They were down by 16 points midway through the fourth quarter, and 105,000 frenzied Michigan fans were poised to feast on the kill.
The Miami Hurricanes couldn`t have been in a better spot.
”We had all these people behind our bench yelling at us, `Hey, Miami, You`re No. 10. You stink,` ” said Hurricane quarterback Steve Walsh. ”That got us fired up. They forgot that the game wasn`t over yet.”
Indeed, with Miami you had better play 60 minutes. Michigan thought it needed only 52 minutes and 34 seconds.
The No. 1 Hurricanes, behind Walsh, turned a 30-14 deficit and a potential stunning upset into a miraculous 31-30 victory that stunned the Wolverines and 105,834 patrons at Michigan Stadium.
With 7:16 left in the game, Walsh led a hurry-up offense to two quick touchdowns and a two-point conversion. Then, after the Hurricanes missed a two-pointer-it turned out to be a blessing in disguise-they re-covered an on- side kick to set up the winning field goal. Carlos Huerta connected on a 29-yarder with 43 seconds remaining.
The brutal climax destroyed what had been a perfect day for the Wolverines. Instead of dethroning No. 1 and salvaging some Big 10 pride, Michigan now is 0-2, Bo Schembechler`s worst start in 20 years as the Wolverine coach.
”With five minutes left, there wasn`t a guy on our team who wasn`t walking two feet off the ground,” said Michigan defensive lineman Mark Messner. ”At the end of the game, there wasn`t a man who didn`t want to do anything but crawl home.”
Miami has a way of dancing on dreams. The Hurricanes did it last year at Florida State, rallying from 16-points down.
”It`s such a big emotional lift,” said Walsh, who passed for 335 yards. ”You get the feeling that you`re almost unbeatable. You know no matter how far you`re down, you can always come back.”
The rally started when Miami took over at its own 20-yard line with 7:16 left. The Hurricanes and coach Jimmy Johnson caught the Wolverines off-guard by operating out of a two-minute offense.
”I was even surprised that we did it,” said running back Cleveland Gary, who caught nine passes for 162 yards and two touchdowns.
”We have a very complex offense. It didn`t give them time to react. While they were thinking, we were acting.”
Walsh needed less than two minutes to guide Miami down the field, hitting Rob Chudzinski on a 7-yard touchdown pass and then connecting with Dale Dawkins on the two-point conversion. Suddenly, Miami was down only 30-22.
Miami got the ball back at its own 43 with 3:45 remaining. Gary then delivered the big play, catching a 48-yard touchdown pass with 2:57 remaining. Miami, though, went for two and failed; Walsh`s pass was intercepted. But even when things went wrong for the Hurricanes, they went right.
Needing the ball again, Johnson elected to go for the on-side kick. Miami`s Bobby Harden recovered the bouncing ball on Michigan`s 47.
”Would I have done it (the on-side kick) if we got the two-points? I don`t know,” Johnson said. ”I was screaming and hollering at the official on the two-pointer.
They were all over my guy. Now I`m glad he didn`t make the call.”
Instead of settling for a tie, Miami extended its road-game winning streak to 20. T
he Hurricanes` last road loss was in Michigan Stadium in September, 1984. The Wolverines thought they had an encore Saturday.
Michigan uncharacteristically thrived on the pass, with quarterback Mike Taylor throwing for 214 yards and three touchdowns.
The Wolverines dominated throughout, but failed to get the part they needed the most.
”We allowed too many big plays,” said Schembechler, who complained about the officiating. ”When we needed a big play, we couldn`t one.”
The Hurricanes did. It seems they always do.
