keith jackson

yeah, it got weird

Previously: Krushed By Stauskas (Illinois 2014)Introducing #ChaosTeam (Indiana 2009)Revenge is Terrifying (Colorado 1996)Four Games In September I (Boston College 1991), Four Games In September II (Boston College 1994), Four Games In September III (Boston College 1995)

This game: WolverineHistorian highlightsfull gamebox score

If you missed it, Part One—covering the leadup and the first half—was posted earlier this week.

Michigan enters halftime at the Rose Bowl losing 14-6 to an underdog UCLA team. Redshirt freshman quarterback Elvis Grbac is 4-for-9 for 32 yards and a pick in his first start. He hasn't looked confident. Naturally, this gives Bo Schembechler the opportunity to tell the youngster some war stories (via the Michigan Daily archive):

Before we get to see if this particular tack is effective, the defense needs to stop a Bruins offense that outgained Michigan's 147-106 in the first half. (Yes, that's ugly by 1989 standards, too.)

The second half opens with an overhead shot of Los Angeles at dusk—sadly, sunset evidently occurred during halftime—and Bob Griese play-coughs at the sight of the smog. "Stop it," says a bemused Keith Jackson, who doesn't miss a beat as he calls the subsequent UCLA kickoff return. I dream of the day we have Futurama-style floating heads of these two calling every Michigan game.

UCLA works their way to midfield with their rushing attack and a timely third-down scramble from QB Bret Johnson, who Griese is really trying to play up as an athletic version of Troy Aikman. On the next third down, Johnson rifles a throw to redshirt sophomore Erick Anderson:

Anderson is a standout linebacker for Michigan.

[Hit THE JUMP for Keithstradamus, a comeback, and unexpected special teams excellence.]

ROSE BOWL AFTER DARK [ABC Screencap]

Previously: Krushed By Stauskas (Illinois 2014)Introducing #ChaosTeam (Indiana 2009)Revenge is Terrifying (Colorado 1996)Four Games In September I (Boston College 1991), Four Games In September II (Boston College 1994), Four Games In September III (Boston College 1995)

This game: WolverineHistorian highlights, full game, box score

I truly don't know where to begin with this one.

It's September 23rd, 1989. Michigan is 0-1 after losing a #1 vs. #2 battle to Rocket Ismail's Notre Dame. The team is far from full strength; senior starting quarterback Michael Taylor went down with a back injury in the ND game and both starting guards didn't make the trip to Los Angeles due of illness.

While the Wolverines had entered the spring with great quarterback depth, senior Demetrius Brown was ruled academically ineligible weeks prior to the season, and the presumed next man in line, sophomore Wilbur Odom, missed the beginning of fall practice with his own academic issues. Your starting quarterback, fresh off an admirable comeback effort in relief against the Irish, is redshirt freshman Elvis Grbac.

People's Sexiest Man Alive, 1998.

Meanwhile, the offensive line—which already lost tackle Warde Manuel to a season-ending injury in the offseason—is starting a junior, two sophomores, and two freshmen. ABC only bats .500 on the center's name in their in-game graphics.

you have angered the viking

Michigan's opponent is 1-1 UCLA, which entered the season at #6 before getting spanked at home by unranked Tennessee and narrowly slipping past San Diego State. The Bruins are working with their own redshirt freshman quarterback, Bret Johnson, after the graduation of #1 overall draft pick Troy Aikman. While expectations have slipped, head coach Terry Donahue has led the team to an unprecedented seven bowl wins in the last seven years.

Donahue has shaken up his coaching staff from the previous season. Offensive coordinator Steve Axman was one of the only coaches to be let go in what was otherwise a Mark Dantonio-style reshuffling of the deck chairs. Axman's replacement is the deck chair that had been in charge of UCLA's defensive line for the previous seven seasons. Reader, I damn near fell off my couch when Bob Griese said this during the second half:

“And now Greg Robinson, who was a defensive line coach, moves over to offense, so that’s a little bit of an adjustment.”

Yes, that Greg "GERG" Robinson has been tabbed to revitalize an offense many felt was too conservative and ground-focused when Axman had Aikman at his disposal. I'll give that a moment to sink in.

The broadcast, which refuses to acknowledge the context and limited sample size, believes GERG has instigated a turnaround:

UCLA finished 1989 at 190 yards per game :(

While Donahue's mind-boggling experiment goes surprisingly well in this particular game, you'll be shocked to learn it doesn't hold up, and perhaps even curses the rest of his coaching career. But that's for Part Two.

[Hit THE JUMP for Keith Jackson's preamble and an unexpectedly fraught first half.]

deposed soon [Bryan Fuller]

Sponsor Note. The Alumni association has a deal going: become a Life Member of the Alumni Association and score two tickets to a Michigan football game later this season against Penn State, Notre Dame, Michigan State, or Ohio State, You'll also be entered into a drawing for field passes to select games. The Life Membership puts you first in line for exclusive athletic offers, travel opportunities, and discounts through Go Blue Rewards. Become a Life Member do it.

I thought "Dogg" stood for Decorous Owl Gazing Group. I cannot recommend this recent segment from The Michigan Insider on the topic of Isaiah Todd's recent visit to Kansas—which featured a Snoop Dogg performance that seemed like a middle finger to the NCAA—enough:

Kansas won some internet acclaim by leaning into the heel turn, but hurriedly backtracked once it became clear that the Kansas donor class was more of a Steely Dan crowd. AD Jeff Long:

“We apologize to anyone who was offended by the Snoop Dogg performance at Late Night. We made it clear to the entertainers’ managers that we expected a clean version of the show and took additional steps to communicate to our fans, including moving the artist to the final act of the evening, to ensure that no basketball activities would be missed if anyone did not want to stay for his show.

“I take full responsibility for not thoroughly vetting all the details of the performance and offer my personal apology to those who were offended. We strive to create a family atmosphere at Kansas and fell short of that this evening.”

I'm not sure what Kansas expected when several stripper poles were wheeled onto the court, but they are the national leader in not seeing things in front of their own eyes. Bifocals and a history of 90s rap for the entire athletic department.

As Matt wrote earlier in the day, Michigan is trending heavily for Todd. With visits over and a decision set there's not much ammo or time left for Kansas to flip Todd back, and it sounds like the Snoop show backfired with mom. A national Rivals analyst predicting Kansas and then flipping to Michigan seems pretty good.

Michigan's main competition may now be a year overseas; hopefully the lure of playing for a guy who knows the NBA inside and out will overcome the lure of immediate dollars. This is just another reason to hope NIL rights get restored to players, by the way—much easier to convince Todd to stay stateside if he can leverage his name and image with the Michigan fanbase.

[After THE JUMP: NIL bill rolls off the toungue]