Four Years Ago Today…THE BALL IS FREE!
Four years ago today (on October 17th, 2015), one of the greatest/most unexpected/incredible (insert any other superlative here, or if you're a Michigan fan, any negative comment) plays in the history of college football occurred at the end of the Michigan State @ Michigan game in Ann Arbor's Michigan Stadium.
With 10 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Michigan was leading MSU 23-21 with a 4th down and 2 yards to go on the MSU 47 yard line. At that point, the Wolverines sent punter Blake O'Neill out to kick the ball deep into MSU territory, and potentially run out the rest of the clock.
As you can see in the video above, O'Neill dropped the snap and then chaos/hilarity/elation/sickness ensued (depending on your perspective). MSU reserve defensive back Jalen Watts-Jackson recovered the ball and returned it for the winning touchdown as time ran out and gave the Spartans a 27-23 victory over the Wolverines. That victory propelled Michigan State to a 12-2 record, a Big Ten championship, and a berth in the 2015 College Football Playoff (where they lost to Alabama in the Cotton Bowl in the semifinals). Michigan ended up with a fine 10-3 record and a blowout victory over Florida in the Florida Citrus Bowl.
FYI: ABC/ESPN's Sean McDonough and Chris Spielman had the call on that memorable day/night in the Big House.
Here is a longer video from ESPN of the "miracle win":