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Michigan Football: Wolverines Right The Ship, Sink Cincy, 36-14

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Sophomore cornerback Lavert Hill cashes in a second of two pick-sixes that helped Michigan win.
Sophomore cornerback Lavert Hill cashes in a second of two pick-sixes that helped Michigan win.
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Michigan fans showed up for a blowout, but the Wolverines absorbed a host of body blows before subduing Cincinnati, 36-14.

Fumbles, special teams errors and assorted other Michigan miscues let the Bearcats hang around after nearly wiping out a 14-0 U-M start. In the end, the Wolverines (2-0) righted the ship against former Ohio State coach Luke Fickell’s team, returning two interceptions for touchdowns and posting a special teams safety.

It wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t always pretty, but the bottom line remained unscathed.

“There was a lot of good,” head coach Jim Harbaugh observed. “There was a lot of good, and there were times when the screen was going a little fuzzy, not doing our assignments.

“We’ll just keep going. Wins are tough to come by, and we’re happy to have this one.”

They had to be happy, after Cincinnati rallied back to within three less than four minutes into the second half. But Michigan’s defense pitched a shutout from there, and the Wolverines scored 19 second-half points to put the Bearcats away.

Michigan outgained the Bearcats, 414-200, including 193 yards on the ground, 133 of them by fifth-year senior tailback Ty Isaac. Redshirt junior quarterback Wilton Speight connected on 17 of 29 passes for 221 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

But Speight also lost a couple of fumbles, and Michigan’s defense and special teams combined for 16 points — nearly as much as an offense still looking to smooth things out.

“There were times when we maybe weren’t all on the same page … we’ll look at the film,” Speight said. “I’ll look at the film a couple of times tonight, watch it again tomorrow and get those things fixed. Overall, I thought it was a positive step forward from last week in Dallas.”

Michigan rumbled 80 yards for a touchdown following the opening kickoff, looking to light the fuse for the day. Isaac ran effectively early, then Speight unloaded a 43-yard TD pass down the middle to sophomore wideout Kekoa Crawford (four catches, 83 yards, one TD), sprinting well behind the defense.

Not to be outdone in the early going, Michigan’s defense got into the scoring act. Under pressure, Cincinnati quarterback Hayden Moore (15-of-40 passing for 132 yards, one TD, two interceptions) unloaded a high throw that Michigan junior safety Tyree Kinnel caught right on the numbers, sprinting back 28 yards for seven more instant points.

“Any time we can score on the defensive end, it’s pretty good,” Kinnel said. “We were running to the ball fast again.

“What we do in practice is, once we get the ball in our hands, we turn into offense. We get to the nearest sideline and we block for our teammates. That’s what we did.”

At 14-0 at the 6:50 mark of the first quarter, Cincinnati’s apparent mammoth task grew even more improbable. They forestalled the blowout, though … with a little help.

A Bearcats punt bounced off the leg of Michigan freshman defensive back Benjamin St-Juste, allowing Cincinnati’s Tyrell Gilbert to pounce on it at the U-M 38. Nine plays later, UC tailback Mike Boone jammed it in from the 1 on a second-effort dive up the middle, giving the visitors hope at 14-7 at the 2:13 mark.

Harbaugh switched punt returners during the game, going to junior wideout Grant Perry after freshman Donovan Peoples-Jones looked tentative on some efforts, including the turnover that led to the touchdown.

But there aren’t enough gifts stashed at the North Pole to have boosted the Bearcats on this day. Michigan immediately answered with a 59-yard drive, resulting in redshirt freshman placekicker Quinn Nordin’s 28-yard field goal.

A 44-yard end-around run by Peoples-Jones had the Wolverines in position to put seven on the board. But Speight’s fumble after U-M reached the Cincinnati 3, followed by a pair of incompletions, brought on Nordin for the field goal, just 57 seconds into the second quarter.

