Ah yes, it's Michigan week. I still recall stories of Lou Tepper wearing a pink Michigan hat and devoting 15 minutes of each practice to beating Michigan. I would wear pink all year if it meant Illinois would defeat Michigan. I am 37 years old, and during my life Illinois has beaten Michigan three times. Well, four if you count the debacle of 2000.
For the most part, disappointments have been par for the course. There was the 3-3 tie in 1985 with Chris White's game-winning field goal hitting the crossbar and dying like a wounded bird. A close 17-14 loss in 1987. Ugly scores of 70-21 in 1981 and 69-13 in 1986. A frustrating inability to score inside the 10-yard line in a 16-10 loss in 1982 and in a 24-10 loss in 1989. The 38-14 embarrassment in 1995 (do not give the football to a 5’8” running back nicknamed "Peanut" on 4th and inches). Getting stuffed again in 2001 & 2002. Did I mention the 2000 game? Last year's game with dumb penalties is a bitter memory for Illini Nation.
Well, let's stop those bad memories and live in the present. Saturday is the Fighting Illini's best chance to win at Michigan for the first time since 1999. MUCK FICHIGAN.
October 23, 1999: The 1999 season marked the third year of the Ron Turner regime. The third year is a good time to evaluate a rebuilding football program. The head coach has a majority of his recruits on the roster and has installed his offensive and defensive schemes. Illinois had won its first three games, including an exciting win at Louisville, but had lost three straight Big Ten games. Now 3-3, 0-3 in the Big 10, and coming off a brutal 37-7 Homecoming beatdown from Minnesota, Illinois had a difficult task trying to reverse its season at Michigan.
The game started on a positive note with a Kurt Kittner six-yard touchdown pass to Jameel Cook. Michigan then scored 20 unanswered points for a 20-7 halftime lead. At halftime, Ron Turner rallied the troops. "Coach challenged us," said linebacker Eric Guenther, sporting a bandage on his forehead. "He challenged us to bel I eve." This was not the only motivational speech by Turner. On Friday night, he told the team about his time as an assistant to Denny Green at Stanford in 1991. Down 24-7 at halftime, Stanford rallied to beat Notre Dame in South Bend. "The games were very similar," said Turner. "It was the third year of the program. We had played horrible the week before."
With six minutes left in the third quarter, running back Anthony Thomas scored from a yard to give Michigan 27 unanswered points and a 27-7 lead. The situation looked bleak. However, fortune smiled on the boys from Champaign. Illinois caught a break when Thomas (121 rushing yards and two touchdowns) left the game due to a finger injury. The Fighting Illini offense went to work.
On fourth down at the Michigan 31, Illinois went for it. Michigan came with an all-out blitz. Kittner made the correct read and threw to a wide-open Walter Young, who ran a short slant pattern over the middle and did the rest. In the fourth quarter, trailing 27-14, the Illinois defense stopped Michigan behind linebacker Robert Franklin, in for the injured Eric Guenther. The offense, aided by a 25 MPH wind at its back, methodically marched toward the Michigan end zone. On 4th and 1 from the Michigan 20, Steve Havard ran to the Michigan 16 for a massive first down. Then, on third down at the 15-yard line, the officials (Bill LeMonnier was the referee!) called Michigan for pass interference. On third down at the 3, Kittner threw to a wide-open Brian Hodges for a touchdown. The seven play, 77-yard drive now made the score 27-21.
With six minutes left, either team could win. Illinois stopped Michigan yet again and got the ball back. Now with three minutes left, Illinois faced a third down and 4 from its own 41-yard line. Kittner, under a heavy rush, instead of throwing to his first target, Michael Dean, connected with Rocky Harvey over the middle. He caught the pass, split the defenders, and raced 59 yards to the end zone. With a Michigan defender chasing him, the pride of Chicago Dunbar High School made his famous dive into the end zone! Illinois now led 28-27 with just 2:42 left! "What a great play by Kittner," exclaimed color commentator Randy Wright on the television broadcast. "He kept his composure."
