In the end, it just wasn't meant to be.
Junior kicker John Goss missed two field goals, the last coming in overtime, as Michigan hung on to defeat No. 11 MSU 34-31 in overtime Saturday at Spartan Stadium.
Goss, who came into the game 2-for-3 on field goals with the only miss being a 53-yarder at Notre Dame, missed a 23-yard try wide left early in the fourth quarter and then missed a 37-yard attempt wide right in overtime.
"I have no excuse for the way I did today," Goss said. "I feel bad for letting my teammates down."
U-M kicker Garrett Rivas, who missed a 27-yard field goal with 48 seconds to play in regulation, nailed a 35-yarder in overtime to give the Wolverines (3-2 overall, 1-1 Big Ten) the win.
"We have to congratulate those guys," MSU head coach John L. Smith said. "They made more plays than we did and they made more kicks than we did."
U-M was impressive early, as they jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead on touchdown passes from Chad Henne to Jason Avant and Mario Manningham.
The Spartans bounced back on their next drive when junior quarterback Drew Stanton found the end zone from four yards out on a draw play to cut the deficit to 14-7.
After finally holding the Wolverines to a three-and-out, the Spartans (4-1, 1-1) looked like they were driving down to tie the game after two big gains, but a trick play gone awry ended the promising drive when junior wide receiver Jerramy Scott was intercepted by U-M's Willis Barringer on an intended pass near the end zone for redshirt freshman Dwayne Holmes. The pass was ruled incomplete on the field, even though Holmes had stripped Barringer after the interception. After a lengthy review, the call was reversed and U-M was awarded the ball.
The Spartans were ravaged by mistakes and dropped balls throughout the first half.
"I think everybody was just caught up in the hype," Scott said. "They just lost focus. We didn't concentrate on just catching the ball. We just wanted to make the big play."
On the ensuing drive, it appeared that the Spartans defense was going to hold the Wolverines to a field goal, but junior cornerback Demond Williams was called for roughing the kicker, giving U-M new life on the drive, which was converted when Henne found fullback Brian Thompson wide open in the flat for a 5-yard touchdown.
"We just ran the base package that we wanted to run this week," Henne said. "If they want to come up and pressure the run, we just go over their heads and throw the ball. If they want to protect the pass, we'll just run the ball."
MSU quickly battled back, scoring two quick touchdowns to tie the game as sophomore running back Jehuu Caulcrick capped off a 12-play drive with a 1-yard touchdown plunge. Then the Spartans executed another perfect bubble screen with Stanton hitting junior wide receiver Kerry Reed near the line of scrimmage, and after thunderous blocks from senior wide receiver Matt Trannon and senior offensive guard Gordon Niebylski, Reed found his way 61 yards to the end zone to forge a 21-all tie.
The teams traded field goals and took a 24-24 tie into the fourth quarter. A long MSU drive stalled early in the fourth quarter at the 6-yard line, setting up Goss' 23-yard chip-shot field goal, which he pushed wide left, giving U-M the ball at its own 20-yard line.
On the first play of the drive, U-M running back Michael Hart slashed his way through the MSU defense for a 64-yard gain and five plays later took the ball into the end zone from 1-yard out to give the Wolverines a 31-24 edge.
Hart gained 218 yards on 36 carries in the game.
The Spartans went three-and-out on their next drive as the offensive sputtering continued and U-M appeared to be driving down the field to put the nail in MSU's coffin. Then senior defensive end Clifton Ryan sacked and stripped Henne of the ball and it was picked up by senior defensive tackle Domata Peko, who rumbled 74 yards down the sidelines for the game-tying touchdown, sending the crowd into a frenzy. Smith sent junior kicker Kyle Mayer in to kick the extra point, which was good.
"The momentum was turning, but we made a few mistakes in the fourth quarter and overtime and that cost us," Peko said.
Once in overtime, the Spartans couldn't do anything on offense, prompting Smith to send Goss, not Mayer, who was nursing a sore groin, to kick the 37-yard field goal, which sailed wide right.
U-M then took the ball and decided to go for the win on third down - Rivas didn't miss this time, sending a 35-yarder through the uprights to give the Wolverines their fourth straight win over MSU.
Smith has yet to beat the rivals from Ann Arbor.
"It hurts, it hurts real bad and it should hurt," he said. "I hope the players feel it and I hope they don't forget the feeling. It's tough, but we'll bounce back."
