Bizarre Sugar Bowl Caps Unlikely Michigan Season

Nearly a year ago, Denard Robinson was definitely transferring and the installation of new schemes would render Year One of the Brady Hoke era a rebuilding campaign.

By Week 2 and with Robinson leading the offense though, it began to feel like Michigan had something. The Wolverines ridiculous fourth quarter to down Notre Dame before the first-ever Big House night crowd set a tone for the entire season. One BCS qualifying team had Luck-Capital-L on its side. Another had LUCK-All-Caps on its side.

Michigan had some tumultuous times. Robinson was by no means an outstanding passer — he threw 14 interceptions to 18 touchdowns and completed just 56.1 percent of his attempts. At times, it felt Al Borges was trying to jam the square peg of Robinson’s option-style talents into the round hole of a more traditional formation. And yet somehow, it worked.

That term could sum up the entire campaign: Somehow, it worked. The Wolverines made a dramatic change in defensive philosophy, abandoning the 3-3-5 stack for the 4-3. The offense was…well, it was an offense. It wasn’t exactly the option Rich Rodriguez employed as the Wolverines’ head coach, and it wasn’t quite the pass-happy schemes Borges had success with at Oregon and San Diego State, among other places.

Robinson threw a lot more, but still rushed for better than 1300 yards. The emergence of Fitzgerald Toussaint alleviated much of the pressure Robinson had on him from the previous season, and Junior Hemingway proved a vital ingredient in this mish-mashed casserole. The kick Hemingway added to Hoke and Borges’ offensive dish was never tastier than it was combined with a Bowl of Sugar.

Hemingway caught both Wolverine touchdown passes. Neither was easy. The first jump started what had been a stagnant Michigan offense, struggling to solve the always-tough Virginia Tech defense. Bud Foster’s guys were handling their end of the bargain early on, limiting the Wolverines to just two first downs the entire first quarter. The offense’s inability to capitalize left open the slightest crack through which Michigan could break.

A Hokie blitz on third down had Robinson dead-to-rights at midfield. He scrambled back more than 10 yards behind the line of scrimmage, barely evading tackles before arm-punting a deep ball that VT defensive backs had to look out with the same hungry gaze a dog gets at dinner time. And then…Hemingway was running down the field, untouched, to give UM the lead.

It was so perfectly bizarre, indicative of both the game and the season.

See, the Wolverines and Hokies played a strange game in which neither team could establish any real momentum. The last two in the BCS picture, each played like it belonged in a game somewhere between Christmas and New Year’s rather than Jan. 3. During stagnant lows, I closed my eyes to imagine Kellen Moore and Collin Klein in a shootout of contrasting styles. Then I’d open my eyes to see something breathtaking.

Hemingway’s second scoring grab was a lob leap at which even Blake Griffin could marvel. He was careful to tap a toe in the back of the end zone before going out-of-bounds. The grab was picturesque enough to justify any corny literary pun sure to capture it later.

And it wasn’t even the most impressive grab of the night. The Sugar Bowl’s odd ebb-and-flow hit its zenith when Danny Coale laid out for a Logan Thomas pass in overtime, seemingly to put the Hokies ahead 26-20. The replay review came back with bad news for the Hokie faithful. Upon multiple viewings, I remained unswayed one way or the other, which by definition means the call on the field stands.

Alas, the most awe-inspiring play of the night was for naught. This night belonged to the Bizarro of the BCS scene.

That left a field goal attempt, almost a chip shot. Well, almost a chip shot for a full-timer who had faced previously pressure packed situations. Frank Beamer was down to this third stringer, forced to leave his starter home and bus the reserve back to Blacksburg.

And if Sugar Bowl night wasn’t odd enough on its own, it concluded with ESPN sideline reporter channeling former AWA World Champion and legend in Japan Stan Hansen’s lariat.