College Football Old School Game of the Week: Michigan Holds Off Illinois in Highest Scoring Game in Big 10 History

 

Denard Robinson(16)celebrates with his teammates following Michigan's 3OT win over Illinois.

At first glance, if you saw a box score that read "Michigan-67 Illinois-65" you probably think "Huh, good basketball game".

However that was not the case on November 6, 2010 as the Michigan Wolverines hosted the Illinois Fighting Ilini in a game that would feature the most points combined by two teams in any game in Big 10 football history.

The Wolverines came into the game with a 5-3 record needing one more win to qualify for bowl eligibility under third-year head coach Rich Rodriguez who desperately needed to get to a bowl game after back-to-back losing seasons, the first such occurrence in Michigan football since 1962-63.

Michigan got off to a 5-0 start thanks to quarterback Denard Robinson's 905 rushing yards and eight touchdowns to go along with 1,008 passing yards and seven touchdown passes but came into the Illinois game on a three-game losing streak as its 106th ranked defense gave up an average of 30 points per game.

Meanwhile, Illinois also came into the game with a 5-3 record as the Illini were one win away from bowl eligibility under sixth-year head coach Ron Zook, who had Illinois to the Rose Bowl in the 2007 season.

The Illinois offense was directed by freshman quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase and running back Mikel Leshoure who was coming off a dismal performance against Purdue where he ran for just 23 yards on 15 carries.

Leshoure hoped to get back on track against the Wolverines' defense as the Illini traveled to Ann Arbor to take on the Wolverines in the "Big House".

It didn't take long for the fireworks to begin as Robinson connected with wide receiver Ray Roundtree for a 75-yard touchdown on the first play of the game to give Michigan a 7-0 lead.

The Illini would respond with a 12-play, 40-yard drive that was culminated with a 44-yard by Derek Dimke to put Illinois on the scoreboard as it cut the Michigan lead to 7-3.

The Wolverines would begin its next possession at their 18-yard-line as Robinson lead the Michigan offense to the Illinois 41-yard-line until he was intercepted by Illini linebacker Martez Wilson to give the Illinois offense the ball back at its 48-yard-line.

Wide receiver Eddie McGee lined up at quarterback and fired a 34-yard pass to A.J. Jenkins to put Illinois at the Michigan 16-yard-line and poised to score again until Troy Pollard's fumble two plays later which was recovered by Michigan linebacker Jonas Mouton at the Wolverines' 15-yard-line.

But Michigan would give the ball back one play later when Robinson was intercepted again, this time by Illinois linebacker Trulon Henry which helped set up a 43-yard field goal by Dimke to cut the Michigan lead to 7-6 with 2:57 left in the first quarter.

On the ensuing kickoff, the Wolverines would commit their third straight turnover as Jeremy Gallon lost the football after he was hit by Illinois linebacker Dustin Jefferson, leading to a fumble recovery by defensive back Justin Green at the Michigan 32-yard-line.

The Illini would hold the football for the rest of the first quarter  as Scheelhaase punched it in for a two-yard touchdown on the first play of the second quarter which was followed by a two-point conversion as Scheelhaase completed a pass to Ryan Lankford in the end zone to give Illinois a 14-7 just three seconds into the second quarter.

After three straight turnovers, the Michigan offense got back on track as it put together a seven-play, 75-yard drive which began with a 32-yard run by Stephen Hopkins and ended with a 33-yard touchdown pass from Robinson to Roundtree to tie the game at 14.

Michigan wide receiver Ray Roundtree would catch nine passes for 246 yards and score two TDs.

It would take the Illini only one play to unbreak the tie as Jason Ford took a pitch from Scheelhaase and ran down the sideline for a 62-yard touchdown to give Illinois a 21-14 lead.

The Wolverines would drive from their 36-yard-line to the Illinois 30-yard-line where they faced with a 4th & 6 when Rodriguez decided to go for the 1st down only to have Robinson's pass intended for Roundtree fall incomplete.

The Michigan defense would force a punt to get their offense the ball back at its 21-yard-line as a 75-yard pass from Robinson to Roundtree would help set up a a four-yard touchdown run by Hopkins to tie the game at 21 with less than seven minutes to go in the second quarter.

Following an Illinois three-and-out, the Wolverines would drive 73 yards in six plays to get back into the end zone as Robinson connected with Junior Hemingway for a 45-yard touchdown to put Michigan back on top 28-21.

The Illini would respond with a six-play, 60-yard drive that was capped off with a 33-yard touchdown pass from Scheelhaase to Lankford that with the extra point tied the game at 28 with 3:01 left before halftime.

The Wolverines would be given a short field for their next possession as Darryl Stonum returned the ensuing kickoff 61 yards to the Illinois 26-yard-line as Robinson ran the ball twice for eight yards then threw an incomplete pass which lead to a 35-yard field goal by Seth Broekhuizen to give Michigan a 31-28 lead with only 37 seconds to go in the first half.

That was enough time for Illinois to drive 39 yards in just three plays to set up a 43-yard field goal by Dimke to tie the game 31-31 as time expired in the first half.

After both teams punted on their opening possessions of the second half, the Illini would get an opportunity to retake the lead as Dimke would attempt a 39-yard field goal, only to have sail wide left and no good, giving Michigan the ball back at its 22-yard-line.

From there, the Wolverines would drive 78 yards in seven plays with the drive ending with a 18-yard touchdown run by Michael Shaw to give Michigan a 38-31 lead midway through the third quarter.

