Second-year defensive coordinator Jesse Minter filled in the vacant head coaching role on Saturday in Jim Harbaugh's absence. Harbaugh, who served the first game of his self-imposed three-game suspension, wasn't allowed on the premises on Saturday, and Minter was assigned to replace the head coach.

Minter led the Wolverines to a 30-3 rout of East Carolina. J.J. McCarthy completed 26-of-30 passes for 280 yards and three touchdowns in what was a solid all-around showing by the nation's No. 2 team.

"I was excited for the opportunity, and I was just really excited to see our guys play," Minter said. "You go through a long camp, you go through a long offseason — it's been a long time since we played in December, and was just excited to get back out there with the guys and proud of the way they played."

Roman Wilson hauled in all three of McCarthy's touchdown passes. The two connected six times — three of which were touchdowns — for 78 yards.

"I thought he was just precise," Minter said of Wilson. "We talk about, like, precision, execution on offense. And he ran really precise routes. Some of the things they were doing was allowing one-on-one matchups in our slot... Roman executing at a high level — being where he needed to be was really good, and of course, J.J. putting the ball where he needed to put it."

It doesn't take an expert to pick apart the magnificent performances on the field from McCarthy and Wilson, but Minter also picked apart his performance as the interim head coach from the sidelines.

"I'd say, for me — just so used to focusing on the defense," Minter said. "When we were on offense, being able to listen to the offense, talk about some of the — like fourth down, are we gonna go or are we gonna punt? Are we gonna be in field-goal range? What's our thought process here?"

The defense certainly didn't miss a beat with Minter's somewhat divided attention. The Wolverines posted a near-shutout, with East Carolina converting on a 33-yard field goal as time expired.

Ernest Hausmann led the way for the Michigan defense with six tackles, while Keon Sabb, Michael Barrett and Junior Colson all followed with five.

However, Michigan didn't register a sack in the season opener.

Minter said after the game he'd like to see the pass rush continue to get after the quarterback. He also noted that with ECU's quick-throwing style of play, it was tough for Michigan to generate a consistent pass rush.

"They weren't going to allow us to pin our ears back and rush with how fast they were getting rid of the ball," Minter said. "The threat of the draws and the runs with the quarterback that was in there. Just continuing to work our pass rush. I thought we had some really good rushes; I think it'll show on tape, but I know those guys are a little frustrated not coming home with any sacks."

The 40-year-old defensive coordinator was grateful for the opportunity he was given, realizing that not all head coaches get to coach their first game with a team as talented as Michigan's.

"I equate it to a first-time driver getting to drive the safest, most durable reliable car possible," Minter said. "Your first game as a head coach; you're at a new program, and you're trying to do all this. My opportunity was to take over a really well-oiled machine that Coach Harbaugh has built over his time."

"Certainly the players do what we needed to do, do what we were trained to do from how we worked all offseason. Knew this was coming for a while, so the mindset was right in how we needed to attack it. Just good to be 1-0."

Michigan will get Sherrone Moore back from his one-game self-imposed suspension for next week's game against UNLV. The game will begin at 3:30 p.m. and air on CBS.

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