1998 did not start well for Michigan. The defending National Champion Wolverines dropped a stunned in South Bend to open the season (well, not a stunner, they lost by 16 points) and then were turned inside out by Donovan McNabb (I still hate you for that game Donovan). But from that point forward, they were rolling. Going into their November 7th match up with Penn State the Wolverines were 6-2 and ranked 22nd in the country. Penn State on the other hand was staring down a single loss to Ohio State and came into the contest ranked 9th.
It didn't go so well for Penn State.
Nothing like watching a Tom Brady led buzzsaw shredding a highly ranked Penn State team. The shutout was the first time in 130 games that Penn State had been shut out, and it marked the high water mark for the Wolverines offense in 1998 as Brady, Streets, Thomas, and Aaron Shea racked up 360 yards of offense against the Nittany Lions highly rated defense.
/side note: 360 yards of offense... as a season high. Good lord have things changed. Michigan currently averages 440 yards of offense a game and has eclipsed 500 yards twice already this season. Image the 2010 offense with the 1998 defense.... sigh..../
Any time you knock off a highly rated team at home, it's a big deal. It's a bigger deal when your defense pitches a shutout. And, of course, since it's Penn State week, doing both is just icing on the cake.
The Countdown
#5: 2001 Michigan 20 - Penn State 0
#4: 2002 Michigan 27 - Penn State 24 (OT)
#3: 1998 Michigan 27 - Penn State 0
#2: ?????
#1: ?????