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White and Ball star as Wisconsin runs over Michigan

Nov 20, 2010 - 9:19 PM Ann Arbor, MI (Sports Network) - James White and Montee Ball combined for an astounding 354 rushing yards with six touchdowns, as sixth-ranked Wisconsin pounded out a 48-28 victory over Michigan at the Big House.

White finished with 181 yards and two scores on 23 carries, while Ball added 173 yards with four touchdowns on 29 attempts for Wisconsin (10-1, 6-1 Big Ten), which has won six straight since a conference-opening loss to Michigan State and remained firmly in the hunt for the Big Ten title. The Badgers will host Northwestern next Saturday with a win guaranteeing them at least a share of the conference crown.

Scott Tolzien completed 14-of-15 passes for 201 yards with an interception for the Badgers, who attempted just one pass in the second half, resulting in a fumble after a reception. Wisconsin finished with 558 yards of offense, including 357 on the ground.

"I'm very, very proud of our guys, coaches, players," said Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema. "In an environment of 112,000 it was us against everybody. I thought they played four quarters of football."

Denard Robinson ran for 121 yards with two touchdowns and threw for 239 yards with a pair of scores for Michigan (7-4, 3-4), which closed out its home schedule and will visit Ohio State for its traditional season-finale next week.

Robinson set the NCAA single-season record for rushing yards by a quarterback at 1,538 yards, eclipsing the previous mark of 1,494 set by Beau Morgan of Air Force in 1996.

Wisconsin carried a 24-0 lead to the second half, but Michigan scored a pair of touchdowns just over five minutes into the third quarter to get back into it.

Robinson finished a 10-play, 71-yard march with a 24-yard touchdown pass to Darryl Stonum for the first score and the Wolverines got the ball back moments later on a fumble by Isaac Anderson. Robinson and Stonum hooked up for 34 yards on the first play after the turnover and the slippery quarterback found the end zone from four yards away on the next play to make it a 24-14 game.

The Badgers went exclusively to the ground attack on the ensuing eight-play series and marched 69 yards for a touchdown, with White scoring on a 23-yard run.

Back came Michigan with a 57-yard drive for a touchdown. Robinson keyed the six-play set with a 32-yard connection to Stonum and he again finished it with an 11-yard run to again pull the Wolverines within 10 with 3:12 left in the third.

An unsuccessful onside kick enabled Wisconsin to start from the Michigan 45 and the Badgers again kept the ball on the ground with Ball and White combining for all seven carries. White's 15-yard run on 3rd-and-6 set up a first down at the seven and Ball found the end zone from three yards away on the first play of the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 38-21.

Robinson was intercepted on Michigan's next series, leading to a 40-yard field goal from Philip Welch for a 20-point cushion with just over nine minutes left.

The Wolverines answered with a quick 83-yard drive that took just under three minutes off the clock, as Robinson hit Roy Roundtree with a 28-yard touchdown pass.

After recovering another onside kick, Ball and White combined for all 40 yards with Ball scoring on a four-yard run to account for the final margin.

"We just need to make more stops," remarked Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez. "We can't afford to make those mistakes: missed tackles and dropped passes. You do those things against a good team and you're always fighting uphill."

Wisconsin opened the scoring with a touchdown on its second offensive series. The 10-play drive covered 75 yards and featured nine rushing attempts, plus a key 24-yard pass on 2nd-and-9. Ball finished it with a one-yard run for the score with 3:15 left in the opening quarter.

Robinson then directed a lengthy drive for Michigan, but he threw incomplete on third down from the Wisconsin 13 and Seth Broekhuizen hit the right upright with a 30-yard field goal try in the first minute of the second quarter.

The Badgers then scored 17 points to close out the half.

Welch booted a 25-yard field goal with 8:07 remaining after a Wisconsin touchdown was negated by a penalty, and Ball scored on a 27-yard run with just under four minutes left to cap a five-play, 75-yard march that was ignited by a 30-yard pass from Tolzien to Nick Toon. The Badgers got the ball right back after a Michigan punt and White broke free for a 61-yard touchdown jaunt to make it 24-0 just 1:51 before the intermission.

The Wolverines then fumbled the ensuing kickoff to give Wisconsin another immediate threat at the Michigan 27, but Tolzien was intercepted by James Rogers inside the 10-yard line in the final minute.

Game Notes

Wisconsin won for just the sixth time in 28 visits to Michigan Stadium and snapped a five-game losing streak at the Big House, winning in Ann Arbor for the first time since 1994...Robinson became the first quarterback to rush for 1,500 yards and throw for 2,000 yards in the same season. He completed 16- of-25 passes with an interception...Roundtree caught seven passes for 114 yards, eclipsing the 100-yard mark for the fourth time this season, while Stonum finished with four catches for 99 yards in defeat...Michigan still leads the all-time series 49-14-1.