Michigan 38, UW 13: Hornibrook's struggles, battered defense add up to lopsided loss

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Wisconsin needed a strong all-around game to help ease the burden on its patched-together defense at Michigan Stadium on Saturday.

The Badgers' passing offense dropped the ball.

Michigan eventually wore down the 10th-ranked Badgers and the No. 13 Wolverines pulled away for an easy 38-13 victory in front of 111,360 fans Saturday.

UW quarterback Alex Hornibrook had a night to forget. He finished 7 of 20 for 100 yards with two interceptions and a 3-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Taylor late in the fourth quarter when the outcome had long been settled. 

"To beat a good football team, and Michigan is a really good football team, we've got to play better," UW coach Paul Chryst said. "And you've got make those plays that change momentum in a game. And we didn't make enough."

Hornibrook did not complete a pass in the third quarter and his first connection of the second half came on a desperate heave to tight end Jake Ferguson on fourth down with just under five minutes left in the fourth quarter.

"I know I can be better," Hornibrook said. "And I think everybody else on the offense and on the team would say that about themselves as well.

"So we're just going to get back in and work on Monday."

UW (4-2, 2-1 Big Ten) was undermanned on defense from the start against Michigan (6-1, 4-0).

Defensive end Isaiahh Loudermilk was declared out on Thursday with an ankle injury and starting safety D'Cota Dixon did not play after going through pregame warm-ups to test his injured leg.

Dixon did not appear on the injury report this week after getting hurt while defending a pass play late in the fourth quarter against Nebraska. He said on Monday that he was confident he would be able to play.

UW already knew it had to play the first half without the other starting safety, Scott Nelson, after he was ejected for targeting against the Cornhuskers. 

To add more issues to the secondary, cornerback Faion Hicks also did not start after not appearing on the injury report during the week. Hicks, who had been battling a thumb injury in recent weeks, was declared out with a leg injury after the game started.

That left UW starting two freshmen, safety Reggie Pearson and cornerback Rachad Wildgoose, in the places of Dixon and Nelson.

Pearson was playing his first collegiate game after suffering a left leg injury in practice before the season opener. Wildgoose got his first meaningful minutes last week.

Nelson came back in the second half only to exit early in the third quarter with a left leg injury. Pearson was banged up in the game as well.

"That's football, man," UW linebacker T.J. Edwards said. "I feel like every year we have guys going down. But I thought the guys who filled in did a heck of a job.

"We're going to do whatever we can to get those guys back. But I thought Reggie, (Eric) Burrell, 'Goose', all those guys did a heck of a job."

The inexperienced secondary was tested at the start, with Michigan quarterback Shea Patterson completing all five of his pass attempts for 46 yards on the Wolverines' first drive.

But the Badgers' defense stiffened and was able to contain Patterson on third and 6, limiting him to a 1-yard gain on a scramble. Michigan kicker Quinn Nordin then missed a 41-yard field goal.

Patterson broke loose on the first play of the second quarter, though it was not the fault of UW's young defensive backs. Junior outside linebacker Zack Baun crashed down hard on a read-option play, and Patterson got around the edge and ran 81 yards down the sideline to the Badgers' 5.

Karan Higdon carried the ball on the next two plays, crossing the goal line on a 2-yard run for the first score of the game.

UW immediately answered by marching down the field with 71 yards all gained on the ground. Running back Jonathan Taylor ran three times for 38 yards before wide receiver Kendric Pryor scampered into the end zone on a 33-yard jet sweep with 11:26 left in the second quarter. 

UW's offense dried up after that successful drive, managing just 4 yards on three series for the rest of the second quarter.

REPLAY:Patterson makes enough big plays to keep UW defense off-balance

NOTES:UW has to regroup after loss crushes high hopes

BOX SCORE:Michigan 38, Wisconsin 13

COLLEGE FOOTBALL:Live scoreboard, box scores, conference standings

GAME BLOG:Review our live coverage of UW-Michigan

Taylor had a 9-yard run after UW took over at the 10:01 mark. But Hornibrook recovered his own fumble on the next play and then was sacked for a 9-yard loss on third and 3.

On the first play of UW's next drive, Hornibrook lofted a ball to Taylor that was tipped and intercepted by Michigan defensive back Josh Metellus and returned 31 yards to the UW 15.

UW's final drive in the second quarter went three-and-out and featured two incomplete passes from Hornibrook. 

The Badgers' defense was able to limit the damage by holding the Wolverines to two field goals from Nordin in the second quarter and UW went into the locker room trailing just 13-7. 

Two brutal penalties hurt the Badgers on the Wolverines' first drive of the second half. Wildgoose was called for holding on third and 5 and UW was flagged for roughing the snapper when Michigan was punting on fourth and 6.

Patterson capped the drive with a 7-yard touchdown run. He then converted the two-point play with a pass to Nico Collins to give the Wolverines a 21-7 lead.

"No doubt, we felt like we were in it," Chryst said. "We knew we had to make some plays and be better on third down. At that point, I thought defensively we had risen up."

The game spiraled from there for the Badgers.

Chris Evans, Higdon and Patterson were able to find holes in UW's defense, combining for 59 rushing yards on a 63-yard drive that ended in a Nordin field goal with 11:36 left in the game.

Then Michigan ended any sliver of hope for UW when the Wolverines' Lavert Hill picked off an errant Hornibrook pass and strolled into the end zone for a 21-yard score and a 31-7 lead.

To add insult to all the injuries, backup Michigan quarterback Dylan McCaffrey ran for a 44-yard touchdown on his first play after replacing Patterson.

"I think they wore us down," said Burrell, who was making his first start at safety. "I think they got a couple key runs that really broke us up. But we fought hard and I thought we played well."

Higdon finished with 105 rushing yards and Patterson added 90.

Taylor had 79 rushing yards in 11 carries in the first half against a Michigan defense that came into the game allowing just 96.5 on the ground. He finished with 101 yards and averaged 5.9 yards per carry.

"Difficult to come in here and take an 'L' " Taylor said. "But what you have to is you have to bounce back. We have no choice."