Michigan would force Illiniois to go three-and-out on its ensuing possession to get the ball back at its 20-yard-line as Robinson would lead the Michigan offense down to the Illinois 22-yard-line to set up a 39-yard field goal attempt by Broekhuizen, which also sailed wide left and no good to keep it a 38-31 game.

To make matters worse, Robinson came back to the sidelines and told his coaches he was feeling dizzy and had a headache, which would lead to Robinson's day coming to an end.

Meanwhile, the Illini drove 51 yards in seven plays to the Michigan 27-yard-line as the third quarter came to an end with Illinois trailing Michigan 38-31.

As the fourth quarter began, Scheelhaase hit Leshoure for a 27-yard touchdown to tie the game 38-38 just five seconds into the final period.

When the Michigan offense came back onto the field, they did so with Tate Forcier at quarterback, whose first play of the game was going back to pass and dropping the football, leading to a recovery by defensive end Clay Nurse to give Illinois the ball at the Wolverines' 28-yard-line.

A 23-yard pass from Scheelhaase to Jarred Fayson would lead to an one-yard touchdown run by Leshoure to give Illinois a 45-38 lead with 11:35 left in regulation.

Illinois running back Mikel Leshoure accounted for five touchdowns as he carried the ball 24 times for 120 yards and caught two passes for 52 yards.

Following an exchange of punts, the Wolverines got the ball back at its 20-yard-line as Forcier found his footing as he accounted for 58 of the 80 yards on the 12-play drive which ended with an nine-yard touchdown pass from Forcier to Stonum that with the extra point tied the game at 45 with 1:47 left in regulation.

The Wolverines would force a three-and-out to get the ball back at their 31-yard-line with 47 seconds left and a chance to drive down into field goal range and win the game.

Forcier would throw two straight passes to Roundtree for 17 yards to put Michigan at its 48-yard-line when Forcier was intercepted by defensive back Patrick Nixon-Youman which allowed the Illini to run out the clock and send the game into overtime tied 45-45.

Michigan would get the ball to start overtime as it took the Wolverines five plays to get into the end zone as Shaw would run for a five-yard touchdown to give Michigan a 52-45 lead and a chance for the defense to end the game if they could keep the Illini out of the end zone.

The drive would began with Scheelhaase running the ball twice for 21 yards to give Illinois a 1st & goal at the Michigan four-yard-line as two more runs by Scheelhaase  and an incomplete pass set up a do-or-die 4th down.

That is when Leshoure punched it in for an one-yard touchdown that with the extra point tied the game at 52 and sent the game into a second overtime period.

Illinois would start the second overtime on offense as it took the Illini just one play to get into the end zone as Leshoure caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from Scheelhaase to give Illinois a 59-52 lead.

Forcier would complete a 14-yard pass to Vincent Smith to start the Wolverines' possession which he followed up with a nine-yard touchdown pass to Hemingway that along with the extra point made it 59-59 as both teams prepared for a third overtime period.

Michigan had the ball to start the third overtime session as Forcier ran the ball for eight yards on 1st down, then ran for 12 yards on 2nd down as a personal foul penalty on the Illini would add three yards to the run to give Michigan a 1st & goal at the Illinois two-yard-line.

Another Illinois personal foul would give Michigan an extra yard and a fresh set of downs as it had a 1st & goal at the Illini one-yard-line as Shaw got the ball and was stopped for no gain, which was followed by Forcier being stopped to set up 3rd down.

The third time would be the charm for the Wolverines as Shaw would punch it for an one-yard touchdown to put Michigan back on top 65-57 as the Michigan offense prepared for the two-point conversion, which was mandatory after a touchdown in the third overtime and beyond.

Forcier would complete the two-point conversion pass to Hemingway to increase the Michigan lead to 67-59 as Illinois was set to get the ball.

It would take four plays for the Illini to get back into the end zone as Leshoure scored his fourth straight touchdown as he ran it in for a three-yard touchdown to make it 67-65 with the all-important two-point conversion coming up.

That is when the much maligned Michigan defense rose up and blitzed Scheelhaase  into throwing a desperation pass that fell incomplete to end the game with the Wolverines on top 67-65.

Michigan quarterback Tate Forcier came off the bench to lead the Wolverines to victory over Illinois.

In total, the two teams combined for 1,237 yards of total offense, 19 touchdowns, and 132 points in what was and still is the highest scoring football game in  Big 10 history.

Despite the loss, the Illini would qualify for a bowl game as they would defeat intrastate rival Northwestern 48-27 thanks to a 330-yard performance by Leshoure as Illinois would be invited to the Texas Bowl where they would defeat the Baylor Bears 38-14 to finish the season with a 7-6 record.

As for Michigan, they would win one more game before dropping their final three games of the season including a 52-14 drubbing at the hands of Mississippi State in the Gator Bowl to finish with a 7-6 record.

Four days after the Gator Bowl loss, Rodriguez was fired after just three seasons in Ann Arbor where he complied a 15-22 record.

The following season under first-year head coach Brady Hoke and with Robinson back at quarterback, the Wolverines would go 11-2 as they defeated Ohio State for the first time since 2003, won the Sugar Bowl over Virginia Tech, and finished #9 in the final coaches poll and #12 in the final AP poll, thanks to a defense that went from giving up 35.2 points per game to 17.4.