Michigan football wins Big Ten Championship: Full recap, box score
Michigan football and the Iowa Hawkeyes met on Saturday night in Indianapolis with the Big Ten Championship on the line. They walked out victors by a score of 42-3.
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Here’s a recap of how the game went from Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis as the Wolverines won their first Big Ten title since 2004.
First quarter
Iowa won the coin toss and elected to defer, putting Michigan’s offense on the field to start the football game. The Wolverines went three and out on the first drive of the game, followed by a 10-play, 59-yard Iowa drive that resulted in a missed 33-yard field goal attempt. That kept the game tied at 0-0 with 8:35 to go in the quarter.
Michigan shook itself awake and got on the board first thanks to a 67-yard touchdown run from redshirt freshman running back Blake Corum. The scoring drive went 80 yards in four plays to give the Wolverines a 7-0 lead with 6:38 left in the first.
The Wolverines pulled out the play call of their season so far on their next offensive possession. Freshman running back Donovan Edwards threw a 75-yard touchdown to wideout Roman Wilson on the first play of the drive to put Michigan up 14-0 after the extra point.
Iowa put itself on the board with 1:26 left in the quarter a 22-yard field goal on the following drive to narrow the lead to 14-3. Third-year quarterback Cade McNamara threw an interception that bounced off the hands of sophomore tight end Erick All.
The quarter would end with the Wolverines up 14-3.
Second quarter
Neither team scored in the second quarter, but there were plenty of punts and miscues if you are into that sort of thing. The Wolverines had their fair share of missed chances, whether it was ill-advised punt return decisions, penalties and more. Still, Michigan found itself with a 14-3 lead at the half.
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Third quarter
The Michigan defense got off the field quickly to start the third quarter before extending its lead. Junior running back Hassan Haskins capped off a 10-play, 82-yard drive with his 19th touchdown of the season. The Wolverines led 21-3 with 8:23 to go in the third quarter.
Iowa did not fold, however. The Hawkeyes went 60 yards in 14 plays, but Michigan stopped them in the red zone on fourth down to take over at their own 15 with 21-3 lead and 1:10 left in the quarter.
Fourth quarter
Michigan blocked an Iowa punt with 12:49 left to set up the offense on the Hawkeyes’ 36-yard line. The Wolverines put the nail in Iowa’s coffin with Haskins’ 20th touchdown of the season and a 28-3 lead with 11:16 to go in the game.
The Wolverines continued to pour it on well into the fourth quarter. McNamara found All for a 5-yard touchdown on an eight-play, 81-yard drive to extend the lead to 35-3 with 5:24 to go. Third-year safety Caden Kolesar picked off the Hawkeyes with 4:21 remaining as the Wolverines began to taste a conference title.
Edwards was able to finish off another strong Michigan strong with a touchdown run to extend the lead to 42-3 with 1:25 to go. That’s how the game would end as the Wolverines captured their first conference title under head coach Jim Harbaugh.
