BAMANEWSBOT
Staff
History will be made a week from today when two of college footballās winningest programs meet in the Cowboys Classic.It will be the first meeting between Alabama and Michigan in a regular-season game. The Crimson Tide is 1-2 against the Wolverines, and all three of those games were in a bowl.
But Alabama coach Nick Saban has a history with Michigan. Heās entering his 11th season as a coach in the Southeastern Conference, but thatās still one year less than he coached in the Big Ten Conference.
Saban is 5-7 lifetime against the Wolverines, including a 2-3 record as the head coach at Michigan State (1995-99). He was 1-1 as an assistant at Ohio State (1980-81) and 2-3 as an assistant at Michigan State (1983-87).
He recently was asked what stands out about those rivalry games. Itās interesting how vividly he remembers some details, such as a down and distance, but not others, such as years or final scores.
āSome were good, some were bad,ā Saban started. āYou want the good ones or you want the bad?
āTwo come to mind like that, one good, one bad.ā
He started with a loss.
āI forget what year it was,ā Saban said. āWe were playing at Michigan and they had a really good team. This might have been the year after they won the national championship, but I canāt attest to it.ā
It actually was 1996, the year before Michigan won the national championship and defensive back Charles Woodson won the Heisman Trophy.
He remembers the Spartans leading 14-3 shortly before halftime, and they had the ball but did not have good field position.
āSo it was third-and-5 and we threw an incomplete pass,ā Saban recalled. āThere was about 30 seconds to go in the half, and ā¦ we were happy to punt and be ahead 14-3.
āWell, they called roughing the passer on the quarterback. We got a 15-yard penalty, and that put us up right at about the 45-yard line, so we said letās try and steal a field goal out of this. So we go two-minute right out of the box, the quarterback throws a slant, the safety runs it down from a Cover 2 in a three-deep zone, picks it off and runs 45 yards for a touchdown.ā
It looked as if Michigan State would lead 14-10 at halftime.
āThey kick off to us, they pooch-kick, we fumble, they recover it,ā Saban said. āWoodson was still there, because I still remember this: After the scramble for the ball, thereās about 15 seconds to go. They run two plays, donāt score. Thereās like seven seconds to go, and they put Woodson in at receiver, he runs a post and they throw him the ball, he scores a touchdown.
āSo in like 40 seconds, 35 seconds in the (half), we go from being ahead 14-3 to behind 17-14 at Michigan. That was the worst story.ā
Michigan won 45-29. Woodson returned a second-half interception for a touchdown.
āThe best story was the last year I was at Michigan State, when (Tom) Brady was playing, and we won 31-28,ā Saban said.
Actually, the final score was 34-31.
āThat was probably one of the better wins, because they had a really good team,ā Saban recalled. āThat was a really good team that we had, too.ā
The Spartans were 5-0 going into the home game.
āAnd we were ranked,ā Saban said, āand we couldnāt live with success. We went and played Drew Brees the next week and he drilled us.ā
Michigan State lost 52-28 at Purdue.
Saban grinned.
āI remember that, too.ā
But Alabama coach Nick Saban has a history with Michigan. Heās entering his 11th season as a coach in the Southeastern Conference, but thatās still one year less than he coached in the Big Ten Conference.
Saban is 5-7 lifetime against the Wolverines, including a 2-3 record as the head coach at Michigan State (1995-99). He was 1-1 as an assistant at Ohio State (1980-81) and 2-3 as an assistant at Michigan State (1983-87).
He recently was asked what stands out about those rivalry games. Itās interesting how vividly he remembers some details, such as a down and distance, but not others, such as years or final scores.
āSome were good, some were bad,ā Saban started. āYou want the good ones or you want the bad?
āTwo come to mind like that, one good, one bad.ā
He started with a loss.
āI forget what year it was,ā Saban said. āWe were playing at Michigan and they had a really good team. This might have been the year after they won the national championship, but I canāt attest to it.ā
It actually was 1996, the year before Michigan won the national championship and defensive back Charles Woodson won the Heisman Trophy.
He remembers the Spartans leading 14-3 shortly before halftime, and they had the ball but did not have good field position.
āSo it was third-and-5 and we threw an incomplete pass,ā Saban recalled. āThere was about 30 seconds to go in the half, and ā¦ we were happy to punt and be ahead 14-3.
āWell, they called roughing the passer on the quarterback. We got a 15-yard penalty, and that put us up right at about the 45-yard line, so we said letās try and steal a field goal out of this. So we go two-minute right out of the box, the quarterback throws a slant, the safety runs it down from a Cover 2 in a three-deep zone, picks it off and runs 45 yards for a touchdown.ā
It looked as if Michigan State would lead 14-10 at halftime.
āThey kick off to us, they pooch-kick, we fumble, they recover it,ā Saban said. āWoodson was still there, because I still remember this: After the scramble for the ball, thereās about 15 seconds to go. They run two plays, donāt score. Thereās like seven seconds to go, and they put Woodson in at receiver, he runs a post and they throw him the ball, he scores a touchdown.
āSo in like 40 seconds, 35 seconds in the (half), we go from being ahead 14-3 to behind 17-14 at Michigan. That was the worst story.ā
Michigan won 45-29. Woodson returned a second-half interception for a touchdown.
āThe best story was the last year I was at Michigan State, when (Tom) Brady was playing, and we won 31-28,ā Saban said.
Actually, the final score was 34-31.
āThat was probably one of the better wins, because they had a really good team,ā Saban recalled. āThat was a really good team that we had, too.ā
The Spartans were 5-0 going into the home game.
āAnd we were ranked,ā Saban said, āand we couldnāt live with success. We went and played Drew Brees the next week and he drilled us.ā
Michigan State lost 52-28 at Purdue.
Saban grinned.
āI remember that, too.ā
