Michigan Storms Back in Second Half, Defeats Northwestern

Saturday, September 29

Evanston, Ill.

3:30 PM CT

Michigan

4-1 , 2-0

Northwestern

1-3 , 1-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Michigan

Northwestern

Karan Higdon

Michigan Storms Back in Second Half, Defeats Northwestern

9/29/2018 9:04:00 PM | Football

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By: Dave Ablauf, Chad Shepard

» Karan Higdon scored the go-ahead touchdown with 4:06 to play.
» Michigan trailed, 17-0, in the first quarter but held Northwestern to just 97 yards over the final 45 minutes of play.
» Josh Uche's second sack of the game ended Northwestern's Hail Mary attempt in the game's final seconds.

Site: Evanston, Ill. (Ryan Field)
Score: #14 Michigan 20, Northwestern 17
Records: U-M (4-1, 2-0 B1G), Northwestern (1-3, 1-1 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Oct. 6 vs. Maryland (Michigan Stadium), noon

• Kornacki: Winovich Plays a Game to Remember at Northwestern

EVANSTON, Ill. -- A defiant defensive effort and a series of critical offensive conversions lifted the No. 14-ranked University of Michigan football team to a 20-17 victory over Northwestern on Saturday afternoon at Ryan Field.

Michigan (4-1, 2-0 B1G) trailed, 17-0, in the first quarter and surrendered 105 yards in the opening period before stifling the Wildcats (1-3, 1-1 B1G) in allowing them just 97 yards the rest of the game.

U-M's offense racked up over 350 yards after the opening quarter and chipped away at the Northwestern lead before scoring the go-ahead touchdown with 4:06 to play.

Trailing by four with 10 minutes to play, Michigan took over on its 33-yard line. Junior quarterback Shea Patterson converted a 3rd-and-6 with an athletic, scrambling nine-yard keeper to get U-M to Northwestern's 28-yard line. He then threaded a perfect 22-yard pass to Zach Gentry down to Northwestern's six-yard line. Two plays later Karan Higdon breezed in for the go-ahead touchdown from five yards out to give the Wolverines a 20-17 lead.

On Northwestern's ensuing possession, Kwity Paye came up with a big sack on third down force a Wildcat punt and the Wolverines regained possession at its own 34-yard line with 3:02 to play. On 3rd-and-6, Patterson again answered the call, keeping the ball on an option play and faking out an NU defender to convert a key first down with 2:25 left. Michigan did have to punt the ball to Northwestern, which took over on its 15-yard line with 34 seconds remining in regulation. The Wildcats got near midfield but junior linebacker Josh Uche ended the game with a sack.

It was the sixth sack of the game for the Wolverines, who tormented Northwestern's offense with 10 tackles for loss and allowed just 28 rushing yards on 34 carries.

Uche and Paye had two sacks each while Chase Winovich had a huge game with nine tackles, eight solo, one sack and three tackles for loss.

Northwestern QB Clayton Thorson, who started the game 9-of-10 passing, finished 16-of-27 for 174 yards to go with minus-36 yards rushing on 11 carries.

While the defense dazzled during the final three quarters, Patterson starred in key moments, constantly breaking down a tough Northwestern defense with his scrambling ability and accuracy outside of the pocket. Although he finished the game 15-of-24 for 196 yards through the air and 31 ground yards on seven carries, his impact was far greater.

Higdon added 115 yards on 30 carries while Nico Collins led the receivers with 73 yards on six receptions.

Northwestern scored on its opening possession, driving 56 yards in six plays, capped by a one-yard keeper from Thorson. Following a three-and-out for U-M, the Wildcats again drove deep into Wolverine territory before settling for a career-long 45-yard field goal from Charlie Kuhbander with 3:58 to play in the opening quarter.

On its third drive, U-M made its way to Northwestern's 48-yard line, where the drive stalled as Higdon's effort on 4th-and-1 came up inches short. At the end of one quarter Northwestern held a lofty advantage in total yards, 105-21. The second quarter started much the same.

On the opening drive of the second quarter, Northwestern benefitted from a timely pass interference call to move inside the Wolverine 10-yard line. On 2nd- and-goal, John Moton eased into the end zone and U-M faced its largest deficit of the season at 17-0.

Northwestern would not come close to scoring again.

Michigan got on track on the ensuing possession, which started at its 29-yard line. Three plays after converting a 3rd-and-1 near midfield, Higdon bullied his way into the end zone from four yards out to make it a 17-7 game with 9:14 to play in the half.

U-M's defense got on track, limiting the Wildcats to 31 yards in the second quarter. U-M trailed heading into the locker room, but the Wolverines stemmed the tide with a measure of momentum heading into the second half.

Michigan used that momentum at the outset of the second half to drive 69 yards on 11 plays for a field goal, keyed by its dynamic quarterback. Patterson converted a 3rd-and-6 with his scrambling ability, scampering 12 yards into Northwestern territory. He then found a streaking Collins for a 36-yard pass completion to get inside the NU 10-yard line before U-M settled for a 23-yard field goal from Quinn Nordin to make it a 17-10 game.

Another defensive stop gave the ball back to the U-M offense and put it in position to attempt a game-tying drive. On a difficult third-down rollout, Patterson completed an 11-yard rollout pass to Gentry at Northwestern's 36-yard line. On the next play, Patterson found Nick Eubanks for a 24-yard gain to the Wildcat 12. The Wolverines drive stalled, but a 24-yard field goal from Nordin made it a 17-13 game as the third quarter came to an end.

Michigan will return to Michigan Stadium next Saturday (Oct. 6) at noon for its Homecoming game against Maryland.