Michigan grits through Iowa, wins third straight Big Ten Championship

The Michigan Wolverines went to Indianapolis and captured their third straight Big Ten Championship on Saturday night in a 26-0 win over the Iowa Hawkeyes. It is the first-ever three-year streak of outright Big Ten titles by any school.

The victory sets up U-M for a potential No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff when the field is announced on Sunday.

It was a slow, sloppy game where Michigan’s offense had one of its worst nights of the year, but the defense picked them up in a big way, stifling the nation’s last-ranked offense. But when the clocks hit zero and the confetti fell, it was another conference crown for Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines.

Here is the recap from Saturday night’s game in Indianapolis.

First quarter

Michigan won the opening coin toss and deferred to the second half. Three plays and 5 yards later, the defense was off the field. Iowa punted down to the U-M 31-yard line with 13:36 to go. The Wolverines were able to generate points on their opening drive, going 52 yards in 13 plays before settling for a 35-yard James Turner field goal. Michigan would lead 3-0 with 6:01 left in the quarter.

Iowa’s next drive went 15 yards in six plays before another punt from star Tory Taylor, which was returned 87 yards by Michigan freshman Semaj Morgan down to the Iowa 5-yard line. Two plays later, U-M running back Blake Corum found the end zone for the 23rd time this season, extending his single-season school record. After the extra point, Michigan led 10-0 with 1:07 left in the quarter. And that’s how the quarter would end.

Michigan 10, Iowa 0

Second quarter

Iowa followed up the Michigan touchdown with another six-play drive that went 18 yards and ended in another punt that went out of the end zone, setting the Wolverines up at their 20-yard line with 13:24 on the clock in the second quarter. A holding call on Trente Jones and a sack of J.J. McCarthy led to a U-M punt to Iowa, which took over at its own 20. The Hawkeyes went three-and-out on their next drive, punting back to Michigan at its 28-yard line with 7:16 left in the half.

The Wolverines struggled to get the offense going on their next drive, losing 15 yards on three plays before Tommy Doman shanked a 25-yard punt, giving Iowa the ball at the Michigan 38-yard line with 6 minutes to go. Three plays later, Iowa turned the ball back over to Michigan thanks to a Mike Sainristil forced fumble that was recovered by Kris Jenkins. U-M took over at its 29-yard line with 5:09 to go before going three-and-out and Doman punting down to the Iowa 9-yard line.

Of course, Iowa followed it up by doing what both teams did most of the night — getting off the field after three plays. Michigan followed it up with a five-play drive that went 19 yards but ended in another punt. Iowa matched that with another three-and-out before giving the ball back to U-M with 16 seconds to play. The half would end with McCarthy taking a sack and both teams heading to the locker room.

Michigan 10, Iowa 0

Third quarter

Michigan opened the half on offense with 28 yards on eight plays, but another punt. This time, it went down to the Iowa 5-yard line with a little more than 10 minutes remaining in the quarter. Two plays later, Iowa quarterback Deacon Hill fumbled at the 6-yard line, forced by Sainristil and recovered by Josh Wallace. U-M’s offense took over and Corum scored on the next play, extending the lead to 17-0 after the extra point with 9:09 to go.

Iowa went 31 yards on eight plays on its next possession, its longest possession of the night to that point, down to the U-M 43-yard line. The Hawkeyes went for it on fourth-and-1 and were stuffed, handing it over to the Michigan offense with 5:08 left in the quarter. U-M went 28 yards in nine plays and added to its lead with a 46-yard field goal from Turner to extend the margin to 20-0 with 22 seconds left in the quarter.

Michigan 20, Iowa 0

Fourth quarter

Iowa went three-and-out on its next drive, punting away to Michigan down to its own 35-yard line with 14:47 left in the game. The Wolverines matched with a three-and-out of their own and punted down to the Iowa 15-yard line. Four plays later, Iowa fumbled the ball and the Wolverines took over on offense. The Wolverines lost 3 yards during the possession and settled for a 38-yard field goal from Turner, which pushed the lead to 23-0 in favor of Michigan.

Iowa turned the ball over on downs on its next possession, giving way to the Michigan offense. The Wolverines went 23 yards in six plays and settled for a 50-yard field goal from Turner, which helped them extend the lead to 26-0 with 3:38 remaining.

Michigan 26, Iowa 0

Michigan vs. Iowa: Final box score, statistics