247Sports lists two Michigan games as being the most controversial in CFB
If you’re a Michigan football fan, you already know that the Wolverines are rarely on the good side of fortune when it comes to winning close football games. From the Kordell Stewart hail mary to trouble with the snap against rival MSU, the maize and blue always seem to find creative ways to lose.
But, it’s not always a talented or fluky play that causes Michigan to falter in the end.
247Sports took a look at the top 10 most controversial games in college football since the year 2000, and the first game mentioned was the infamous ‘Spartan Bob’ fiasco in 2001, when it appeared that Michigan football had won the game before extra time was added to the clock, which allowed T.J. Duckett to down the maize and blue.
The rivalry series between Michigan and Michigan State has featured plenty of memorable contests, though the 2001 meeting between the schools is best remembered for the controversy that came during the final drive of the Spartans’ upset of the No. 4 Wolverines. A tightly-contested game all-the-way through, Michigan took a 24-20 lead with 5 minutes left in the game via a 20-yard touchdown pass from John Navarre to Jermaine Gonzales. With Michigan State then needing a trip to the end zone of their own to retake the lead and win the game, the teams traded punts on the following two drives before the Spartans got the ball back in their hands one last time with just more than two minutes on the game clock.
And that game clock, as fate would have it, wouldn’t be forgotten anytime soon. Michigan State proceeded to slowly but surely work its way down field, ultimately finding themselves within the Michigan 5-yard line with only a single second left on the clock after a spike. But the 0:01 on the scoreboard didn’t come without debate, as Michigan coaches, players and even television broadcasters contended that game clock operator Bob Stehlin — known locally as “Spartan Bob” — generously stopped the clock before the spike on the previous play actually occurred. Michigan State would proceed to score on that final play when Jeff Smoker completed a 2-yard touchdown pass to T.J. Duckett, giving Michigan State the 26-24 upset win. All that said, debates still continue to this day about who truly won “Clockgate,” and the events even prompted the Big Ten to implement conference-appointed clock operators starting in 2002.
But certainly, that’s not the one that’s fresh or nearly as painful to those who adore the winged helmet. There’s three words that still seem to ring out as a battle cry, years after the incident.
J.T. was short.
Naturally, the 2016 iteration of The Game — where quarterback J.T. Barrett appeared to be stopped short of the line to gain on fourth down in overtime before the officials granted him the first down — is a contentious moment for Michigan football fans, even still. Just as egregious, but unmentioned, were the officiating calls that preceded that play: a pass interference call in the fourth quarter on Delano Hill in the fourth, despite the ball being uncatchable; and the uncalled pass interference on the previous possession in overtime where wideout Grant Perry was hooked.
Michigan fans will forever tell you that J.T. Barrett’s forward progress was stopped short of the first-down marker, while Ohio State fans never doubted for a moment that their signal-caller had the distance before Curtis Samuel pranced his way to the end zone for the walk-off 30-27 win. That said, the pivotal 4th and 1 play in double overtime, one that ultimately went in favor of Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes as they needed a conversion to stay alive, will forever be what the 2016 iteration of “The Game” — one that saw No. 2 go against No. 3 with a playoff bid essentially on the line — is remembered for.
Though Ohio State finished second its division thanks to a regular-season loss at Penn State, the Buckeyes nevertheless took the No. 3 seed in that year’s playoff, while both Michigan’s Big Ten title drought and the team’s skid in the series with its arch rival were extended for yet another year. To this date, Michigan has still not won in Columbus since 2000 and has not prevailed in the series since 2011.
Of 247Sports’ list of 10 games, Ohio State was the benefactor in two of said games, proving the Buckeyes are on the opposite spectrum than the Wolverines. Not only did the 2016 game go in OSU’s favor, but so did the 2002 national championship game. However, Ohio State’s turn in the 2019 College Football Playoff semifinal against Clemson was one instance where the Buckeyes saw the officials turn against them.
Michigan was the only team to appear on the list twice being on the bad end of calls both times.
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