Comeback for The Ages as Wolverines Stun No. 9 Badgers 27-25

"Badgers?  We Don't Need No Stinking Badgers!" - Cheech Marin, sort of

Oh, my.

For a little over half Saturday's game, Michigan looked to be the worst football team on the planet. Five turnovers, 19 points allowed, zero scored. 

Their offense couldn't move the ball, their return team couldn't hold on to it; an unmitigated disaster was brewing (and the folks of Wisconsin know a thing or two about brewing things). The game was over; neither team needed to bother returning for the second half.

But there were signs, subtle ones perhaps, that things weren't all that rosy for the Badgers. They had utterly dominated the game to that point, but had to settle for one meager touchdown and four field goals (from five attempts).

They were perpetually in Michigan's half of the field, but not really doing anything. Frankly, Michigan was trying their best to give the game away, just as they did at Notre Dame two weeks earlier, but this time Wisconsin wasn't accepting the handout.

Then, midway through the third quarter, with the usual throng of 109,000 in a state of despair over just how awfully their team was playing—and the coaching staff alternating between rage and disbelief—something happened.

"Miracle" is too strong a term, but just barely; maybe it was that the cast of freshmen had some sort of light bulb go off above their heads, or maybe Rich Rodriguez started calling plays his young charges could actually handle, but the Wolverines started to move the ball.

Quick passes, good decisions by redshirt freshman QB Steve Threet, a few pounding runs off tackle, a first down or two, a nice pass to the tight end, and voila!  Michigan was in the end zone, they had just a hint of confidence, and the game changed.

Half an hour later, the Wolverines had completed an improbable 27-25 win, scoring 27 straight after being down by 19.

Make no mistake, this win owes everything to the Michigan defense, who kept Wisconsin out of the end zone so often in the first half despite being overworked and exhausted. The offense and special teams kept giving the ball away, but almost every time, the Badgers came away with three rather than seven.

Eventually, though, Threet and the offense started to move, the crowd sensed that the team might have some remote chance, the Badgers remembered (perhaps subconsciously) that they rarely win in Ann Arbor, and it snowballed from there.

A few tense moments remained, as Wisconsin drove into the end zone and actually completed the two-point conversion that would have tied the game and sent it to overtime, but a Badgers penalty nullified the score and they couldn't duplicate the result.

This marks a setback for Wisconsin, to be sure, but more than that, it seems to mark the turning point Michigan fans were hoping for.  This still looks to be a difficult season, and a winning record and an appearance in a non-trivial bowl game still looks to be wishful thinking.

That said, they showed flashes of talent; they avoided starting 1-3; they defeated a Top Ten team; and they seem to have justified the patience Coach Rod has begged for.

Michigan supporters haven't seen a losing season in my lifetime, and the indulgence to allow Rodriguez the time to develop his system, with his players, is difficult—but moments like this will win Rodriguez the backing he needs to do the job the way he sees fit.