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Michigan Gears Up For Ohio State With Pounding Of Indiana

POSTED: Sunday, November 12, 2006

(Sports Network) - Chad Henne passed for 159 yards with two touchdowns and Mike Hart rushed for another score, as second-ranked Michigan defeated Indiana 34-3 at Memorial Stadium.

The Wolverines (11-0, 7-0 Big Ten) will travel to Columbus for a showdown with top-ranked Ohio State next Saturday. The Buckeyes also remained unbeaten with a 54-10 victory over Northwestern.

"It's going to be another great Ohio State-Michigan game," said Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr. "A few things are a little bit different and I don't think there is any question that it can't be any more special than Ohio State and Michigan. This one has everything that a fan could want and for the teams involved. The players and coaches have everything that they want. It's great for the Big Ten conference and it's great for every college football fan. It will be an exciting week."

Henne completed 11-of-15 passes with an interception and Hart rushed for 92 yards on 19 carries in the win. Steve Breaston also contributed with three catches for 103 yards and a touchdown and also returned a punt 83 yards for another score.

"He had an outstanding game," Carr said of Breaston. "I told him beforehand that I thought this would be his best game of the year. He made a big play in the passing game and had a big return. A pretty good day of work when you only touch the ball three or four times. He's had a great year and he has done a lot of great things."

Jerome Jackson added 65 yards with a touchdown on eight carries, while the Michigan defense recorded five sacks in the contest.

Indiana (5-6, 3-4), which has lost three of its last four, will face Purdue next Saturday and needs a win to become bowl eligible. Quarterback Kellen Lewis finished with 105 yards passing, completing 16-of-33 passes. James Bailey caught five balls for 32 yards.

"On August 6 we set a goal to play 13 [games], and going into game 12, our goal is still alive," said Indiana head coach Terry Hoeppner about his team's bowl chances.

The Wolverines wasted little time getting on the scoreboard. After Indiana won the coin toss and elected to defer, Michigan took the opening kickoff down the field, going 66 yards on 10 plays. Henne capped the drive when he connected with wide receiver Adrian Arrington on a one-yard touchdown pass in the back right corner of the end zone to give Michigan a quick 7-0 lead.

After Michigan forced the Hoosiers to go three and out on their first offensive possession, the Wolverines went right back to the attack. Starting on the Indiana 37-yard line, Michigan moved the ball swiftly down the field, led by Henne, who completed 4-of-5 passes during the series. Hart put the finishing touches on the set when he ran over several would-be tacklers for a four-yard touchdown to make it 14-0 with just over four minutes remaining in the opening quarter.

The drive was kept alive when the Wolverines converted on a 4th-and-1 play on their own 47, when Hart, with some hard running up the middle, rushed for a five-yard gain. The scoring drive covered 62 yards on 11 plays.

"We came into this game with great intensity and the first two drives were really well done," Carr added.

After the teams exchanged punts, the Hoosiers mounted a good looking offensive series. After receiving the punt and starting on their own 21-yard line, Lewis guided the Hoosiers with his legs, rushing for 17 yards on the drive and then completing an eight-yard pass on 4th-and-2 on the Michigan 31. The drive stalled, however, and Indiana settled for a 39-yard field goal by Austin Starr to cut the deficit to 14-3 early in the second stanza.

The Wolverines answered right back on their next offensive set. Following a 12-yard run by Hart, Henne hooked up with Breaston on a 62-yard touchdown on a simple fly route to up Michigan's lead to 21-3.

Indiana was unable to answer Michigan's quick touchdown, going three and out again, and the Wolverines appeared to be in the process of putting more points on the board. Behind some hard running by Hart and a 22-yard completion from Henne to Tyler Ecker, Michigan moved the ball down to the Indiana 14. However, Henne, looking for another seven points, had his pass picked off by Leslie Majors in the end zone and he returned it to the Hoosier 30-yard line.

Indiana then tried to take advantage of the Michigan miscue. Lewis completed four passes to Bailey for 26 yards, and the Hoosiers' signal-caller rushed for another 13-yard gain, moving the ball to the Wolverine 16. Lewis, then looking into the end zone, had his pass intercepted by Morgan Trent and Michigan maintained a 21-3 lead heading into halftime.

After the Hoosiers received the second-half kickoff and couldn't muster any offense, they were forced to punt back to the Wolverines. Breaston fielded the punt at his own 17 and, virtually untouched, raced up the right sideline 83 yards for his second touchdown of the contest to give the Wolverines a 28-3 advantage.

The Indiana offense continued to struggle, going three and out once again and Michigan took full advantage. The Wolverines put together a well orchestrated seven-play, 59-yard drive behind some fine running by Jackson, who capped the series with a one-yard score for a commanding 34-3 lead late in the third quarter.

Game Notes

Michigan is now 50-9 all-time versus Indiana...The Wolverines, who defeated Indiana 41-14 last year, have won the last 15 meetings versus the Hoosiers.

Michigan

Scoreboard

Sat, Nov. 22FINAL
Michigan (3-8) 7
Ohio State (9-2) 42

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