Michigan took the opening drive 80 yards in 13 plays, ending with a one-yard touchdown run by Howard on fourth down. During the drive, Michigan showed some flashiness with a "double pass" play that had Griese throwing across the field to Woodson, and Woodson throwing back to Griese, who ran the ball 28 yards to the Badgers' one-yard-line to set up the first score. In the second quarter, Griese connected with Streets for a 38-yard touchdown, which gave Michigan a 13–0 lead after Baker missed the extra point. Wisconsin responded with a 62-yard, 14-play drive that ended with a 33-yard field goal by Matt Davenport with 4:22 remaining in the half. On its final possession of the half, Michigan drove to Wisconsin's one-yard-line, but this time on fourth down they opted for an 18-yard Feely field goal to take a 16–3 lead into halftime. Feely took over for Baker for the rest of the game after the missed extra point. Wisconsin put together an 80-yard, 11-play drive with Samuel sneaking in from the 1-yard line. Feely added a 24-yard field goal 1:52 into the fourth quarter. Then, Howard added a four-yard touchdown run with 6:15 remaining to make it 26–10. Wisconsin posted a 21-yard touchdown pass to Tony Simmons with 2:45 left, but missed the two-point conversion, leaving them 10 points behind, which was the final margin.