2001 Michigan vs. Michigan State football game

The 2001 Michigan State vs. Michigan football game, also known as the '"The Catch," or "Clockgate," or "The Clock Game," was played on November 3, 2001, in Spartan Stadium. The game was controversial because of a situation involving the timekeeper.

While the game was closely-played throughout, it is the game's conclusion that is most remembered. On fourth-and-goal, with one second remaining in the fourth quarter, Michigan State quarterback Jeff Smoker threw a touchdown pass to running back T. J. Duckett as time expired to win 26-24. The Wolverines had contended that the clock had run out of time before the last play of the game took place; video evidence of this was examined by several media stations and the Big Ten commissioner of referees declared that the clock call was correct. As a result of the game and following a petition from Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr, the NCAA now keeps official time on the field.

Lead-up to the game

The Wolverines came into East Lansing with a 6–1 (4–0) record and a number 6 ranking behind wins against Miami (Ohio), Western Michigan, Penn State, Iowa, and eventual Big Ten champion Illinois. Michigan was the only team in the Big Ten without a loss four games into the Big Ten season, and despite an early non-conference loss at Washington, the Wolverines were considered national title contenders. The Wolverines led the Big Ten conference in rushing defense and looked to put the brakes on Michigan State running back T. J. Duckett on the ground. In the previous week, linebacker Larry Foote set a University of Michigan school record with 7 tackles for a loss and hoped to put serious pressure on the Spartan offense.

The Spartans came into the contest 4–2 (2–2) with early losses at Northwestern and at Minnesota but led the Big Ten in passing yards behind star sophomore wide receiver Charles Rogers and sophomore quarterback Jeff Smoker. The Spartans had won three of the previous four meetings against the Wolverines in East Lansing. It was coach Bobby Williams' first home game against the Wolverines. Kickoff return specialist and wide receiver Herb Haygood led the nation in kickoff return average and looked to give the Wolverines a serious challenge on special teams.

The game started on a chilly, clear afternoon (3:30 Eastern Kickoff) and darkness quickly fell in the late autumn East Lansing day. Fans and students lined up for hours and the stadium was packed well over the 72,072 capacity listed. The Michigan State University Spartan Marching Band and Michigan Marching Band were both present, adding to the atmosphere and stadium excitement. ABC and ESPN carried the game live nationally with commentators Gary Danielson and Brent Musburger.

Scoring

1st Quarter

On the opening drive of the game Michigan State found itself in 4th and 11 on Michigan's 32 yard line and punter Craig Jarrett walked onto the field. The Spartans lined up two wide receivers and faked the punt. The pass was incomplete, but Michigan safety Brandon Williams was flagged for pass interference for his coverage on Charles Rogers, which gave MSU a fresh set of downs and 15 extra yards. Two plays later, Jeff Smoker threw a touchdown to Rogers in the back of the end zone to give the Spartans a 7-0 lead.

On the ensuing drive, Michigan kicker Hayden Epstein nailed a 57-yard field goal to put the Wolverines on the board 7-3.

2nd Quarter

At 12:07 of the 2nd quarter, Michigan took its first lead on a 14 yard touchdown pass from John Navarre to Marquise Walker, making the score 10-7.

On 3rd and 4, 7:45 into the 2nd quarter, the Spartans were driving on the Wolverines 13-yard line. Jeff Smoker threw an incomplete pass to Charles Rogers in the end zone, but Michigan was called for another pass interference call. The penalty gave MSU first and goal, and on the very next play, T. J. Duckett ran 2 yards up the middle putting MSU up 14-10. The costly penalty by Michigan safety Cato June likely gave the Spartans a touchdown instead of a field goal.

The Wolverines struck back on the next series, as Marquise Walker caught a 32-yard touchdown pass to give Michigan the lead, 17-14.

3rd Quarter

Michigan State had its own penalty trouble - 4:21 into the second half a touchdown by T. J. Duckett was called back for holding. Jeff Smoker was sacked on 3rd down, and MSU failed to convert the field goal attempt, so the score remained 17-14.

MSU kicked a 17-yard field goal with 12 seconds remaining in the quarter to knot the score at 17-17.

