GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: NCAAF: MICHIGAN (5-2) at ILLINOIS (5-2)

NCAAF: MICHIGAN at ILLINOIS

<div class="pre">NCAAF FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
MICHIGAN (24) 3 14 0 10 27
ILLINOIS 7 7 3 0 17 FINAL

ILLINOIS-TD, J Willis 26 YD PASS FROM J Williams (J Reda
KICK) 0:56 1st Qtr
MICHIGAN-FG, K Lopata 25 YD 13:39 1st Qtr
ILLINOIS-TD, D Dufrene 8 YD RUN (J Reda KICK) 5:02 2nd Qtr
MICHIGAN-TD, M Manningham 8 YD PASS FROM C Henne (K Lopata
KICK) 6:59 2nd Qtr
MICHIGAN-TD, A Arrington 14 YD PASS FROM C Henne (K Lopata
KICK) 14:15 2nd Qtr
ILLINOIS-FG, J Reda 38 YD 11:13 3rd Qtr
MICHIGAN-TD, M Manningham 11 YD PASS FROM A Arrington (K
Lopata KICK) 6:48 4th Qtr
MICHIGAN-FG, K Lopata 39 YD 11:11 4th Qtr


MICHIGAN ILLINOIS
First downs 23 15
Rushed-yards 46-115 31-137
Passing yards 228 116
Sacked-yards lost 4-33 1-12
Return yards -1 1
Passes 21-33-2 14-26-1
Punts 4-44 5-36.8
Fumbles-lost 3-1 3-1
Penalties-yards 4-35 10-107
Time of possession 34:49 25:11


Individual Statistics

RUSHING: MICHIGAN-Carlos Brown 25-113, Brandon Minor 9-18, Ryan
Mallett 4-13, Mario Manningham 1-4, - Team 2-MINUS 4, Chad Henne
5-MINUS 29. ILLINOIS-Rashard Mendenhall 18-85, Daniel Dufrene 2-21,
Juice Williams 7-17, Eddie McGee 3-12, Russ Weil 1-2.

PASSING: MICHIGAN-Chad Henne 18-26-201- 1, Ryan Mallett 2-6-16- 1,
Adrian Arrington 1-1-11- 0. ILLINOIS-Juice Williams 8-14-70- 1. Eddie
McGee 6-12-46- 0.

RECEIVING: MICHIGAN-Mario Manningham 9-109, Adrian Arrington 3-58,
Carson Butler 5-38, Greg Mathews 3-28, Brandon Minor 1-MINUS 5.
ILLINOIS-Jacob Willis 3-40, Arrelious Benn 5-35, Rashard Mendenhall
4-26, DaJuan Warren 1-9, Kyle Hudson 1-6.


Att: 57,078</div>

 

CHAMPAIGN, Illinois (Ticker) -- Already without the nation'sleading rusher, Michigan survived the entire third quarterwithout starting quarterback Chad Henne to get a big road win.

Carlos Brown ran for 113 yards on 25 carries and Henne foughtthrough shoulder problems to throw for 201 yards and twotouchdowns, as 24th-ranked Michigan posted a 27-17 victory overIllinois in a Big Ten conference matchup on Saturday.

Mario Manningham caught nine passes for 109 yards and twotouchdowns for the Wolverines (6-2, 4-0 Big Ten), who won theirsixth game in a row following an 0-2 start.


Michigan running back Mike Hart, who has rushed for 1,078 yardsin seven games, did not play after spraining his right ankle inlast week's victory over Purdue.


Henne missed an offensive possession midway through the firstquarter after injuring his throwing shoulder but returned tofinish the first half. The senior quarterback then did not playfor the entire third quarter but came back onto the field whenthe final quarter began.


"At the half, we were just hoping he would be able to return atsome point," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. "He played with alot of discomfort. ... The only word to describe Henne iscourageous. He did something (nobody) on this team will (ever)forget."


With the score tied at 17-17 midway through the fourth quarter,a fumbled punt return gave Michigan the ball on the Illinois13-yard line, and the Wolverines took advantage on a trick play.

Wide receiver Adrian Arrington took a reverse running to theright and threw a perfect pass to lead Manningham in the rightside of the end zone, giving Michigan a 24-17 lead with 8:12remaining.


"I was thinking I was going to run it the whole time but then Isaw Mario and I knew I had to throw it to him," Arrington said.

K.C. Lopata added a 39-yard field goal with 3:49 left to givethe Wolverines some breathing room.


Illinois (5-3, 3-2) managed just 116 yards through the air andlost to Michigan for the sixth straight time.


The Illini started the game quickly, taking a 7-0 lead just 56seconds into the contest.


After a 63-yard kickoff return to the Michigan 33, JuiceWilliams hit Jacob Willis for a 26-yard touchdown on just thesecond play of the game.


Lopata kicked a 25-yard field goal for Michigan, cutting thedeficit to 7-3 with 1:21 left in the first quarter.

Illinois added to their lead when Daniel Dufrene capped a 13play, 90-yard drive with an eight-yard touchdown run. The scoregave the Illini a 14-3 lead with 9:58 left in the secondquarter.


"We had opportunities to win the game," Illinois coach Ron Zooksaid. "We let it slip away from us."


The Wolverines answered less than two minutes later when Hennehit Manningham for an eight-yard touchdown, trimming the deficitto 14-10.


Henne threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Arrington with 45seconds remaining in the first half to give the Wolverines a17-14 lead at the break.