Remembering MSU’s shocking comeback and a Michigan meme

Ten years ago, Michigan and Michigan State produced one of the most unforgettable finishes college football has ever seen.

In an instant, two unlikely figures became forever linked — and the faces of that play: Spartans backup safety Jalen Watts-Jackson and Michigan fan Chris Baldwin, a sophomore at the school.

Under coach Mark Dantonio, Michigan State arrived in Ann Arbor undefeated and ranked in the top 10.

But in his first season, coach Jim Harbaugh had quickly turned around a Wolverines team that had gone 5-7 the year before under Brady Hoke. With a 23-21 lead, Harbaugh was 10 seconds away from his first signature win.

“Then all of a sudden,” Baldwin said, “things started moving in the wrong direction.”

In those final 10 seconds, Watts-Jackson became a Michigan State legend. As Michigan prepared to punt, the snap was fumbled, and Watts-Jackson snatched the ball out of the air and rushed into the end zone for an improbable game-winning touchdown — dislocating his hip as he did.

Just a few feet away, standing in the third row of the student section in that end zone, Baldwin put his hands on his head in disbelief. ESPN’s cameras caught the reaction, creating a viral image that cemented a new phrase in the sports lexicon: “Surrender Cobra.”

As Michigan and Michigan State prepare to meet again for the 118th time Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC), ESPN went inside that iconic moment — through the words of those who witnessed it firsthand.

Baldwin grew up in Saginaw, Michigan, a lifelong Wolverines fan. He saw his first game at the Big House when he was 5 years old. During his freshman year of college, he formed a close group of friends — Tim Worley, Blayze Damron, Ian McKenzie and childhood friends Brandon Freudenstein and Jacob Pitcher — who loved Michigan football just as much. By their sophomore…