Michigan 20 Minnesota 23 - October 8, 2005 - Ann Arbor, Mich.
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ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) - The Minnesota Golden Gophers planted their flag in the middle of the field and stormed Michigan's sideline looking for the Little Brown Jug.
They definitely earned it.
Jason Giannini kicked a 30-yard field goal with a second left, lifting Minnesota to a 23-20 win over the 21st-ranked Wolverines on Saturday for the Gophers' first win in the series since 1986.
On third-and-10 from the Minnesota 26, Gary Russell ran 61 yards to set up the game-winning kick for the Gophers (5-1, 2-1 Big Ten).
After Michigan was unable to return the final kickoff for a score, the Gophers captured the bulky water jug - which dates back to 1903 and is the oldest trophy in Division I-A football - lifted it over their heads and celebrated in front of a stunned crowd of 111,117.
``They probably didn't think we'd get it,'' linebacker Kyle McKenzie said.
The two-time defending conference champion Wolverines (3-3, 1-2) are off to their worst start since also having a 3-3 record in 1990.
``This was not just for the Jug, it was for the Big Ten championship,'' linebacker LaMarr Woodley said. ``They came across and took all that away.''
Garrett Rivas had two chances to break a 20-all tie for the Wolverines, but he missed a 42-yard field goal late in the third quarter and a 34-yard kick with 8:27 left.
Michigan coach Lloyd Carr insisted he still had confidence in Rivas and was curious to see how his team would respond.
``Obviously, we're in a position we're not accustomed to being, but there are no promises out there,'' Carr said. ``We'll see how we handle this particular position.''
After Rivas' second miss, the Wolverines drove to Minnesota's 43 on their next possession, but had to punt.
With backup quarterback Tony Mortensen playing for Bryan Cupito, who was shaken up by a hit, Minnesota coach Glen Mason said the Gophers were hoping to just hand the ball off and play for overtime.
``We definitely didn't want to give the ball back to Michigan,'' Mason said.
But Russell - who split time with star running back Laurence Maroney - ran around the right end and sprinted down the sideline to give Minnesota the ball at Michigan's 13.
``I thought we were going to run the clock out so I had to keep two hands on the ball,'' Russell said.
Maroney ran for 129 yards on 36 carries and Russell had 128 on 18 attempts. Cupito was 11-of-23 for 139 yards and a touchdown before being knocked out of the game by Woodley's hit just after throwing an incomplete pass midway through the fourth quarter. Cupito left the game with a concussion, but Mason said he was OK.
Michigan's Mike Hart had 109 yards rushing and a TD, and Chad Henne was 14-of-29 for 155 yards.
``I thought he missed some open receivers,'' Carr said. ``I thought he had five balls dropped.''
The Wolverines led 13-10 at halftime.
Jakari Wallace opened the second half with a 60-yard return, and the Gophers drove to Michigan's 5 before stalling and settling for Giannini's 26-yard field goal to tie the game.
Steve Breaston returned the ensuing kickoff 95 yards to give the Wolverines a 20-13 lead. It was Michigan's first kickoff return for a TD since 1994.
Minnesota responded with a 13-play drive - with four third-down conversions - and tied the game on Maroney's 1-yard run midway through the third quarter.
Before both teams combined for 17 points in a 4:52 span late in the first half, neither team did much offensively.
The Wolverines drove to Minnesota's 6 on the first possession of the game, but only had Rivas' 23-yard field goal to show for it. Giannini tied the game early in the second quarter with a 29-yard kick.
Rivas' 47-yard field goal and Hart's 1-yard run on a fourth down gave Michigan a 13-3 lead. Cupito perfectly lofted a 20-yard pass to Ernie Wheelwright in the end zone to make it 13-10.
Minnesota then outplayed the Wolverines in the second half, gaining a measure of revenge after blowing fourth-quarter leads in the previous two meetings.
``I watched the heartbreak the last two years and everyone said we couldn't beat Michigan,'' offensive tackle Tony Brinkhaus said. ``When there was 1 second left, I kept looking around and wondering, 'Where's the Jug?'''
Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Score ----------------- -- -- -- -- ----- Minnesota........... 0 10 10 3 - 23 Record: (5-1,2-1) Michigan............ 3 10 7 0 - 20 Record: (3-3,1-2) Attendance: 111,117
1st 10:26 MICH - Rivas, Garrett 23 yd field goal
12 plays, 67 yards, TOP 4:34, MINN 0 - MICH 3
2nd 12:40 MINN - Giannini, Jason 29 yd field goal
14 plays, 70 yards, TOP 5:44, MINN 3 - MICH 3
05:50 MICH - Rivas, Garrett 47 yd field goal
6 plays, 44 yards, TOP 0:49, MINN 3 - MICH 6
03:10 MICH - Hart, Mike 1 yd run (Rivas, Garrett kick)
6 plays, 23 yards, TOP 2:32, MINN 3 - MICH 13
00:58 MINN - Wheelwright, E. 20 yd pass from Cupito, Bryan (Giannini, Jason kick)
7 plays, 75 yards, TOP 2:12, MINN 10 - MICH 13
3rd 12:40 MINN - Giannini, Jason 26 yd field goal
7 plays, 31 yards, TOP 2:20, MINN 13 - MICH 13
12:25 MICH - Breaston, Steve 95 yd kickoff return (Rivas, Garrett kick)
MINN 13 - MICH 20
06:12 MINN - Maroney, L. 1 yd run (Giannini, Jason kick)
13 plays, 61 yards, TOP 6:13, MINN 20 - MICH 20
4th 00:01 MINN - Giannini, Jason 30 yd field goal
8 plays, 75 yards, TOP 2:48, MINN 23 - MICH 20
Kickoff time: 1:10 End of Game: 4:40 Total elapsed time: 3:30
Officials: Referee: T. Geerlings; Umpire: D. Nowak; Linesman: J. Quinn;
Line judge: S. Pamon; Back judge: S. Buchanan; Field judge: M. Cannon;
Side judge: M. Sheahan;
Temperature: High 50s Wind: N 10-15 Weather: Partly Cloudy
Team Statistics
MINN MICH FIRST DOWNS................... 23 19 Rushing..................... 13 6 Passing..................... 6 10 Penalty..................... 4 3 NET YARDS RUSHING............. 264 94 Rushing Attempts............ 57 34 Average Per Rush............ 4.6 2.8 Yards Gained Rushing........ 276 125 Yards Lost Rushing.......... 12 31 NET YARDS PASSING............. 139 155 Completions-Attempts-Int.... 11-23-0 14-29-0 Average Per Attempt......... 6.0 5.3 Average Per Completion...... 12.6 11.1 TOTAL OFFENSE YARDS........... 403 249 Total offense plays......... 80 63 Average Gain Per Play....... 5.0 4.0 Fumbles: Number-Lost.......... 2-1 0-0 Penalties: Number-Yards....... 9-95 4-51 PUNTS-YARDS................... 5-195 6-212 Average Yards Per Punt...... 39.0 35.3 Net Yards Per Punt.......... 39.0 33.0 Inside 20................... 1 4 50+ Yards................... 1 0 Touchbacks.................. 0 0 Fair catch.................. 1 3 KICKOFFS-YARDS................ 6-317 5-299 Average Yards Per Kickoff... 52.8 59.8 Net Yards Per Kickoff....... 24.2 40.2 Touchbacks.................. 0 2 Punt returns: Number-Yards-TD. 3-14-0 0-0-0 Average Per Return.......... 4.7 0.0 Kickoff returns: Number-Yds-TD 3-98-0 6-172-1 Average Per Return.......... 32.7 28.7 Interceptions: Number-Yds-TD.. 0-0-0 0-0-0 Fumble Returns: Number-Yds-TD. 0-0-0 0-0-0 Miscellaneous Yards........... 0 0 Possession Time............... 32:50 27:10 1st Quarter................. 7:01 7:59 2nd Quarter................. 7:52 7:08 3rd Quarter................. 10:23 4:37 4th Quarter................. 7:34 7:26 Third-Down Conversions........ 9 of 17 3 of 14 Fourth-Down Conversions....... 0 of 1 1 of 1 Red-Zone Scores-Chances....... 5-5 2-3 Sacks By: Number-Yards........ 3-19 0-0 PAT Kicks..................... 2-2 2-2 Field Goals................... 3-3 2-4
