Michigan beat Rutgers 28-21 at SHI Stadium on Saturday by refusing to give the ball back. The Wolverines converted 12 of 16 third downs and held possession for more than 39 minutes, leaving the Scarlet Knights with only 9 first downs.

Rutgers stayed close on big plays. Michigan won with volume, and Tommy Carr finished it with a 9-yard touchdown run in the final five minutes.

How It Happened

Michigan struck first midway through the first quarter when Carr found JJ Buchanan for a 6-yard touchdown. Rutgers answered with a 46-yard Dane Pizzaro field goal late in the quarter to make it 7-3.

Jordan Marshall pushed the lead to 14-3 with a 2-yard run early in the second quarter. Rutgers needed less than two minutes to respond, as AJ Surace hit Jourdin Houston for an 80-yard touchdown. Pizzaro added a 32-yarder with 3:21 left in the half, and Rutgers went to the locker room trailing just 14-13.

Carr restored a cushion in the third quarter with a 15-yard touchdown run for a 21-13 lead. Rutgers tied it early in the fourth on a 1-yard Clay Thevenin run, with Surace connecting with Ben Black III on the two-point conversion.

Michigan then took the decisive drive. Carr scored from 9 yards out with 4:24 remaining, and the Rutgers offense never found the end zone again.

Key Performers

Tommy Carr, Michigan: 6-yard TD pass to JJ Buchanan; TD runs of 15 and 9 yards
Michigan passing: 22-27, 266 YDS, 9.9 yards per pass, 0 INT
Michigan rushing: 45 ATT, 161 YDS, 3.6 per carry
Jourdin Houston, Rutgers: 80-yard TD reception from AJ Surace
Dane Pizzaro, Rutgers: 2 field goals (46, 32), 1 extra point

Carr accounted for 3 of Michigan's 4 touchdowns, including both second-half scores. That is the difference in a game decided by one possession.

Michigan's passing game was efficient. Completing 22 of 27 throws kept the chains moving, which is how the third-down conversions piled up.

Rutgers' passing told the opposite story. The Scarlet Knights completed just 3 of 12 attempts, and the 80-yard strike to Houston accounted for most of their 123 passing yards. When the big play wasn't there, the offense stalled, converting only 3 of 10 third downs.

What It Means

The possession gap decided this game more than any single play. Rutgers actually ran the ball better per carry, nearly 5 yards a rush to Michigan's under 4. But the Wolverines ran it 45 times to Rutgers' 26, and that workload kept the Scarlet Knights offense on the sideline.

Neither team turned the ball over, so Michigan's sloppiness showed up elsewhere. The Wolverines were flagged 7 times for 90 yards, which helped keep Rutgers in a game it was badly outgained in, 427 total yards to 249.

Michigan improves to 5-3, including 1-1 on the road. Rutgers falls to 2-6 and 1-4 at home.