Rutgers scored more points (42) Saturday against Michigan than it had in its previous five games (37) versus the Wolverines combined.
And it still wasn’t enough.
Jim Harbaugh and staggering Michigan managed to outlast Greg Schiano and Rutgers, 48-42, in triple overtime in New Jersey.
The Scarlet Knights led 17-0 at one point, tied the game at 35 with a touchdown on a fourth-and-9 and 2-point conversion near the end of regulation, and still couldn’t find victory.
Rutgers had a chance to win it in the first overtime but Valentino Ambrosio missed a 45-yard field goal after Michigan had missed its field-goal attempt.
The game came down to a fourth-down touchdown by Hassan Hawkins for the Wolverines and an interception by Daxton Hill to ruin things for Rutgers in the third overtime.
It's over.
@UMichiFootball's @daxhill5 walks it off with the INT on 4th down. pic.twitter.com/9Xdhcm9lKH
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) November 22, 2020
The players’ celebration after Hill pick made one think Michigan beat Ohio State, not Rutgers. Not good.
Rutgers had a pair of receivers go over the 100-yard mark and its quarterback, Noah Vedral, threw for 378 yards.
To give you an example of how lopsided the Big Ten series has been, in the previous five seasons, the Scarlet Knights (1-4) had thrown for a collective 350 yards since 2015. They had been outscored 258-37 in those games.
The point is that this feels more like Michigan tumbling and being in disarray under Harbaugh rather than Schiano and the Scarlet Knights making massive gains.
Michigan heads into what used to be an big-time matchup against Penn State on Nov. 28. However, this year the teams are a combined 2-8 with the Nittany Lions winless for the first time in program history at 0-5 and the Wolverines 2-3 … barely.