Michigan stalled out offensively the rest of the quarter, Speight fumbling an end-around exchange at the Cincinnati 30 and the Wolverines coming up just shy on chain-moving third downs. So U-M led by only 10 at the half, despite the Bearcats accumulating just 105 total first-half yards.

“He’s taking the other hand off the ball and trying to do it one-handed,” Harbaugh said of Speight’s fumble issues. “I’ve been telling him it’s a matter of time before it slips out of his hand. Today was the day.”

Michigan’s lead shrunk to three, just 3:45 into the second half. Moore completed a key 15-yard pass on third-and-long to avoid a three-and out, then rambled 46 yards on a QB keeper up the middle. His 10-yard TD pass to Kahlil Lewis, which made it 17-14, had Michigan fans wondering how an anticipated blowout stumbled its way into becoming a nail-biter.

The Wolverines went nearly 34 minutes without putting the ball in the end zone against a team that struggled to beat FCS competitor Austin Peay a week ago. With the third quarter winding down, Michigan finally rectified that situation.

Speight drove his team 80 yards for the crucial score in six plays. A 36-yard toss to redshirt sophomore tight end Zach Gentry covered a big chunk of that ground. Speight then flipped a quick throw over the middle to junior wideout Grant Perry, who turned on the jets to score from 33 yards out, at 3:01 of the third quarter.

“It was a nice job by Zach,” Harbaugh said. “Wilt threw a good ball on the crossing route. We needed that. That flipped some field position when we had a couple of previous punts.”

Perry noted on the touchdown: “That route had been open most of the game. Then it just cleared out. We made eye contact, and he threw it. There was nothing but yards.”

The Wolverines then drove from their own 15 to the Cincinnati 4 early in the fourth quarter, Isaac breaking off a 53-yard run and Speight moving the chains on a clutch, 20-yard fourth-and-8 throw to Crawford. U-M still settled for Nordin’s 24-yard field goal, pushing the lead to 27-14 with 9:02 left in the game.

Michigan’s defense continued its second-half shutout, and eventually the Bearcats chipped in a couple of points on the U-M side of the ledger. UC punter James Smith wasn’t looking for a snap that sailed past him. He scrambled and swept the ball out of his own end zone for a safety with 6:53 remaining.

Just 2:12 later, sophomore cornerback Lavert Hill made it two pick-sixes on the day for the defense. He snagged a Moore toss near the eastern sideline at the Cincinnati 24, cut all the way back across the field and raced in to bury the Bearcats at 36-14.

Asked what went wrong in the middle of the game, Harbaugh challenged “paid writers” to put out there what they saw. He witnessed plenty to correct, but in the end, looked on with a smile at 2-0.

Five Best Players Of The Game

1. Junior safety Tyree Kinnel — Kinnel picked off a pass and bolted 28 yards for a touchdown, giving the Wolverines a comfortable 14-0 lead early. He led the team with nine tackles, including an eight-yard sack.

2. Fifth-year senior tailback Ty Isaac — Isaac got the start against Cincinnati after impressing in the opener and didn’t disappoint with his second straight 100-yard game. He rushed for 133 yards on 20 carries, and proved to be Michigan’s best threat on the ground.

3. Sophomore viper Khaleke Hudson — Hudson contributed to another solid defensive effort, making a pair of sacks among his six tackles in the game. He was consistently around the ball on a day when Michigan put pressure on an overmatched offense.

4. Sophomore linebacker Devin Bush — Bush posted a sack and a pass breakup among his seven stops. He’s the fastest player on the field, and that was consistently felt by an offense trying to create space.

5. Sophomore wideout Kekoa Crawford — After fighting the ball a week ago, Crawford stepped up to haul in a 43-yard touchdown bomb, one of the four passes for 83 yards he caught on the day. He’s still getting in rhythm with redshirt junior quarterback Wilton Speight (the two missed an exchange on an end-around), but he took a big step forward.

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