Indiana 33, (23) Michigan 36

1234T
IND (3-1)1493733
#23MICH (4-0)14701536

Final

12:00 PM ET, September 26, 2009
Michigan Stadium
ANN ARBOR, MI

Late Forcier TD, Warren key interception seal victory for Michigan

WERE YOU THERE?
Passport

Did you attend this game? If so, start chronicling your sports memories today with ESPN's Sports Passport. Enter the games you attend, upload your photos and share your memories!
I was there »

Top 25 Overview
It was over when... Michigan followed a touchdown in the final minutes by intercepting Ben Chappell on the next play.
Gameball goes to... Tate Forcier. Michigan's freshman quarterback stepped up in the fourth, rushing for one score and throwing the winning pass.
Stat of the game... 3. Michigan rushed the ball 50 times for 149 yards and averaged 3 yards a carry, 4 yards fewer than it averages.
Team Stat Comparison
 
1st Downs2020
Total Yards467372
Passing270223
Rushing197149
Penalties6-509-58
3rd Down Conversions3-159-17
4th Down Conversions1-10-0
Turnovers12
Possession30:2729:33
Air/Ground Leaders
Indiana Passing
 C/ATTYDSTDINT
Chappell21/3827001
Michigan Passing
 C/ATTYDSTDINT
Forcier11/2118421
Robinson2/33900
Indiana Rushing
 CARYDSTDLG
Willis16152285
Doss341125
Michigan Rushing
 CARYDSTDLG
Brown1183141
Minor1250112
Indiana Receiving
 RECYDSTDLG
Doss5104056
Turner548014
Michigan Receiving
 RECYDSTDLG
Brown161161
Odoms340126
Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTERINDMICH
TD09:15Tandon Doss 25 Yd Run (Nick Freeland Kick) 70
TD08:52Carlos Brown 61 Yd Pass From Tate Forcier (Jason Olesnavage Kick) 77
TD06:22Carlos Brown 41 Yd Run (Jason Olesnavage Kick) 714
TD02:44Darius Willis 11 Yd Run (Nick Freeland Kick) 1414
SECOND QUARTERINDMICH
FG08:53Nick Freeland 24 Yd 1714
FG05:43Nick Freeland 20 Yd 2014
TD02:49Brandon Minor 12 Yd Run (Jason Olesnavage Kick) 2021
FG00:16Nick Freeland 30 Yd 2321
THIRD QUARTERINDMICH
FG05:35Nick Freeland 32 Yd 2621
FOURTH QUARTERINDMICH
TD09:15Tate Forcier 7 Yd Run (Tate Forcier Run For Two-Point Conversion) 2629
TD08:57Darius Willis 85 Yd Run (Nick Freeland Kick) 3329
TD02:29Martavious Odoms 26 Yd Pass From Tate Forcier (Jason Olesnavage Kick) 3336
Associated Press

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Tate Forcier seemed to have no trouble shrugging off an injured shoulder to throw another game-winning touchdown pass.

What really hurt was the celebration.

Fast Facts

• For the second time in the last three weeks, true freshman Tate Forcier led a late drive to give Michigan the victory.

• Michigan improved to 4-0, extending its win streak over Indiana to 16 games.

• With the win, Rich Rodriguez narrowly avoided losing his sixth home game to an unranked opponent, which would have been one more than Lloyd Carr lost in his 13 seasons at Michigan.

• The Wolverines have won 24 straight conference home openers. The Hoosiers loss extended their losing streak in Big Ten openers to nine games.

-- ESPN Stats & Information

After Forcier threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Martavious Odoms with 2:29 left to give the 23rd-ranked Wolverines a 36-33 win over Indiana on Saturday, he got a congratulatory slap on the right shoulder.

Yeeeouch!

Forcier winced and twisted his body away, but by then, Michigan wouldn't need him to do anything more than kneel the ball after Donovan Warren's interception on Indiana's next snap let Michigan (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) seal its fourth straight win

"It's a bruised shoulder," Forcier said, not specifying which one was hurt. "We'll take a look at it and see what we have and we'll go from there."

The freshman quarterback led another fourth-quarter touchdown drive two weeks after his pass with 11 seconds left beat then-No. 18 Notre Dame.

