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| Michigan wide receiver Braylon Edwards would catch 11 passes for 189 yards and score three touchdowns in the Wolverines' memorable win over Michigan State in 2004. |
When it comes to who Michigan fans and observers believe is the greatest wide receiver in school history, many will argue for 3-time All American Anthony Carter or 1991 Heisman Trophy winner Desmond Howard.
But some can make a case for Braylon Edward, who is the all-time leader in career receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns in Michigan football history.
His signature performance came in 2004 when the #12 ranked Wolverines hosted their instate rivals, the Michigan State Spartans in one of the greatest games in which the winner receives the Paul Bunyan Trophy.
Michigan came into the game with a 7-1 record, having won their previous six games after losing to Notre Dame 28-20 in their second game of the season.
The Wolverines were led by head coach Lloyd Carr, who was in his 10th season as the head coach of "Big Blue" hoping to lead Michigan back to the Rose Bowl for the second straight year and third time during his tenure.
The Wolverines were led by Edwards, who had back-to-back 1,000 yard receiving seasons going in to his senior year in 2004.
Despite the fact that he had a true freshman in Chad Henne at quarterback and freshman Mike Hart at running back, Edwards was still a force as he had caught 56 passes for 706 yards and eight touchdowns up to this point in the season.
While the Wolverines were looking at Pasadena, the Spartans were just hoping to reach any bowl game as they entered the game with a 4-3 record under second-year head coach John L. Smith.
The Spartans entered their annual showdown with Michigan as 11-point underdogs as they traveled to the "Big House" a place where the Spartans had not won since their memorable 1990 upset over then #1 Michigan.
After forcing the Wolverines to punt on their opening possession, the Spartans got the ball at their 20-yard-line and picked up a 1st down until they faced a 2nd & 13 at their 28-yard-line.
That is when quarterback Drew Stanton handed the ball off to running back Deandra Cobb, who bursted through the middle for a 72-yard touchdown run to give Michigan State a 7-0 lead just 3:35 into the game.
Michigan would respond with an eight-play, 80-yard drive, with the Wolverines passing the ball only once on the drive as Hart carried the ball five times for 42 yards, including the seven-yard touchdown which tied the game at 7 midway through the first quarter.
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| Michigan running back Mike Hart would carry the ball 33 times for 224 yards and one touchdown. |
Back would come the Spartans as their begin their next possession at their 21-yard-line with Stanton completing a 15-yard pass to Terry Love to start the drive, then finding Eric Knott for 21 yards and a 1st down at the Michigan 43-yard-line.
Following an incomplete pass, Stanton would run for 11 yards and another 1st down, then after two runs by the quarterback that picked up six yards, Stanton connected with Agim Shabij for eight yards and a 1st down at the Wolverines' 18-yard-line.
An eight-yard pass to Knott followed by a Michigan pass interference penalty put the Spartans at the Wolverines five-yard-line when Stanton ran it in for a five-yard touchdown to give Michigan State a 14-7 lead with 2:56 left in the first quarter.
The Spartans would get an excellent opportunity to extend the lead when after forcing the Wolverines to go three-and-out, Michigan State linebacker Marshall Campbell blocked the punt to give the Spartans the ball at the Michigan 30-yard-line.
However, the Spartans would lose three yards on the next three plays, forcing them to settle for a 50-yard field goal attempt by Dave Rayner which sailed wide right and no good to keep it 14-7 as the first quarter came to an end.
Following another Michigan three-and-out, the Spartans had the ball at their seven-yard-line when Stanton connected with Knott for nine yards on 2nd & 13, then ran for 19 yards and a 1st down at the Michigan State 35-yard-line, which was followed by a 17-yard run by Jason Teague to give the Spartans a 1st down at the Michigan 48-yard-line.
It appeared that the Spartans were going to put another touchdown on the scoreboard after Stanton hit Jason Randall for 29 yards, then ran for 15 yards to set up 1st & goal at the Michigan four-yard-line.
But after Cobb picked up three yards on 1st down, Stanton was stopped for no gain on 2nd down, which was followed by Michigan linebacker LaMar Woodley dropping Cobb for a five-yard loss on third down, forcing the Spartans to settle for a 22-yard field goal by Rayner which increased Michigan State's lead to 17-7 with 9:10 left in the second quarter.
Both teams would trade punts until the Wolverines got the ball at their 45-yard-line with 3:10 left in the first half when Hart ran for 11 yards to pick up a Michigan 1st down, which was followed by back-to-back completions of 11 yards each, first to Jason Avant, and then to Edwards to give Michigan a 1st down at the Spartans' 22-yard-line.
