ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Normally when a defense gives up 507 yards of offense like Ball State University did Saturday, there's cause for concern.
But the defense played well in spurts against second-ranked Michigan. It produced the first nine points of the game for Ball State and gave the Cardinals the lead at the end of the first quarter.
Following a Chris Miller punt that put the Wolverines inside their own 2-yard line, Michigan running back Mike Hart fumbled for the first time in 665 carries, courtesy of defensive end Cortlan Booker.
Booker knocked the ball out of Hart's hands at the goal line as he tried to turn the corner. The ball rolled into the end zone and out-of-bounds, creating a safety and cutting Michigan's lead to 7-2.
With 1:24 remaining in the first quarter, Chad Henne tried to squeeze a pass in between Ball State defensive backs Trey Lewis and Erik Keys. No such luck. Keys stepped in front of the pass and took it 35 yards for the score, giving the Cardinals a 9-7 lead in front of a stunned "Big House."
"In practice, we always worked on the double slant [routes]," Keys said. "As soon as I seen [the receiver] I just jumped outside and the ball was right there.
"That was a good play and I'm excited about it. It's something I'll never forget."
It marked only the second time all season the Wolverines trailed in a game. Michigan trailed 7-0 against Wisconsin on Sept. 23 when the Badgers took their opening drive for a touchdown.
In between those plays though, Michigan running backs Mike Hart and Brandon Minor ran all over the field. Hart finished with 154 yards and a touchdown, while Minor had 109 yards on the ground and also tallied a score. Michigan's total of 352 yards rushing was the most it earned all season.
In the first half, Michigan had 331 yards of total offense, with 255 of those coming on the ground. The Ball State defense limited the Wolverines to only 176 yards in the second half. Linebacker Brad Seiss said the defense didn't do anything differently in the second half.
"On every big run they had, it was just one guy not getting their gap," Seiss said. "If you have one guy that's not in the right spot, Hart or any of their backs will take it when that gap opens. We just played our defense and we had better gap responsibilities so we played better."
Even with all the yards, Ball State's defense hung tough. Even though Seiss and Keys were only credited with eight tackles apiece. Eddie Burk led the team with nine tackles.
Michigan helped them out also by dropping passes. Michigan tight end Carson Butler and wide receiver Adrian Arrington each dropped key third-down passes in the fourth quarter.
Michigan quarterback Chad Henne said his team may have been looking ahead to its much-anticipated game with Ohio State on Nov. 18.
"I think that is a lot of the reason why we weren't focused," Henne said. "Coming into the game, people were reading too many press clippings."
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