Red Means Stop

Indiana outgained Michigan and made more trips into the red zone. However, the Hoosiers scored one touchdown on four trips inside the Wolverines' 20-yard line, but Michigan converted on both red-zone visits. That could be why the Hoosiers left the Big House searching for their first win over the Maize and Blue since 1987.

Indiana vs. Michigan Offense
Indiana Michigan
Total yards 467 372
Red-zone poss 5 2
Red-zone TD 1 2
Red-zone FG 4 0

He actually led two on Saturday, leaping for a go-ahead TD and a 2-point conversion to put Michigan ahead 29-26 with 9 minutes left. But Indiana immediately answered with Darius Willis' 85-yard touchdown run to go back on top.

So Forcier had to do it again. He was hurt on the pivotal possession, but came back in time to connect with Odoms in the end zone on 3rd-and-7.

"We had a play called and checked into a different play," Odoms said.

The hookup prevented Indiana from winning in Ann Arbor for the first time since 1967 -- before Bo Schembechler coached Michigan.

Indiana got the ball back for one last try, but Ben Chappell's pass to Damarlo Belcher was ripped away by Warren on a play that stood after video review with 2:14 left.

"We both rolled over on the ground and I outtugged him for it," Warren said. "I just read the route, broke on the ball, read the quarterback's eyes and made the play."

Instead, the Wolverines are 4-0 and rapidly putting the memories of last season's dismal 3-9 effort behind them -- though there were a few moments that resembled 2008.

Rich Rodriguez said earlier in the week he'd like the Wolverines to be good enough to play poorly and still win. He got his wish.

The Hoosiers (3-1, 0-1) had four go-ahead scores -- including with 8:57 left on Willis' long run -- and easily outgained Michigan with 467 yards of offense.

"I thought about what a big win this would have been for our football team," coach Bill Lynch said.

Forcier had one costly mistake, throwing an interception on an ill-advised pass after doing a 360-degree spin in the pocket. Fellow freshman quarterback Denard Robinson was stripped of the ball late in the second quarter, leading to a field goal that sent Indiana into halftime up 23-21.

Settling for field goals was costly for Indiana.

Nick Freeland tied a school record with four of them, but was wide left on a 42-yard kick early in the fourth quarter.

"That's the big difference," Lynch said. "But you've got to give Michigan's defense some credit, they loaded up and kept us out of the end zone."

After running for 69 yards in his first two games, Willis had 152 yards rushing and a score on 16 carries. Tandon Doss had five catches for 104 yards and Chappell was 21 of 38 for 270 yards.

Carlos Brown turned one of Forcier's short passes into a 61-yard score -- a week after he ran for a 90-yard TD -- and had a 41-yard score on the ground against Indiana. Brandon Minor had 50 yards rushing and a TD, and converted a third down with a run to allow Michigan to drain the clock.

That sealed the Wolverines' perfect record heading into their first road game against Michigan State (1-3, 0-1), which is desperately hoping to salvage some pride in what has been a disappointing season.

"I'm leery of a rivalry game -- every time," said Rodriguez, who lost to the Spartans at home last year. "It doesn't matter the records, it doesn't matter the venue, it's going to be intense."

College Football Scores

Other Scores:

Thursday, September 24th
4 Mississippi 10 Final
South Carolina 16
Saturday, September 26th
1 Florida 41 Final
Kentucky 7
UTEP 7 Final
2 Texas 64
Arkansas 7 Final
3 Alabama 35
Iowa 21 Final
5 Penn State 10
6 California 3 Final
Oregon 42
7 LSU 30 Final
Mississippi State 26
8 Boise State 49 Final
Bowling Green 14
9 Miami (FL) 7 Final
11 Virginia Tech 31
Washington State 6 Final
12 USC 27
Illinois 0 Final
13 Ohio State 30
Fresno State 20 Final
14 Cincinnati 28
15 TCU 14 Final
Clemson 10
Grambling State 6 Final
16 Oklahoma State 56
Texas Tech 28 Final
17 Houston 29
South Florida 17 Final
18 Florida State 7
Colorado State 23 Final
19 Brigham Young 42
Southern Miss 28 Final
20 Kansas 35
Arizona State 17 Final
21 Georgia 20
22 North Carolina 7 Final
Georgia Tech 24
Indiana 33 Final
23 Michigan 36
24 Washington 14 Final
Stanford 34
Louisiana-Lafayette 0 Final
25 Nebraska 55