However, the Wolverines would go backwards as a false start penalty followed by a quarterback sack pushed the Wolverines back to the Michigan State 36-yard-line to set up 2nd & 24.
An incomplete pass followed by a 19-yard pass to Edwards would set up Garrett Rivas' 34-yard field goal with 49 seconds left before halftime that cut the Spartans' lead to 17-10.
The Spartans would run out the clock to end the first half with a 17-10 lead and were set to get the ball to start the second half.
However, Stanton would not lead the Spartans in the second half as he was knocked out of the game after seprating his right shoulder toward the end of the first half and was replaced by Damon Dowdell at quarterback.
Dowdell and the Spartans would be forced to punt following their opening possession of the first half, giving the ball back to the Wolverines at their 13-yard-line.
The Wolverines would drive to the Spartans' 26-yard-line when Henne connected with Edwards for a five-yard pass, only to have Edwards lose the ball when he was hit by Spartans cornerback Jaren Hayes, leading to a fumble that was recovered by safety Eric Smith to give Michigan State the ball at its 21-yard-line.
After both teams punted on their ensuing possessions, the Spartans got the ball back at the Michigan 45-yard-line when Dowdell completed a 22-yard pass to Aaron Alexander for a 1st down at the Wolverines' 23-yard-line, which was followed by four straight running plays that picked up 14 yards as the third quarter came to an end with the Spartans still ahead 17-10.
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| Michigan State running back Deandra Cobb would run for 205 yards on 22 carries and score two TDs. |
Two more running plays would leave the Spartans one yard short of the end zone as 4th down approached when Smith decided to send in the field goal unit as Rayner made a 19-yard field goal to increase Michigan State's lead to 20-10 with 13:30 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Then after forcing another Michigan three-and-out, the Spartans got the ball at their 27-yard-line where they picked up one 1st down before going backwards and facing a 3rd & 12 when Cobb exploded for his second long touchdown run of the game, a 64-yarder to increase the Spartans' lead to 27-10 with 8:43 left in the fourth quarter.
Following the Cobb touchdown, the Wolverines got the ball back at their seven-yard-line desperately needing a score in hopes of staging a comeback from 17 points down.
That is when Edwards, who had been held to 40 yards on four catches, took over the game.
After a four-yard run by Hart to start the drive, Edwards made a seven-yard catch to give Michigan a 1st down at its 18-yard-line.
A 13-yard run by Hart followed by a 11-yard pass from Henne to Avant put the Wolverines at their 42-yard-line when Henne connected with Edwards for a 46-yard gain to put Michigan at the Michigan State 12-yard-line.
However, the Spartans' defense would allow only five more yards on the next three plays forcing a 4th & 5 from the Michigan State seven-yard-line.
Knowing his team could still needed two scores, Carr opted for the field goal, which Rivas made from 24 yards out to cut the Spartans' lead to 27-13 with 6:27 left in the fourth quarter.
Michigan then lined up for an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff which looked it like it was going to be recovered by Michigan State's Jeremy Scott, only for him to lose control of the football, which was eventually recovered by Michigan's Brian Thompson to recover the onside kick at the Wolverines' 38-yard-line(The kick did go 10 yards by the way).
Hart would then run for 11 yards which become a 26-yard play as Spartans linebacker David Herron was called for a face mask penalty to put the Wolverines at the Michigan State 36-yard-line.
That is when Henne went deep and threw a bomb for Edwards, who outjumped Jaren Hayes in the right corner of the end zone to make the 36-yard touchdown catch to make it a 27-20 game with 6:12 remaining in regulation.
Having scored 10 points in just 15 seconds, Carr decided to kick it deep on the ensuing kickoff and was rewarded with a defensive stop as the Spartans punted the ball back to the Wolverines, who took over at the Michigan State 47-yard-line following a 16-yard return by Steve Breaston with 3:13 left in regulation.
Hart would run for 26 yards to begin the drive to give Michigan a 1st down at the Spartans' 21-yard-line when Henne went lofted a pass toward the right corner of the end zone where Edwards once again outjumped Hayes to make the catch for the touchdown that went with Rivas' extra point tied the game at 27 with 2:59 left in the fourth quarter.
With their 17-point lead evaporated, the Spartans took over at their 20-yard-line and looked to Cobb in hopes of leading Michigan State down the field for a game-winning score.
