Michigan football walks off Northwestern at Wrigley Field

CHICAGO – The Michigan Wolverines, in true baseball-like fashion, left Wrigley Field on Saturday afternoon with a 24-22 walk-off victory thanks to a 31-yard Dominic Zvada victory as time expired.

Despite racking up 496 yards of offense, U-M blew a two-score fourth-quarter lead and had 5 total turnovers and two missed field goals on the day. But they put together their first game-winning drive of the season, due in large part to 12 catches for 189 yards for freshman wide receiver Andrew Marsh.

Here is the blow-by-blow recap from the Friendly Confines.

First quarter

Northwestern won the coin toss and deferred, putting the Michigan offense on the field to start the game from their 25-yard line. The Wolverines went 59 yards in 9 plays, but a pair of sacks and a third-down penalty on a Jordan Marshall touchdown run negated what would have been a touchdown drive. Then, Dominic Zvada missed a field goal from 34 yards out, giving the Wildcats the ball at their 16-yard line wth 9:28 left in the quarter.

Northwestern responded with a 9-play, 21-yard drive that included a fake punt conversion on 4th and 1 and an overturned deep shot well into Michigan territory. After the punt down to the U-M 9-yard line, the Maize and Blue would line up for their second offensive possession with 3:56 to go in the opening chapter.

The quarter would end with Michigan driving and sitting at 2nd and 6 from the Northwestern 38-yard line heading into the timeout.

Michigan 0, Northwestern 0

Second down

Michigan closed out with one of its most impressive drives of the season with a 1-yard touchdown run from sophomore tailback Jordan Marshall, his 9th of the year. The score came at the end of a 12-play, 91-yard drive that took 5:45 off the clock. After the extra point, Michigan led 7-0 with 13:11 to go in the second quarter. Northwestern would quickly go 3-and-out on its next possession, punting to the Wolverines down to the 23-yard line with 12:08 remaining. Michigan matched with their first 3-and-out of the day, punting it back to the Wildcats, who took over on the 46-yard line with 11:12 to go.

Northwestern went 38 yards down the field in 10 plays to get its first points of the day on the board thanks to a 34-yard field goal. Michigan’s lead was trimmed to 7-3 with 5:22 left in the half. On its next drive, the Wolverines gained 28 yards in 7 plays before fumbling near midfield on a reverse designed for Andrew Marsh, giving the Wildcats possession at the 47-yard line with 2:18 left in the quarter.

Northwestern would take advantage and go 39 yards in 7 plays and add another red zone field goal to cut the Michigan lead to 7-6 with a minute remaining. Michigan went 33 yards in 6 plays, attempting to get points on the board before halftime. Zvada missed a 60-yard field goal towards the outfield wide right, leaving the score at 7-6 from Wrigley.

Michigan 7, Northwestern 6

Third quarter

Northwestern started on offense from its 25-yard line after deferring the opening kickoff decision. After a quick first down conversion, U-M’s defense got off the field in 4 plays after allowing 19 yards. The offense would take over at its 15-yard line after the punt with 12:42 on the clock.

U-M’s offense woke up from its slumber on its first possession of the half, going 5 plays for 85 yards to put up its second touchdown of the day. The score came courtesy of a 9-yard quarterback keeper for Underwood one play after a Jordan Marshal 65-yard run, and two plays after Underwood picked up a 3rd-and-7 with his legs to keep the drive alive. After the extra point, Michigan stretched its lead to 14-6 with 10:29 left in the quarter.

Michigan’s defense held strong on the next drive, forcing a 3-and-out with 3 yards gained, but Semaj Morgan fumbled on the punt return and appeared to have recovered, but the officials ruled otherwise after a review. Northwestern would take back over on the U-M 36-yard line, but had to settle for another kick. The score would be trimmed to 14-9 after a 35-yard field goal from the Wildcats with 6:09 left.

Michigan responded with a long touchdown drive on its next possession, going 80 yards in 10 plays and getting a 1-yard touchdown run from Marshall, his second of the game. U-M lead 21-9 after the extra point with 41 seconds left in the quarter.

The clock would run out with Northwestern possessing the football.

Michigan 21, Northwestern 9

Fourth quarter

Northwestern went through the Wolverines’ defense like a hot knife through butter on the next drive, going 75 yards in 7 plays to put their first touchdown of the day on the scoreboard, a 1-yard rush from quarterback Preston Stone. The score would be trimmed to 21-16 after the extra point with 13 minutes to go in the game. Three snaps later, Underwood threw an interception returned down to U-M’s 6-yard line, and a play later Northwestern took its first lead of the game on a 6-yard touchdown run from Caleb Comolafe. The two-point conversion was no good, putting the score at 22-21 with 12:05 to play.

Michigan’s fourth-quarter meltdown was only getting started, though. Underwood threw his second interception in as many drives to give it right back to the Wildcats at their 27-yard line with 9:05 remaining. The defense stood tall and got off the field, forcing a 3-and-out and taking back over at its 41-yard line with 7:28 to go. It got down to the Northwestern 26-yard line, but fumbled back to the Wildcats on 4th and 1. They would take over there with 4:20 to go, but again go 3-and-out and give Michigan another chance to re-take the lead.

Michigan started its final drive at its 37-yard line with 2:10 to go. The Wolverines were able to work their way down the field to set up a 31-yard field goal attempt for Zvada as time expired, which was banged through to secure a Wolverine win. After all of that, U-M leaves Chicago with a victory.

FINAL: Michigan 24, Northwestern 22

Final Michigan at Northwestern box score