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Ann Arbor, MI (Sports Network) – James White and Montee Ball combined for an astounding 354 rushing yards with six touchdowns, as sixth-ranked Wisconsin pounded out a 48-28 victory over Michigan at the Big House.
White finished with 181 yards and two scores on 23 carries, while Ball added 173 yards with four touchdowns on 29 attempts for Wisconsin (10-1, 6-1 Big Ten), which has won six straight since a conference-opening loss to Michigan State and remained firmly in the hunt for the Big Ten title. The Badgers will host Northwestern next Saturday with a win guaranteeing them at least a share of the conference crown.
Scott Tolzien completed 14-of-15 passes for 201 yards for the Badgers, who attempted just one pass in the second half, resulting in an interception. Wisconsin finished with 558 yards of offense, including 357 on the ground.
Denard Robinson ran for 121 yards with two touchdowns and threw for 239 yards with a pair of scores for Michigan (7-4, 3-4), which closed out its home schedule and will visit Ohio State for its traditional season-finale next week. Robinson set the NCAA single-season record for rushing yards by a quarterback, eclipsing the previous mark of 1,494 set by Beau Morgan of Air Force in 1996.
Wisconsin came into Saturday’s football game versus Michigan without running back John Clay, but the Badgers haven’t missed him in the first half as they've run out to a 24-0 lead.
Sophomore Montee Ball has run for 113 yards on 16 carries with two touchdowns. James White has added 72 rushing yards and a touchdown on seven carries.
But Wisconsin has shown a balanced attack, also moving the ball through the air. Quarterback Scott Tolzien has been extremely accurate, completing 13-of-14 passes for 196 yards. Lance Kendricks leads Wisconsin with 74 yards on four receptions.
For Michigan, Denard Robinson has rushed for 76 yards on 10 carries, but the Wolverines have not moved the ball effectively against the Wisconsin defense. Part of the problem has been a lack of balance. Robinson has only completed four passes in 10 attempts for 21 yards.
Michigan's injury report for the Wisconsin game was released on Thursday. Defensive tackle Mike Martin, who is dealing with an ankle injury that basically kept him out last week, is probable. Linebacker Jonas Mouton, who played despite having a chest injury against Purdue, is also probable with the same ailment.
Offensive tackle Taylor Lewan and running back Mike Shaw are both questionable for Michigan. The two players are both dealing with concussion-like symptoms, and their status for the Wisconsin game is up in the air. Shaw was noticeably woozy after taking a big hit during the Purdue game, and Lewan apparently took a hit in the first half and started developing the symptoms after the game.
None of the Michigan players out this week are any different than before. For Wisconsin, though, running back John Clay is out for the second straight week because of a bruised MCL.
"It's not worse than expected," Bielema said. "He can't go until that thing heals up. Last week he really didn't do anything. Monday we ran around for the first time and today he looked pretty good on the side. We didn't him in any live stuff, but today all his cuts and runs were 100 percent no pain so we'll move forward."
Although Clay is a great running back, Wisconsin's backups are very good as well and may be even more explosive. Freshman James White, for example, has rushed for 714 yards on only 105 carries this season, scoring 11 touchdowns. He ran for 144 yards last week against Indiana, averaging 7.6 yards a carry.
Considering how much Michigan's run defense has struggled this season, it may not matter who is back there for Wisconsin, but I actually think White will put up bigger numbers than Clay would just because he is so explosive. Clay might be tougher to bring down, but Michigan may have a tough time even catching up to White if he gets into the open field.
GAME NOTES: The sixth-ranked Wisconsin Badgers and Michigan Wolverines will battle at "The Big House" this weekend in what is sure to be a hard-fought Big Ten Conference clash.
Wisconsin is 9-1 for the first time since 2006 and the seventh time in program history. Last weekend, The Badgers recorded a staggering 83-20 victory over Indiana, marking their most points ever scored in a Big Ten game and most overall since 1915.
"It was just kind of the way things happened," said Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema when asked of his team tried to get style points to influence the BCS standings. "I don't think Wisconsin will ever get accused of trying to be sexy or (get) style points."
With just two weeks remaining in the regular season, Wisconsin is 5-1 in Big Ten play, good for a three-way tie atop the standings with Ohio State and Michigan State. If the Badgers can knock off the Wolverines and best Northwestern at home on November 27th, the program would earn at least a share of the crown.
While Michigan owns a solid 7-3 overall record, the team is just 3-3 in Big Ten play. Fortunately, the last two outings have resulted in victory, including last weekend's 27-16 triumph over Purdue.
"If you look at the end result, it's a win on the road," said Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez after the game. "We're proud. It's a team win, and the offense at least came together at the end when we had the touchdown."
