2004: Michigan-16 Purdue-14

[duhu1148]

Hit stick.

[chucknorrisworshiper]

we sure did win a lot of nailbiters in 2004

[FFReisegruppe]

What a true runner Mike Hart is

[tripleh186]

I still have no clue why Ernest Shazor was undrafted and isnt playing on Sundays

[michfan2123]

@tripleh186 He entered the draft early, didn't get drafted and has since disappeared. Wonder what happened.

[tripleh186]

@michfan2123 i no, but i dont know why he didnt get drafted, because he was a projected 2nd round pick and Kiper had him at like 50th in his big board, so going undrafted is weird

[michfan2123]

@tripleh186 He played two games for the Cardinals in 2005, apparently they gave him an injury settlement (not sure what that is). In 2007 he agreed to join an Arena team but never showed up to training camp. He disappeared.

[InRichRodWeTrust]

I remember this game because of the ref that was literally blind in one eye made the horrible call. Sadly for him he couldn't see in his right eye and Mike Hart ran the ball to the right for the TD. lol.

[Michiganfan2008]

i like how he say avant

[dacrazynoob]

best Michigan game ever...

[throwback276]

dang rough season for purdue

im still heartbroken

[gerbear216]

that hit was so messed up...

[kazbo1]

This was such a great defensive game for Michigan. Hermann wasn't much of a DC but for some reason he could really shut down Purdue. I wonder how we could have gone south so badly on defense after this. That long TD was a harbinger of things to come. We had a string of six games in a row where we gave up a really long touchdown. You could see the makings of last year's crappy defense in Hermann's final years.

[DrOman5596]

6:59

Forced fumble/fumble recovery at it's best.

[tturules1985]

there wasnt much braylon edwards in this game

[TheDude0486]

I was at this game and for the second straight week, i left Ross-Ade sick. Im not going to say we wouldve won the Wisconsin game adn this game, but we were in great position had Orton and Byrant not fumbled. Great video of a great game though. Boiler Up!

[Brettwbeyer14]

@TheDude0486 but you got to consider that rivas missed to field goals after two good michigan drives.

[cruss11]

Great game!!!!!!!

[SB20Champions]

I remember this game. Then a couple weeks later, i went to see iowa-purdue game. iowa won like 24-21

[Pringles2010]

Ernest shazor laid one of the biggest hits i have EVER SEEN! ive been looking for it on her for about a half an hour

[jamielandis28]

i can't believe earnest shazor went undrafted

[Poole1Dan]

Shazor apparently had a terrible combine, and thats why he didn't get drafted. I heard he only ran a 4.8 40 yard dash. If he had returned for his senior year and actualyl shown up for the combine, he probably gets drafted in the first round. Mel Kiper had him as a first round draft pick until his terrible combine, so MAYBE Shazor goes top ten if he returns for his senior year and has a good combine

[psyblast]

At the risk of being hunted down and burned alive...Shazor was overrated. He got a lot of pub and 1st team AA honors because of hits like the one in this game, but like every other UM safety since Marcus Ray, he got burned a LOT in coverage, and yeah, he was really slow too (Cobb's long TDs for MSU in the 04 game were largely because Shazor blew the angle and got smoked). I am surprised though that he didn't catch on as a LB ala Cato June, because he definitely could hit.

[Poole1Dan]

*finds a pazuka and goes to psyblasts huse and kills him*

Shazor ahd the stats and the leadership to back up his All Anmerican status. He was a menace back there in the secondary. Yes, he is slow in pass coverage, but he has excellent awareness, could hit like a beast, and has great size. Shazor was a terrific safety at Michigan

[gvlaker9]

that was a sweet win it woulda been a lot sweeter if purdue wouldnt have lost to wisconsin the previous week

[27519]

i promise u that if purdue wouldnt have fumbles again and lost to wisconsin the week before, purdue wouldve been so high they wouldve killed michigan. when purdue lost to michigan the week later they lost to northwestern... then got killed against iowa ect. they were #5 in the nation in 04 and were kicking ass, but then orton and bryant fumbled and basically ended the season. lame...

[WolverineHistorian]

You promise me? How do you know they would have "killed" Michigan? Because they would have been high being undefeated? Please.

