Michigan 28, Rutgers 21: Third-down control and Carr's late run

Michigan beat Rutgers 28-21 on Saturday at SHI Stadium because it kept the ball. The Wolverines converted 12 of 16 third downs and held possession for 39:06. Rutgers had the ball for 20:54 and managed nine first downs.

Even with that margin, the game was tied at 21 with under 12 minutes left. Tommy Carr settled it with a 9-yard touchdown run at 4:24 of the fourth quarter.

How it was won

Michigan scored first. Carr found JJ Buchanan for a 6-yard touchdown at 7:23 of the first quarter. D. Pizzaro answered with a 46-yard field goal at 1:46 to make it 7-3.

J. Marshall ran in from 2 yards at 13:16 of the second quarter for a 14-3 lead. Rutgers needed one snap to reply in kind: AJ Surace hit Jourdin Houston for an 80-yard touchdown at 11:31. Pizzaro added a 32-yarder at 3:21, and Michigan led only 14-13 at the half.

Carr's 15-yard touchdown run at 8:56 of the third quarter restored an eight-point lead. Rutgers erased it at 11:43 of the fourth, when Clay Thevenin scored from a yard out and Surace threw to B. Black III for the two-point conversion. That made it 21-21.

Michigan's answer was the drive that ended with Carr's 9-yard run. Rutgers did not score again.

The box score shows how lopsided the possession battle was. Michigan outgained Rutgers 427 to 249 and had 23 first downs to nine. Carr completed 22 of 27 passes for 266 yards and a touchdown, and added 54 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries. Savion Hiter carried 20 times for 76 yards. Andrew Marsh caught seven passes for 51 yards; Buchanan had five for 63 and the score.

Rutgers stayed in the game on big plays. Surace completed only 3 of 12 passes, but they went for 123 yards, 80 of them on the Houston touchdown. Antwan Raymond ran 11 times for 85 yards and caught a 32-yard pass. The Scarlet Knights were 3 of 10 on third down. Neither team turned the ball over.

Against the number

Michigan closed as a 16.5-point favorite, and Rutgers covered comfortably by losing by seven. Anyone holding the Scarlet Knights with the points was never in serious danger after halftime.

The total closed at 47.5, and 49 points went over. That result came late: the score sat at 21-21, 42 points, until Carr's run at 4:24 pushed it past the number.

On the moneyline, Michigan at -800 paid out, though a tie game in the fourth quarter is not what that price implies. Rutgers closed at +550.

Full pricing history is on the game page.

What's next

Michigan moves to 5-3 and has won two of its last three, with the loss in between a 13-6 defeat to No. 6 Indiana. Four of its five wins have come by seven points or fewer. The Wolverines host Michigan State on Saturday, November 7.

Rutgers falls to 2-6. It has lost to Northwestern and Indiana by a combined 60 points this season, but played Michigan and No. 12 USC within seven. The Scarlet Knights visit No. 25 Wisconsin on Saturday, November 7, on BTN.