Michigan 30 Illinois 19 - October 16, 2004 - Champaign, Ill.
Chris Bray's Record (8-2) - Video Highlights
CHAMPAIGN, Illinois (Ticker) -- On a day when its passing game
was out of sync, No. 13 Michigan found an effective method to
move the ball - hand it to Michael Hart.
A true freshman, Hart ran for 234 yards and a touchdown on 40
carries as the Wolverines posted a sloppy 30-19 victory over
Illinois, which lost its 12th straight Big Ten Conference
contest.
Michigan (6-1, 4-0 Big Ten), which visits No. 5 Purdue next
week, has not lost at Illinois since 1983. The Wolverines have
won five in a row and eight of nine in the series.
The Wolverines held just a 22-17 lead before Hart, after
initially being stuffed by multiple tacklers, lunged for a
four-yard touchdown with 8:54 remaining. The play was reviewed
but upheld, and Marlin Jackson and Scott McClintock each
intercepted Illinois' Jon Beutjer down the stretch to seal it.
Michigan outgained Illinois on the ground, 294-98, and held the
ball for 13 more minutes.
"It was pretty hard to throw the ball today," Hart said of the
blustery conditions. "We knew it was going to be windy, so we
knew we were going to have to run the ball."
Chad Henne, another true freshman, threw a pair of costly
interceptions in the second quarter but tossed a touchdown pass
to Tyler Ecker and ran for a three-yard score in the third as
the Wolverines rallied from a 17-10 halftime deficit.
"I'm very pleased with our team in the second half after getting
down, making so many mistakes and not tackling particularly
well," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. "The good news for us in
the second half was we came out and got an early turnover, then
got the lead, which is exactly what you want to do on the
road."
"We just didn't execute (in the second half)," Illini coach Ron
Turner said. "We never got any drives going to get any rhythm.
We were constantly in 2nd- and 3rd-and-long. In our
three-and-outs in the third quarter we were unable to get
anything established."
Henne finished 14-of-27 for just 114 yards and a touchdown,
while star receiver Braylon Edwards had three catches for only
18 yards.
"It wasn't my best performance, but the running game picked us
up a lot," Henne said.
Michigan held a 10-0 lead before Beutjer tossed a two-yard TD to
running back Pierre Thomas midway through the second quarter.
Michigan marched down the field but Henne was intercepted in the
end zone by Justin Harrison, who returned it to the Michigan
28, setting up a one-yard TD run by Thomas with 3:54 left in the
period.
With less than a minute remaining in the half, Henne was
intercepted by Kelvin Hayden at the Illinois 35, and the former
receiver ran it back to the Michigan 37, setting up Jason Reda's
40-yard field goal with five seconds left.
Beutjer was 20-of-39 for 156 yards with three interceptions for
Illinois (2-5, 0-4).
"We feel like we didn't play a complete game," Beutjer said. "We
played really well in the first half offensively and
defensively. But then we kind of fell apart in the second
half."
