History of the Detroit Lions that feat was Buddy Parker, in 1952–53 during his second and third seasons at the helm. In 1997, Barry Sanders ran for 2,053 rushing yards. At the time, his career total rushing 15,269 yards was second only to Walter Payton's 16,726 yards and he joined Jim Brown as the only players among the NFL's 50 all-time rushing leaders to average 5 yards a carry, but he retired abruptly after the 1998 season. Emmitt Smith has since broken Payton's record, accumulating 18,355 career rushing yards, which bumped down Sanders to the #3 spot on the list of total career rushing yards.
Demetrius Brown game-winning, 20-yard touchdown pass to John Kolesar with less than a minute remaining in the game. The 1987 Michigan team led by Brown compiled an 8–4 record and outscored opponents 331 to 172. Brown had 1,355 yards of total offense during the 1987 season, 1,251 passing yards and 104 net rushing yards. He was also intercepted a school record 16 times in 1987. At the beginning of the 1988 season, Brown faced eligibility issues due to academic deficiencies. Michael Taylor won the starting quarterback spot, but Brown resumed the starting role after Taylor sustained a broken collarbone. After setting a