Looking Back: Tom Brady’s Incredible Final Performance At The Big House

During Tom Brady’s final year in Ann Arbor, the Wolverines welcomed the Buckeyes into Michigan Stadium for the 96th meeting between the two college football blue bloods.

Led by then head coach Lloyd Carr, Michigan entered the contest with an 8-2 record and ranked as the No. 10 team in the country. Ohio State, on the other hand, entered the game unranked with a record of 6-5 - led by then head coach John Cooper (a Michigan fan favorite).

Though Michigan entered the game as a heavy favorite, the Wolverines spent the better part of the afternoon trailing the Buckeyes. In front of an NCAA record 111,575 fans packed within the Big House, what looked like a brewing upset became a masterful comeback - led by a quarterback who would go on to become the greatest NFL player of all-time.

I’m talking, of course, about Tom Brady.

Just one week earlier, Brady led Michigan to an incredible win over No. 6 Penn State in Happy Valley. Trailing 27-17 with less than four minutes left in the game, Brady scrambled for a five-yard touchdown that would put the Wolverines within three points. The Michigan defense took the field with just over three minutes left in the game and forced Penn State into a three-and-out, giving Tom Brady one last chance to deliver a victory - and deliver he did. Brady led the Wolverines on a 65-yard drive and finished it off with the game winning touchdown pass to wide receiver Marcus Knight, securing a top ten win for Michigan heading into the final game of the regular season.

In what would be Tom Brady’s final performance in the Big House, the Michigan offense got off to a slow start against the Buckeyes. The game became a defensive battle early, with Michigan eventually entering the half trailing Ohio State by a score of 14-7. With the Michigan offense struggling and Brady failing to find the endzone, the Wolverine offense would need its rhythm in the second half to avoid a massive upset at home.

During the second half, the Michigan defense was able to force three Buckeye turnovers, putting the ball in Tom Brady’s hands and allowing him to find his rhythm. Trailing 17-10 with time expiring in the third quarter, Brady would produce his first touchdown pass of the afternoon as he found tight end Shawn Thompson in the endzone from eight yards out. Michigan and Ohio State entered the fourth quarter tied at 17-17. The Michigan defense would come up big in the fourth, preventing Ohio State from putting a single point on the board - leaving it to Tom Brady to deliver a victory. With five minutes remaining, Brady led the Wolverines on a 10-play, 77-yard drive - capping off the drive by hitting wide receiver Marquise Walker in the endzone from 10 yards out for the game winning touchdown.

Brady finished the game going 17-27 for 150 yards and two touchdown passes (both in the second half), including the game-winner to Walker. 

"I never had the feeling we were going to lose," Brady said. "I knew that whatever it was going to take, we were going to come back."

The 24-17 victory by Michigan caused Ohio State to miss a bowl game for the first time in 11 years, while the No. 6 Wolverines would go on to accept an invite to play No. 5 Alabama in the Orange Bowl.

In his final game wearing the winged helmet, Brady put together one of his best performances as a Wolverine - leading No. 6 Michigan to an overtime victory against No. 5 Alabama. Brady threw for 369 yards and four touchdowns, led Michigan back from a 14-point deficit twice, and threw what would be the game winning touchdown on a bootleg pass to tight end Shawn Thompson.

Brady would finish his Michigan career with a 20-5 record as a starter, a 2-0 record in bowl games, ranked third all-time in both attempts (710) and completions (442), fourth all-time in completion percentage (62.3) and yards (5,351), and fifth all-time in career touchdown passes (35).