It was a tale of two halves at Ryan Field on Saturday in Evanston. Northwestern controlled things in the first half and held a ten point lead at the break. Michigan came out a different team in the second half and completely dominated the Wildcats in route to a 42-24 victory.
Michigan (6-0, 2-0) got on the board first on Saturday when Denard Robinson hit Steve Watson on a 9-yard touchdown pass. Northwestern would rebound to score the next two touchdowns of the game and take a 14-7 lead after the first quarter. Michigan would tie the game in the second period thanks again to Robinson who connected this time with Jeremy Gallon on a 25-yard touchdown pass.
Northwestern (2-3, 0-2) would score the last ten points of the 2nd quarter to take a 24-14 lead to the half. That would be it though for the Wildcats and their fans as Michigan went on a 28-0 run in the second half to put the game out of reach.
Denard Robinson showed on Saturday why he is a Heisman Trophy candidate. Robinson threw for 325 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another 117 yards and two more touchdowns to lead the Wolverines in victory. The Michigan QB's only knock was that he threw three interceptions.
Dan Persa played ok for Northwestern in his second game back. Persa was 31 of 42 for 328 yards. The problem for Northwestern on Saturday was the defense couldn't stop the Wolverines. Michigan gained 529 yards of offense and held the ball for almost 38 minutes.
Northwestern will play at Iowa next Saturday evening.