College Football: 25 most unforgettable games of the 21st century

No. 12: Michigan State at Michigan, Oct. 17, 2015

The greatest thing the Michigan Wolverines have going for them on this list is…the fact they pulled the West Virginia Mountaineers’ Rich Rodriguez out of Morgantown. That move gave college football Bill Stewart’s incredible pregame speech at the 2008 Fiesta Bowl.

Other than that, the Wolverines have had a remarkably forgettable 21st century, at least in terms of games this fanbase would like to forget. Add the 2015 matchup with the rival Michigan State Spartans to that list.

The No. 7 Spartans (6-0) were set to face the No. 12 Wolverines (5-1) in Ann Arbor, but the game got off to a very sluggish start. Each team punted on its first possession, then Michigan State went on a 16-play, 70-yard drive that chewed eight minutes off the game clock.

The Spartans would turn it over on downs at the Michigan 28-yard line. Eight plays later, the Wolverines were in the endzone. This back-and-forth continued until halftime where Michigan enjoyed a 10-7 advantage.

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After each team doubled up its points in the third quarter, Michigan State tried a bit of trickery against the attacking Wolverines’ defense. A fake jet sweep right, coupled with a fake pitch left caused havoc in the secondary.

The fullback Trevon Pendleton broke wide-open down the right sideline and Connor Cook put it right on him. He’d get tackled at the one-yard line, but LJ Scott shaved the lead to just two, 23-21.

The game was super boring after that, with two punts by Michigan and one by the Spartans. The Spartan offense had another opportunity by turned it over on downs. Then, it was Michigan’s turn again.

With 1:42 on the clock and Michigan State with a single timeout, getting the ball back with any time left was a mere pipe dream. Michigan ran the ball and failed to get a first down, and ultimately decided to punt on 4th and 2 with 10 seconds remaining.

It should have been simple, really. They’d punted seven other times. How do you mess up on the eighth attempt? A combination of a bad snap, a terrible catch and even worse decision making resulted in Michigan returning the loose ball for a score and winning as time expired. It’s a thing of beauty.

This win marked the third in a row against the Wolverines for Michigan State. It helped propel the Spartans to No. 6 in the country. They even went on to win the Big Ten and play in the Cotton Bowl in the College Football Playoff versus the Alabama Crimson Tide.