H

eading into 2008, 
the Michigan 
football team hadn’t 
had a losing season 
since the 1960s.
Under coaches Bo Schembechler, 
Gary Moeller and Lloyd Carr, 
the Wolverines developed into 
a perennial power in the Big 
Ten, always in the Rose Bowl 
conversation, and thus, the national 
spotlight.
But when Carr retired at the 
end of the 2007 season and Rich 
Rodriguez took his place, there 
was perhaps more doubt around 
the program than there had ever 
been. Rodriguez brought with him a 
spread offense that had never been 
run at Michigan, and the personnel 
he inherited was not suited for that 
play style.
All of those doubts were realized, 
as the Wolverines sputtered to a 3-9 
record.
Even still, there was one bright spot 
in the season.
On Sept. 28, in the 500th game in 
the history of Michigan Stadium, 
Michigan battled back from a 
19-0 halftime deficit to beat No. 9 

Wisconsin, 27-19, giving hope to a 
fanbase that had all but lost it.
Ten years later, the memory of 
that game is interesting. Especially 
lately, the Wolverines are in a much 
better spot than they were then. 
The Badgers are visiting Ann Arbor 
again this weekend, and Michigan is 
favored by nine points.
Most Wolverines fans would 
prefer to erase the memory of the 
Rodriguez Era. But that one game 
can be remembered as a positive, 
an emotional roller coaster and a 
signature win that the Michigan 
players from that year can hang 
their hats on.
This is the story of the largest 
comeback in the history of Michigan 
Stadium.
Mark Snyder, former Michigan 
beat reporter for The Detroit 
Free Press: Everything was 
the unknown, because they had 
changed this whole system, and it 
was gonna be this read option, and 
Michigan obviously didn’t have 

the personnel for that, especially 
the quarterback. They had Steven 
Threet as the quarterback, and he 
had transferred from Georgia Tech, 
and he was, you know, a pro-style 
quarterback, and that’s why he had 
come to Michigan. And he came to 
Michigan before Lloyd Carr left.
Steven Threet, Michigan 
quarterback, 2007-2009: I would 
say that when I did transfer, there 
wasn’t a discussion specifically my 
parents, myself and Coach Carr 
about a transition. Obviously, that 
was kind of in the wind, not for any 
reason other than his desires, but 
that was a possibility. But kind of 
given the consistency and stability 
of the University of Michigan 
football program to that point since 
the late 1960s, it didn’t seem like 
there was gonna be a drastic shift.
Kevin Koger, Michigan tight 
end, 2008-2012: It was a different 
perspective for me, just because I 
committed under Coach Carr, but 
I didn’t play under him. So I get in 
there, and Rich Rod’s the only thing 
I know. So it wasn’t weird for me in 
terms of having a coaching change, 
but I was just going off a lot of the 
older guys and how they felt. I 

think there was a mild uncertainty. 
I don’t know, unfortunately, how 
great our buy-in was at that time as 
a whole. I think there were some 
guys resistant to the change. I think 
that had a lot to do with the type of 
team that we had, and everybody 
was at fault. It wasn’t just the 
coaches, we just all weren’t on the 
same page. And I don’t think guys 
didn’t play hard or anything like 
that, I think, you know, we weren’t 
all on the same page that year, and 
expectations were high.
The Wolverines began their season 
with a 25-23 loss to Utah, a 16-6 win 
over Miami (OH) and a 35-17 loss to 
Notre Dame, falling to 1-2 before the 
Big Ten opener.
Koger: I think we always had 
confidence in ourselves. We always 
thought that, no matter what 
happened, like the Notre Dame 
game, if I remember correctly, 
we had a bunch of turnovers, you 
know, so it was a lot of, we felt, 
self-inflicted wounds. … We did 

beat Miami (OH), but we felt that 
the margin of victory should have 
been a lot bigger than it was. You 
know, so I think we were a little, not 
disappointed, but we expected more 
out of ourselves up to that point.
Snyder: So they go into this game 
with a chance for an upset, and 
Michigan, they’re used to big-time 
wins. … But I don’t think anybody 
expected they were going to win.
Wisconsin won its first three games 
of the season, rising to No. 9 in 
the AP rankings and establishing 
themselves as Big Ten and National 
Championship contenders.
Aubrey Pleasant, Wisconsin 
defensive back, 2005-2008: Yeah 
we were definitely going for it. 
I remember we were somewhat 
rated high, we were 3-0. You know, 
I feel at that time … I don’t know 
if (Michigan) started off the way 
they needed to that year, but we 
knew it was gonna be a competitive 
game. We knew we had to solidify 
ourselves on the road if we wanted 
to kind of push it through.
Threet: One thing I do remember 
is I didn’t even realize until we got 
onto the field and I saw the extra 
paint (that) it was the 500th game in 

