ANN ARBOR, Mich. --- It's been much of the same for Michigan football so far on Saturday, blowing out another inferior non-conference opponent in the first half.
A.J. Henning, Brad Robbins, Jay Harbaugh, and the special teams crew added some spice to the strong opening for U-M.
While Blake Corum broke his career-high in touchdowns in one half, the offense was a benefactor of excellent field position by the defense forcing turnovers, a blocked punt, and consistently good returns from Henning.
Here are three takeaways from the first half.
Jay Harbaugh, take a bow
Last name or not, Jay Harbaugh, Jim Harbaugh's son and Michigan's special teams coordinator put on a clinic in the first half.
Henning returned a punt for a touchdown, Caden Kolesar blocked a punt, Brad Robbins pinned a punt inside the 10-yard line and two inside the 20, and the kickoff coverage was pristine.
It doesn't get any better than that for one-half of special teams statistics.
The unit is loosely responsible for two touchdowns -- Henning's return and the blocked punt allowed the offense to start its drive in the red zone.
So far, so good for the younger Harbaugh's unit.
Blake Corum quietly broke a career-high in one half
Despite only nine carries, junior running back Blake Corum had four rushing touchdowns in the first half, breaking his previous career-high of three in a game.
Corum totaled 47 yards, averaging five yards per carry, with his longest run going for 20 yards and a touchdown.
His three other scores came at the one-yard line with the offense in a goal-line set.
Michigan's defense controls game without flashy numbers
After Michigan's third touchdown, the Wolverines had 138 yards to UConn's six.
The Huskies found some life but still totaled just 64 yards of offense in the first half (12 passing, 52 rushing), with more than half of the yardage coming on the final drive of the half that ended in a turnover on downs following a failed fourth-down conversion at midfield.
UConn schemed with outside runs and QB run designs to counter Michigan's strong front and shutdown cornerback play.
Because of that, the Wolverines didn't put up gaudy numbers as they did against Colorado State (7 sacks, 11 TFLs).
Still, zero sacks, one tackle for loss, and a pass deflection aren't what Co-Defensive Coordinator Steve Clinkscale wanted to see on Saturday. Earlier this week, Clinkscale made it clear he wants the defense to strive for takeaways, specifically interceptions from the corners he specializes in coaching.
If not for a fumbled snap from UConn quarterback Zion Turner, the turnover battle would be locked at zero.
All the same, the defense shut down any sniff of offensive success in a first-half shutout of the Huskies.
It's hard to be mad at that. We'll see a real offense in both halves at Michigan Stadium next week when Taulia Tagovailoa and Maryland come to town.
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