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There Are Brian Griese Days to Michigan Football

Two weeks. That's all that remains until opening Saturday in Ann Arbor. All the off season hi jinx, NCAA tomfoolery, hit pieces, scandals, and replays of painful losses will just float away come sunrise on that day. Michigan Stadium has sat dormant for too long, the sidelines empty, clamoring for the rumble of band, team and fans. Our countdown series continues down the home stretch, honoring the players and games of Michigan lore.

By Kevin Bunkley
Former Michigan quarterback Brian Griese.
Former Michigan quarterback Brian Griese.
Stephen Dunn

Brian Griese was not a highly-recruited prospect nor a four-year starter once he did see the field at Michigan. A series of unfortunate events put him into the starting job when Scott Dreisbach was unable to play. As we fans have seen in the past with other young Michigan quarterbacks, Griese merely seized upon that opportunity to play lights-out football in 1997. Michigan had a brutal schedule that season, in the days when Big Ten football wasn't filled with buffoonery and terrible Iowa teams. The critical game on that schedule was at Penn State on November 8th, because both teams were ranked inside the top five. Michigan came in and annihilated them 34-8 and it was because of Griese's play. When he won the Rose Bowl MVP award, he didn't take sole credit for the unbelievable run, he attributed it to his team, his coach, and his dad. Class all the way.