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The fourth installment of this week’s series looking back at Michigan football season openers takes us back to 2017. For the second time in the decade, Michigan started the season with a neutral site game at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Tex. Once again, the Wolverines’ opponent came from the Southeastern Conference. This time, it was Florida, which Michigan had defeated several times over the years. 

Many pundits figured this game would be different, though. The Florida Gators had won 27 consecutive season-opening games. Michigan had lost Jabrill Peppers, who had declared for the draft. By now, coach Jim Harbaugh had the Wolverines back on the national radar screen, but surely the Gators would be too quick for them in this game. 

Once the game began, Wolverine fans were the only people who weren’t surprised by how quick Michigan’s players were, at virtually every position. Michigan spotted Florida an early field goal before getting to work. Running back Ty Isaac got things started with a 36-yard run on 3rd down and 13, but the Wolverines were forced to settle for a Quinn Nordin field goal to tie the score. Then Wilton Speight connected with freshman receiver Tarik Black for a 46-yard touchdown pass, and Michigan appeared to be in the driver’s seat. 

That changed significantly when Speight threw a pair of pick-six interceptions. Suddenly the Wolverines were trailing by seven, rather than leading by seven. 

Still, Michigan didn’t panic. John O’Korn briefly replaced Speight, but his first drive ended with a blocked punt, and Florida threatened to take control of the game. The Michigan defense held, and Florida kicker Eddy Pineiro hooked his kick wide left, keeping Michigan within a touchdown. 

Slowly, Michigan began to take charge. Nordin split the uprights with a 55-yard field goal to cut the deficit to four. Then Speight returned to the game. A quick snap on a fourth down led to a critical run by Isaac to gain a first down. A 3-yard TD run by Karan Higdon gave Michigan the lead for good early in the third quarter. The Wolverines then used every phase of the game, offense, defense, and special teams, to slowly tighten their grip on the game, leading to a 33-17 win that was much more one-sided than the score would indicate. 

Unfortunately, this game turned out to be the highlight of the 2017 campaign for Michigan. A see-saw season ended with a record of 8-5. But on this day, Michigan was as efficient as a Detroit assembly line. 

The third installment of this week’s series looking back at Michigan football season openers takes us back to 2015. After four years of Brady Hoke, the football program had deteriorated considerably. A Change was necessary. 

That change arrived in the form of Jim Harbaugh, the former Michigan quarterback. Instantly, the mood surrounding the Michigan football team improved 100 percent. Suddenly, the national media and the football world were obsessed with Michigan, and covered the Wolverines with a microscopic intensity. It was cool to wear maize and blue again. 

For the first time in years, Michigan opened its season with a true road game, traveling to Utah to face the Utah Utes, coached by Kyle Whittingham. Wolverine fans and alumni traveled to Utah as if they were on a religious pilgrimage. Numerous stories appeared that Michigan fans were tipping generously in Utah restaurants. The level of preseason excitement was unprecedented in the modern era of Michigan football. 

When the team took the field, it felt as if Harbaugh had restored the magic to Michigan football. The Wolverines even wore their traditional black football shoes again. Unfortunately, they also wore white pants, which had been justifiably mothballed since the mid-1970s. 

Jake Rudock emerged as the team’s quarterback. Rudock and his receivers developed a synergy by the middle of the season, but it wasn’t present in the first game. The Wolverines were just a hair off on both offense and defense. The team simply hadn’t jelled yet. Rudock had midseason chemistry with tight end Jake Butt and receiver Amara Darboh, but everyone else was just a step late. There were plenty of opportunities, but the Wolverines only capitalized a few times. Had the teams faced each other later in the season, there’s a good chance that Michigan would have won. 

The game ended with Utah winning, 24-17. The Wolverines got off to a slow start, but the benefits of this game would be felt a few weeks later. 

The first installment of this week’s series looking back at Michigan football games takes us to 1995. That season was a turning point for Michigan football. Gary Moeller’s tenure as head coach at Michigan ended abruptly. Simply put, the program was in turmoil, and it’s difficult to remember just how dark the mood was around the Michigan football program following Moeller’s resignation. That was the environment in which Lloyd Carr began his tenure as the new Michigan head football coach. 

Initially, Michigan hired Carr as head coach on an interim basis. He started his tenure as head coach with a passionate speech about the pressures of the job at his first press conference. Despite those challenges, few interim coaches achieved as much success as Carr.

The 1995 season began on a brutally hot day at home in Michigan Stadium, in the Pigskin Classic against the Virginia Cavaliers. Oddsmakers expected Michigan to win the game handily, but Virginia proved an extremely tenacious opponent. Mike Groh scored on a quarterback keeper to give the Wahoos the early lead, and then Tiki Barber broke a tackle and outraced Chucky Winters to extend Virginia’s margin. After Virginia kicked a field goal, Michigan was trailing by a whopping 17 points, and it looked like the Carr era was off to a rocky start.

Trailing by a wide margin in the fourth quarter, the Wolverines suddenly woke up and started playing Michigan football. Quarterback Scott Dreisbach connected a couple of times with Mercury Hayes, with Hayes wrestling the ball away from Ronde Barber on the second pass to give the Wolverines first down and goal to go at the Virginia 3-yard line. Dreisbach then handed off to Ed Davis, who ran right up the middle for a touchdown, and the Wolverines started to seize the momentum. On a later possession, Dreisbach was under pressure and barely got the pass off to Hayes, who scampered down the sideline for a touchdown, and Michigan was within one score, though time was not on the Wolverines’ side.

The clock started to work against Michigan, limiting the Wolverines’ time for a comeback. Finally, it all came down to one play. Four seconds to go. Fourth down, with the ball on the Virginia 15-yard line. Michigan had to have a touchdown on this play, or Lloyd Carr would lose in his first game as Michigan’s head coach.

Dreisbach took the snap and threw a fade pass into the corner of the north end zone, where Hayes caught the ball and narrowly managed to get one foot in bounds. Touchdown, Michigan!

The victory was arguably the most exciting win of any season-opening game in Michigan history. Carr’s first team defeated Ohio State to end the regular season, and the university named him the head coach and removed the “interim” tag. He enjoyed an excellent career at Michigan, leading the team to a perfect season and the Associated Press national championship in 1997. Carr coached the Wolverines for 13 seasons, and many coaches would be thrilled to have his record as a head coach.