Michigan didn’t want to merely win. It wanted to dominate, crush and destroy.
Check, check and check.
While turning Western Michigan’s Broncos into glue, 49-3, isn’t going to wipe out an opening-week loss, it sure beats the alternative. It was the only acceptable option on The Big House table, and the Wolverines gorged themselves.
They piled up 451 total yards of offense to Western Michigan’s 208, led 35-0 at the half, ran the football for 308 yards and pitched a shutout until the Broncos managed an 11th-hour field goal.
All in all, the day delivered the expected rout — just what the doctor ordered for a patient seven days into significant pain.
“No question about it, the week of practice was really good,” head coach Jim Harbaugh offered. “There was a feeling everybody wanted to get rid of, and we took nothing for granted, worked really hard all week. That’s where we want to be as a football team. One week at a time. Put in the work, play start to finish.”
When they did, WMU looked finished almost before it started.
Junior quarterback Shea Patterson didn’t just end talk of Michigan’s 364-day TD drought to a wide receiver, he duct-taped its mouth. Patterson gunned a trio of TD passes, two to wide receivers (redshirt freshman Dylan McCaffrey added another), finishing 12-of-17 passing for 125 yards.
But the run game really handled the heavy lifting, leaving the Broncos in the starting gate on defense. Senior tailback Karan Higdon piled up 156 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries, all of those in the first half. Junior tailback Chris Evans added on 86 in just 10 tries, with a pair of touchdowns.
Higdon out-rushed the Broncos, 156-123, while Michigan’s defense made life miserable all afternoon for WMU quarterback Jon Wassink. He managed a 16-of-34 effort, for a measly 85 yards and one interception.
“I want to bring that intensity,” Higdon assured. “I want to come with a strong mindset, because I know my teammates feed off that. A lot of guys look up to me. I know I have that platform to bring them along with me. Each and every play, I try to be that upbeat person and give it my all, and I know my brothers will follow along that pathway. They did that today.”
Michigan began the rout with Patterson’s 17-yard touchdown toss to redshirt junior tight end Sean McKeon. McKeon took the rollout toss, churned to the northeast corner of The Big House and extended the football just enough to get it across the goal inside the pylon at 7:05 of the first quarter.
Higdon ignited the 81-yard touchdown drive with a 43-yard burst of his own, zig-zagging downfield and missing a 60-yard TD only on a shoestring trip-up. On this day, though, the next chance arrived quicker than The Biggest Loser winner at the following-day pizza buffet.
On Michigan’s very next offensive snap, Higdon swept left, picking up a key block by junior captain left guard Ben Bredeson and racing away on a 67-yard touchdown. The lightning-round touchdown made it 14-0 with 4:11 left in the firys quarter, and gave Higdon 121 rushing yards before the first popcorn run for many in the crowd of 110,814.
“The O-line killed it today, so a shout out to those boys,” Higdon said.
Michigan’s defense chased a harried Wassink out of the pocket, forcing a doomed throw over the middle. It hit fifth-year senior linebacker Noah Furbush right in the hands, sticking for a pickoff that gave the Wolverines the ball at the WMU 46.
Two plays later, Michigan began beating a dead Bronco.
This time, junior tailback Chris Evans bolted away up the middle, sprinting in 27 yards for the touchdown. As the seconds ticked away in the first quarter, any upset drama went with them.
The burial resumed moments later, junior viper Khaleke Hudson firing through to block a Western Michigan punt, scooped up and advanced 10 yards to the Western 24 by fifth-year senior Joe Hewlett.
Six plays later, Evans danced in from two yards out, bumping the blowout to 28-0 at the 9:35 mark. It didn’t stay there long.
Wassink tried a keeper on fourth-and-one at his own 49. Michigan’s defense — including freshman defensive end Aidan Hutchinson — swarmed him, turning the ball over on downs.
On the very next play, Patterson gunned a strike to sophomore wideout Nico Collins, streaking away to the south end zone, for a 44-yard score. At 35-0 with 6:55 remaining in the first half, WMU might have been negotiating to take its check and head back to Kalamazoo.
“That one felt good,” Patterson said. “Nico does a good job of taking the top off and getting over the safety. We showed a play-action fake, the safety bit and Nico did his job to get over the top. All I had to do was throw it up.”
The Broncos stuck around, but couldn’t have been anticipating a strong run in the back stretch.
U-M continued the onslaught in the third quarter, after redshirt sophomore placekicker Quinn Nordin missed a 40-yard field goal. A big run stop by junior ‘backer Devin Bush Jr. on fourth down near midfield set the Wolverines up again, and they rolled.
Evans carved his way through the Broncos’ defense on a 27-yard run. That set up Patterson’s five-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wideout Donovan Peoples-Jones, finishing off a six-play, 51-yard touchdown drive, making it 42-0 at the 6:21 mark.
The fourth quarter allowed for bench clearing, but no brawl was in sight. Instead, the Wolverines continued the battering. Redshirt freshman quarterback Dylan McCaffrey came on to toss an 18-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wideout Jake McCurry at 8:51.
The Broncos avoided the blanking with 2:34 to play, when kicker Josh Grant knocked through a 35-yard field goal, following a 57-yard drive against Michigan’s backup defenders.
The bottom line for the afternoon: Michigan did what it had to do and regained a little swagger, regardless of the opponent.
“We used last week as fuel, to come out and produce in a home game,” Collins said. “We made sure we came off the field with a win. This is the Michigan team we wanted to show. I feel like we’re one of the best in the country. I think we can compete against anybody.”
FIVE BEST PLAYERS OF THE GAME
1. Senior running back Karan Higdon — Higdon’s 156 yards and a touchdown on just 13 carries set the tone for the day. It goes without saying that Michigan’s offensive line gets a nod here, because the Broncos were horse meat by halftime.
2. Junior quarterback Shea Patterson — Patterson sent a message himself, that he can deliver. Three touchdown strikes — two of them to a wideouts group that hadn’t caught one in nearly a year — showed the new QB as an accurate assassin, given time to shoot.
3. Junior linebacker Devin Bush Jr. — Bush represents a defense that crushed WMU all day long. His big hit on a fourth-down run stoned the Broncos, like Michigan did multiple times. He only wound up with five tackles, but given WMU’s dearth of opportunities on offense, that proved more than enough.
4. Sophomore wideout Donovan Peoples-Jones — Jones snagged his first touchdown catch as a Michigan player, among his team-leading four receptions for 31 yards. He ran a perfect route to the back of the end zone, piling another TD log onto the rout.
5. Junior tailback Chris Evans — Evans has operated in Higdon’s shadow somewhat, but averaged 8.6 yards per carry in 10 tries against the Broncos. His cutting ability showed off plenty, and he led the Wolverines with a pair of rushing touchdowns.
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