No. 8 Michigan looks sluggish in win over Cincinnati
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Jim Harbaugh’s emotions are hardened from experiencing it all as a college star, NFL quarterback and coach before coming back to campus to lead Michigan.
“I’m dead in here,” he said, gesturing toward his stomach. “I’m burnt wood.”
The young Wolverines (2-0) are far from savvy, leading to a relative letdown against Cincinnati after opening the season with an impressive victory over then-No. 17 Florida.
Ty Isaac ran for a career-high 133 yards and Wilton Speight threw for two touchdowns to help No. 8 Michigan overcome a sluggish performance to pull away and beat the Bearcats 36-14 on Saturday.
The Wolverines led by just three points early in the second half and were booed until getting the fans behind them again by scoring 19 straight points.
“We had the feeling coming out of this game that we stopped ourselves,” Harbaugh said.
The Bearcats (1-1) had the same feeling, failing to take advantage of Michigan’s many mistakes and making some miscues of their own to spoil an upset bid.
THE TAKEAWAY
CINCINNATI: The Bearcats should come away encouraged that they had a chance to win a game in which they were five-touchdown underdogs, but they are lamenting missed opportunities.
“When you get an opportunity to take advantage of a game, and it just slips right out of your hands, it hurts,” Cincinnati defensive tackle Cortez Broughton said. “Once we get that opportunity again, I’m pretty sure it’s going to end differently.”
MICHIGAN: The Wolverines were humbled a week after beating Florida 33-17 and found out they have work to do.
UP NEXT
CINCINNATI: The Bearcats stay on the road to face Miami of Ohio on Saturday night.
MICHIGAN: The Wolverines will get a chance to work on many problems in practice before hosting Air Force on Saturday afternoon.