Nov. 4, 2006

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) -Michigan's tuneup turned into quite a test.

Trailing by eight, Ball State threw an incomplete pass into the end zone with 2:46 left and couldn't connect on a heave from midfield on the final play, allowing the second-ranked Wolverines to escape with a 34-26 victory on Saturday.

Michigan (10-0) let its guard down - maybe the Wolverines were looking ahead to the much-anticipated game Nov. 18 at No. 1 Ohio State? - and allowed the Cardinals (3-7) to make a late charge in a game they were expected to lose by five touchdowns.

Mike Hart ran for 154 yards and a TD and teammate Brandon Minor rushed for 108 yards and another score to help the Wolverines avoid a shocking upset. Chad Henne was 17-of-24 for 155 yards with a TD and an interception that Ball State ran back for a TD in the first quarter.

Ball State's Nate Davis was 18-of-34 for 250 yards with a TD and an interception. Dante Love had six receptions for 107 yards and a score.

Michigan trailed for just the second time this season - 9-7 in the first quarter - then seemed to pull away with 17 points on three straight drives in the second quarter for a 24-9 lead.

The Cardinals of the Mid-American Conference showed they didn't plan to go away quietly by driving for a field goal late in the first half to pull within 12.

Hart's 1-yard run midway through the third quarter put the Wolverines ahead 31-12, but they managed to score just a field goal the rest of the game and came very close to having an unforgettable afternoon on a day that Mario Manningham's return was expected to be the big story.

Manningham played for the first time in three-plus games, but didn't have a reception after scoring nine TDs in six games before injuring his knee.

Love caught a 54-yard pass to make it 31-19 late in the third quarter and Larry Bostic's 2-yard run with 8:45 left to play pulled Ball State within eight points.

The Cardinals drove deep again with a chance to score a TD and a 2-point conversion that would've tied it late in the game.

Davis' pass from Michigan's 7 on fourth down was wide of Love, giving the Wolverines the ball back with an opportunity to run the clock out.

They couldn't.

Ball State got the ball back at its 45 with 16 seconds left. After an incomplete pass went off of two receivers' hands, Davis avoided a sack with another incomplete pass. With 1 second left, he threw a pass into the end zone that was intercepted by Ryan Mundy.

The folks at The Big House could finally breathe easy.

Michigan looked like it might rout the Cardinals, as expected, on the first two drives when it had a 10-play, 76-yard drive - capped by Jerome Jackson's 1-yard run - and held them to a first down.

Then, the game took a surprising turn.

Hart fumbled - snapping a 665-carry streak without a turnover that lasted two years - and it was 7-2 when the football bounced out of the side of the end zone.

Henne's interception was returned 35 yards by Erik Keys, who gave Ball State a 9-7 lead late in the first quarter. It marked the first time the Wolverines were behind since trailing Wisconsin 7-0 after the first quarter on Sept. 23 in the Big Ten opener.