4th Quarter

With 7:33 remaining, Dave Rayner hit another 17-yard field goal. MSU takes a 20-17 lead.

After a Jeff Smoker fumble on 1st down, Michigan recovered and John Navarre threw an 18-yard touchdown to backup quarterback Jermaine Gonzales (lined up as a wide receiver) to take a 24-20 lead.

Controversial ending

With 2:28 remaining in the fourth quarter, Michigan was forced to punt deep in its own zone. The kick was high and short, giving the Spartans excellent field position at their opponent's 44-yard-line. On first down, MSU quarterback Jeff Smoker was sacked at midfield by defensive end Shantee Orr for the Wolverines' tenth sack of the game. Two incompletions later, the Spartans faced 4th-and-16 with just 1:25 left in regulation.

On fourth down, Smoker's pass fell incomplete, but Michigan defensive back Jeremy LeSueur was flagged for grabbing the facemask of receiver Charles Rogers, giving the Spartans fifteen yards and an automatic first down. Two plays later, wide receiver Herb Haygood caught a pass over the middle for 13 yards and another first down.

On 1st-and-10, Smoker was sacked again by the Wolverine defense. As the players turned to walk off the field, a flag was thrown against the Wolverines for too many men on the field. With 36 seconds remaining, the illegal participation call resulted in half the distance to the goal being marked off. Michigan State called a timeout before they realized that there was a penalty and did not request it back after the penalty was called, even though the penalty stopped the clock. On 2nd-and-4, LeSueur broke up a pass intended for Duckett to bring up 3rd-and-4. After an incompletion in the back of the end zone, Smoker completed a slant up the middle to T. J. Duckett for first and goal on the Michigan 3-yard line.

MSU rushed to spike the ball to stop the clock at 0:17, after which Michigan used a timeout. On second and goal, Jeff Smoker rolled to the right and ran the ball down to the one-yard line, but stayed inbounds, so the clock continued to run. With time running out, the Spartans frantically lined up to spike the ball; when they did so, the stadium clock showed one second remaining. Michigan coaches and players argued that the clock should have expired on the play, but game officials did not agree. Michigan commentator Frank Beckmann speculated that Michigan State had benefited from its home field advantage. On the ensuing play, Jeff Smoker lobbed a pass into the back of the end zone where it was caught by T. J. Duckett, giving the Spartans a 26-24 victory.

Controversy

The game clock in college (and professional) football only shows the time to the nearest second, leaving open the possibility that a fraction of a second was left. This led to some insisting the tenth-of-a-second clock should be implemented in the college game.) In reality, he might have stopped the clock when the ball hit the ground, like the rule calls for.

Years after the game, Big Ten officials told The Detroit News that, upon further review, the clock operator acted appropriately. Three years following the game, Dave Parry, the conference's coordinator of football officials, said, "that play, as much as we've put that under a high-powered microscope, was correct. We could not prove that timer wrong."[2]

Fallout

After completion of the game, University of Michigan Head Coach Lloyd Carr petitioned the Big Ten head office to review the rules regarding official timekeeping. Previously, the home team appointed an individual of their choosing to keep the official time in the pressbox. As a result of the petition to review the rules, the Big Ten changed its timekeeping policy for the 2002 season. Now, time is kept on the field by a neutral official appointed by the Big Ten. The official can be recognized by his red hat and earphones.

In addition to agreeing to change its policy on timekeeping, the Big Ten began a study on the feasibility of an instant replay system. In 2004, the Big Ten was the first conference to begin a trial replay system for conference games only. In 2005, most NCAA division 1A teams had the option of using instant replay for their games. Finally, in 2006, instant replay became standard across all of Division 1-A. However, this type of call is not reviewable based on current rules.

Records

• T.J. Duckett set a new MSU record for most rushing yards against Michigan (211), previously held by Lorenzo White with 185 yards.

External links

• Game Statistics
• Transcript from Michigan Football radio broadcasters Frank Beckmann, Jim Brandstatter, and Steve Courtney
• Last-Second Smoker Pass Spells Defeat For No. 6 Michigan
• Video of Final 17 Seconds Courtesy ABC Sports with University of Michigan Audio
• Audio of final 1:25 from Spartan Sports Network