U-M claws its way past Wildcats
Nick Meyer
Issue date: 11/1/05 Section: Sports
All signs pointed to a Saturday night shootout in Evanston, Illinois, as Northwestern boasted the nation's 4th-ranked offense and 117th-ranked defense.
But the Michigan defense put the clamps down in the second half, shutting out the Wildcats and leading Michigan to a 33-17 win.
It was the first time Northwestern entered the game ranked higher than Michigan since 1959 but the Wolverines set the tone early and never looked back.
They started off the game with a textbook Michigan drive, going 74 yards on nine plays. Freshman running back Kevin Grady bowled over defenders for an 18-yard run and freshman receiver Mario Manningham took a screen 20 yards to the Northwestern one-yard line to set up a Grady touchdown run and a 7-0 lead.
Northwestern responded by driving down to the Michigan 13 but star freshman running back Tyrell Sutton was hit by Wolverine defensive back Leon Hall and fumbled the ball. Hall bounced up and scooped it, racing 83 yards down the Wildcats' sideline for a touchdown to make it 14-0.
On the ensuing Northwestern drive, receiver Mark Philmore ran free against a Michigan zone defense and caught a 62-yard touchdown pass in stride from quarterback Brett Basanez to make it 14-7.
The Wildcats' Josh Howells kept the game close with a 28-yard field goal early in the second quarter to make it 14-10 but Michigan's Garrett Rivas added a 26-yarder of his own to push the lead to 17-10.
After forcing a Northwestern punt, Michigan ran off an 11-play, 71-yard drive to break the game open. Chad Henne hit 5-of-6 passes for 56 yards on the drive, capping it off with a 10-yard touchdown pass in the left flat to tight end Mike Massey to make it 24-10.
Following the touchdown, cornerback Grant Mason intercepted Basanez deep in Northwestern territory.
The Wolverines disguised their coverages in the secondary all day, confusing Basanez and his receivers. Basanez came into the game with 12 touchdown passes and only one interception but was picked off twice by the Wolverine defense.
But the Michigan defense put the clamps down in the second half, shutting out the Wildcats and leading Michigan to a 33-17 win.
It was the first time Northwestern entered the game ranked higher than Michigan since 1959 but the Wolverines set the tone early and never looked back.
They started off the game with a textbook Michigan drive, going 74 yards on nine plays. Freshman running back Kevin Grady bowled over defenders for an 18-yard run and freshman receiver Mario Manningham took a screen 20 yards to the Northwestern one-yard line to set up a Grady touchdown run and a 7-0 lead.
Northwestern responded by driving down to the Michigan 13 but star freshman running back Tyrell Sutton was hit by Wolverine defensive back Leon Hall and fumbled the ball. Hall bounced up and scooped it, racing 83 yards down the Wildcats' sideline for a touchdown to make it 14-0.
On the ensuing Northwestern drive, receiver Mark Philmore ran free against a Michigan zone defense and caught a 62-yard touchdown pass in stride from quarterback Brett Basanez to make it 14-7.
The Wildcats' Josh Howells kept the game close with a 28-yard field goal early in the second quarter to make it 14-10 but Michigan's Garrett Rivas added a 26-yarder of his own to push the lead to 17-10.
After forcing a Northwestern punt, Michigan ran off an 11-play, 71-yard drive to break the game open. Chad Henne hit 5-of-6 passes for 56 yards on the drive, capping it off with a 10-yard touchdown pass in the left flat to tight end Mike Massey to make it 24-10.
Following the touchdown, cornerback Grant Mason intercepted Basanez deep in Northwestern territory.
The Wolverines disguised their coverages in the secondary all day, confusing Basanez and his receivers. Basanez came into the game with 12 touchdown passes and only one interception but was picked off twice by the Wolverine defense.