Michigan defends the belt, 41–10, on the road at Northwestern.
AP poll, week 13: Michigan No. 5 at Northwestern unranked · No. 1 that week: Michigan State. The belt vs. the polls →
Where this game sits in the lineage
Michigan came in 21 days into reign #257, which began with a win over Purdue, with one defense already behind it; this was its second defense. Michigan went on to defend it 1 more time before USC took it on January 1, 2004, 68 days after the reign began.
For Northwestern this was its 11th shot at the belt; it had held the belt once before.
It was the 2nd of 2 belt games between the two; going in, Northwestern led the belt series 1–0; all-time it is 1–1.
About this game
Michigan traveled to Northwestern on November 15, 2003, in week 13 of the regular season as the belt holder. Northwestern won 41-10, but Michigan retained the belt because only the away team can claim it by winning on the road.
Written by Claude, strictly from this site’s own record of the game — the score and what it meant for the belt. CFBD doesn’t have a box score for games this old, so nothing here is invented beyond what’s verifiably on file.
Key plays
CFBD play-by-play| When | Team | Yards | Play |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 9:20 | Michigan | +2 yd | Chris Perry (MICH) rushed up the middle for a 2 yard touchdown. |
| Q1 9:15 | Michigan | +0 yd | Extra point by Garrett Rivas (MICH) is good. |
| Q1 9:15 | Michigan | +43 yd | Kickoff returned by Derell Jenkins (NU) for 43 yards. |
| Q1 8:40 | Northwestern | +29 yd | Brett Basanez (NU) rushed left side for 29 yards. |
| Q1 6:55 | Northwestern | +35 yd | 35 yard field goal by Brian Huffman (NU) is good. |
| Q1 3:20 | Michigan | +42 yd | 42 yard field goal by Garrett Rivas (MICH) is no good. |
| Q1 1:18 | Michigan | +37 yd | John Navarre (MICH) pass left side complete to Steve Breaston (MICH) for 37 yards. |
| Q2 15:00 | Michigan | +23 yd | 23 yard field goal by Garrett Rivas (MICH) is good. |
| Q2 14:57 | Michigan | +24 yd | Kickoff returned by Derell Jenkins (NU) for 24 yards. |
| Q2 14:52 | Northwestern | +0 yd | Wildcats fumble by Brett Basanez (NU), recovered by Jeremy LeSueur (MICH), returned for no gain. |
| Q2 10:34 | Michigan | +0 yd | Extra point by Garrett Rivas (MICH) is good. |
| Q2 10:48 | Michigan | +1 yd | Chris Perry (MICH) rushed up the middle for a 1 yard touchdown. |
| Q2 10:27 | Northwestern | +0 yd | Wildcats fumble by Derell Jenkins (NU), recovered by Jerome Jackson (MICH), returned for no gain. |
| Q2 10:27 | Michigan | +26 yd | John Navarre (MICH) pass left side complete to Braylon Edwards (MICH) for a 26 yard touchdown. |
| Q2 10:21 | Michigan | +0 yd | Extra point by Garrett Rivas (MICH) is good. |
| Q2 9:05 | Northwestern | +22 yd | Brett Basanez (NU) pass across the middle complete to Noah Herron (NU) for 22 yards. |
| Q2 8:20 | Northwestern | +23 yd | Punt by Brian Huffman (NU) returned 23 yards by Steve Breaston (MICH) to the Wolverines 36. |
| Q2 4:58 | Michigan | +22 yd | John Navarre (MICH) pass left side complete to Jason Avant (MICH) for a 22 yard touchdown. |
| Q2 4:53 | Michigan | +0 yd | Extra point by Garrett Rivas (MICH) is good. |
| Q2 4:48 | Northwestern | +0 yd | Wildcats fumble by Brett Basanez (NU), recovered by Brett Basanez (NU), advanced for no gain. |
| Q3 9:16 | Michigan | +28 yd | 28 yard field goal by Garrett Rivas (MICH) is good. |
| Q3 10:11 | Michigan | +20 yd | John Navarre (MICH) pass right side complete to Tim Massaquoi (MICH) for 20 yards. |
| Q3 7:45 | Northwestern | +0 yd | Brett Basanez (NU) pass across the middle intercepted by Leon Hall (MICH). Returned for no gain. |
| Q4 14:16 | Michigan | +0 yd | Wolverines fumble by Matt Gutierrez (MICH), recovered by Pat Durr (NU), returned for no gain. |
| Q4 12:28 | Northwestern | +27 yd | Brett Basanez (NU) pass right side complete to Noah Herron (NU) for 27 yards. |
| Q4 9:48 | Northwestern | +12 yd | Brandon Horn (NU) rushed left side for a 12 yard touchdown. |
| Q4 9:41 | Northwestern | +0 yd | Extra point by Brian Huffman (NU) is good. |
| Q4 3:22 | Michigan | +6 yd | Jerome Jackson (MICH) rushed right side for a 6 yard touchdown. |
| Q4 3:13 | Michigan | +0 yd | Extra point by Garrett Rivas (MICH) is good. |
Scoring plays, turnovers, and gains of 20+ yards, pulled from CFBD’s play-by-play. This section only appears for belt games with play-by-play on file (2003 onward).
Sources Box score at ESPN · Game record: College Football Data (id 233190077) · This game in the downloadable dataset