EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — Karan Higdon ran for 115 yards and two touchdowns, Shea Patterson threw 196 yards and No. 14 Michigan overcame a 17-point deficit to beat Northwestern 20-17 on Saturday.
Higdon gave the Wolverines (4-1, 2-0 Big Ten) the lead with a 5-yard run with 4:06 remaining. Higdon averaged 3.8 yards on 30 carries, and Patterson completed 15 of 24 passes to help Michigan win its fourth straight.
Michigan held Northwestern to 97 yards of total offense in the final three quarters and had six sacks for the game.
Clayton Thorson completed 16 of 27 passes for 174 yards for Northwestern (1-3, 1-1) in the Wildcats’ third straight loss.
John Moten IV had 36 yards on 13 rushes and a touchdown in his first start for Northwestern. He took over for Jeremy Larkin after Larkin retired this week because of a spinal condition.
Michigan has won seven straight games at Ryan Field.
A 14 1/2-point underdog, Northwestern jumped out to a 17-0 lead early in the second quarter on short TD runs by Thorson and Moten and a career-high 45-yard field goal by Charlie Kuhbander.
Michigan, which had minus-2 yards on its first two possessions, pulled to 17-7 on Higdon’s 4-yard run in the second quarter. The Wolverines made it 17-13 in the third on Quinn Nordin’s two field goals.
Neither team could generate much offense in the fourth until Hidgon’s second TD capped an 11-play, 67-yard drive. The key play in the drive was a 22-yard pass from Patterson to Zach Gentry for first-and-goal at the 6.
THE TAKEAWAY
Michigan: It certainly wasn’t pretty — particularly on the offensive side — but the defense stepped up to shut down the Wildcats following a fast start.
Northwestern: After being on a pitch count in the first three games, Thorson went the distance and eliminated the mistakes that led to the loss against Akron two weeks ago. But again, the offense bogged down after a fast start and struggled to gain first downs in the second half.
UP NEXT
Michigan hosts Maryland next Saturday.
Northwestern visits Michigan State next Saturday. –
___
More AP college football: https://apnews.com/tag/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
