“Were you in Michigan Stadium that day, Grandpa Stout?”

“You’re damn right I was. I got up at 7 AM, in the freezing cold and snow,
with my former team mate Brian Aparo to put 40,000 maize and blue pompoms
on the seats to get my ticket in. And let me tell you–there hasn’t been a
game like that played in the Big House ever since.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Well, the year was 1997. Bill Clinton was your President and busy in
Washington trying to cover up an affair with a 21-year-old White House
Intern. The greatest sitcom ever, Seinfeld, was in its final season.
Titantic was breaking records at the box office and Jimmy Buffett, at the
tender age of 50, was still wasting away in Margaritaville with all his
Parrotheads. The Michigan Wrestling Wolverines were entering their 76th
season. And I was 26 but of course, still in Law and MBA school at a place
that shall remain nameless.”

“Tell me about THE GAME.”

“Well, both schools came into The Game each ranked in the top five in the
nation for the first time in 20 years. Michigan entered the game unbeaten
and ranked #1 in the country. Coming off four consecutive four loss
seasons, the Wolverines were gunning for their first trip to the Rose Bowl
in five years, and their first 11-0 season since 1971. The Boys in Blue
were led by a great team defense that emphasized “11 hats to the ball” and
led the nation in both total defense and scoring defense. Spearheading
this defense was the great Charles Woodson, an All – American defensive
back who also excelled on the offensive side of the ball and was a threat
to wreak havoc on his opponents every time he stepped on the field.

The Buckeyes came to Ann Arbor with a 10-1 record after falling only to
Penn State early in the season in Happy Valley. They were ranked fourth in
the nation and had won five straight since the loss to the Nittany Lions,
improving each week. Led by All – American linebacker Andy Katzenmoyer,
the Buckeye defense had yielded just one touchdown in its last five games.
After seeing the Wolverines ruin their own perfect seasons and national
championship hopes the past two years, the Buckeyes looked to turn the
tables on the Maize and Blue and make their second consecutive trip to the
Rose Bowl.

But on a crisp autumn day before a record Michigan Stadium crowd of
106,982, these Wolverines had their eyes on the prize and were not to be
denied.

After a scoreless first quarter, the Wolverines and Woodson, almost
single-handedly, broke open the game during a four minute stretch late in
the first half.

The first big play of the game saw Woodson grab a Brian Griese pass a
little past midfield on a third down and 12 from the Michigan 47 and
outrun the Buckeye defenders for 37 yards to the Ohio State 15. Two plays
later, Wolverine freshman Anthony Thomas scored from the one, and the Blue
took a 7-0 lead that they would not relinquish.

Ohio State took the ensuing kickoff, and on three plays, went nowhere
against the top-rated Michigan defense. With the Buckeyes looking to punt
on fourth down, Woodson retreated to his own 20-yard line, and prepared to
show the Michigan Stadium crowd why he was the best player in the country.

Woodson received the Buckeye punt at his own 22, broke to his left, split
the sea of scarlet and gray defenders, and sprinted down the left sideline
for an electrifying 78-yard touchdown. The return gave the Blue a 13-point
lead and sent the Michigan Stadium crowd into a maize and blue pompom
frenzy as both teams headed for the locker room.

As the second half opened, the Wolverines went for the jugular. After
Woodson halted a Buckeye drive by intercepting a Stanley Jackson pass in
the Michigan end zone to open the second half, the Wolverine defense once
again flexed its muscles two series later. Andre Weathers picked off a
Jackson pass at the Ohio 44, and raced untouched into the end zone to give
the Blue a seemingly insurmountable 20-0 lead.

However, the Buckeyes did not roll over. Michigan mistakes and turnovers
allowed them to score two quick touchdowns and put us Wolverine fans into
a near cardiac arrest with almost a quarter to play. Buckeye quarterback
Joe Germaine first hooked up with David Boston for a 56-yard TD pass to
close the score to 20-7, and a two yard run by Pepe Pearson after a Griese
fumble at his own ten made it 20-14 with 13 minutes left in the game.

But the Buckeye rally wasn’t nearly enough. With the best defense in the
country on the field, the Wolverines bottled up the Buckeye offense on
three straight possessions to close out the game, close out a perfect 11-0
season, and clinch a trip to Pasadena.

On the first day of the new year, the Wolverines would capture their first
national championship in 49 years with a 21-16 Rose Bowl win over
Washington State. In the locker room at Pasadena, Coach Lloyd Carr
addressed his team and summed up Michigan’s storybook season in just few
simple sentences.

‘You have left a wonderful legacy for every team that ever follows you,’
Carr proclaimed. ‘You just won…the national championship!’

Somewhere, high up in the heavens, the legendary Fielding Yost could only
smile and nod his head in agreement. Nearly a century had passed since
Yost had directed the Wolverines to their first national championship in
1901. Ninety-six years later, Michigan was Champion of the West once
again.”

Go Blue! Beat the Buckeyes!!!

Written by:

Matthew L. Stout
President, University of Michigan Club of Central Ohio

‘M’ Wrestling Captain, 1994-95

The Voice of the Michigan Wrestling Wolverines

Internal Press Box Announcer, Michigan Stadium

“Those Who Stay Will Be Champions!”

Bricker & Eckler LLP
100 S. Third St.
Columbus, Ohio 43215
(614) 227-8861
Email: mstout@bricker.com

Copyright, 2007.

At 29 minutes into the video, Carr talks about the history of the Little Brown Jug, college football’s oldest trophy. It was originally purchased for $1.50.