Michigan Reaches Into Its Bag of Tricks

Standard plays weren’t working, so Michigan opened the razzle-dazzle chapter of its playbook.

The 17th-ranked Wolverines defeated No. 22 Illinois, 45-20, in a Big Ten Conference game at Ann Arbor, Mich., on Saturday after a double-pass, a halfback pass and a reverse broke them out of an early funk.

The Wolverines (3-1) have not lost a conference opener since 1981 while the Illini (3-1) have not won a Big Ten opener since 1993.

After Michigan lost four yards on its first four drives, it scored touchdowns on three in a row and four of its next five possessions. Two trick plays were key.

Backup quarterback Jermaine Gonzales threw a lateral to Marquise Walker, who then threw a pass back across the field to Gonzales, who sprinted 51 yards down the sideline. Two plays later, running back Walter Cross threw a 21-yard pass to Walker to give Michigan a 7-3 lead.

Kurt Kittner responded with a three-yard touchdown run on the ensuing drive to put Illinois ahead for the final time.

B.J. Askew’s 13-yard touchdown run on a draw play put Michigan ahead, 14-10, early in the second quarter. On the next drive, the Wolverines stopped Kittner’s sneak on a fourth-and-inches play from Illinois’ 33 midway through the second quarter.

Illinois Coach Ron Turner blamed himself for the decision to go for it.

“I’d say it was dumb,” Turner said. “It cost us the game. It cost us a shot at the game.”

On the next play, Michigan quarterback John Navarre hooked up with a Ronald Bellamy for a 33-yard touchdown. Calvin Bell’s 28-yard reverse gave the Wolverines a 28-10 halftime lead.

Iowa 24, Penn State 18--Kyle McCann set up two touchdowns with his passing and threw for another score as the Hawkeyes (3-0) overcame shoddy special teams play and added to the Nittany Lions’ misery at Iowa City, Iowa.

Penn State (0-3, 0-2 in the Big Ten) matched its worst start in Coach Joe Paterno’s 36 seasons.

Ohio State 27, Indiana 14--Lydell Ross ran for 124 yards and two touchdowns and Steve Bellisari was 15 of 21 for 181 yards for the Buckeyes (2-1) in a conference opener at Bloomington, Ind.

Wisconsin 24, Western Kentucky 6--Brooks Bollinger and Jim Sorgi each led the Badgers (3-2) on two scoring drives at Madison, Wis., but were inconsistent against the Hilltoppers (2-2).