UM reclaims Paul Bunyan trophy

Associated Press

ANN ARBOR, mich.

Michigan and Michigan State play for one of the uglier trophies in sports, a 4-foot high Paul Bunyan.

The Wolverines, though, couldn’t have been happier to finally welcome back the battered wooden lumberjack statue.

Brendan Gibbons made a 38-yard field goal with 5 seconds left, lifting No. 23 Michigan to a 12-10 win over Michigan State on Saturday.

The Wolverines (5-2, 3-0 Big Ten) beat the Spartans for the first time since 2007 to avoid a school-record, five-game losing streak in the series.

And, to let Bunyan stay in Ann Arbor.

“Paul’s back,” safety Jordan Kovacs said. “He’s in the locker room.”

The Spartans (4-4, 1-3) had a chance to retain the hardware — retaking the lead on Dan Conroy’s 19-yard field goal with 5:48 left after a fake punt kept the possession alive — but they couldn’t run out the clock on their last drive or make a second straight stop on defense.

Denard Robinson threw a 20-yard pass to Drew Dileo to set up the game-winning kick and then couldn’t watch when Gibbons lined up for the kick.

“I just took a knee and prayed,” Robinson said.

It was the 900th win for Michigan, college football’s winningest program.

“That wasn’t the focus for the week,” Hoke said. “It was playing a great rivalry game, a game in our division that was important to win.”

The victory was one perhaps the sweetest — rivaling the one over Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl — for the Wolverines since they snapped a school-record, seven-game skid against Ohio State last season.

“This program was in desperate need for a win in this game,” Kovacs acknowledged.

Michigan’s players sprinted toward the student section to celebrate after the win, and the fans in turn, spilled out onto the field, covering so much of it that Michigan State’s marching band walked off the field without playing a note of its planned postgame performance.

“It was a tough game, a classic game,” Spartans coach Mark Dantonio said. “I’m proud of our team. I can live with it. I don’t like it, but it’s all you can ask sometimes.”

Robinson, who had been shut down in his two previous starts against the Spartans, made just enough plays with his feet and right arm to help Michigan win in the senior’s final game of the rivalry.

“I’m glad he’s gone,” Dantonio said with a smile.