Hart Is Soul of Upset Victory for Michigan

Mike Hart’s return and Garrett Rivas’ redemption gave Michigan a win it desperately needed Saturday.

Hart ran for 218 yards and a touchdown in his first game back from an injury, and Rivas made up for missing a field-goal try in the final minute of regulation by kicking a 35-yarder in overtime to give the Wolverines a 34-31 win over No. 11 Michigan State at East Lansing, Mich.

“All I wanted was another chance,” Rivas said. “Luckily, overtime went our way and we were able to get another shot.”

John Goss narrowly missed a 37-yard field-goal try in overtime and didn’t connect on a 23-yard attempt early in the fourth quarter that would have given the Spartans their only lead.

“I have no excuses for how I did,” Goss said with watery eyes. “I feel bad for letting my teammates down.”

Hart’s return from a hamstring injury after sitting out two-plus games allowed the Wolverines (3-2, 1-1 Big Ten) to avoid their worst start since 1967.

“I’ll never forget this day,” Michigan Coach Lloyd Carr said.

Coach John L. Smith hopes the Spartans don’t either.

“It hurts real bad, and it should hurt,” Smith said. “I hope the players feel it, and I hope they don’t forget the feeling.”

Drew Stanton completed 20 of 30 passes for 282 yards with a touchdown pass and an interception for the Spartans (4-1, 1-1), who lost their fourth consecutive game in the rivalry.

The Wolverines led by 14 twice in the first half and were ahead, 24-21, at halftime after the teams combined for 610 yards of offense.

After a first half in which Michigan’s Chad Henne threw three touchdown passes without a turnover, his interception led to a tying field goal early in the third quarter and his fumble midway through the fourth was returned 74 yards by defensive tackle Domata Peko for a touchdown, making the score 31-31.

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No. 17 Wisconsin 41, Indiana 24 -- Brandon Williams caught two touchdown passes and returned a punt 63 yards for a score in Wisconsin’s home win over previously unbeaten Indiana.

The Badgers (5-0, 2-0) won for the 10th consecutive time at Camp Randall Stadium, their longest home winning streak since reeling off 25 in a row from 1900 to ‘03, when their opponents included the likes of Hyde Park High School, Milwaukee Medical and the Osteopaths.

Wisconsin also denied the Hoosiers (3-1, 0-1) their first 4-0 start in 15 years.

Williams, who had all six of his receptions for 113 yards by halftime, became the fourth player in school history to top 2,000 yards receiving in a career and also the fourth to return two punts for touchdowns in a season. He had a 66-yarder against Temple last month.

John Stocco passed for 274 yards and three touchdowns for Wisconsin. He was picked off twice. Jonathan Orr had 128 yards in four receptions, including a 22-yard touchdown that made it 41-17 early in the fourth quarter.

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Iowa 35, Illinois 7 -- Ed Hinkel scored with an acrobatic move at the end of a reverse and caught one of Drew Tate’s two touchdown passes, leading Iowa at home.

Damian Sims added a 66-yard touchdown run for Iowa (3-2, 1-1), which amassed 476 yards and set a school record with its 21st victory in a row at home.

Illinois (2-3, 0-2) struggled in the first half, in which two of its field-goal attempts were blocked, a third was missed and a pass was intercepted deep in Iowa territory.