5 days until Michigan football: 'Touchdown, Greg Matthews!'
There’s much anticipation heading into the Michigan Wolverines football season, and TheWolverine.com is counting down the days until the Sept. 2 opener against East Carolina. We’ll discuss current Michigan events, the upcoming season and/or take a look at a significant number that correlates with how many days remain until kickoff, whether it be a player’s jersey number, a year, a date, a score, etc.
Michigan’s 2009 season is one to forget. The Wolverines started out 4-0 and had a ‘September Heisman’ in quarterback Tate Forcier, before dropping seven of their last eight contests, including losing to Ohio State, 21-10, and missing a bowl game for the second straight season under then-second-year head coach Rich Rodriguez, who’s now the head man at Jacksonville State.
There were some highlights, though, there’s no question about that. Forcier had his flaws, no doubt, but he was an electric player. He was Johnny Manziel lite before the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner burst onto the scene at Texas A&M.
Forcier was fantastic in a thrilling, 38-34 win over Notre Dame at The Big House. That set off a streak of three-straight victories over the Irish, with classmate Denard Robinson starring in the next two.
Forcier completed 23 of his 33 passes for 240 yards and 2 touchdowns with 1 interception, and rushed 13 times for 70 yards and 1 crucial score. Forcier’s scramble up the middle, after making a nice cut, for an early-fourth-quarter touchdown was one of his most memorable plays in a Michigan uniform. He pointed to the crowd while in the end zone, an iconic photo.
The play of the game decided the outcome, of course. Down 34-31, Forcier led Michigan on a game-winning drive that started with a 9-yard completion to wide receiver Greg Matthews and ended with a 5-yard connection to the same wideout in the end zone. Matthews, lined up wide on the left side of the formation, ran a whip route and created plenty of separation. Forcier put the throw on the money, and Michigan scored to go ahead 38-34 (after the extra point) with just 11 seconds to go. Matthews sprinted with the ball in celebration, before handing the ball off to the ref.
Notre Dame couldn’t muster anything up in the final seconds, and Michigan walked away victorious.
For a moment, the Wolverines were undefeated, and Forcier was a star.
Michigan football countdown to kickoff
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