TJ Duckett catches the winning touchdown pass from Jeff Smoker on 4th down, as the clock runs out, to win 26-24.

The 2001 Michigan State vs. Michigan football game, also known as the "Miracle in Michigan," "The Catch," or "Clockgate," was one of the most exciting (and controversial) games in college football history. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... is the 307th day of the year (308th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Spartan Stadium is the name of at least two stadiums: A stadium on the campus of Michigan State University: Spartan Stadium, East Lansing A stadium in San Jose, California: Spartan Stadium, San Jose This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share... Image File history File links Msu-um-2001b. ... Image File history File links Msu-um-2001b. ... Jeff Smoker (born June 13, 1981 in Manheim, Pennsylvania) is an American football quarterback who played for the National Football Leagues St. ...

The annual meeting of the Michigan State Spartans and the Michigan Wolverines occurred on November 3, 2001, in Spartan Stadium. While the game was closely-played throughout, it is the game's conclusion that is most remembered. On fourth-and-goal, with one second remaining in the fourth quarter, Michigan State quarterback Jeff Smoker threw a touchdown pass to running back T. J. Duckett as time expired to win 26-24. However, some Michigan fans claim the clock should have run out prior to the winning play. In the next season, and following a petition from University of Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr, the NCAA now keeps official time on the field. The Michigan State Spartans are the athletic teams that represent Michigan State University. ... The University of Michigan features 24 varsity sports teams called the Wolverines, which compete in the NCAAs Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except mens ice hockey which competes in the NCAA D1 Central Collegiate Hockey Association. ... Spartan Stadium is the name of at least two stadiums: A stadium on the campus of Michigan State University: Spartan Stadium, East Lansing A stadium in San Jose, California: Spartan Stadium, San Jose This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share... Jeff Smoker (born June 13, 1981 in Manheim, Pennsylvania) is an American football quarterback who played for the National Football Leagues St. ... Todd Jeffery Duckett (born February 17, 1981) is an American football running back who currently plays for the Detroit Lions in the NFL. He is known almost exclusively as T.J. Duckett. ... The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (UM, U of M or U-M) is a coeducational public research university in the state of Michigan. ... Lloyd H. Carr (born July 30, 1945) has served as head coach of the University of Michigan football team since 1995. ... The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA, often said NC-Double-A) is a voluntary association of about 1200 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletics programs of many colleges and universities in the United States. ...

Lead-up to the game

The Wolverines came into East Lansing with a 6-1 (4-0) record and a number 6 ranking behind wins against Miami (Ohio), Western Michigan, Penn State, Iowa, and eventual Big Ten champion Illinois. Michigan was the only team in the Big Ten without a loss four games into the Big Ten season, and despite an early nonconference loss at Washington, the Wolverines were considered national title contenders. The Wolverines led the Big Ten conference in rushing defense and looked to put the brakes on Michigan State running back T. J. Duckett on the ground. In the previous week, linebacker Larry Foote set a University of Michigan school record with 7 tackles for a loss and hoped to put serious pressure on the Spartan offense. East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. ... Western Michigan, also known as West Michigan, is a region of the U.S. State of Michigan. ... The Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (commonly known as Penn State) is a state-related land-grant university in Pennsylvania, with over 80,000 students at 24 campuses throughout the state. ... Capital Des Moines Largest city Des Moines Area  Ranked 26th  - Total 56,272 sq mi (145,743 km²)  - Width 310 miles (500 km)  - Length 199 miles (320 km)  - % water 0. ... Big Ten can refer to: Big Ten Conference, a college athletics conference Big Ten (movie studios), the largest movie studios in Hollywood This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Official language(s) English[1] Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Largest metro area Chicago Area  Ranked 25th  - Total 57,918 sq mi (149,998 km²)  - Width 210 miles (340 km)  - Length 390 miles (629 km)  - % water 4. ... Official language(s) English Capital Olympia Largest city Seattle Area  Ranked 18th  - Total 71,342 sq mi (184,827 km²)  - Width 240 miles (385 km)  - Length 360 miles (580 km)  - % water 6. ... Todd Jeffery Duckett (born February 17, 1981) is an American football running back who currently plays for the Detroit Lions in the NFL. He is known almost exclusively as T.J. Duckett. ... Lawrence Edward Foote, Jr. ...