Michigan Stadium. And that was not 
like, I didn’t walk into the stadium 
knowing, ‘Hey, this is 500. Let’s 
make it special.’
John Thompson, Michigan 
linebacker, 2004-2008: To us, 
it was the Big Ten opener. … 
Win at home, win the Big Ten 
and then compete for a national 
championship. In our eyes, it was, 
‘Alright, the preseason is over.’ We 
lost to Utah. Lost to Notre Dame. 
But the next game was the goal. So 
just open up the Big Ten, get ready 
to play and play to win.
Snyder: It was probably one of the 
worst halves of football that anyone 
had seen from Michigan in a long 
time, and everything that could go 
wrong went wrong. And so they’re 
going off the field at halftime, and all 
of the sudden, it was massive boos.
Thompson: Oh yeah, they were 
booing. They were booing, because 
they had a certain expectation. You 
know, you’re at Michigan, you’re 
expected to compete at a high level 

to perform.
Pleasant: Our big thing was that, 
even though we were winning, 
we still didn’t feel like we were 
playing our best, and we just was 
like, ‘Listen, this don’t happen in 
Michigan Stadium. With the fans 
booing, they’re gonna come out 
ready to go.’ We just needed to finish 
it out.
Rodriguez, after the game: If 
there was a hole to crawl into, I’m 
sure a bunch of us, including myself, 
would have wanted to crawl into 
that hole. … If you were anywhere 
in the Ann Arbor vicinity, you heard 
that.
Threet: I just remember the 
environment being, excuse my 
language, but, ‘Holy shit, what are 
we doing? We’re way better than 
this. Whether or not we’re better 
than the ninth-ranked team in the 
country at this moment, we’re way 
better than what we’re putting on 
the field. Let’s just do what we need 
to do.’
On the second drive of the second 
half, Michigan drove down the 
field, and Threet hit Koger for the 
Wolverines’ first points of the game, 
making it 19-7.

Koger: They went one-high safety, 
and (Pleasant) rolls down and I slip 
by him and I stay on the seam. And 
as soon as I get my head around, I 
see Steven throwing me the ball, so 
I catch it and scored, and my first 
thought was the night before we 
had clam chowder. But freshmen 
weren’t allowed to eat clam 
chowder. So I had an agreement 
with one of the older wide receivers 
that the next time I score, the next 
week, I get clam chowder. That next 
time happened to be the next day. So 
I was excited, and I was screaming 
on the field that I get clam chowder 
the next week.
Snyder: With (Koger’s touchdown), 
it’s still like, what is the plan for 
them to get back into the game. 
What’s gonna happen that’s unique 
to say, I mean, if you’re gonna make 
a comeback like that, something’s 
got to happen.
The teams traded punts back and 
forth, until the fourth quarter, when 
Michigan again drove down the 

field, capping off a 10-play, 84-yard 
drive with a 34-yard touchdown 
run from running back Brandon 
Minor. Wisconsin then took over 
with the ball on its own 25 with 10:27 
remaining in the game.
Threet: The Donovan Warren 
tipped ball.
Thompson: (Then-sophomore 
cornerback) Donovan made the 
play. I just executed. … Without him, 
I would have been running to the 
ball tackling.
Brad Nessler, ABC play-by-play 
analyst, on the live telecast of 
the game: (Wisconsin quarterback 
Allan) Evridge, quick slant, 
tipped up in the air and the ball is 
intercepted by Michigan! Down the 
sideline is John Thompson!
Thompson: I see the tight end, 
he was in my face, so I gave him a 
move, get up the field, and my whole 
defense was in front of me.
Koger: Those guys kind of created 
a convoy down the sideline. … Yeah, 
so he’s going down the sideline, 
and the sideline erupted. That’s 
probably one of the loudest I’ve 
heard Michigan Stadium. … they 
intercepted and scored, touchdown, 
and there was a Wisconsin guy 

chasing, and there was probably 
like, seven or eight Michigan guys 
on one Wisconsin guy, so it kinda 
looked like the Wisconsin guy got 
swallowed whole, enveloped by 
all the Michigan guys, because he 
was on the ground, and he was 
underneath them celebrating.
Wisconsin went three-and-out on its 
next possession, giving Michigan the 
ball back on its own 23-yard line, with 
8:14 remaining.
Nessler: Big hit on Brandon 
Minor… No, it’s Threet! Threet! 
Trying to run away from everybody!
Snyder: I remember this long run 
by Threet. You know, on a keeper. It 
must have been 50-something yards. 
And at that point, I mean, this is not 
what this guy does. He was athletic. 
He was sort of athletic, but he’s not 
like Denard Robinson.
Threet: That was the run system 
that made Rich Rod famous is the 
read option. I’m by no means the 
(former West Virginia quarterback) 
Pat White that he had previously, 

TheMichiganDaily, www.michigandaily.com
FootballSaturday, October 12, 2018
4B

“I don’t think any of the things I remember I want to forget”

‘Boos at the start and cheers at the end’

