Halftime Box Score/Recap: Michigan 35, Minnesota 17
The Michigan Wolverines' football team holds a 35-17 tonight at Minnesota at halftime, stringing together an incredibly impressive first half in Minneapolis.
Here's how the first two quarters unfolded tonight:
First Quarter
Michigan's first play was a successful one tonight, with redshirt sophomore quarterback Joe Milton finding freshman running back Blake Corum on a short pass that went for 24 yards.
A personal foul by senior fullback Ben Mason on the next play ruined the drive, however, and fifth-year senior punter Will Hart's punt was blocked by the Golden Gophers. Minnesota took over at Michigan's 17-yard line and quickly cashed in with a 14-yard touchdown pass from redshirt junior quarterback Tanner Morgan to fifth-year senior tight end Ko Kieft to make it 7-0 at the 12:44 mark.
The Maize and Blue answered immediately, however, when sophomore running back Zach Charbonnet ripped off a 70-yard touchdown pass on U-M's first play of the series, making it 7-7 at the 12:33 mark.
Charbonnet was never touched on the play. The momentum carried over to the Wolverines' defense, forcing a three-and-out that concluded with a sack by redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Julius Welschof at the 10:37 mark.
U-M then missed a golden opportunity to extend its lead when junior kicker Jake Moody missed a 38-yard field goal at the 7:14 mark.
One of the biggest plays of the entire first half occurred on Minnesota's ensuing possession when redshirt sophomore viper Mike Barrett sacked Morgan, with the ball flying into the air and landing perfectly in redshirt junior defensive tackle Donovan Jeter's arms, who ran it back 15 yards for a touchdown. The play extended Michigan's lead to 14-7.
The Golden Gophers cut into U-M's lead with a 29-yard field goal to make it 14-10 with 37 seconds left in the quarter, capping off an 11-play, 79-yard drive. The Maize and Blue responded with yet another big play of their own, this time when Barrett returned the kickoff 66 yards all the way down to the Gopher nine-yard line.
Milton took advantage of the great field position when he hit Mason on a nine-yard touchdown pass to make it 21-10 with 15 seconds left in the opening frame.
Second Quarter
Redshirt junior running back Mohamed Ibrahim made it 21-17 with a 16-yard touchdown run at the 9:38 mark of the frame, trimming U-M's edge to just 21-17. The action as a whole, however, slowed down mightily in the second quarter.
The Maize and Blue pushed their advantage back to 11 (28-17) when redshirt sophomore running back Hassan Haskins found the end zone from four yards out out of the wildcat formation with just 4:48 left in the half.
Haskins' run capped off a 10-play, 77-yard drive.
Haskins continued his outstanding play when he sniffed out a Minnesota fake punt at its own 25-yard line, making an impressive fourth down tackle. This set up another touchdown for the redshirt sophomore, who cashed in from eight yards out with just one minute left in the half to make it 35-17 Michigan.
The Maize and Blue had a chance to extend their lead even further on the final play of the half, but Moody missed a 48-yard field goal as time expired.
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