Before kickoff, Massachusetts senior defensive back Ke’Mon Bailey’s comments seemed comical. In a video posted on the Minutemen’s athletic website, he said, “We’re about to shock the world.”
For longer than anyone expected, Massachusetts, an FCS team, was poised to do that.
Massachusetts led Michigan for most of the first half (more than 20 minutes), led by Minutemen quarterback Kyle Havens. Havens went 9-of-11 for 104 yards, picking apart Michigan’s secondary with ease throughout the first half.
The Massachusetts run game was solid, too, rushing for 147 yards (67 more than the Wolverines at the half), and the Minutemen couldn’t do much wrong in the first half, and on the flipside, Michigan couldn’t do much right.
From the very first offensive possession — in which sophomore quarterback sensation Denard Robinson threw his first interception of the year — to special teams — a missed field goal — the Wolverines had a very cringe-worthy performance.
That is, until the first half’s final minutes, when Michigan seemed to wake up.
All it took was a 66-yard touchdown pass from Robinson to Darryl Stonum, a one-play drive that got Michigan within three points as halftime approached.
Then, redshirt sophomore safety Jordan Kovacs forced a Massachusetts fumble near midfield, and the Wolverine offense took over once more.
Robinson the passer took over, and a 36-yard completion to Junior Hemingway set up an easy touchdown pass to Stonum. Michigan took a 21-17 lead into the locker room at halftime.
And once the Wolverines came out for the second half, they seemed rejuvenated.
Led by junior running back Michael Shaw and a few key passes from Robinson, Michigan opened the third quarter with two consecutive touchdown drives. The first ended with Shaw’s longest career touchdown run, a beautiful 34-yarder up the middle. The second finished with Robinson’s own eight-yard run into the endzone.
The fourth quarter presented more of a problem for Michigan, though, as the Wolverines couldn’t seem to put away the Minutemen. Michigan’s 35-17 lead as the quarter began eventually melted into a 42-37 edge with just over two minutes remaining.
Michigan recovered Massachusetts’ onside kick at the 2:05 mark, and it was all but over then.
The Wolverines remained poised, got the first down they needed to and ran out the clock rather easily.
Robinson’s final statistics were impressive (though not quite on par with his record-breaking ones from the past two weeks): 10-of-14 for 241 yards in the air, 17 carries for 104 yards.
Massachusetts may not have “shocked the world,” but the Minutemen certainly gave the Wolverines a scare. Or perhaps a wake-up call.