Wolverines rally without Hart vs. IU
No. 4 Michigan won Saturday with heart for Mike Hart.
After the running game coordinator collapsed on the sideline in the first quarter, the Wolverines regrouped at halftime, returned to Wolverines football and performed like Hart wanted.
Cornelius Johnson’s 29-yard touchdown reception early in the third quarter gave Michigan the lead and the jolt it needed Saturday to celebrate a 31-10 victory over pesky Indiana without their beloved coach.
“During the game Mike had a medical emergency, he’s in stable condition and he’s going to stay overnight here in Bloomington for observation,” head coach Jim Harbaugh said. “Talking about Mike and his health, all our prayers go out to him.”
Hart’s absence dampened a historic day for the Wolverines (3-0 Big Ten) who improved to 6-0 for the second straight season — something they last did in 1976-77. But the frightening, first-quarter sideline scene certainly took its toll on Michigan.
The school’s career rushing leader went down unexpectedly moments after the Hoosiers tied the score at 7, prompting Michigan’s players to clear the bench and spread out across the field. Some dropped to one knee as Harbaugh and other staff members watched trainers strap Hart to a backboard before carting him off the field.
Hart flashed the thumbs up sign before leaving Memorial Stadium and heading to a hospital.
Michigan wasn’t the same afterward. The two teams traded field goals and blocked field goals before settling for a 10-10 halftime tie. The Wolverines didn’t reassert control until Johnson capped a 98-yard drive to start the second half with the first of two touchdown catches.
It was exactly what Michigan needed. Luke Schoonmaker and Johnson each caught fourth-quarter TD passes to seal the victory on a day J.J. McCarthy produced his first 300-yard game. The sophomore quarterback finished 28 of 36 with 304 yards, three TDs and one interception.
“It was good to see the young quarterback come of age today,” Harbaugh said. “Tough game, tight game, couldn’t lean on the ground game today and he did it.”
Rogers sets SEC passing record in win:
Will Rogers threw for three touchdowns and broke the Southeastern Conference record for career completions, Dillon Johnson rushed for 100 yards and two scores, and No. 23 Mississippi State beat Arkansas 40-17 on Saturday.
Rogers was 31-of-48 passing for 395 yards and notched the record in the first quarter with the 922nd completion of his career, eclipsing the mark set by Georgia’s Aaron Murray in 52 games, Rogers has played in 28 games.
Thompson-Robinson leads UCLA over Utah: Dorian Thompson-Robinson passed for 299 yards and four TDs to become UCLA’s career leader in passing touchdowns, Zach Charbonnet rushed for a career high 198 yards and the 18th-ranked Bruins defeated No. 11 Utah 42-32 on Saturday.
Thompson-Robinson also had a rushing score for the Bruins, who are 6-0 overall for the first time since 2005, 3-0 in the Pac-12 and picked up the biggest victory in coach Chip Kelly’s five years in Westwood. They have won nine straight dating back to last season, which is their longest streak since running off 20 straight victories in 1997-98.
Texas shuts out Oklahoma: Quinn Ewers threw for 289 yards and four touchdowns in his return, Bijan Robinson ran for 130 yards with two TDs and the Longhorns handed Oklahoma its most-lopsided shutout loss ever, 49-0 on Saturday. It was the first meeting between the Red River rivals since 1998 with neither ranked, and the highest-scoring game for Texas in the 118-game series that dates to 1900.
Georgia routs Auburn in Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry: Stetson Bennett scrambled 64 yards for a touchdown, Daijun Edwards scored three times on the ground and No. 2 Georgia ran over listless Auburn 42-10 Saturday.
Bennett’s career-long run on the first play of the fourth quarter was the biggest of the day for a Bulldogs offense that mostly plodded along for the first three. Georgia ran its winning streak to six in the series, has not lost the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry at home since 2005 and leads overall 63-56.
Ole Miss rallies from 10 down, rolls Vanderbilt: Jaxson Dart threw for a career-high 448 yards and three touchdowns, and ninth-ranked Mississippi rallied from a 10-point deficit Saturday in routing Vanderbilt 52-28 for its first 6-0 start since 2014.
The Rebels (6-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) won their fourth straight in the series after trailing 20-10 in the second quarter. Quinshon Judkins ran for the first of his two TDs just before halftime, then the Rebels added three more in the third quarter as part of 35 straight points.