RADAN The lights were turned on for Michigan Stadium's first night game when the Wolverines played Notre Dame in 2011 that point A losing season in the Big Ten Conference was rare for Michigan After all Michigan had more victories than anyone in college football However the Wolverines had losing seasons in 2008 and 2009 and were just 7-6 in 2010 Like Michigan Notre Dame was hoping to rebound after several subpar years The Michigan Notre Dame rivalry started in 1887. It had long been an important part of college football Going into the 2011 game Michigan led the series 22-15-1 This game was also special because of the historic importance of the Big House lights Ticket prices had jumped higher and higher ranging from 185 to 600 The famous stadium was built in 1927. Since then all time greats such as Tommy Harmon Bennie Oosterbaan Charles Woodson and US President Gerald Ford had starred while wearing the Wolverines colors maize and blue 6
As the players raced onto the Big House turf for the 2011 game they were greeted by a maize out a sea of yellow shirts in the stands The sound of The Victors Michigan's fight song filled the stadium along with the cheers of pom pom waving fans But the joyful mood soon turned to despair Michigan fell behind and the Fighting Irish controlled the game Notre Dame outgained Michigan 268-90 yards to take a 17-7 lead The Irish had 15 first downs to the Wolverines three Notre Dame expanded its lead to 24-7 with 2:13 left in the third quarter HISTORIC HELMET When coach Fritz Crisler introduced the unique winged helmet to Michigan in 1938 he wanted it to bring attention And it did just that The helmet was not only different but also had a practical advantage on the field according to Crisler He was convinced the bright yellow maize wing on a blue background would help Michigan's passers better see receivers downfield There was a tendency to use different colored helmets just for receivers in those days Crisler said but I always thought that would be as helpful for the defense as for the offense Michigan made a successful debut wearing the new helmet when it opened the 1938 season with a 14-0 win over Michigan State There have been a few minor changes to the design over the years And Michigan teams in other sports such as ice hockey baseball softball field hockey and even rowing later adopted the winged helmet 7
BIG WINNERS With an all time record of 962-345-36 through 2019 Michigan had more wins than any other college football team according to the National Collegiate Athletic Association NCAA But Michigan fought back The Wolverines scored two quick touchdowns early in the fourth quarter Then junior quarterback Denard Robinson fired a 21 yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Vincent Smith That gave Michigan its first lead of the night 28-24 with 1:12 to go But the game was far from over Notre Dame retook the lead 31-28 on a 29 yard touchdown pass from Tommy Rees to Theo Riddick Only 30 seconds remained It seemed only a miracle could save the day for the Wolverines Or a defensive blunder by the Irish And that is just what happened Michigan sophomore wide receiver Jeremy Gallon was left uncovered by the Irish defenders Robinson saw him wide open Taking advantage he fired a pass to his receiver Gallon completed a 64 yard play before he stepped out of bounds Now the ball was on the Notre Dame 16 yard line with eight seconds left in the game Michigan coach Brady Hoke had a choice He could attempt a field goal that would send the game into overtime or he could go for a touchdown to win the game What would the Wolverines do Hoke went for the win Roy Roundtree ran a pattern to the right side of the end zone The team's leading receiver in 2010 Roundtree 8
Michigan wide receiver Roy Roundtree scores the game winning touchdown against Notre Dame in 2011 was still looking for his first reception of the night He battled for position in the end zone against a Notre Dame cornerback Roundtree jumped to catch the ball and landed with both feet in the end zone The final score left Michigan on top 35-31 Robinson passed for 338 yards and four touchdowns and he added another 108 yards and a touchdown rushing As Michigan's band played the school's fight song fans stormed the field to celebrate Players jumped into the stands hugging other fans It was undoubtedly an exciting finish And in more than a century of football the Wolverines had produced a number of 9 them
