Michigan 42 Northwestern 20 - November 13, 2004 - Ann Arbor, Mich.
Chris Bray's Record (9-2) - Video Highlights
ANN ARBOR, Michigan (Ticker) -- Michigan got its wake-up call
at halftime.
Mike Hart rushed for 151 yards and three touchdowns and Chad
Henne passed for a pair of scores as the ninth-ranked Wolverines
erupted in the second half to rout Northwestern, 42-20, and
remain unbeaten in the Big Ten Conference.
"I knew we had to step up in the second half," Hart said. "I
didn't want to send the seniors out with a loss."
"Everybody knew we didn't play a good first half," Henne added.
"I don't think we were focused in the first half, but we got it
done in the second half. We came out with fire in our eyes."
Michigan (9-1, 7-0 Big Ten) sputtered in the first half,
managing only a 7-6 lead at the intermission. The Wolverines
responded by scoring touchdowns on their first five possessions
of the second half.
Michigan got more good news when Wisconsin was routed by
Michigan State, 49-14, for its first loss of the season. That
result leaves the Wolverines in position to clinch the outright
Big Ten title with a win at Ohio State next week.
"Coach (Lloyd) Carr wasn't happy going into the tunnel. Some of
the guys in the offensive line weren't picking up stunts," Henne
said."(Senior center David) Baas got on the guys who weren't
picking them up."
Carr felt that some of Michigan's first-half sluggishness might
have been a result of not playing last week.
"Coming off a bye, you never know what you're going to get,"
Carr said. "We practiced well but we certainly didn't come out
here ready to play offensively. It was obvious. We had
penalties. We fumbled the ball. We did everything. We had guys
open and we missed them, so we were in a dogfight. The good news
is that our defense played extremely well."
Henne completed 19-of-26 passes for 187 yards. His 10-yard TD
pass to Steve Breaston gave Michigan a 35-13 cushion 5:11 into
the fourth quarter. Just 35 seconds later, Breaston completed
the Wolverines' barrage with a 67-yard punt return for a
touchdown.
"We were able to run the football a lot more effectively (in the
second half)," Carr said.
Breaston, who has been bothered by a stress fracture in his foot
and a broken finger all season, recorded 272 all-purpose yards
on 14 touches.
"My foot felt a whole lot better this week," Breaston said. "I
had a great week of practice. I could feel that I was getting my
speed back."
"He has been hobbled since spring," Carr said. "In the last few
days of practice we really began to see an explosiveness about
him that we haven't seen since last fall."
Noah Herron rushed for 156 yards and Brett Basanez completed
23-of-43 passes for 211 yards for the Wildcats (5-5, 4-3), who
need to win their final two games to become bowl eligible.
"It wasn't like we got our butt stomped," Northwestern coach
coach Randy Walker. "We left some points on the field, but we
weren't playing just another team out there. When it came to
crunch time, they (Michigan) know how to crunch."
Michigan has won eight straight since losing at Notre Dame and
can finish unbeaten in the Big Ten with a victory at Ohio State
next week.
"This is our season," linebacker LaMarr Woodley said of the Ohio
State game. "We're competing for the ring. We have a lot to
lose and they don't have anything to lose."
