Michigan's big-brother dominance in the series had earned them 16 straight wins. Going into this encounter, Michigan had only dropped two to Minnesota since 1968.

The game appeared to be headed into overtime because the Gophers had the ball with backup Tony Mortensen at quarterback deep in their own territory. That idea seemed to sit well with Minnesota head coach Glen Mason, who refused to ask Mortensen to throw the ball. Instead, he kept on handing the ball to Laurence Maroney and Gary Russell, hoping one of them would break a big play.

But the Wolverines defense, realizing Minnesota coaches were reluctant to have Mortensen throw the ball, headed off the stretch play and collared whichever running back got the call.

Until a third-and-10 play from the Minnesota 26 in the final minute. Russell got the ball and timed his run around the right side beautifully and allowed all his blockers to execute. He burst 61 yards to set Minnesota up for the game-winning field goal by Jason Giannini.

The kick came with one second left and Michigan had no miracle on the kickoff. The loss dropped the Wolverines record to 3-3 overall and 1-2 in the conference.

The silence in the Wolverine locker room was stunning. LB LaMarr Woodley did not try to minimize the damage done in the loss. "This was not just for the Jug, it was for the Big Ten championship," linebacker LaMarr Woodley said. "They came across and took all that away."

While the Wolverines can still have a winning season and get to a decent bowl, they are merely spoilers in the Big Ten race. They'll try to play that role this week against undefeated Penn State.

KEEP AN EYE ON: LB David Harris -- He did everything he could to keep the Wolverines winning streak vs. Minnesota intact. He had 18 tackles and one TFL and was all over the field throughout the game.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "You go up to Michigan State and get a good win. Everybody's excited, and you win by a field goal. To come back home and lose by a field goal, it shouldn't even have been down to that situation. We had so many opportunities to execute and to take control of the game, but we never did. I wouldn't call it a hangover, but we definitely didn't play to the best of our ability." -- WR Jason Avant on why Michigan did not play its best game vs. Minnesota.

RB Mike Hart continues to be a catalyst for the offense. After his explosive performance vs. Michigan State Oct. 1, Hart had 209 yards and a TD vs. Minnesota. He ran with power and confidence.

LB LaMarr Woodley punished Gopher QB Bryan Cupito with big hits twice during the game. The second sent Cupito to the sidelines and forced backup Tony Mortensen into the game. Woodley had nine tackles and two tackles for loss.

STILL NEEDS SOME WORK: The Wolverines have explosive weapons at wide receiver, but the wideouts had just 155 receiving yards. QB Chad Henne did not look comfortable throwing the ball against a Minnesota pass defense that is quite ordinary.

PK Garrett Rivas missed two late field-goal attempts that could have given Michigan the lead. Head coach Lloyd Carr said he still has confidence that Rivas can get the job done.

WR Mario Manningham is one of the best freshman receivers in the Big Ten and proved it in the first two Big Ten games of the season vs. Wisconsin and Michigan State. He had two receptions for 15 yards vs. Minnesota.

ROSTER REPORT: WR Steve Breaston came back from a shoulder injury and was quite explosive with a 95-yard return for a touchdown. He did not appear to have any ill effects from the injury.