Varsity blanks Michigan State, 14-0

A cathartic victroy for the Wolverines: They remember

There was no need for a two-point conversion this year. No on-sides kick attempt. No sideline passing route to kill the clock.

Watching Michigan and Michigan State go back and forth as the press-box shadow crept slowly over the field Saturday, it seemed as though neither team was really winning, and neither was really losing.

But after the daylight expired, and with the game clock preparing to do likewise, it happened that Michigan had 14 points and Michigan State had none.

Michigan's points came in the form of two Anthony Thomas touchdowns - the second of which featured Thomas cutting, breaking tackles and dragging various Spartans 30 yards into the endzone for a marshmallow shower.

Maybe the biggest offensive play of the afternoon, reporters swarming Thomas after the game asked him to describe all the tucks and weaves that earned him the touchdown.

"It's hard to relive," Thomas said frankly. "It's something that just happens."

Ever since watching ABC pan out from the brick smokestack behind Spartan Stadium my freshman year - anxious about undefeated Michigan, wishing I were there to smell it - I realized the latter to be true.

This rivalry is something that just happens. It happened when my friend was Desmond Howard on the playground, it happened when my high school history teacher had to sing "The Victors" on a bet, it will happen every year I have the chance to reminisce the autumns I spent in Ann Arbor.

But Thomas is wrong about one thing.

It is not hard to relive in the slightest.

Not a single detail of last year's 34-31 Michigan State victory escapes me. I can remember every detail - and softly closing my eyes, every haunting image is at my fingertips. I remember the slightly damp astroturf, and how the upper deck was invisible behind a thick, erie fog only two hours before kickoff. I remember ESPN's set in the north endzone, I remember Lee Corso putting on a Spartan hat and I remember the students going wild. I remember Drew Henson's interception, I remember his touchdown pass and I remember exactly how Plaxico Burress looked falling out of bounds on his final reception. Every word I yelled inside the stadium, and every painful taunt yelled at me on the way out - I remember it all.

I think Thomas remembers every moment of that touchdown run.

And no matter who tries to tell you Saturday was just "another win," don't believe them.

Not after the block 'S' has been hanging in the Michigan lockerroom for an entire year. Not after second-teamers have been wearing make-shift State helmets in practice all week to incite spirit.

Not after Lloyd Carr tells you exactly where he sat for the Michigan-Michigan State game in 1969 - and perfectly describes the expression on Bo Schembechler's face.

Saturday's game was an cathartic victory for Michigan.

And while it may have looked like the Anthony Thomas show, the playbook was open wide enough. Michigan is selling the play-action fake, and Henson is playing smart on the rollout.

His accuracy and cool head once again kept Michigan out of trouble - even if the completion percentage wasn't as high as in recent weeks. The quick-slant and tapdance, Michigan's new favorite play, was again effective for clutch first-downs - and has yet to be intercepted.

Meanwhile, the performances of Victor Hobson and Larry Foote on Michigan's third-quarter goal-line stand were nothing short of unforgettable.

So hail to the Avengers. Michigan settles into its bye week not undefeated, but refreshingly vindicated.

On the other side of this oasis, three opponents who have vivid memories of their own - opponents who can remember every second of "The Victors" being belched into their stadiums, opponents who remember every detail of a winged helmet being raised in the air.

Rest up, Wolverines. Michigan State was the biggest game of the year. But only so far.

- David Den Herder can be reached at dden@umich.edu

PETER CORNUE/Daily

Michigan running back Anthony Thomas set a school record for rushing touchdowns this weekend. Story Page 4B.