The Spartans came into the contest 4-2 (2-2) with early losses at Northwestern and at Minnesota but led the Big Ten in passing yards behind star sophomore wide receiver Charles Rogers and sophomore quarterback Jeff Smoker. The Spartans had won three of the previous four meetings against the Wolverines in East Lansing. It was coach Bobby Williams' first home game against the Wolverines. Kickoff return specialist and wide receiver Herb Haygood lead the nation in kickoff return average and looked to give the Wolverines a serious challenge on special teams. The Arch, the main entrance to Northwesterns Evanston campus Northwestern University is a private university seated in Evanston, Illinois, on a 240 acre (970,000 m²) campus along the shores of Lake Michigan. ... Capital Saint Paul Largest city Minneapolis Area  Ranked 12th  - Total 87,014 sq mi (225,365 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 400 miles (645 km)  - % water 8. ... Charlie Rogers (born May 23, 1981 in Saginaw, Michigan) is an American football wide receiver, currently a free agent in the NFL. He was originally selected by the Detroit Lions with the second overall pick of the 2003 NFL Draft out of Michigan State University. ... Jeff Smoker (born June 13, 1981 in Manheim, Pennsylvania) is an American football quarterback who played for the National Football Leagues St. ...

The game started on a chilly, clear afternoon (3:30 Eastern Kickoff) and darkness quickly fell in the late autumn East Lansing day. Fans and students lined up for hours and the stadium was packed well over the 72,072 capacity listed. The Michigan State University Spartan Marching Band and Michigan Marching Band were both present adding to the atmosphere and stadium excitement. ABC and ESPN carried the game live nationally with commentators Gary Danielson and Brent Musburger. The American Broadcasting Company ( oftenly known as ABC) operates television and radio networks in the United States and is also shown on basic cable in Canada. ... ESPN, formerly an acronym for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, is an American cable television network dedicated to broadcasting sports-related programming 24 hours a day. ... Gary Danielson is a retired American football quarterback of Armenian decent[1]. He played for the Detroit Lions from 1976 to 1984 and for the Cleveland Browns in 1985, 1987 and 1988. ... Brent Woody Musburger (born May 26, 1939 in Portland, Oregon) is an American sportscaster for ABC. // Educated at Northwestern Universitys Medill School of Journalism, Musburger began his career as a sportswriter for the now-defunct Chicago American newspaper. ...

Scoring

1st Quarter

On the opening drive of the game Michigan State found itself in 4th and 11 on Michigan's 32 yard line and punter Craig Jarrett walked onto the field. The Spartans lined up two wide receivers and faked the punt. The pass was incomplete, but Michigan safety Brandon Williams was flagged for pass interference for his coverage on Charles Rogers, which gave MSU a fresh set of downs and 15 extra yards. Two plays later, Jeff Smoker threw a touchdown to Rogers in the back of the end zone to give the Spartans a 7-0 lead. Brandon Williams is a current American football wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers. ... Charlie Rogers (born May 23, 1981 in Saginaw, Michigan) is an American football wide receiver, currently a free agent in the NFL. He was originally selected by the Detroit Lions with the second overall pick of the 2003 NFL Draft out of Michigan State University. ... Jeff Smoker (born June 13, 1981 in Manheim, Pennsylvania) is an American football quarterback who played for the National Football Leagues St. ...

On the ensuing drive, Michigan kicker Hayden Epstein nailed a 57-yard field goal to put the Wolverines on the board 7-3.

2nd Quarter

At 12:07 of the 2nd quarter, Michigan took its first lead on a 14 yard touchdown pass from John Navarre to Marquise Walker, making the score 10-7. John Robert Navarre (born September 9, 1980) is an American football quarterback who plays for the Indianapolis Colts of the NFL. He was drafted in the 7th round of the 2004 NFL Draft by the Cardinals and was previously their third-string quarterback for the 2004-2006 seasons. ...

On 3rd and 4, 7:45 into the 2nd quarter, the Spartans were driving on the Wolverines 13-yard line. Jeff Smoker threw an incomplete pass to Charles Rogers in the end zone, but Michigan was called for another pass interference call. The penalty gave MSU first and goal, and on the very next play, T. J. Duckett ran 2 yards up the middle putting MSU up 14-10. The costly penalty by Michigan safety Cato June likely gave the Spartans a touchdown instead of a field goal. Jeff Smoker (born June 13, 1981 in Manheim, Pennsylvania) is an American football quarterback who played for the National Football Leagues St. ... Charlie Rogers (born May 23, 1981 in Saginaw, Michigan) is an American football wide receiver, currently a free agent in the NFL. He was originally selected by the Detroit Lions with the second overall pick of the 2003 NFL Draft out of Michigan State University. ... Todd Jeffery Duckett (born February 17, 1981) is an American football running back who currently plays for the Detroit Lions in the NFL. He is known almost exclusively as T.J. Duckett. ... Cato June (born November 18, 1979 in Riverside, California) is an American football outside linebacker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League. ...

