The Wolverine Now

NOV. 11, 2012 yards away from disaster. But the mini- miracle to follow never made Brady Hoke blink. Hoke insisted, his team down by three points to Northwestern and at its own 38 with 18 ticks left in regulation, that his crew was going to win. He might not have enjoyed much company, among the 112,510 in Michigan Stadium. What unfolded in the moments to come padded the panoply of unfathomable fin- ishes in The Big House, the Wolverines pulling out a 38-31 overtime win. "No," Hoke maintained, when asked if he felt the story was already written as the seconds ticked away. "No. 'Cause of those kids. No way." No indeed. Junior quarterback Devin Gardner (16-of-29 passing, 286 yards, two touch- downs), heaved the ball down the mid- dle for fifth-year senior wideout Roy Roundtree (five catches, 139 yards), and hoped. Roundtree crumpled to the turf beneath leaping Wildcats cornerback Dan- iel Jones, who soared high to tip the ball along with Roundtree. But Roundtree — on his knees and con- centrating like a bomb squad technician defusing the big one — watched the foot- ball tumble into his hands, the 53-yard CARDIAC COMEBACK M ichigan's hopes for a Big Ten cham- pionship teetered 18 seconds and 62 Wolverines Show Heart In Overtime Thriller, Beating Northwestern 38-31 BY JOHN BORTON (96 yards passing, 82 rushing) tormented the Wolverines all day. But when he saw a chance to answer in overtime, Michigan's reeling defense saw an opportunity for re- demption. "It was pretty simple," fifth-year senior safety Jordan Kovacs said of the defensive message. "'Let's get a stop, let's win this game, and let's go home.'" They did so, fifth-year senior middle linebacker Kenny Demens blasting Colter 38 31 on third-and short at the Michigan 17 and then planting running back Tyris Jones like spring corn on the final play. "The defense didn't play as well as we wanted to, but to come up and make a play and finish strong like we did, it means a lot," Demens said. The Wolverines faced an uphill climb the Fifth-year senior linebacker Kenny Demens slammed Northwestern's Tyris Jones to the turf on fourth- and-two in overtime to seal Michigan's remarkable come-from-behind win. reception setting the Wolverines up on the Northwestern 9. "All game I told him to put the ball up there, and I'm going to go get it for you," Roundtree beamed. "I tipped it to myself, came down with it, and no review, so I'm good." Redshirt junior placekicker Brendan Gib- bons slammed through the game-tying 26-yard field goal with two seconds left, PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN sending a disbelieving Michigan Stadium crowd into a frenzy. The best was yet to come. Gardner maneuvered the Wolverines into position with a 17-yard toss to Roundtree in overtime. Then on third-and-goal from the Wildcats' 1, Gardner faked a handoff and scampered untouched around right end for the game-winning touchdown. Northwestern quarterback Kain Colter entire second half, getting riddled with 27 Northwestern first downs and a Wildcats crew that controlled the ball for all but 8:48 of the game's final 30 minutes of regula- tion. Colter (8-of-14, 96 yards, one touch- down) and backup Trevor Siemian (6-of-7, 87 yards, two TDs) tore U-M up through the air, while quick back Venric Mark (23 carries, 104 yards, one touchdown) and Colter threatened to run the Wolverines (7-3 overall, 5-1 Big Ten) right out of the Big Ten race. The Wildcats lost Colter to an ankle in- jury in the penultimate drive of regulation, but still took the ball 66 yards for the go-

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