SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) -- With every push by the Syracuse offense, there was the Michigan defense ready to answer.

The defense set up two field goals with interceptions, came up with a key safety and then turned back a final Syracuse threat as Michigan (No. 5 ESPN/USA Today, No. 6 AP) outlasted the Orangemen 18-13 Saturday night.

	Michigan's Anthony Thomas carried 26 times for 97 yards in the Wolverines' win over Syracuse on Saturday.

The Orangemen (2-1) looked ready to steal a victory away from Michigan (3-0), driving the length of the field in the final three minutes. Syracuse made it to the Michigan 9, but Madei Williams' fourth-and-4 pass was beyond the reach of diving Pat Woodcock and Michigan took over on downs and ran out the clock.

"They had a lot of big plays on that last drive," Michigan linebacker James Hall said. "We just wanted to keep our composure, pull together and make a stand."

Jeff Del Verne's 31-yard field goal with 3:42 to play gave Michigan a five-point advantage and put Syracuse in a touchdown-or-nothing situation.

Michigan avenged last year's stinging 38-28 loss to the Orangemen at Ann Arbor.

With the score 13-all late in the third quarter, Hall and the rest of the Wolverines defense chased Troy Nunes, Syracuse's redshirt freshman quarterback, into his own end zone.

Nunes, after dodging defenders and spinning away, tried a long pass but it fell yards away from the nearest Syracuse receiver and the officials flagged him for intentional grounding and a safety that put Michigan ahead 15-13.

"The safety was real big because we had them down in our own territory," cornerback James Whitley said. "It was a tie game and we knew we had to make a big stop. It was all out of the heart."

"Troy was trying to make a big play. It ended up a bad decision," said Williams, who combined with Nunes to go a collective 13-of-30 for 200 yards.

"Michigan definitely had way more talent than we saw against Central Michigan and Toledo. Our defense matched theirs but our offense struggled," Williams said.

Whitley added a crucial sack in the fourth quarter that ended a Syracuse drive that had pushed to the Wolverines 30. The Orangemen faked a field goal from 43 yards out, but Michigan's Todd Howard tackled Nunes, the holder, before he could get off a pass.

Syracuse, which scored 82 points in its first two games, managed just one first down and had minus-18 yards in the first 20 minutes. The Orangemen finished with just 49 yards rushing, 200 yards below their average, and converted just 2 of 12 third-down plays.

"It was a frustrating night," said Syracuse coach Paul Pasqualoni, who saw another Top 10 come into the Dome and defeat the Orangemen in the final minutes. Last year, it was Tennessee winning on a last-second field goal.

"In a game like this, one or two plays make a difference. It was really frustrating because we were so close so many times," Pasqualoni said.

Despite being dominated by the Wolverines' defense for much of the first half, Syracuse took a short-lived 7-6 lead late in the second quarter when Williams' long pass was caught at the 4 by Woodcock for a 54-yard gain. Two plays later, Williams tossed a 6-yard touchdown pass to Quinton Spotwood.

The nation's leader in turnover margin, Michigan added two more interceptions by Whitley and DeWayne Patmon in the second quarter. Both turnovers led to field goals by Del Verne. The first was from 41 yards, the second a a 24-yarder that gave Michigan a 6-0 lead with eight minutes to play in the half.

Michigan regained the lead in the final minute of the half when Henson caught the Orangemen blitzing and threw a screen pass to fullback Aaron Shea, who ran 22 yards for a touchdown.

Syracuse took the ball 80 yards on its opening drive to start the second half with Nunes hitting James Mungro on a 3-yard pass to tie the game at 13-13.

Nate Trout's point-after kick was partially blocked by Michigan's James Hall and missed wide, ending the nation's longest PAT streak at 72. Trout's first conversion kick tied the school record held by Gary Anderson.