Michigan football cruised to a 30-3 win over East Carolina in the team's opener on Saturday afternoon at the Big House.

Here are three takeaways from the Wolverines' win.

With the self-imposed suspension of offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Sherrone Moore, and head coach Jim Harbaugh missing the game for the same reason, it was up to quarterbacks coach Kirk Campbell to head the playcalling duties in Michigan's opener.

The first series certainly wasn't an ideal starting spot for Campbell and the Michigan offense, as a 67-yard punt after the Pirates were stopped on their opening drive backed the Wolverines all the way up to their own 2-yard line.

Michigan called three consecutive run plays and didn't gain a yard, but were put in a much better spot on its second possession after a Mike Sainristill interception gave the Wolverines the ball on their own 46.

That drive would end on a 14-yard touchdown pass on third down from J.J. McCarthy to Roman Wilson to give the Wolverines the first score of the game.

From there, the Wolverines settled in on the offensive side of the ball and started to make some big plays, but had to be patient with the running game as ECU's defense was doing a nice job early in the game of slowing down Michigan's ground game.

The Pirates showed some somewhat heavy fronts throughout the game and looked like they were content in making McCarthy and the Michigan wideouts beat them down the field.

Michigan was able to finally find some success on the ground in its third possession of the game in the second quarter, when Blake Corum carried a ball for 37 yards off left tackle when the Wolverines were under center—which seemed to be where the Wolverines were having success in the rushing attack as opposed to from the shotgun, especially early on.

Corum would punch it in from two yards out a play later to make it 14-0, but it was Michigan's next drive of the game where it really started to expose ECU's weaknesses.

Coming into the game, it was known the Pirates' front seven was the most experienced part of their team, but in the back end, have experienced major turnover compared to last year's team.

With East Carolina being so caught up in crashing safeties' and corners down into the box to try to stop the Michigan rushing attack, Campbell and the U-M offense—especially on its fourth possession of the game—started to realize how they could slice the Pirates' defense open.

Campbell and the Wolverines decided to open things up in the passing game on this specific drive, with five of the seven-play, 76-yard scoring drive coming through the air.

The drive ended with a 10-yard touchdown pass from McCarthy to Wilson, but it was a drive that signaled the Wolverines were going to fully start attacking the Pirates' weaknesses and take what the defense was giving them.

At the end of the first half, Michigan also looked good in executing a drive with the clock winding down, with McCarthy looking comfortable in his decision making while being up against the clock.

That possession started with 48 seconds on the clock at Michigan's own 34-yard line and ended with a James Turner 50-yard field goal.

The big negative from the game on offense was the Wolverines' inability to punch the ball in the endzone inside ECU's 5-yard line late in the third quarter, which showed up as an area of concern at times last season.

But all in all, a lot of positive takeaways from Campbell as a playcaller and how Michigan's offense was able to make adjustments throughout.

The Michigan secondary was without a couple of key starters who are sure to play big roles again in the 2023 season.

Junior safety Rod Moore and sophomore cornerback Will Johnson (both were questionable coming in) did not play in the game.

Starting in their absences were sophomore Keon Sabb (safety) and senior Keshaun Harris (cornerback).

In particular, Sabb made a big impact on the game from the opening series with a pass breakup on a third down play, while Harris was able to hold his own against a quarterback in Mason Garcia who was not afraid to test the Wolverines down the field with his big arm.

Really, all game long, Sabb showed his versatility with his ability to defend in coverage and make tackles in space. The Pirates don't have a ton of skill position players who are of the explosive type, but to see Sabb step up to the challenge in his fist career start was certainly a positive sign for the Wolverines' defense. He finished the game with five total tackles and the one pass breakup.

Josh Wallace, Michigan's cornerback transfer from UMASS, did get the start for the Wolverines, who made an incredible play on a ball toward the ECU sideline that was initially ruled an interception, but was overturned to an incomplete pass after review.

The Wolverines' back end combined to allow just 132 yards passing against Garcia and Alex Flinn, who also got reps for the Pirates, combining for a solid effort in a game where Michigan was pretty thin by the time this one kicked off.

This isn't exactly a revealing take and one that could have been had before the season had begun, as it was expected the senior wide receiver would take another step forward in his role in the Michigan offense in 2023.

However, in the early part of last season, it looked like Wilson would be in for a huge campaign after a couple of nice games early on. But in the middle of the season, his targets somewhat faded, probably due to a mix of the Wolverines' just being so successful on the ground, along with Michigan having plenty of other targets to throw to as well.

Michigan is still going to obviously be reliant on their running game with Corum and Edwards still in the backfield behind a physical offensive line. But in the passing game, Ronnie Bell is now in the NFL, who was McCarthy's go-to target, especially in critical downs.

Cornelius Johnson, who also had a big day with five receptions and 71 yards himself, will pair with Wilson as a nice complement and serve as a consistent deep threat for the Wolverines.

But Wilson is a versatile receiver who can get open in a variety of ways and various combination of routes, and would expect him to see a consistent amount of targets and the Wolverines finding ways to get him the ball on a more regular basis this season.

Against ECU, Wilson looked dangerous and was able to open things up for the Michigan passing game with his speed and route running ability while finishing with six catches, 78 yards and three touchdowns.

If he can keep that up for much of the season, along with McCarthy being in the type of rhythm and spreading the ball around like he did on Saturday, that will only benefit the Wolverines and increase their ceiling and capabilities as an offense.