BLOOMINGTON - This time when Michigan was on the ropes, it managed to avoid getting knocked out.
For the second straight agonizing week, the Wolverines surrendered a huge chunk of unanswered points to an unranked Big Ten team, found themselves trailing in the fourth quarter and facing the possibility of a crushing defeat.
But unlike the loss to Illinois, the Wolverines were able to strike last against Indiana on Saturday.
Behind a career day from running back Anthony Thomas, Michigan (3-2 Big Ten, 6-2 overall) snapped out of its offensive trance just in time to hold off Indiana, 34-31. The Wolverines came alive for 17 fourth-quarter points, and a 20-yard field goal b
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| DANA LINNANE/Daily Lloyd Carr looks on in frustration as his Michigan football team struggled against unranked Indiana on Saturday. The Wolverines eked out a 34-31 victory in the final minute. |
The Hoosiers (3-3, 4-5) had a last-gasp Hail Mary attempt to win the game, but quarterback Antwaan Randle El's bomb fell incomplete in the end zone as time expired.
"I'm very proud of the character we showed in the fourth quarter," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. "When you give up a lead like that, it takes a lot to be able to come back."
Thomas was nearly impossible to stop, setting career highs in rushing attempts and yards, carrying 42 times for a mammoth 197 yards and three touchdowns. In addition to setting personal career marks, Thomas tied the Michigan record for carries in a game - a remarkably blue-collar effort, especially considering the unseasonably warm 70-degree temperature.
"He was one tired guy," Michigan quarterback Tom Brady said of Thomas. "When you're not used to playing in hot weather and then you have to play in the heat, it wears on you."
Brady got a workout against the Hoosiers as well, with Carr trashing his two-quarterback rotation and opting to play the senior the entire game with Drew Henson remaining on the sidelines. Brady was effective, completing 17 of his 29 passes for 226 yards and a touchdown.
But Thomas was the focal point, as the junior showed no ill effects from the injured finger that kept him out for much of the tumultuous second half against Illinois. But despite his Ironman-like effort, the Wolverines' offense continued to have difficulty producing points when it needed them most.
Michigan built a 17-0 first-half cushion behind two Thomas touchdowns, but then proceeded to take a two-quarter nap. After Thomas' 15-yard touchdown run with 7:44 left in the second quarter, the Wolverines were unable to get on the board until they began their furious come-from-behind rally in the fourth quarter.
But while Michigan was keeping Hayden Epstein's punting leg busy - Epstein took over all punting and field goal duties in the game - Randle El was positively maddening for the Michigan defense.
Randle El threw for four touchdowns on the day, including two within ninety seconds of each other in the fourth quarter. After Randle El found fullback Jeremi Johnson on a play-action pass on a fourth-and-goal from the one, the Hoosiers received a gift when Thomas fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Indiana recovered at the Michigan nine. Four plays later, Randle El's lob to wide receiver Jerry Dorsey put the Hoosiers up, 24-17.
Just as the situation appeared hauntingly like the disaster against the Illini, Brady led the Wolverines back and wasted no time in doing so. He marched Michigan on a methodical four-play scoring drive, eventually finding tight end Bennie Joppru for a seven-yard touchdown pass, ending the Wolverines' 27-minute scoring draught and tying the score at 24. With that play, it seemed Michigan had recaptured the momentum it had surrendered in the second quarter.
But Randle El still had a few more tricks up his sleeve. After Thomas had leaped into the end zone four minutes later for his third score of the game to put Michigan up, 31-24, Randle El led a four-play scoring drive of his own.
On a first-and-10 from the Indiana 30, the quarterback found wide receiver Jerry Dorsey - as he did with considerable success on Saturday, throwing to Dorsey five times for 154 yards and two scores - open behind the Michigan secondary for a 70-yard scoring strike, making the score 31-31.
But after Michigan got the ball back with 1:28 remaining and all three timeouts left, Indiana shot itself in the foot.
On a first-and-ten at the Michigan 48, Indiana defensive tackle Jason Czap pulled Brady down by the face mask after he had released the ball, resulting in a 15-yard personal foul penalty.
Two plays later, Indiana cornerback O.J. Spencer dragged Michigan wide receiver David Terrell down from behind. The ten-yard holding penalty gave Michigan a first-and-10 at the Indiana 28 - already in range for one of Epstein's booming field goals. But Thomas sealed the game by scampering 23 yards down to the five, setting up Epstein's second - and most crucial - kick of the day.
With just 18 seconds to work with, all Randle El could manage was a 55-yard Hail Mary attempt to Dorsey, which appeared to be complete for a split second before the ball bounced to the turf.
"I knew Dorsey had a chance, just by the way he jumped," Randle El said. "I thought he caught it for a minute, but then I saw it hit the ground."
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