No. 4 Michigan beats No. 8 Wisconsin 14-7, stays undefeated
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Wilton Speight threw a tiebreaking, 46-yard touchdown pass to Amara Darboh midway through the fourth quarter and Jourdan Lewis had a spectacular, one-handed interception as No. 4 Michigan held on to beat No. 8 Wisconsin 14-7 on Saturday.
Jim Harbaugh helped the Wolverines (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) beat a top-10 team for the first time since their Rich Rodriguez-led team rallied to beat the ninth-ranked Badgers in 2008.
Wisconsin (4-1, 1-1) had the ball at their 8 with 2:59 and no timeouts left with a chance to beat a third team ranked in the top 10.
The Badgers went for it on fourth-and-10 from its 8, with no timeouts left, and Alex Hornibrook's deep pass was picked off by Lewis.
Lewis leaped to snatch the ball out of the air with his right hand and pinned it against his hip for an interception near midfield with 2:15 left to play.
Hornibrook, in his second start, threw three interceptions.
The freshman quarterback did throw a game-tying, 17-yard TD pass to Dare Ogunbowale midway through the third quarter.
Michigan had chances to have a bigger cushion, but Kenny Allen missed two field goals and his replacement, Ryan Tice missed a field goal.
THE TAKEAWAY
Wisconsin: The Badgers never led in the game, coming off a 30-6 win against then-No. 8 Michigan State on the road following a season-opening victory against then-No. 5 LSU. They could not overcome the turnovers made by Hornibrook and failed to establish their running game, getting held to just 71 yards on the ground.
Michigan: The Wolverines suddenly have some serious woes on special teams. Allen missed two field goals, dropping him to 4 of 8 on this season, and got benched. The Wolverines were also plagued by penalties on punts.
UP NEXT
Wisconsin: The Badgers' run of games against top-10 teams extends to three with a home game against No. 2 Ohio State.
Michigan: Finally, the Wolverines hit the road. They play at Rutgers, which is coming off a 58-0 loss at Ohio State to fall to 2-3 overall and 0-2 in the Big Ten.