After he was dropped for a four-yard-loss on 1st down, Cobb would run for 25 yards and a 1st down at the Michigan State 41-yard-line.
A false start penalty pushed the Spartans back five yards as Cobb would carry the ball on the next two plays, gaining only four yards to set up 3rd & 11 when Dowdell's pass for Matt Trannon fell incomplete, forcing the Spartans to punt and give the Wolverines the ball at their 20-yard-line with 54 seconds left.
However, Carr decided to play conservative as Hart, would carry the ball three straight times, picking up seven yards to force a Michigan punt as the Spartans spent their last two timeouts in order to give their offense one last chance at winning the game before the end of regulation.
A short punt by Adam Finley gave the Spartans the ball at the 50-yard-line with three seconds left, just enough time to throw a "Hail Mary" pass.
That is when Dowdell threw a deep pass intended for Cobb, when the running back drew a pass interference penalty on Michigan cornerback Leon Hall to give Michigan State 15 yards and a 1st down at the Wolverines' 35-yard-line, but more importantly one untimed play allowing them to send in Rayner to attempt a game-winning 52-yard field goal.
But Rayner's kick was short as the game would move into overtime with the score tied 27-27.
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| Michigan quarterback Chad Henne would complete 24 of 35 passes for 273 yards and throw four touchdown passes. |
The Wolverines got the ball first and got eight yards on their first two plays to set up 3rd & 2 when Hart was stopped one yard short of the 1st down by Michigan State cornerback Roderick Maples, forcing Michigan to settle for a 33-yard field goal by Rivas to give Michigan its first lead of the game at 30-27.
Now it was the Spartans' turn in overtime as they knew if they scored a touchdown they would win the game.
Cobb ran the ball twice, picking up 12 yards and a 1st down at the Michigan 13-yard-line until Dowdell threw an incomplete pass on 1st down, which was followed by a nine-yard run by Cobb to set up 3rd & 1 when Michigan linebacker Roy Manning dropped Cobb for a two-yard-loss, forcing the Spartans to settle for a 23-yard field goal by Rayner to tie the game at 30 and send it to a second overtime.
Michigan State would get the ball to start the second overtime period as Dowdell connected with Shabaj for 15 yards on 1st down to give the Spartans 1st & goal at the Michigan 10-yard-line.
That is when Teague ran the ball three straight times with the last carry being an one-yard touchdown to give the Spartans a 37-30 lead.
Needing a touchdown to stay alive, Henne connected with Avant for six yards to start the drive, then found Edwards for 11 yards and a 1st down at the Spartans' eight-yard-line.
Three plays later, Henne found Avant in the end zone for a five-yard touchdown that with Rivas' extra point tied the game at 37 and sent it into a third overtime with Michigan set to get the ball to start the third overtime session.
Two plays would pick up just one yard to set up 3rd & 9 when Henne found Edwards on a crossing route for a 24-yard touchdown to put Michigan ahead 43-37.
Then it was time to go for two as overtime rules in 2004 stated that a team must attempt a two-point conversion after they score a touchdown in the third overtime or beyond.
Henne would find Tim Massaquoi in the back of the end zone for the two point conversion to make it 45-37 in favor of Michigan.
Needing a touchdown and a two-point conversion to force a fourth overtime period, the Spartans' third overtime drive went downhill quickly as an incomplete pass and an offensive pass interference penalty pushed the Spartans back 15 yards to set up 2nd & 25 from the Michigan 40-yard-line.
Dowdell would connect with Trannon for 17 yards on 2nd down then threw an incomplete pass to set up a do-or-die 4th & 8.
Dowdell would throw a pass intended for Aaron Alexander, but the pass would fall incomplete to end the game with the Wolverines prevailing 45-37 after three overtime periods.
The Spartans never recovered from their heartbreaking loss to Michigan as they would drop three of their last four regular season games to finish with a 5-7 record while Michigan would go on to win the Big 10 conference title and earn a second straight trip to the Rose Bowl, where they would fall 38-37 to the Texas Longhorns.
As for Edwards, he would finish the season with 97 catches for 1,330 yards and 15 touchdowns which earned him the Fred Biletnikoff Award given to the best receiver in college football.
Edwards would then go on to an eight-year career in the NFL which he played for four different teams with his best season coming in 2007 with the Cleveland Browns as he caught 80 passes for 1,289 yards and scored 16 touchdowns that year.
To this day, Edwards remains the all-time leader in receptions, yards, and touchdown receptions at the University of Michigan.
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