with a pair of interceptions himself.
Most of that came late in the game, on
fourth-quarter drives of 95 and 74 yards. Michi-
gan just hung on for a road win and a chance to
exhale.
"The defense answered the bell a lot," head
coach Brady Hoke said. "They faced some chal-
lenges and adversity, and did a nice job with it,
but that's why they came to Michigan to play de-
fense."
Defense proved the only half of the game that
was played, through more than three-and-a-half
quarters.
Michigan broke through, almost out of the
blue, following 38 minutes and 11 seconds of
missed opportunities, to finally score. Jones
muffed a U-M punt, the ball squirting to the
turf at the Wildcats' 21-yard line, where red-
shirt sophomore wide receiver Jehu Chesson
dove on it.
Gardner immediately gunned an 18-yard
throw to junior wideout Devin Funchess, and
sophomore tailback De'Veon Smith (18 carries
for 121 yards) crashed in from three yards out for
the touchdown. In a game in which it appeared
neither team could score, the Wolverines drew
first blood, going up 7-0 at the 6:49 mark of the
third quarter.
"It was not pretty in some ways, from an
offensive standpoint," Hoke acknowledged.
Provided a similar scoring chance on a silver
platter, the Wildcats' tarnished offense threw it
into reverse.
Gardner missed a wide-open receiver while
pitching into coverage, connecting instead with
Wildcats safety Ibraheim Campbell, who re-
turned it 79 yards to the Michigan 15.
The Wolverines' defense then rose up to blow
up a reverse, sack Siemian and pressure him into
intentionally grounding the football, costing the
Wildcats 28 yards in the process. On a day de-
fined by solid defense against stumbling offense,
the Wolverines did their part.
"We played hard," Clark said. "You've got
