Michigan Slips Past Minnesota, 27-24

After making freshman mistakes, Chad Henne came through for Michigan like a senior.

Tyler Ecker caught a short pass from Henne over the middle, eluded two tackles and lumbered down the sideline for a 31-yard touchdown with 1:57 left to give the 14th-ranked Wolverines a 27-24 victory over No. 13 Minnesota on Saturday.

“Everybody sees you as a freshman, but you need to step up and show them you’re really not,” Henne said.

Henne completed 33 of 49 passes for 328 yards, all records for a true freshman at Michigan, with two touchdowns and two interceptions, both forced passes in the third quarter.

“To be able to perform at the level he is, I think it’s incredible,” Michigan Coach Lloyd Carr said.

Minnesota led, 24-17, early in the fourth quarter, after scoring 17 straight points.

A 29-yard field goal by Michigan’s Garrett Rivas with 9:36 left pulled the score to 24-20 and started the comeback.

The Wolverines forced the Gophers to punt on their next two possessions to set up the winning drive.

Henne directed a drive that started at Michigan’s 13 with 3:04 to play.

After three passes for first downs, he found Ecker, his third option, over the middle on a five-yard pass and the tight end ran for another 26 yards by breaking away from Brandon Owens and getting past Mike Wojciechowski for the first touchdown of Ecker’s career.

“We knew it was going to come down to a last drive,” Ecker said.

“We were preparing all week for something like this to happen.”

It was the second straight year Michigan beat Minnesota with a comeback. Last year in Minneapolis, Minnesota had a 21-point lead in the fourth quarter before losing, 38-35.

“Anybody that saw those two games saw two of the best football games -- ever,” Carr said. “We were fortunate to win both.”

The defending Big Ten champion Wolverines (5-1, 3-0) have not lost to the Gophers since 1986.

Michael Hart ran for 160 yards, a record for a Michigan freshman, and a score on 35 carries and had six receptions for 53 yards.

Braylon Edwards caught 10 passes for 98 yards and a touchdown. And after the final seconds went off the clock, he did a back flip.

If Minnesota (5-1, 2-1) could have held off Michigan, it would have had a better opportunity to win its first conference championship since 1967 because it doesn’t play Purdue or Ohio State.

“Hey, I hurt right now,” Gopher Coach Glen Mason said. “I hurt inside.”

Michigan entered the game No. 1 in the nation against the run and Minnesota was the third-ranked rushing team.

Minnesota’s Laurence Maroney ran for 145 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown, and extended his school-record streak with 100 yards to seven games.