the noise swelled from both sides as they lined up for one more spike. When the smoke cleared, the clock still showed :01 remaining, despite boisterous complaints from Carr and the rest of the maize and blue sideline. Smoker's 4th down pass was caught in the end zone by T.J. Duckett and a wild Sparty Party erupted.

Again, this game has storylines out the wazoo - besides the rivalry and controversial finish, its impact on the season rippled throughout the Big Ten. It (along with a season-ending loss to OSU) cost Michigan the Rose Bowl - it also started a steep decline as MSU lost their next three games in a bit of a "clockgate" hangover. It also spurred changes in clock operators and ultimately instant replay. And for a year at least, the folks in Ann Arbor got annoyed about their pesky little brothers who think they're rivals from East Lansing.

Three years later, these two played another instant classic as Michigan and Braylon Edwards got a measure of revenge with a wild 45-37 triple overtime win in Ann Arbor - a game that saw Michigan erase a 17-point deficit with just under 7 minutes remaining in the game. That one could have gone on this list as well, but the controversial "clockgate" ending seems a bit more memorable ... at least to the fans in green and white.

Coming Saturday: Karma gives Lloyd Carr that second back

GO CATS!!!
-SjT

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STEPHEN J. TRUOG
sjtruog at yahoo.com
GO CATS!!! GEAUX SAINTS!!!
Super Bowl XLIV Champions!
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