Instant Recap: Michigan 40, Middle Tennessee State 21
The Michigan Wolverines' football team defeated Middle Tennessee State, 40-21, this evening in The Big House.
Here's how the entire game unfolded:
First Half
The game started off rough for the Wolverines, with senior quarterback Shea Patterson fumbling on the night's first play and MTSU recovering at the U-M 42-yard line.
The Blue Raiders then cashed in off the turnover with an 18-yard touchdown run by redshirt sophomore quarterback Asher O'Hara at the 12:52 mark, giving his club a 7-0 lead.
Sophomore kicker Jake Moody trimmed the lead to 7-3 on Michigan's ensuing possession, however, and fifth-year senior linebacker Jordan Glasgow ended MTSU's next drive with a sack.
Patterson tossed his first touchdown of the year with 21 seconds left in the first quarter, when he found redshirt sophomore receiver Tarik Black wide open in the end zone for a 36-yard strike, giving U-M a 10-7 lead to end the first frame.
The senior quarterback then threw his second touchdown when he found junior wideout Nico Collins on a 28-yard laser to put Michigan up 17-7 at 12:54 of the second quarter.
The Maize and Blue's momentum continued when junior cornerback Ambry Thomas recorded an interception at the U-M 41-yard line, but Michigan could not take advantage of the pick and was forced to punt.
Thomas recovered a MTSU fumble on the next possession, and this time U-M capitalized — Patterson heaved his third score of the day when he hit senior tight end Sean McKeon on a 28-yard pass that gave Michigan a 24-7 advantage with 7:08 to go in the half.
The Blue Raiders answered following a fumbled punt by senior cornerback Lavert Hill though, cashing in on a two-yard scoring toss to make it 24-14 with 2:12 left in the frame.
A 27-yard field goal by Moody closed out the half, giving U-M a 27-14 edge at the break.
Second Half
The third quarter was mainly a punt-fest by both teams.
Five straight punts began the half, with MTSU's third one of the frame being the most notable — Lavert Hill dropped an easy interception on a third down play that hit him in the chest deep in Blue Raider territory, and would have been an easy pick-six had he caught it.
The Wolverine offense was able to then find the end zone, however, when redshirt sophomore quarterback Dylan McCaffrey ran it in from six yards out, giving U-M a 33-14 lead.
The Maize and Blue went for two, but Patterson fumbled the exchange on a handoff and the conversion failed.
Middle Tennessee State punted to start the fourth quarter, and U-M then strung together a nice drive that took it down to the MTSU one-yard line.
Freshman running back Zach Charbonnet was stopped on 4th-and-goal at the 1-yard line, however, and Michigan's lead remained 33-14 with 9:58 left in the game.
Sophomore receiver Ronnie Bell returned the ensuing MTSU punt 27 yards to the Blue Raider 15-yard line, and redshirt freshman running back Ben VanSumeren punched it in from a yard out to give his club a 40-14 edge with 6:37 remaining.
Michigan's defense stuffed Middle Tennessee on a 4th-and-1 play at midfield on the Blue Raiders' next possession, and redshirt freshman quarterback Joe Milton was inserted when U-M took over.
Middle Tennessee added a late 59-yard touchdown pass with just 1:06 remaining, cutting Michigan's lead to 40-21.
The Wolverines then recovered an onside kick attempt, and sealed the 40-21 victory by running out the clock.
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