The Wolverines struck back on the next series, as Marquise Walker caught a 32-yard touchdown pass to give Michigan the lead, 17-14.

3rd Quarter

Michigan State had its own penalty trouble - 4:21 into the second half a touchdown by T. J. Duckett was called back for holding. Jeff Smoker was sacked on 3rd down, and MSU failed to convert the field goal attempt, so the score remained 17-14. Todd Jeffery Duckett (born February 17, 1981) is an American football running back who currently plays for the Detroit Lions in the NFL. He is known almost exclusively as T.J. Duckett. ... Jeff Smoker (born June 13, 1981 in Manheim, Pennsylvania) is an American football quarterback who played for the National Football Leagues St. ...

MSU kicked a 17-yard field goal with 12 seconds remaining in the quarter to knot the score at 17-17.

4th Quarter

With 7:33 remaining, Dave Rayner hit another 17-yard field goal. MSU takes a 20-17 lead. // Dave Rayner K #16 (Indianapolis Colts) High School Dave went to Oxford High School in Oxford, Michigan. ...

After a Jeff Smoker fumble on 1st down, Michigan recovered and John Navarre threw an 18-yard touchdown to backup quarterback Jermaine Gonzales (lined up as a wide receiver) to take a 24-20 lead. Jeff Smoker (born June 13, 1981 in Manheim, Pennsylvania) is an American football quarterback who played for the National Football Leagues St. ... John Robert Navarre (born September 9, 1980) is an American football quarterback who plays for the Indianapolis Colts of the NFL. He was drafted in the 7th round of the 2004 NFL Draft by the Cardinals and was previously their third-string quarterback for the 2004-2006 seasons. ... Jermaine Gonzales (born November 26, 1984 in St. ...

Controversial ending

With 2:28 remaining in the fourth quarter, Michigan was forced to punt deep in its own zone. The kick was high and short, giving the Spartans excellent field position at their opponent's 44-yard-line. On first down, MSU quarterback Jeff Smoker was sacked at midfield by defensive end Shantee Orr for the Wolverines' tenth sack of the game. Two incompletions later, the Spartans faced 4th-and-16 with just 1:25 left in regulation. Jeff Smoker (born June 13, 1981 in Manheim, Pennsylvania) is an American football quarterback who played for the National Football Leagues St. ... Shantee Orr (born May 28, 1981 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American football player who currently plays linebacker for the Houston Texans. ...

On fourth down, Smoker's pass fell incomplete, but Michigan defensive back Jeremy LeSueur was flagged for grabbing the facemask of receiver Charles Rogers, giving the Spartans fifteen yards and an automatic first down. Two plays later, wide receiver Herb Haygood caught a pass over the middle for 13 yards and another first down. Image File history File links Pl8-2001-scoreboard2. ... Jeremy LeSueur (born October 5, 1980) is an American football defensive back who currently plays for the Cleveland Browns. ... Charlie Rogers (born May 23, 1981 in Saginaw, Michigan) is an American football wide receiver, currently a free agent in the NFL. He was originally selected by the Detroit Lions with the second overall pick of the 2003 NFL Draft out of Michigan State University. ...

On 1st-and-10, Smoker was sacked again by the Wolverine defense. As the players turned to walk off the field, a flag was thrown against the Wolverines for too many men on the field. With 36 seconds remaining, the illegal participation call resulted in half the distance to the goal being marked off. The clock should have stopped, but it continued to run. On 2nd-and-4, LeSueur broke up a pass intended for Duckett to bring up 3rd-and-4. After an incompletion in the back of the end zone, Smoker completed a slant up the middle to T. J. Duckett for first and goal on the Michigan 3-yard line. Todd Jeffery Duckett (born February 17, 1981) is an American football running back who currently plays for the Detroit Lions in the NFL. He is known almost exclusively as T.J. Duckett. ...

