Sunday, October 9, 2005

Gophers dig deep to get historic win

For first time since '86, they find way to beat Michigan and take home the Little Brown Jug.

By Jim Spadafore / The Detroit News

John T. Greilick / The Detroit News Minnesota defensive end Keith Lipka, left and nose tackle Anthony Montgomery put the sandwich on U-M receiver Mario Manningham. Right at the jugular What has been Michigan's biggest problem this season? Offense Defense Special teams Coaching They were overrated before the season Get results and comments Related links  NCAA football scores and stats Big Ten Talk Big Ten Weblog U-M schedule U-M roster U-M stats Big Ten schedule Big Ten standings Big Ten stats AP Top-25 poll USA Today / ESPN Top-25 poll Sports Challenge: Pick the college winners weekly, win prizes Game photo galleries U-M 33, N. Illinois 17 Notre Dame 17, U-M 10 U-M 55, EMU 0 Comment on this story Send this story to a friend Get Home Delivery

ANN ARBOR -- Minnesota players stormed the Michigan sideline looking for the Little Brown Jug.

They even took a page out of Michigan State by planting a Minnesota flag on the "M" at the 50-yard line.

Nobody could blame them. The Gophers hadn't beaten Michigan since Lou Holtz was their head coach in 1986, but they pulled the upset Saturday, 23-20, and left the 111,117 at Michigan Stadium in a daze.

Let Minnesota coach Glen Mason tell how big it was.

"We beat Purdue and we laid an egg the next week," said Mason, whose Gophers were coming off a 44-14 loss at Penn State. "We beat Michigan and we're going to enjoy the heck out of this until midnight. Midnight we're going to forget about it."

Then Mason chuckled.

"If you believe that, you're crazy," he said, smiling.

The Gophers (5-1, 2-1 Big Ten) won it on Jason Giannini's 30-yard field goal with one second left.

Mason gave Giannini a little pep talk.

"I told him I'd love him if he made it or not," Mason said. "But I said I'll love you a lot more if you make it. He just laughed."

Giannini drilled the ball through the uprights for the victory.

"Coach just tried to break the ice and help me relax," said Giannini, who earlier kicked field goals of 29 and 26 yards. "He made me laugh."

The Gophers pulled off the stunning victory with a stunning play.

The game was tied 20-20 and there was 1:27 left. The Gophers were faced with third-and-9 on their 26.

The Gophers had backup quarterback Tony Mortensen, who had attempted only seven passes all season, in the game. Mortensen had just replaced injured starter Bryan Cupito. Mason called a running play.

"I was kind of hoping we were going to go to overtime," Mason said. "I was willing to do that. I was going to conserve the time. I didn't want to give back the ball to Michigan."

The Gophers didn't. Gary Russell broke loose around right end for a 61-yard gain to the U-M 13 to set up Giannini's winning field goal.

"I thought we were just going to run the clock out," Russell said. "So, I just kept two hands on the ball."

Russell finished with 128 yards on 18 carries. He and Laurence Maroney (129 yards and one touchdown on 36 carries) combined for 257 rushing yards.

This was a big victory for all the Gophers, especially for Detroiter Kyle McKenzie, a fifth-year senior linebacker from Detroit De Porres. He has bad memories of Minnesota's last two losses to the Wolverines, 38-35 and 27-24 the last two years.

"This was a great victory. A great victory," said McKenzie, who led the Gophers with 13 tackles, including 10 solo.

"The last couple of years my uncle (former Michigan guard Reggie McKenzie) and my family had bragging rights. But now I can talk a little."

You can reach Jim Spadafore at (313) 223-4638 or jim.spadafore@detnews.com.