Newz Forum: FOOTBALL: Wolverines set tone with defense to avenge losses to Iowa

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Braylon Edwards sat on the bench and took a sip of water before he knew it was time to get back on the field.

"There's a certain kind of cheer when you get a fumble or an interception," he said.

He heard that roar often Saturday at Michigan Stadium.

The 18th-ranked Wolverines turned four turnovers into 27 points and Edwards caught six passes for a career-high 150 yards to lead Michigan to a 30-17 win over Iowa.

"We're trying to establish ourselves as a contender, not a pretender," the star receiver said.

The defending conference champion Wolverines (3-1, 1-0) won their 23rd consecutive Big Ten opener. They have won 12 straight at home since Iowa handed them their worst loss at Michigan Stadium since 1967.

Ed Hinkel's one-handed, diving TD catch on the opening drive gave the Hawkeyes (2-2, 0-1) their only lead. Hinkel's 10-yard TD midway through the fourth quarter pulled them to 30-17.

Chad Henne was 16-of-26 for 236 yards with a TD and, most importantly for Michigan, no turnovers.

Iowa's Drew Tate was 24-of-32 for 270 yards, two TDs, two interceptions and a botched handoff that led to a fumble.

"Some stuff that they did was different than what we saw on film," Tate said. "But it was just them being athletes that made it so hard."

Michael Hart ran for 99 yards and a TD for the Wolverines. Iowa's Jermelle Lewis was limited to 35 yards on 14 carries.

The Wolverines started the game ranked first in the nation with 14 takeaways and might stay on top after recovering three fumbles and intercepting two passes. They have scored 79 of 117 points through four games off turnovers.

Lloyd Carr, in his 10th season as Michigan's head coach and 25th on its staff, and has never seen anything like it.

"We've had some great defenses, but we've never had a defense that has caused this many turnovers," Carr said.

After Michigan cut Iowa's lead to 7-3 midway through the first quarter, the Wolverines scored the rest of their points off turnovers. They would've added another score to the total, but Hart fumbled as he lunged toward the end zone.

"They're going to tease me about it," Hart said.

Michigan scored two TDs over a 2:07 span of the second quarter to take a 16-7 lead and took a 20-point lead early in the fourth on Grant Mason's interception and 25-yard return.

Michigan cornerback Leon Hall intercepted a pass and recovered a fumble.

Iowa had won two straight against Michigan, including a 34-9 victory two years ago at Michigan Stadium, but the Hawkeyes have never won three in a row against the Wolverines.

In the first half, Edwards had four catches for 132 yards, including a 39-yard reception that fell a yard short of the end zone. He had just two catches after halftime, but both went for first downs.

Edwards, with 2,711 yards receiving, moved past Amani Toomer on Michigan's career list and trails only Anthony Carter by 365 yards.

On the first play from scrimmage, Tate completed a 24-yard pass to a wide-open Tony Jackson and three plays later, a 23-yard pass to a wide-open Clinton Solomon. The Hawkeyes scored when Hinkel leaped to snag Tate's 2-yard lob with his right hand, pulled the football to his chest and got his right knee in bounds.

"Any time you fall behind, you really find out a lot about your team," Carr said.

One play after Hinkel fumbled the ball away, the 6-foot-3 Edwards used his 6-inch height advantage over Jovan Johnson to catch a 58-yard TD and put Michigan ahead 10-7.

Two plays after Hall dove for an interception, Henne's 1-yard sneak put the Wolverines up 16-7. Garrett Rivas then missed his third extra point this season.

Iowa picked up five first downs on its first five plays of the second half, but stalled inches short of a sixth, and chose to kick. Kyle Schlicher's 25-yard field goal made it 16-10.

"We did some good things, but obviously we did some things that weren't so good," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. "Michigan played a huge role in that. They're an aggressive, opportunistic defense."