Memory Lane: UI shocks Michigan in '93
EACH WEEK, WE'LL TAKE A LOOK BACK AT A MEMORABLE MOMENT IN ILLINI HISTORY, THANKS TO THE WORDS OF LOREN TATE AND THE MEMORIES OF JIM TURPIN.
Oct. 24, 1993
UI makes comeback for the ages
By Loren Tate
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – This one came from the depths.
It was a comeback reminiscent of Jeff George against Indiana in 1988 and Southern Cal in 1989, and Jason Verduzco against Colorado and Michigan State in 1990, and Wisconsin and Purdue in 1992 . . . and all those squeakers with Ohio State.
But this was Michigan, the holder of five straight Big Ten titles.
This was Michigan, with one loss to Illinois in 26 annual meetings.
This was Michigan, too confident to imagine it could happen, too arrogant (or unaware?) to kneel on the football on second down with 1:18 showing and the Illini out of timeouts. If the Wolverines couldn't run out the clock completely, they'd have been so close with two 25-second countoffs that it wouldn't matter.
But as the darkness began to settle on Michigan Stadium, the Wolverines lost the good luck charm that saved them on Joe Smalzer's disallowed end zone catch in 1975 (21-15), on the Illini march that ended on the 2-yard line in 1982 (16-10), on the Chris White field goal that caromed off the crossbar in the tie (3-3) in 1985, on the fourth-down pass to Chris Calloway that saved them in 1987 (17-14), on the late-game miscalculation between Verduzco and Shawn Wax in 1990 (22-17) and on the field goal that preserved the tie (22-22) one year ago.
A GUY COULD spend a lifetime watching Michigan dominate.
But not Saturday. For six games and 59 minutes of persistent distress, this Illinois team had more bad luck than the last 10 UI teams combined. Suddenly, through persistent effort, through a 24-16 dominance in first downs and a clear rule of the trenches, the tide turned.
Simeon Rice provided the opening with a strip and recovery, similar to the one officials overlooked in the 13-7 loss to Oregon. And it was a third-stringer, 152-pound Jim Klein, who applied the knockout punch when he found a soft spot in the end zone while Johnny Johnson was escaping the Michigan rush.
"This is the greatest moment of my life," said Klein. "I clutched it to my body in case I was hit."
Was he hit?
"I don't remember," said Klein.
On the field and inside, these Illini celebrated like never before. Accolades fell all around. Ty Douthard ran harder than ever before, gaining 176 yards in rushes and receptions. The offensive line rose to new heights, and tight ends David Olson, Ken Dilger and Kraig Koester blocked up a storm and combined for nine receptions. The swarming defense, fourth-ranked against the rush, held Michigan to 76 net yards. But the hero Saturday was Greg Landry. The former Chicago Bear coordinator put together a masterpiece. He had the Wolverines off balance all day.
They couldn't solve his two-TE formation amd the lead play featuring Douthard to the left. The play-action TD pass to Dilger was perfection. It was a crime that Illinois got just three points out of a 94-yard march before halftime. And in the second half, Illinois literally bowled over the Wolverines, only to fumble at the 6- and 16-yard lines.
AND, FINALLY, when Michigan called time to settle its defense with 41 seconds left, Landry was granted time to analyze the situation and change the call that Johnson had taken from his wrist band reminder. Landry sent three receivers left, hoping to at least break Jason Dulick or Shane Fisher open underneath. But Klein, in the game because Gary Voelker was injured, broke wide open and caught Johnson's bullet. Of the productive slant, which Douthard ran so well, Landry said:
"Most of the time we have run outside from that formation, but we cut it back inside today as we isolated out tight end on their linebacker. Michigan blitzed out four-wide receiver formation and forced us out of it, but the personnel group with two tight ends really bothered them.
"After Dilger fumbled (at the Michigan 16 with 4:06 left), I didn't know if we'd have one more shot. They had reached the point where all they had to do was run out the clock, but Simeon Rice gave us a big break and we took advantage of it."
Landry, who played so long in nearby Detroit is suddenly 1-0 vs. Michigan. He can't imagine what it's been like all these years since Bump Elliott started the trend with repeated victories over brother Pete. But if it hadn't been for so many penalties and fumbles, Landry might have made it look easy.
I remember that game as though it were yesterday. I'm from Northern Illinois, living in Ann Arbor, and I was listening to the game on the radio while building shelves in my storage unit less than a mile from the stadium. As Illinois began the winning drive I was screaming "Pasedena drive, baby!" Oh, well. An incredible moment as Johnson's pass stunned the Big House.
I was at this game in 1993. It was truly an unbelievable weekend. I told all of my friends at work the Friday before that Illinois was going to win, just had a feeling.
After the win, I jumped over the brick wall and on to the field to celebrate. How I did not get arrested, I'll never know. Just an absolutely great day for me in my Illinois Sports history
I remember this game well. Without all the turnovers, UI would have put the game away much earlier. The impact of these stories would be even stronger if the story were coordinated with the same team we are playing this season and printed the week prior to the game. Thus, would it not have been fun to have this remembrance of a win against Michigan the week before the IL/MI game on October 4.
After spending many hours in the stands in AA, this was the sweetest feelng in the world. I could barely see the play because of where our seats were, but I know what happened in an instance. Rarely have I felt such joy at an Illini game. Might be even better than the UI/UA game in Rosemont.
Great win, but ultimately meaningless. We still had Lou Tepper and rotten recruits and sank back into the depths soon afterward.
The Illinois program is finally landing recruits from out of state. Better late than never, I guess.
Until the state stops viewing pointless matchups like Naperville NNW vs. Downers Grove West Snob Valley as important match-ups and sees them for the junior high T-ball games they really are, the recruiting base will lie outside the borders of Illinois.
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