2009 Week 17

Michigan, still seething after a 31-10 whooping at the hands of the silver guys from down south took out their frustrations on the Rebels of Ole Miss in the Capital One Bowl. This game was really never close. Michigan only scored 1 TD in the 1st quarter, but they were up 20-0 at the half. They tacked on another 14 points in the 3rd quarter to go up 34-0. Ole Miss would score their only points on a TD midway through the 4th quarter. On the offensive side of the ball, the Wolverines were led by QB Tate Forcier who had missed half of the season with an abdominal strain. He was his usual great self as he threw for 191 yards and 1 TD while also rushing for 36 yards which was the 2nd highest on the team. Sr Brandon Minor would end his career on a high note by rushing for 108 yards and 2 TDs on only 15 carries.

With as impressive as Michigan was offensively, it was on the defensive side of the ball where they were truly dominant. The 1st team defense didn't give up a single point. They held the Rebels to -7 yards rushing on 27 carries and only 212 yards of total offense. They allowed the Rebels to only convert 27% of their 3rd downs (compared to 57% for Michigan's offense). This domination helped Michigan hold the ball for almost 17 minutes compared to only 11 minutes for Ole Miss. They also forced 2 interceptions against the Rebels. This defensive effort was lead by the usual suspects as MLB Obi Ezeh had 11 tackles and, in his final collegiate game, Brandon Graham had 8 tackles, 6 of them for losses, and 2 sacks. These 2 sacks set the single season record for Michigan. All told, the Wolverines racked up 6 sacks in the game.

Michigan will now look to continue recruiting to shore up their lineup and look to have a better year than they had this year.