SportsDirect Inc. staff
Sep 21, 2013
No. 14 Michigan 24, Connecticut 21: Fitzgerald Toussaint scored a pair of second-half touchdowns and the visiting Wolverines scored the game's final 17 points against the winless Huskies.
Looking to bounce back from its embarrassing narrow escape against Akron a week ago, Michigan (4-0) needed a 21-yard field goal from Brendan Gibbons with 4:36 to play to provide the winning margin.
Toussaint finished with 120 yards on 24 carries and scored on runs of 35 and 12 yards as Michigan erased a 21-7 deficit. The sloppy Wolverines turned the ball over four times leading to 14 Connecticut points.
Playing in front of 42,700 fans, the largest crowd in program history, the Huskies (0-3) took a stunning lead on a pair of touchdown passes by Chandler Whitmer. The junior connected with Spencer Parker on an 11-yard scoring pass to tie the game at 7, and he later hit Lyle McCombs out of the backfield on a 7-yard scoring pass on a drive set up when Michigan mishandled a punt at its 9-yard line.
The Huskies, an 18-point underdog, then extended the lead to 21-7 early in the third quarter when Michigan quarterback Devin Gardner collided with a teammate and lost the ball. UConn's Ty-Meer Brown scooped up the fumble and returned it 34 yards for the score.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Gardner opened the scoring with a 17-yard run. ...UConn played without leading receiver Shakim Phillips (hamstring). ... UConn is 2-19 all-time against ranked teams. The Huskies, ranked next-to-last in the nation in rushing, gained just 47 yards on the ground.