What It Was Like to Witness the Craziest Finish in College Football History
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — I'm standing in the end zone looking for clues. It happened right here: the craziest, most incredible finish to a sporting event ever, so crazy that even the people who saw it happen weren't sure what they saw. The Michigan Wolverines were a formality away from officially being "back" and then, all of a sudden, they weren't.
This isn't the first time I've seen a wild and wacky finish.
I was on the sideline at the Iron Bowl two years ago when Alabama tried a long field goal and Auburn ran it back for a game-winning touchdown. I was at the Final Four when Michigan's Chris Webber tried to call a timeout that he and the Fab Five didn't have. I was at the Steve Bartman game, too, when the Cubs were about to finally get to the World Series if it weren't for a fan trying to get himself a souvenir.
Each one had a different feel, each a different personality. This one tops them all.
The Bartman game was anger. The Iron Bowl was an explosion. This one was a balloon popping.
How crazy was Saturday afternoon in Ann Arbor?
Michigan's scoreboard operators were so shocked they never even put the final score on the scoreboard, as if refusing to put it up would make it less true.
When Michigan State players dogpiled on their hero, Jalen Watts-Jackson, they reportedly broke or dislocated his hip. He was taken to the hospital after the game.
This was not what was supposed to happen.
This was going to be Jim Harbaugh's big breakthrough. Michigan was going to move into the Top 10 and get into the national championship picture. The Michigan-Ohio State game was going to be as big as ever. The media was going to have a month of Harbaugh-is-a-savior stories. Ann Arbor was going to go into full party mode.
Turns out, Harbaugh is not touched by the football gods after all.
"This was unfortunate," was all he could say after the game.
"Wins like these," Michigan State quarterback Connor Cook said, "can really, really bring you together."
Wins like these? There are no wins like these.
When the game ended, Michigan State fan Jeremy Tollas, there with his cousin, Jason Luttrell, just stood there. He looked around to see what had happened. He looked up at the scoreboard, and it went black. And then Luttrell noticed something: The Michigan players started running over toward the tunnel.
"Dude, the players are leaving," he said to Tollas. "The game is over."
The police on the field were ready for the Michigan fans to rush the field.
"Let 'em," one officer, requesting anonymity, said. "We were going to protect the goalposts."
What truly set this game apart from all of the other fantastical finishes I have seen was the pure shock of it. Auburn had a miracle return, but it was set up for the return. In fact, my producer standing next to me on the field that day on The Plains leaned over to me right before that play and said, "Auburn is going to return this for a touchdown."
Nobody expected this. Not one person.
After the game Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio stated the obvious and said, "Football is a crazy, crazy game," then headed for the team bus, stopping to shake hands for Spartans fans who yelled "We love you, Coach D." Someone said he saw Dantonio smile. If you know him, you know that would be a miracle.
It wouldn't have been the first one of those on the day.
Greg Couch covers college football for Bleacher Report.
