Observations on the win over Wisconsin, 14-7

Michigan 3 red zones, but only came away with 7 points; Wisconsin one red zone to match Michigan with 7 points. The Wolverines 3 turnovers, but scored zero points; the Badgers converted one Michigan turnover into 7 points. The difference was a 46 yard pass from Wilton Speight to Amara Darboh in the 4th quarter with 7:56 to play, and a stout defense to protect the lead.

Offense gained 21 first downs, 349 net yards with 130 on the ground, but was only 3 of 15 in 3rd down conversions. Wilton Speight was 20 of 32 for 219 yards, a TD and an interception with 4 sacks. DeVeon Smith had 17 carries for 66 yards and 2 catches for 9 yards. Chris Evans had 8 carries for 34 yards, and a 9 yard catch. Ty Isaac had 8 carries for 48 yards. Amara Darboh had 6 receptions for 87 yards and a TD. Jehu Chesson had 5 catches for 52 yards. Grant Perry had 2 catches for 26 yards. Jake Butt had 3 catches for 31 yards. Jabrill Peppers ran several plays in wildcat with no carries. Khalid Hill scored the only TD with a 1 yard plunge. Jack Cichy led the Badger defense with 12 tackles, T.J. Watt and T.J. Edwards had 11 tackles each.

Defense was solid! The Badgers had only 8 first downs, and gained 159 net yards with only 71 on the ground with 4 of 16 in 3rd and 4th down conversions. Alex Hornibrook was 9 of 25 for 88 yards with two interceptions by Channing Stribling and one by Jourdan Lewis. Corey Clement had 17 carries for 68 yards. Robert Wheelwright had 3 receptions for 46 yards. Deniel Ogunbowale had 3 receptions for 23 yards including a 17 yarder for a TD. Ben Gedeon had 6 tackles to lead the defense. We only let up 4 big plays: 24, 19, 17, and 17 yards on offense plus a kickoff return for 18 yards. Ryan Glasgow and Chris Wormley had sacks. We forced the Badgers into 9 punts and 3 turnovers with 5 "3 and outs." Bryan Mone was back and contributed on the DLine, but made no tackles.

Special Teams has got some work to do, and personnel changes may be considered with the first travel squad to be picked this week. We missed 3 field goals, two in the red zone. We did have good kickoff coverage and punt coverage. Kenny Allen nailed 7 punts for a 46.6 yard average including a 56 yarder with 4 punts inside the 20. Peppers had 2 punt returns for 19 yards, and a kickoff for 14 yards.

Time of possession mad the difference as Michigan controlled the ball by 10:30 more than Wisconsin; this gave them 23 more offensive plays. Today was the first time Michigan has beat a Top 10 team since 2008, and its first meeting with the Badgers since 2010.

Let's go to Rutgers and plaster them like the Buckeyes did today! Go Blue!

Observations on the first half with Wisconsin Post Game Press Conference Box Score Player Participation Highlights Players on Win Stribling

Jim Harbaugh Press Conference for Wisconsin on September 26 Players-Ben Braden and Khalid Hill