Gator's Blog: You Gotta Hand It To Ann Arbor

You gotta hand it to the fans in Ann Arbor on Saturday. I say Saturday because it includes all 24 hours of that day, starting with the tailgaters before noon and concluding with the revelers well past midnight. The fans created an atmosphere that was truly the envy of college football. 115,000 people had the Big House rocking like never before and those who were there will truly never forget the amazing comeback win over Notre Dame.

From the Maize and Blue perspective, they never gave up, not the fans and not the team. Why? Because we've seen this before. It really shouldn't surprise anyone that Denard Robinson pulled multiple rabbits out of his hat or that the Irish shot themselves in the foot while getting collectively kicked in the schnutts. We've seen this before. Crazy things happen at Michigan Stadium, come from behind efforts are expected and demanded. So, when Michigan got the ball back with 30 seconds to go and 80 yards in front of them, yeah, I fully expected them to score.

How many plays can you run in 30 seconds, four, five? The Wolverines didn't have a single drive that took more than 5 plays...the ENTIRE game! So why shouldn't you expect them to score? After all, they have the most exciting and dynamic player in the nation leading the attack at quarterback, so yes, I expected a Michigan win.

By no means did my expectations take away from the exciting finish. That fourth quarter was one of ineptitude from Notre Dame and one of dogged determination by Michigan. 35 points in fifteen minutes, 21 in the final 1:04, that's just ridiculous and I don't care how bad some of the play was. Robinson got bailed out by his receivers and one particularly awful missed assignment that allowed Jeremy Gallon to streak uncovered down the sidelines at the most inopportune time for the Golden Domers. The much maligned Michigan Defense made plays when they needed them and Tommy Rees was a turnover waiting to happen.

It wasn't pretty, 8 turnovers and 18 penalties between two teams that nobody knows how good either really is right now, but it was exciting. Those who spent hundreds on a single ticket were rewarded not only by a yellow pom pom, but also a truly entertaining game. Desmond's ceremony, a military fly by, blimp coverage, a game under the lights, not one but two night-time parachute jumpers, an odd halftime show complete with led gimp suits and masks, and of course the obligatory 2 hour ride home.

Somewhere Jack Buck is saying, "I can't believe what I just saw!". I can and it was still great.