Michigan
5-2 , 3-0
Purdue
5-2 , 1-2
Super Mario Stars as Wolverines Stop Boilermakers
10/13/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Michigan Stadium)
Score: Michigan 48, Purdue 21
Records: U-M (5-2, 3-0 Big Ten), Purdue (5-2, 1-2 Big Ten)
Attendance: 110,888
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Oct. 20 -- at Illinois (Champaign, Ill.), 7 p.m. CDT
Boxscore | Player Participation | Postgame Notes | Quotes
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan football team defeated the Purdue Boilermakers (No. 24 USA Today), 48-21, in front of 110,888 fans on Saturday (Oct. 13) in Michigan Stadium. The Wolverines (5-2, 3-0 Big Ten) took charge early in the contest, forcing three first-half turnovers by the Boilermaker (5-2, 1-2 Big Ten) that resulted in 14 Michigan points. In the second half, the Wolverines turned to junior receiver Mario Manningham(Warren, Ohio/Warren G. Harding HS), who set a new career high with 147 yards on eight catches, resulting in a pair of scores.
Senior tailback Mike Hart(Syracuse, N.Y./Onondaga Central HS) powered the Wolverine offense in the first half, rushing for 102 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries. Senior quarterback Chad Henne(Wyomissing, Pa./Wilson HS) played efficiently, completing 21-of-28 passes for 264 yards and two touchdowns. Complementing the play of Manningham was senior receiver Adrian Arrington(Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Washington HS), who added six catches for 55 yards. Sophomore running back Carlos Brown(Franklin, Ga./Heard County HS), who spelled Hart in the second half, chipped in with a career-high 13 carries for 69 yards and his first two career rushing touchdowns.
Senior linebacker Chris Graham(Indianapolis, Ind./Warren Central) led the defense with six tackles. Junior tackle Terrance Taylor(Muskegon, Mich./Muskegon HS) tallied five tackles, including two tackles for loss and a sack. Fifth-year senior safety Brandent Englemon(Covington, Ky./Holmes HS) added four tackles. The Wolverine defense held the Big Ten's No. 1 ranked offense to just four first downs and 82 yards in the first half, and 292 yards of total offense at game's end -- compared to the 459 Purdue had been averaging.
The Wolverines opened the scoring with a 24-yard touchdown pass from Henne to Manningham at 9:53 in the first quarter. Michigan gained possession at the Purdue 32-yard line after a punt by junior Zoltan Mesko(Twinsburg, Ohio/Twinsburg HS) bounced off the back of Boilermaker Terrell Vinson and was recovered by sophomore safety Stevie Brown(Columbus, Ohio/Columbus East HS). Following an eight-yard hookup from Henne to Manningham on first down, Henne went back to the junior speedster along the right sideline for the score.
On Michigan's next possession, the offense's hot play quickly cooled, as Henne was sacked and stripped of the football by Cliff Arvil at Michigan's own 13-yard line. Purdue immediately converted the turnover into points, knotting the score at seven with a five-yard rush by quarterback Curtis Painter with 6:32 left in the first quarter.
U-M regained the lead, 10-7, on a 34-yard field goal by senior kicker K.C. Lopata(Farmington, Mich./Farmington HS) late in the opening quarter. The drive was fueled by Hart who accounted for 30 of the drive's 51 yards on four carries.
Hart extended the Michigan advantage to 17-7 with an 11-yard touchdown on the Wolverines' next possession. Running left, Hart stumbled and rolled across the back of an offensive lineman -- never allowing his knee to touch -- before he got up and continued to run across the goal line. U-M gained possession on the drive after a forced fumble by senior defensive end Tim Jamison(Riverdale, Ill./Harvey Thornton HS) in Purdue territory.
The Michigan lead ballooned to 24-7 on a nine-yard touchdown run by Hart with 6:20 remaining before halftime. Henne connected on both of his passes during the drive for 24 yards, including a third-and-four conversion to sophomore receiver Greg Mathews(Orlando, Fla./Edgewater HS). The U-M drive covered 64 yards in nine plays, taking just over three minutes off of the clock.
The turnover bug continued to haunt the Boilermakers with an interception by junior defensive back Brandon Harrison(Dayton, Ohio/Chaminade-Julienne) with a minute left in the half. The Wolverines went straight to the endzone following the turnover on a 21-yard touchdown pass from Henne to Manningham, giving U-M the 31-7 halftime lead. Three of U-M's four touchdown drives in the opening half took a total of just 29 seconds.
Michigan's lead widened to 34-7 following a 35-yard Lopata field goal at 9:15 of the third quarter. Setting up the score was a 45-yard completion from Henne to Manningham to put U-M in Purdue territory. The Wolverines continued to flex their offensive muscles into the fourth quarter with a 29-yard touchdown run by Brown. It was his first career touchdown and longest run of his career. The score gave U-M a 41-7 lead with 14:14 left in the contest.
Not to be outdone, the Wolverine defense stepped up with an interception by senior safety Jamar Adams(Charlotte, N.C./Butler HS) on the Boilermakers' next possession. Adams returned the ball to the Purdue 33-yard line, setting the stage for a one-yard touchdown plunge by Brown to give U-M a commanding 48-7 advantage. A 12-yard run on fourth-and-one by Brown keyed the drive.
With the game out of reach, Purdue added a pair of scores. The first score came on a one-yard touchdown rush by Frank Halliburton and the second on a four-yard touchdown reception by Dorien Bryant, cutting the final deficit to 48-21.
Michigan takes on Illinois next Saturday (Oct. 20) at Memorial Stadium. The game will be televised by ABC starting at 7 p.m. CDT.
Media Contact: David Ablauf (734) 763-4423
Team Stats
PUR 0, MICH 7
MICH - Manningham, M. 24 yd pass from Henne, Chad (Lopata, K.C. kick) 2 plays, 32 yards, TOP 0:09
PUR 7, MICH 7
PUR - Painter,Curtis 5 yd run (Summers,Chris kick), 1 plays, 5 yards, TOP 0:05
PUR 7, MICH 10
MICH - Lopata, K.C. 34 yd field goal 10 plays, 51 yards, TOP 3:44
PUR 7, MICH 17
MICH - Hart, Mike 11 yd run (Lopata, K.C. kick), 2 plays, 37 yards, TOP 0:14
PUR 7, MICH 24
MICH - Hart, Mike 9 yd run (Lopata, K.C. kick), 9 plays, 64 yards, TOP 3:05
PUR 7, MICH 31
MICH - Manningham, M. 21 yd pass from Henne, Chad (Lopata, K.C. kick) 1 plays, 21 yards, TOP 0:06
PUR 7, MICH 34
MICH - Lopata, K.C. 35 yd field goal 5 plays, 52 yards, TOP 1:40
PUR 7, MICH 41
MICH - Brown, Carlos 29 yd run (Lopata, K.C. kick), 8 plays, 67 yards, TOP 3:42
PUR 7, MICH 48
MICH - Brown, Carlos 1 yd run (Lopata, K.C. kick), 8 plays, 33 yards, TOP 3:58
PUR 14, MICH 48
PUR - Halliburton,F. 1 yd run (Summers,Chris kick), 13 plays, 70 yards, TOP 4:43
PUR 21, MICH 48
PUR - Bryant,Dorien 4 yd pass from Elliott,Joey (Summers,Chris kick) 8 plays, 52 yards, TOP 0:39
