Rivas Field Goal Caps Comeback Victory at Minnesota

Friday, October 10

Minneapolis, Minn.

7:00 PM CT

Michigan

5-2 , 2-1

Minnesota

6-1 , 2-1

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Michigan	0	0	7	31	38
Minnesota	7	7	14	7	35

10/10/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football

Box Score

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- The 100th anniversary of the game that began the Little Brown Jug rivalry proved to be a most memorable one for the University of Michigan football team, which mounted the greatest comeback in school history to post a 38-35 win against Minnesota on Friday (Oct. 10) and retain possession of oldest trophy in college football.

Pierre Woods (99), Calvin Bell (27) and Ernest Shazor (25) show off the Jug.

Freshman Garrett Rivas' (Tampa, Fla./Jesuit HS) 33-yard field goal with 47 seconds remaining provided the margin of victory, and Markus Curry's (Detroit, Mich./Bishop Gallagher HS) pass interception with nine seconds remaining sealed the outcome.

Michigan won its 15th straight against Minnesota, a streak dating back to 1986. Michigan, which leads the all-time series 66-23-3, is now 10-0 in games played in the Metrodome. Coach Lloyd Carr is 7-0 against the Gophers.

Michigan trailed 14-0 at halftime and 28-7 in the third quarter. The largest deficit the Wolverines previously had to overcome in a game was 17 points against Virginia in the 1995 Pigskin Classic at Michigan Stadium, a game U-M won 18-17.

Senior quarterback John Navarre (Cudahy, Wis./Cudahy HS) completed 33 of his 47 pass attempts for 353 yards and two touchdowns. It was his fourth career 300-yard passing game. Senior tailback Chris Perry (Advance, N.C./Fork Union Military, Va.) ran 20 times for 85 yards and caught 11 passes for 122 yards, junior wide receiver Braylon Edwards (Detroit, Mich./Bishop Gallagher HS) caught seven passes for 93 yards and a touchdown, and the Wolverines finished with 483 total yards.

Minnesota ran 53 times for 423 yards -- the most ever by a Michigan opponent. The previous high was 421 yards by Ohio State in 1968. Marion Barber III ran 21 times for 197 yards. The Gophers were eight of 18 passing for 71 yards.

After stopping Minnesota on its opening possession of the second half, Michigan began its comeback by moving 83 yards in six plays for its first touchdown. After a 21-yard screen pass from Navarre to Perry and a five-yard run by Perry moved the ball to the Minnesota 43-yard line, Navarre fired a lateral to wide receiver Steve Breaston (North Braddock, Pa./Woodland Hills HS) , who then passed the ball back to Navarre. The quarterback followed a wall of blockers down the right sideline for the touchdown. The reception was the first ever for Navarre. The throwback pass had been completed in recent seasons to Brian Griese and Drew Henson, but neither had scored on the play.

The Gophers answered with a seven-play, 80-yard march of its own. Running back Laurence Maroney raced 42 yards around left end for his second touchdown of the game.

Minnesota forced the first turnover of the game just before the end of the third quarter, when Justin Isom intercepted a Navarre pass at the Michigan 26. Four plays later, Thomas Tapeh bulled in from two yards out to give the Gophers a 28-7 advantage.

Michigan bounced back with a sense of urgency, driving 80 yards in 10 plays for pull within 28-14. Operating exclusively out of the shotgun, Navarre passed on every down, including 10 yards to Perry on a screen pass for the touchdown.

The Michigan defense struck next. Under intense pressure from Leon Hall, Minnesota quarterback Asad Abdul-Khaliq fired a pass to the sideline that was intercepted by safety Jacob Stewart (Ypsilanti, Mich./Ypsilanti HS) and returned 31 yards for a touchdown that cut the Minnesota lead to 28-21.

The Wolverines did not hold the momentum for long, as the Gophers quickly answered. On third-and-one from the Minnesota 48, Abdul-Khaliq made up for his mistake by blasting through the Michigan line and racing untouched 52 yards for the touchdown.

Again working from the shotgun, Michigan drove 79 yards in five plays for its fourth touchdown. Navarre threw a 52-yard scoring strike to Edwards, who beat single coverage down the left sideline and was tackled just as he hit the goal line.

After a defensive stop and a Breaston punt return gave Michigan the ball at its own 40, the Wolverines needed eight plays to tie the score. Navarre completed five of his six passes attempts on the drive, but Perry capped the drive by blasting 10 yards through the right side of the line for the touchdown.

Minnesota got the only points in the first quarter, moving 80 yards in 12 plays on their opening possession. Barber capped the drive with a 20-yard run for the touchdown. It is the first time this season that Michigan did not score first in a game.

The Gophers opened the second quarter with a 10-play, 89-yard drive to take a 14-0 lead. Barber raced 45 yards on a toss sweep to the left to give the Gophers a first down at the Michigan 11-yard line. Two plays later, Maroney ran eight yards on the identical play to the right side for the touchdown. Barber ran for 96 yards on six carries in the first half. It is the first time since the 2001 game against Ohio State that the Wolverines had been shut out in the first half.

Michigan returns to Ann Arbor next Saturday (Oct. 18), hosting Illinois at Michigan Stadium. The game will be broadcast regionally by ESPN Plus starting at 12:10 p.m. EDT.

Contact: David Ablauf, Jim Schneider (734) 763-4423