Throwback Thursday: Scott Dreisbach’s incredible comeback for Michigan in 1995 opener vs. Virginia

On this edition of Throwback Thursday, we look back at when Michigan quarterback Scott Dreisbach engineered a comeback for the ages back in the 1995 opener.

College football fans have always had a fascination with the first week of the season and why wouldn’t they? After the long wait from January until August, just about everyone is ready for teams to hit the gridiron.

But when it comes to the highly anticipated season openers that seem to highlight the schedule each year, we always seem to walk away disappointed. Hopefully, Auburn and Oregon will live up to the hype. Maybe even Duke can hang around with Alabama.

More often than not though, it seems like the games that get hyped in Week 1 end up as duds. How many times have we seen Alabama or another SEC team cream somebody that started the year ranked in the top 10?

The answer is too often to count.

Yet, things don’t always work out that way and one of the best season-opening games people don’t talk about came back in 1995, in the Pigskin Classic when Michigan met Virginia at the Big House in Ann Arbor.

Just like Auburn and Oregon, both Michigan and Virginia were ranked in the top-20 of the AP Poll as the Wolverines were 14th and the Cavaliers 17th.

This was back in the days when Virginia had Tiki Barber running the ball and Ronde Barber playing corner. George Welsh was the head coach and believe it or not, it was Lloyd Carr’s first game as head coach of the Wolverines.

The two teams met at Michigan Stadium but early, it looked like it would be all Cavaliers. Virginia eventually built a 17-0 lead, which was much more insurmountable then or so it seemed.

And while Tom Brady was on the Michigan roster at the time, another quarterback engineered an incredible comeback that day and his name was Scott Dreisbach.

If you don’t remember the name, no one will blame you. But his game-winning touchdown pass to Mercury Hayes is a play that will live on forever in Ann Arbor, as UM scored on its last three possessions to steal an 18-17 win. The winning score game with zero time left on the clock.

As a redshirt freshman, Dreisbach was the first freshman of any kind to start at quarterback for Michigan in nearly 20 years and when the game was over, he would own the school’s single-game record for passing yards with 372 and 52 attempts.

Dreisbach started 15 games in his Michigan career and won 12 but injuries stopped him from realizing his potential. But on that September afternoon in 1995, he was memorable.

With his team down 17 points, Dreisbach attempted 24 passes in the fourth quarter, including when he grounded the ball and completed 12 for 236 yards and two touchdowns, the last of which came as time expired.

Of course, old-school Michigan fans will remember Hayes, who snagged the ball and managed to drag his foot in the end zone, giving the Wolverines a dramatic win and the Cavaliers a heartbreaking loss.

Hayes caught the ball over Barber, who went on to become a Pro-Bowl corner in the NFL. Dreisbach also went to the NFL, following a few more injury-riddled seasons at Michigan.

He started in 1995 until he was hurt and then, in 1996, he beat out Brady and Brian Griese for the starting job before he was sidelined again. Eventually, he made it to the NFL as an undrafted free agent and spent one season with the Raiders. He also played several years in the Arena Football League and NFL Europe.

That’s why it’s easy to forget Dreisbach who not only beat out Brady twice but also engineered one of the greatest season-opening comebacks in college football history.