Game Week Countdown - Penn State Game #3

 The third game on my list was the first game between the two schools, October 16, 1993. How I was lucky enough to be there requires a bit of a story.

My dad was a freshman at U of M in 1940. He was part of the first group of students who lived in East Quad. Because of WWII very few of his freshman friends graduated together, but several remained in contact. 

In 1990 they held a 50 year reunion in Ann Arbor the weekend of the UCLA game. One of my dad's friends was a big enough donor that he had no problem getting several tickets.

One of the men was a professor at Penn State and he was able to secure enough tickets for the 1993 reunion in Happy Valley. Although our seats were low and in the end zone, just being there was quite an experience.

Those seats got better when we could see the hole open up for Derrick Alexander's punt return for a TD to get Michigan on the board and cut the deficit to 10-7 late in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, M missed a field goal, but Penn State was offside giving the Wolverines a first down and keeping the drive alive. Shortly thereafter, Todd Collins found Mercury Hayes in the corner for a 14-10 Michigan lead.

The third quarter was scoreless, but the Nittany Lions ended the quarter on Michigan's one yard line. M stopped two Kerry Collins sneaks and an attempted dive from Ki Jana Carter. That brought up 4th down and moved the ball from right in front of us to a football field away and the opposite end zone.

The middle of the Michigan defense stuffed Carter again and kept the score 14-10

Another Todd Collins TD pass, this time to Che Foster, moved the score to 21-10. 

Penn State added a field goal, but their final drive ended with a Shonte Peoples interception to seal the 21-13 win.