When a young Tom Brady from Michigan upset No. 5 Alabama at the 2000 Orange Bowl (WATCH)
NFL legend Tom Brady is best known for his heroics as a player for the New England Patriots more than his time as a quarterback for the Michigan Wolverines in college football.
He still had iconic games in the Wolverines jersey. Probably, the most memorable one was his last game for Michigan when the Wolverines faced the No. 5 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide.
It was New Year's Day at the turn of the millennium during the Orange Bowl, pitting Michigan against Alabama.
The Crimson Tide went 14-0 up in the second quarter before Brady took over. Although he led the comeback to parity during the third quarter, Alabama responded with two touchdowns and so did Michigan.
The game was tied 28-28 going into the fourth quarter and neither team managed a score before the game went to overtime.
Brady threw a 25-yard touchdown to Shawn Thompson which narrowly won the game 35-34. He finished the game having thrown for 369 yards resulting in four touchdowns for one of his most iconic games in a Michigan jersey.
The Michigan Wolverines finished the season No. 5 after going 10-2 but the legend of Tom Brady was just getting started.
The Tom Brady Michigan story
Coming out of Junipero Serra High School, California, Tom Brady was not a prodigy by any means. Things could have turned out differently as he had the option of going to USC, UCLA, Illinois or Cal, but he chose Michigan.
The first few years in Ann Arbor were not rosy either and he only played six times in his freshman and sophomore years.
During an interview with Patrick Bet-David, he revealed what his freshman year was like.
"I remember showing up [on] my first day of freshman year. I didn’t care how much hair I had under my arms and all that, and the other kids came in shaving and I’m like what the hell is this? I didn’t know how to put the pads on in my pants when I tried out for freshman football. I’d never played until that point, except in the streets."
During his junior year, he became the starting quarterback and tallied 2,427 passing yards resulting in 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. This was alongside a 45-31 Citrus Bowl win against the Arkansas Razorbacks.
His senior year included his iconic game against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the Orange Bowl alongside 2,217 passing yards resulting in 16 touchdowns and 6 interceptions.
Tom Brady was later drafted by the New England Patriots and the story of the greatest-ever NFL player kicked off in earnest.