Michigan owns a 49-13-1 series advantage over Wisconsin, including 27-6 in Ann Arbor. Last season, however, the Badgers thumped the Wolverines in Madison by a 45-24 final.
A key to Wisconsin's success this season is that it has committed only seven turnovers to date, tied for the fewest in the nation. Quarterback Scott Tolzien deserves plenty of credit for that distinction, has he has been intercepted just five times in 211 pass attempts, Tolzien has completed 72.5 percent of his tosses for 1,869 yards and 12 touchdowns, and he has done do with a rather mediocre group of receivers. Make no mistake, the running game is the focus the Wisconsin offense, as it has accounted for 228.2 ypg, 5.4 yards per carry and 35 touchdowns to date. John Clay, who leads the squad with 929 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns, is listed as questionable for this weekend's tilt with a knee injury. Fortunately, James White and Montee Ball are capable of picking up the slack. white has rushed for 714 yards and 11 scores, while Ball has 513 rushing yards and nine touchdowns to his credit.
Opponents are only managing 19.5 ppg against Wisconsin, which is surrendering 315.6 total ypg. The Badgers are allowing only 3.8 yards per rushing attempt, and the fact that a Big Ten team has permitted a mere four rushing touchdowns through 10 games is a tremendous accomplishment. The Badgers are not as strong against the pass, but 20 sacks have been notched. J.J. Watt is a defensive standout who has posted 18 TFLs, including six sacks.
Against Indiana last week, Wisconsin posted 598 total yards, including 338 rushing yards. The Badgers had 10 offensive touchdowns in that affair, including six rushing scores, and didn't commit a single turnover. Tolzien completed 15-of-18 passes for 181 yards and three scores, while Ball paced the backfield with 167 rushing yards and three touchdowns. White added 144 yards and two scores, and Clay didn't even play in that contest, making the blowout all the more impressive.
"We actually weren't surprised about scoring (83 points)," said Ball after the romp. "We practiced very hard and we were expecting to impose our will upon them."
Wisconsin's defense was obviously overshadowed by its offensive play last weekend, but the Badgers got the job done against Indiana. The Hoosiers were only able to post 316 total yards and two touchdowns in the blowout.
Coach Rodriguez was not happy with the play of Michigan's offense for much of last weekend's game against Purdue. The Wolverines finished with a solid total of 395 total yards, but they turned the ball over five times, including three lost fumbles. Denard Robinson was intercepted twice and looked rather average under center, something that couldn't be said early on this season when the versatile signal caller was a Heisman frontrunner.
Early in the first quarter against Purdue, Michigan's Cameron Gordon picked up a fumble and raced 58 yards for a touchdown.
"It changes the game," said linebacker Kenny Demens of the early defensive touchdown. "Not just for the defense but the offense also."
The Wolverines yielded just 256 yards in the clash and also forced five turnovers to equal the total committed by the Michigan offense.
Overall this season, Michigan is generating 37.7 ppg and 521.8 total ypg. Robinson's numbers are staggering, as he has passed for 1,990 yards and 14 touchdowns while rushing for 1,417 yards and 12 scores. Roy Roundtree is the top receiver for the Wolverines, as he has made 51 catches for 725 yards and five scores.
Foes have posted 32.1 ppg against Michigan, which is surrendering 433.9 total ypg. The Wolverines have allowed 39 touchdowns to opposing offenses, including 23 rushing scores, and there is plenty of room for improvement against both the run and the pass. Jonas Mouton paces Michigan with 89 total tackles, including 7.5 TFLs.
Wisconsin is a more complete team than Michigan, which struggles mightily on defense. For that reason, give an edge to the visiting Badgers.
Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Wisconsin 27, Michigan 24
Michigan's Denard Robinson Sets Two Records In Loss To Wisconsin
One bright note in Michigan’s 48-28 loss to Wisconsin: Denard Robinson’s added a couple of records to his impressive sophomore season.
With a 12-yard run in the third quarter, Robinson surpassed 1,494 yards rushing. That pushed him past Air Force’s Beau Morgan for the NCAA"s top single-season rushing total by a quarterback.
Robinson finished with 121 yards rushing for the game, giving him 1,538 on the season. That made him the first quarterback in NCAA history to pass and rush for at least 1,500 yards in a single season.
As you might expect, however, Robinson wasn’t too interested in hearing about the records after the loss to the Badgers.
From AnnArbor.com:
According to the Associated Press, the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA) single-season rushing record for a quarterback is 1,844 yards by Georgia Southern’s Jason Foster in 2007.
Nov 21 12:49a by Ian Casselberry - 0 comments