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Donaven McCulley pulls off circus catch, leads crucial Michigan touchdown drive
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Donaven McCulley put his stamp on Saturday’s Big Ten showdown and finally gave No. 20 Michigan some breathing room late in the third quarter against pesky Wisconsin.
With the Wolverines holding onto a tenuous 10-7 lead in front of their increasingly nervous home fans, the senior wideout made 2 catches on a drive that was only 3 plays long to give Michigan a 10-point lead.
First things first, and that would be this 33-yard gem of a catch by McCulley from quarterback Bryce Underwood. The announcers on FOX were mesmerized by the way McCulley managed to get 1 foot in bounds. The insane grab by McCulley got the Wolverines rolling on that drive and put the ball on the Wisconsin 34-yard line after just 1 play.
Here is the catch that Michigan fans will be talking about for a while:
But McCulley wasn’t done on that short, successful drive. Not even close. After Underwood completed a 5-yard pass to Marlin Klein on the next play, it was time for more McCulley magic.
That happened on the very next play, which turned out to be the final play of the drive, when Underwood and McCulley hooked up for an equally ridiculous 29-yard TD that gave Michigan a 17-7 lead with 4:11 left in the third quarter. This time, the 2 connected on a slant pattern, not along the sideline like the last catch, and McCulley burst into the end zone after colliding with a Badger defender at the 13-yard line.
After the collision, McCulley bounced off the Wisconsin defender like it was nothing, then had enough to get into the end zone. Here is the touchdown to end the drive that McCulley also started:
Michigan took that same 17-7 lead into the fourth quarter as it tried to hold off Wisconsin.