MADISON, Wis. – After leading in the second half, the Michigan Wolverines fell to the undefeated Wisconsin Badgers 24-10 in a hard-fought battle of nationally ranked Big Ten Conference combatants at Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
No. 5-rated Wisconsin entered the game as a 7-point favorite over 24th-ranked Michigan.
On Saturday, the Wolverines traded possessions with Wisconsin from the opening kickoff until the Badgers took a 7-0 lead on a 50-yard punt return with 1:15 to go in the opening period.
Michigan lost an excellent scoring opportunity midway through the second stanza when the Wolverines connected on a long pass deep into Badger territory followed by freshman quarterback Brandon Peters fumbling the ball away on the 1-yard line with 8:42 remaining until intermission.
Michigan began driving again with time winding down in the first half, before freshman fullback Ben Mason culminated the 84-yard drive by scoring on a 1-yard run for a 7-7 deadlock with 2:24 left in the second quarter. That score stood until the break.
The two schools started off the second half trading possessions again, until Rockford’s Quinn Nordin booted a 39-yard field goal for a 10-7 Wolverine advantage with 6:36 showing on the clock in the third period.
Wisconsin reclaimed the lead at 14-10 on a 24-yard TD pass with 3:31 left in the third.
Right after that, Peters was injured with 2:13 to go in the third quarter, bringing on backup signal-caller John O’Korn.
The Badgers upped to the bulge to 21-10 with 24 seconds remaining in the third frame on a 33-yard run around the left end, and then to 24-10 with 2:26 remaining in the game on a 30-yard field goal.
That set the final outcome.
Michigan is now 8-3 entering next Saturday afternoon’s homefield encounter with its longtime rival, the Ohio State Buckeyes, at Michigan Stadium.
Wisconsin now stands 11-0 going into a trip to meet the Minnesota Golden Gophers at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis next Saturday afternoon.
Each of those outings will conclude the regular season for both schools.
EARLIER STORY:
http://fox17online.com/2017/11/18/michigan-tied-with-unbeaten-wisconsin-7-7-at-halftime