Michigan bowl eligible after blowout win vs. Northwestern
ANN ARBOR – It has not been a season anyone expected for the Michigan Wolverines, but a 50-6 blowout win over the Northwestern Wildcats on Senior Day moved the team to 6-5 on the season, and officially to bowl eligibility.
The Senior Day festivities were headlined by a dominant day on the ground for graduate Kalel Mullings (12 carries, 92 yards, 3 TD) and Donovan Edwards (10 carries, 65 yards, TD), who combined for 22 carries for 157 yards and 4 touchdowns in the lopsided win.
Here is the recap from Saturday’s beatdown in Ann Arbor.
First down
Michigan won the coin toss to open the game and deferred to the second half, opening the game on defense with Northwester starting at the 25-yard line. The Wildcats went 16 yards in 5 plays before Aamir Hall grabbed his first interception of the year on 3rd and 10, giving the offense the ball at the Michigan 47-yard line with 12:35 to go in the first quarter. U-M capitalized on the field position, going 53 yards in 11 plays on their opening drive and capping things off with a 2-yard touchdown run from Kalel Mullings. U-M led 7-0 after the Dominic Zvada extra point with 6:44 on the clock.
The next defensive possession saw junior defensive tackles Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant make great back-to-back plays – a run stuff for Graham and a sack for Grant – that led to a 3-and-out and a holding penalty for the Northwestern offense. The Wildcats would punt back to the Wolverines with a fortuitous U-M bounce, starting the next drive at the NW 48-yard line with 5:01 to go in the quarter.
Michigan only mustered 10 yards of offense on 6 plays but got a 56-yard field goal from Zvada to put the team up 10-0 with 1:09 left in the first quarter.
The quarter would end with Northwestern facing a 3rd and 1 from its 34-yard line.
Michigan 10, Northwestern 0
Second quarter
Michigan’s defense would get off the field after a 6-play, 16-yard drive, but Northwestern would punt all the way down to the U-M 3-yard line with 12:08 to go in the half. The Wolverines would go 23 yards in 5 plays before Davis Warren threw an interception on 3rd and 10, and it returned to the U-M 20-yard line. The defense would hang in there, though, forcing a 28-yard field goal to avoid a complete disaster. Michigan led 10-3 with 6:25 to go in the first half.
U-M’s offense would go 3-and-out on its next drive, forcing a punt returned to the Northwestern 46-yard line with 4:14 remaining. The Wildcats would drive down the field 46 yards in 5 plays before settling for a 26-yard field goal, bringing the score to 10-6 Michigan with 1:57 remaining.
Michigan put together its best drive of the day right before the end of the half, going 65 yards in 11 plays and closing things out with a 3-yard pass from Warren to tight end Colston Loveland, extending the lead to 17-6 with 8 seconds remaining.
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Northwestern would sit on the ball to end the half, sending both teams into the locker room.
Michigan 17, Northwestern 6
Third quarter
Michigan started the second half on offense after deferring its choice during the opening coin toss. Mullings took over on the opening drive, rushing 4 times for 73 yards – headlined by a 47-yard rush – and closing things out with a 10-yard scamper on 3rd and 5 to extend the lead to 24-6 after the Zvada extra point with 12:10 left in the third.
Northwestern would go 3-and-out on its next drive, punting away to Michigan who would take over on its opponents’ 45-yard line with 10:42 left. The Wolverines put together another long drive, going 45 yards in 10 plays, and got Mullings’ third touchdown run of the day from a yard out to extend the lead to 31-6 with 5:12 to go. The 31 points scored to that point were the highest in a game thus far for U-M.
The Northwestern offense went 21 yards in 10 plays on its following drive, but threw another interception, this time to freshman safety Mason Curtis, giving the Wolverines the ball back at the NW 42-yard line with 1:21 left in the quarter. Five plays and 58 yards later, Michigan found paydirt again thanks to a 20-yard run from Donovan Edwards, extending the lead to 38-6 with 13:40 remaining. The defense would force another 3-and-out and punt back to U-M down to its 37-yard line with 12:29 left on the clock.
A 14-play, 53-yard drive followed, capped off by a 28-yard field goal from Zvada. Michigan would lead Northwestern 41-6 with 5:22 remaining. A few plays later, Northwestern QB Ryan Hilinski was called for intentional grounding in the endzone, leading to a safety for the Wolverines. Michigan lead 43-6 with 4:28 to go.
Freshman running back Jordan Marshall returned the kick 63 yards down to the 20-yard line. One play later – with freshman quarterback Jadyn Davis on the field – senior running back Tavierre Dunlap scored on a 20-yard run to push the lead to 50-6 after a Charlie Mentzer extra point with 4:10 to go.
The clock would run out, and Michigan would gain its sixth win of the year.
Michigan vs. Northwestern final box score