Illinois kicked off, and Michigan started marching toward the Illinois end zone. With 1:48 left, Michigan had reached the Illinois 27-yard line. But a bad snap sailed over the head of Tom Brady, who recovered at the Michigan 47. On 4th down and 30, Trayvon Waller intercepted the pass and Illinois sensed it could achieve a huge victory.
With just over a minute left, Illinois needed only a first down to seal the win. Rocky Harvey took off on a 54-yard touchdown run that seemingly sealed the game, giving Illinois a 35-27 lead. As I danced around the living room of my humble Joliet apartment, my friend said, "Detlef, this game isn't over yet. Michigan could still score a touchdown and a two-point conversion to force overtime. Sure enough, color commentator Randy Wright said, "This could work to Michigan's advantage. If it can score a touchdown and a two-point conversion, we're going to overtime." Afterward, Rocky Harvey stated, "Some people were saying, "Why didn't you stop at the 1?" I figured if I scored I could put the game more out of reach." Made sense, right?
Michigan started at its own 20-yard line. This long-suffering Fighting Illini fan watched in agony as Tom Brady (23 of 38 passing for 307 yards) marched the Wolverines down the field. A completed pass for 21 yards. A completed pass to David Terrell at the 50. A completed pass out of bounds at the Illinois 45-yard line. (At this point, I started screaming for Tim Kish to blitz.) Illinois penalized for offsides. Incomplete pass. Michigan completed a pass to the Illinois 28. Michigan completed a pass to David Terrell at the Illinois 16-yard line.
Suddenly, Michigan was at the Illini 16. Brady threw to Terrell in the end zone and the pass was just out of his reach. My heart was racing. Would Illinois snatch defeat from the jaws of victory? Eighteen seconds remained. Brady threw a sideline pass near the pylon, but cornerback Tony Francis intercepted the pass and got hit. The ball squirmed free into the end zone and Muhammad Abdullah recovered it. After a conference, the officials awarded a safety to Michigan and Illinois had to free kick. Nine seconds remained and Illinois led 35-29. Neil Rackers squibbed the kick; Brady threw a Hail Mary that the football gods did not answer. Illinois had beaten Michigan for the first time since 1993!
The Fighting Illini players celebrated with pride! Brandon Lloyd jumped into the south end zone where the Illini Nation was seated, raising his arms. Defensive coordinator Tim Kish threw down his headset and jumped up and down on the field, running by a stunned Michigan offense. "I told the guys how proud I was of them," Turner said. "How big was this win?" defensive end Fred Wakefield laughed. "It was huge. I really liked the Louisville one, but this one blows Louisville right out of the water." Linebacker Danny Clark said that at halftime the team had remained focused. "A lot of the guys didn't even know the score. Today wasn't about the score. It was about fighting to win."
Kittner finished 24 of 33 passing for 280 yards and three touchdowns. Rocky Harvey had his finest game: 17 carries for 106 yards and a touchdown; 2 catches for 61 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, Illinois had four sacks and two interceptions, and Wakefield blocked a field goal and an extra point.
Meantime, I grabbed some Jack Daniel's and drank it like Bluto in Animal House. My next memory is my friend shaking me to wake me up with some bad news: "Detlef, your mother called. In honor of Illinois beating Michigan, she and your father are going to Earl's Café for prime rib, and if you had been awake, they would have treated you." For those not familiar with Joliet, Earl's Café (RIP) had the best prime rib I have ever savored. Alas, I was not disappointed. I took my friend to Boston Market for some much-needed grub. Chicken and green beans made for a great victory meal.
Sources: "Leap of Faith" by Gary Reinmuth. Chicago Tribune: October 24, 1999. "Memory Lane: UI 35, Michigan 29 in '99" by Loren Tate. Champaign News-Gazette. Credit to Detlef's parents for the research, Jackie for copyediting, and JDL for video of the game.