2003 FBL at Northwestern -- Postgame Notes

Lloyd Carr earned his 85th overall win (85-25) and his 55th Big Ten victory (55-16) as Michigan head coach.

Fifth-year senior quarterback John Navarre collected his 30th victory (30-10) as the starting signal-caller for the Wolverines and made his 40th career start in the Northwestern game.

Navarre tossed two TD passes at Northwestern, moving within two scores of tying Elvis Grbac's school record of 71 career touchdown passes. Navarre has tossed at least one touchdown pass in all 11 games this season.

Navarre completed 22-of-31 passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns on the day. He completed 16-of-18 passes for 213 yards and both passing TDs during the first half.

Michigan scored on the opening series of the game for the second time this season (Illinois). Senior tailback Chris Perry crossed the goal line on a two-yard run to cap a nine-play, 65-yard drive that consumed 4:21.

Perry carried the ball 25 times for 122 yards and scored two rushing touchdowns against the Wildcats. He moved from 12th to sixth place on Michigan's season rushing yardage list (1,435 yards on 284 carries and 16 TDs).

Perry rushed for more than 100 yards for the second straight road game and the 11th time in his career. He surpassed the 100-yard mark for the seventh time in 2003.

Perry scored two or more rushing TDs in a game for the fifth time this season and the eighth time in his career. He moved into sole possession of fourth place on Michigan's season rushing touchdown list with 16 scores in 2003.

With his 17-yard pass to junior wide receiver Braylon Edwards on the Wolverines' opening play of the game, John Navarre surpassed the 2,500-yard passing mark for the second consecutive season.

Edwards caught a touchdown pass for the third straight game with his 26-yard grab from Navarre at the 10:21 mark of the second quarter. Edwards has a receiving TD in eight of the 11 games this season.

Edwards surpassed the 100-yard receiving mark for the second consecutive game and the fourth time this season, catching a team-high nine receptions for 112 yards and one receiving touchdown against the Wildcats.

Edwards extended his streak to 24 games with three or more receptions in the Northwestern game.

Sophomore wide receiver Jason Avant caught his second career receiving touchdown at the 4:53 mark of the second quarter, grabbing a 22-yard pass from Navarre with one hand (right) for the score. Avant made two catches for 40 yards and one score on the day.

Fifth-year senior defensive tackle Grant Bowman led the defensive effort with a career-high seven tackles against the Wildcats, including one tackle for loss. His previous career high was four stops, achieved on six different occasions.

Juniors Ernest Shazor and Lawrence Reid contributed six stops apiece against the Wildcats.

Junior safety Marlin Jackson returned to the lineup for the Wolverines after missing the past three games. He contributed four stops in limited action.

The Wolverines gained 505 total offensive yards on 79 plays against the Wildcats. The balanced U-M offense gained 217 rushing yards on 48 attempts and added 288 yards through the air.

Michigan forced three turnovers (one interception, two fumbles) against Northwestern and converted those opportunities into 14 points.

The Wolverines recovered two fumbles against Northwestern after gaining just four fumble recoveries in their first 10 games. Junior defensive end Pat Massey forced a fumble with fifth-year senior cornerback Jeremy LeSueur recovering the ball. Freshman Jerome Jackson recovered a fumble on a botched kickoff return by Northwestern.

Freshman cornerback Leon Hall gained his team-leading third interception in the Northwestern game.

The Wolverines scored a season-high 41 points on the road in the Northwestern game, surpassing the 38 points tallied in the 38-35 come-from-behind victory at Minnesota (Oct. 10).

U-M's 31 points during the opening half were its most since tallying 35 points in the first half against Illinois earlier this season (Oct. 18).

Michigan avenged a 54-51 loss to the Wildcats in its last visit to Ryan Field during the 2000 season. The loss was the only time the Wolverines scored 40 or more points in a game and lost.