You have to go back over 40 years ago to the last time Purdue beat Michigan handedly.

[BLOOD3MON]

if purdue was the first football program in the country i couldve name over 20 times purdue wouldve beat michigan handely

[Brewhaman]

I was at this game in W. Laughy-ette. The game was close for a while, but I never seen Purdue having an upper-hand. Orton was average and stubblefield had a decent game, but there is NO WAY Purdon't KILLS MICHIGAN, that's just be comical!

GO BLUE!!!!!!

[Brewhaman]

**being comical**

[BLOOD3MON]

2 fumbles to end the game all orton had to do was hold on to the ball to run out the clock but decides to flip and fumble it fucking turn around season

[bkewman]

And all Michigan has to do is make their easy field goals and Michigan would have won anyway.

[Brettwbeyer14]

@27519 michigan moved the ball more and missed two field goals.

[27519]

I must say, While this game sucked, this years game was equally exciting!!

[krnbballboi616]

why was rivas so horrible?

my friend he was one of the best kickers coming out of hs when he was recruited.

[rjfrjf65]

Are you kidding? Rivas was a wonderful kicker for them, he might have missed a few now and then, but overall he was a very reliable kicker.

[nolookpass26]

yea he was a great kicker. a bad kicker would be brabbs. remember him? he'd miss extra points all the time and would always miss field goals

[Pringles2010]

i agree

[iWolverine]

Rivas was pretty solid.

[Poole1Dan]

Next to the 45-37 3OT miracle against Michigan State, this was michigans best victory of the 2004 season. It came on the road against the 12th ranked team in the antion, and damn was it exciting!

[Pringles2010]

i still remember how pumped up i got when shazor hit him

[Poole1Dan]

Same here. I was so excited that I accidently rearended a car in front of me while listening to the game on the radio. Luckily for me, my insurance covered all tghe damage to her car, and the police never found out about it. haha.

And I think this ht by Shazor was the best one of any Wolverine over the last 10 years

[RonnieLott42USC]

Ernest Shazor is slow as fuck but he can hit when he got near you.

[ougrizlies]

garret rivas sure had some nerves to hit that kick at the end.

[Poole1Dan]

Rivas was arguably Michigans best clutch kicker of all time, if not Michigans best kicker period of all time. In addition to his game winning kick in this game, he hit the game winners against Minnesota in 2003 and Michigan State in 2005; and the go ahead FG's against Michigan State and Texas in 2004, and Penn state in 2005. Aside from the Minnesota game in 2005, Rivas delivered when called upon. He was a great kicker

[MaizeRage6320]

That 2005 Minnesota game was terrible, that forever puts a negative mark on Rivas to me, just because of how frustrating that season was. He did give the Big Blue a lot of positive memories though.

[Poole1Dan]

That was Rivas only negative. He delivered a lot more positives then negatives. He was a great kicker

[27519]

this game ruined my weekend!!!!!

[Brewhaman]

Sweet post, I was there too, my first Michigan away game. Both E.Shazor and M.Jackson were laying the pads that day!

Thanks again Andy!

[fishbonebuba]

Thanks for posting, WH! I was at the game - Hart's TD was right in front of us (and an easy call for the ref that initially botched it). When I think of Mike Hart, that's often the play that comes to mind first.

We ate dinner at the same place as Orton and his family. He could barely walk because he'd been banged around so much. He ended up missing Purdue's next three games.

Another Michigan win where we nearly snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

[mgoblue935]

i really miss that old abc theme music it used to get me really pumped up for the games.

[Jwitz529]

Thanks for posting this game. Had Shazor not got that hit, I think Purdue would have scored. Great game.

[amondry]

I am so glad you posted this game...was absolutely ecstatic after the win.

[drakoi1]

Mike 'heart'. we're going to miss him.

[youngobes]

ERNEST SHAZOR!!! just layin the wood

[kobraf150]

Yeah he sure could hit!

[bluejayforever2006]

I always thought he would have been 1 hell of a SAFETY! only if he would have stayed 1 more year!

[youngobes]

first team all-american...and then didn't get drafted

[thethursdaykindaguy]

he didnt get drafted bc he got exposed by vince young in the rose bowl

[ajm21582]

Just imaging how much less our defense would have sucked in 05 if he had stayed.