MSU rushed to spike the ball to stop the clock at 0:17, after which Michigan used a timeout. On second and goal, Jeff Smoker rolled to the right and ran the ball down to the one-yard line, but stayed inbounds, so the clock continued to run. With time running out, the Spartans frantically lined up to spike the ball; when they did so, the stadium clock showed one second remaining. Michigan coaches and players argued that the clock should have expired on the play, but game officials did not agree. On the ensuing play, Jeff Smoker, lobbed a pass into the back of the end zone where it was caught by T. J. Duckett, giving the Spartans a 26-24 victory. Image File history File links Pl8-2001-scoreboard3. ... Jeff Smoker (born June 13, 1981 in Manheim, Pennsylvania) is an American football quarterback who played for the National Football Leagues St. ... Jeff Smoker (born June 13, 1981 in Manheim, Pennsylvania) is an American football quarterback who played for the National Football Leagues St. ... Todd Jeffery Duckett (born February 17, 1981) is an American football running back who currently plays for the Detroit Lions in the NFL. He is known almost exclusively as T.J. Duckett. ...

The Controversy

Debates on the last remaining second continue to this day. Some Michigan fans contend that clock operator Bob Stehlin, known colloquially as "Spartan Bob," stopped the clock before the spike play had actually concluded, to give the Spartans one more chance. Others have countered by arguing that the game clock in Spartan Stadium could only show the time to the nearest second, leaving open the possibility that a fraction of a second was left. (That argument left some people wondering if college football should adapt the tenths-of-a-second clock like is used in basketball and hockey.) Others say it is clear that there was, indeed, one second remaining.

ESPN Sportscenter ran an actual clock against the MSU clock after the game and it came out that the "second" was really more than two seconds, so it was clear to many Michigan Fan Crybabies who think that the time keeper was rigging the game for Michigan State, but regardless of all the crying it goes into the official record book that the Spartans not only beat Michigan’s football team on the field but on the scoreboard as well.

Also Bob Stehlin has been nominated for Sainthood in many Dioceses throughout the State of Michigan for assisting in the so-called miracle that was observed by millions of people around the country. No word from the Vatican about far the canonization process for Saint Bob. Father Greg from the Saginaw Diocese stated that the canonization process may take a 100 years or so but the since there were so many witnesses to the so called miracle the Vatican may expedite this particular case.

Michigan State University’s Administration Officials were pondering renaming the MSU Grounds Building to Bob Stehlin Hall but it is believed that idea has lost momentum and never took root over the controversy.

Fallout

After completion of the game, University of Michigan Head Coach Lloyd Carr petitioned the Big Ten head office to review the rules regarding official timekeeping. Previously, the home team appointed an individual of their choosing to keep the official time in the pressbox. However, as a result of this game, the Big Ten changed its timekeeping policy for the 2002 season. Now, time is kept on the field by a neutral official appointed by the Big Ten. The official can be recognized by his red hat and earphones. The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (UM, U of M or U-M) is a coeducational public research university in the state of Michigan. ... Lloyd H. Carr (born July 30, 1945) has served as head coach of the University of Michigan football team since 1995. ...

In addition to agreeing to change its policy on timekeeping, the Big Ten began a study on the feasibility of an instant replay system. In 2004, the Big Ten was the first conference to begin a trial replay system for conference games only. In 2005, most NCAA division 1A teams had the option of using instant replay for their games. Finally, in 2006, instant replay became standard across all of Division 1-A. Big Ten can refer to: Big Ten Conference, a college athletics conference Big Ten (movie studios), the largest movie studios in Hollywood This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... For other uses of the term Instant replay, see Instant replay (disambiguation). ... Division I (or DI) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association in the United States. ...

Conclusion

Years after the game, Big Ten officials told The Detroit News that, upon further review, the clock operator acted appropriately. Three years following the game, Dave Parry, the conference's coordinator of football officials, said, "That play, as much as we've put that under a high-powered microscope, was correct. We could not prove that timer wrong."[2] Big Ten can refer to: Big Ten Conference, a college athletics conference Big Ten (movie studios), the largest movie studios in Hollywood This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... The Detroit News is one of the two major newspapers in Detroit, Michigan, the other being the Detroit Free Press. ...

Records

• T.J. Duckett set a new MSU record for most rushing yards against Michigan (211), previously held by Lorenzo White with 185 yards.
• Michigan recorded 11 sacks of MSU quarterback Jeff Smoker.

TJ Duckett is an American football player who plays for the Atlanta Falcons in the NFL. His position is running back, and he has spent his whole career so far with Atlanta. ... Lorenzo Maurice White (born April 12, 1966 in Hollywood, Florida), was a former American professional football player who was drafted by the Houston Oilers in the 1st round of the 1988 NFL Draft. ...

External links

• Game Statistics
• Transcript from Michigan Football radio broadcasters Frank Beckmann, Jim Brandstatter, and Steve Courtney
• 100 Greatest College Football Finishes - 21 to 30 #21.
• Complete Catalog & History of Michigan State Football Jerseys, Helmets and Pants