One hit.

That's all it took to change the momentum of Saturday's game.

After Michigan quarterback Chad Henne and the Wolverine offense walked off the field following another three-and-out late in the second quarter, punter Zoltan Mesko looked to pin Wisconsin deep in its zone.

He did more than he could have hoped.

The redshirt freshman boomed a 56-yard punt that forced Wisconsin's Zach Hamilton to retreat.

Losing control of the ball, the vulnerable Hamilton stood no chance of recovering it when Michigan gunner Darnell Hood hit him. Long snapper Turner Booth fell on the fumble, and the Michigan offense had new life.

"It was crazy," backup kicker Jason Olesnavage said. "It was a great punt by Zoltan, and that guy tried to catch it over his shoulder and muffed it. Darnell came down and laid a hit on him, and the ball was down. I didn't even see Turner got it until after he got back to the sideline because everyone was jumping around. I knew we had it, and it was an awesome play by everybody."

Said Hamilton: "I just took my eyes off it at the last second, and, basically, that's what happened. I should have probably just fell on it, but I tried picking it up because I knew there was a double team on the other side, but I guess the guy broke the double team, hit me and the ball came loose and they recovered."

Even though Michigan got just a field goal off the turnover, special teams played a crucial role in the Wolverine win.

In the first three games of the season, the Michigan kickoff coverage was suspect. With Mike DeBord switching from special teams to offensive coordinator during the offseason, his previous duties were split among numerous coaches because no new coach was hired. And it took a while for the unit to gel.

Senior Ross Ryan didn't drive the ball as deep on his kickoffs, mainly because of the shortened tee, and the gunners couldn't contain the return man, which allowed opposing teams to average a starting field position at their 28-yard line.

That changed on Saturday, when the kickoff team didn't allow Wisconsin's Josh Nettles to return kickoffs past the 20-yard line.

The Wolverines had given up an average 24 yards per kickoff return in their first three contests, but against the Badgers, they surrendered just 16 yards per return.

"I think we got our minds right now as far as the kickoff team," Hood said. "At the beginning of the season, we had a new kickoff team, but now we're on the same page. We're about to keep on making plays."

Ryan forced two touchbacks and would have had a few more, but Nettles questionably took the ball out of the end zone on several occasions.

"I don't have the greatest view of how deep the ball's actually going, but a couple of them I was surprised (he took them out)," Ryan said.

While Wisconsin's average starting field position hovered around its own 20, Michigan return man Steve Breaston helped the Wolverines spend most of the afternoon in the Badgers' territory. Michigan's average starting field position was its own 41.

Breaston, who holds the Big Ten record for career return yards, almost returned a few Wisconsin punts for touchdowns. The senior wide receiver finished with 116 yards on nine punt returns.

"I always say, 'Get the ball in Steve's hands, give him a lane, and he's going to go,' " Hood said.

Senior placekicker Garrett Rivas also continued his solid kicking this season. On Saturday, he went 2-for-2 with a long of 32 yards.

This season, Rivas has connected on all but one of his field-goal attempts. The lone miss came when Vanderbilt blocked a 42-yarder.

"Garrett's a great kicker," Olesnavage said. "He's really got a ton of experience, and he's doing great so far."