Minnesota Individual Statistics
Rushing No Gain Loss Net TD Lg Avg
--------------------------------------------
Maroney, L. 36 139 10 129 1 15 3.6
Russell, Gary 18 128 0 128 0 61 7.1
Cupito, Bryan 1 8 0 8 0 8 8.0
Mortensen, Tony 2 1 2 -1 0 1 -0.5
Totals... 57 276 12 264 1 61 4.6
Passing Att-Cmp-Int Yds TD Long Sack
--------------------------------------------
Cupito, Bryan 23-11-0 139 1 35 0
Totals... 23-11-0 139 1 35 0
Receiving No. Yds TD Long
-----------------------------------
Wheelwright, E. 3 44 1 20
Wallace, Jakari 2 27 0 18
Payne, Logan 2 9 0 9
Ellerson, Jared 1 35 0 35
Rucker, Micah 1 10 0 10
Spaeth, Matt 1 8 0 8
Posthumus, J. 1 6 0 6
Totals... 11 139 1 35
Punting No. Yds Avg Long In20
-----------------------------------------
Kucek, Justin 5 195 39.0 50 1
Totals... 5 195 39.0 50 1
Punts Kickoffs Intercept
All Returns No.Yds.Lg No.Yds.Lg No.Yds.Lg
---------------------------------------------
Wallace, Jakari 0 0 0 2 85 60 0 0 0
Lamers, Jason 0 0 0 1 13 13 0 0 0
Jones, Dominic 3 14 14 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals... 3 14 14 3 98 60 0 0 0
Field goal attempts
----------------------------------------
Giannini, Jason 2nd 12:40 29 yds - Good
Giannini, Jason 3rd 12:40 26 yds - Good
Giannini, Jason 4th 00:01 30 yds - Good
FUMBLES: Minnesota-Jones, Dominic 1-0; Maroney, L. 1-1.
Michigan Individual Statistics
Rushing No Gain Loss Net TD Lg Avg
--------------------------------------------
Hart, Mike 28 116 7 109 1 20 3.9
Manningham, M. 2 7 5 2 0 7 1.0
Henne, Chad 4 2 19 -17 0 2 -4.2
Totals... 34 125 31 94 1 20 2.8
Passing Att-Cmp-Int Yds TD Long Sack
--------------------------------------------
Henne, Chad 29-14-0 155 0 18 3
Totals... 29-14-0 155 0 18 3
Receiving No. Yds TD Long
-----------------------------------
Avant, Jason 6 73 0 18
Breaston, Steve 3 45 0 18
Manningham, M. 2 15 0 11
Thompson, Brian 1 11 0 11
Tabb, Carl 1 7 0 7
Hart, Mike 1 4 0 4
Totals... 14 155 0 18
Punting No. Yds Avg Long In20
-----------------------------------------
Ryan, Ross 6 212 35.3 45 4
Totals... 6 212 35.3 45 4
Punts Kickoffs Intercept
All Returns No.Yds.Lg No.Yds.Lg No.Yds.Lg
---------------------------------------------
Breaston, Steve 0 0 0 5 185 95 0 0 0
Adams, Jamar 0 0 0 0 -5 0 0 0 0
Massey, Mike 0 0 0 1 -3 0 0 0 0
Paul, Will 0 0 0 0 -5 0 0 0 0
Totals... 0 0 0 6 172 95 0 0 0
Field goal attempts
----------------------------------------
Rivas, Garrett 1st 10:26 23 yds - Good
Rivas, Garrett 2nd 05:50 47 yds - Good
Rivas, Garrett 3rd 03:24 42 yds - Missed
Rivas, Garrett 4th 08:27 34 yds - Missed
FUMBLES: None.