They say you can’t go home again. Jabrill Peppers not only went home, he staked claim to all the prime acreage in the state of New Jersey.

The next generation of New Jersey males might be migrating to Michigan after Peppers and the Wolverines absolutely devastated the home team in its own stadium, 78-0. Rutgers changed quarterbacks, and quite possibly underwear, in the Wolverines’ relentless assault.

They just couldn’t change the inevitable — a second straight week of Big Two bombardment.

Peppers went full jalapeno on the Scarlet Knights, scoring two touchdowns, setting up another on a 63-yard run and bolting for 74 rushing yards altogether — all while moonlighting from his regular job on defense.

He saw a punt return touchdown called back, and produced more yardage the very first time he touched the football than Rutgers managed in 60 minutes of futile play.

Homecoming? This was more like burning the house down and spitting on the ashes.

“I’ve never been a part of a victory this massive,” Peppers said.

Jim Harbaugh has never had a part in coaching someone this versatile, he insisted. He talked about Peppers showing off a completely different gear than anyone else on the field.

Then he went a step farther.

“If there’s a better player in the country, I don’t know who it is,” Harbaugh said. “I know there’s a lot of great players out there, but this guy, Jabrill Peppers, is a real joy.

“There’s nothing he can’t do. It’s the darnest thing I’ve ever seen. In my humble opinion, you’re looking at a Heisman Trophy candidate and winner.”

Harbaugh doesn’t get a vote, but Peppers secured a few on his own in this rampage.

There wasn’t any one-man show on display. More like a tank battalion assault, Peppers delivering the most destructive rounds.

Of course, Harbaugh wasn’t exactly playing paintball in the Wolverines’ first road contest. He knows some of the locals aren’t too happy about a Michigan roster peppered with some of the finest recent talent from the state, including Peppers and freshman defensive end Rashan Gary, the No. 1 prep player in the nation last year.

When Rutgers coach Chris Ash, a former Ohio State coach, invited a colleague to speak at a Rutgers satellite camp last summer, he chose OSU boss Urban Meyer. Harbaugh waited a few months, then spoke pretty loudly to Garden State himself.

His unspoken message: Get on board … or run.

That’s what Rutgers quarterbacks spent the lost evening doing, running for their lives against a Category Five pass rush. They absorbed four sacks, avoided a dozen more with last-second throwaways, garnered enough bruises to go from scarlet to purple and earned a medal for bravery upon emerging from the locker room in the second half.

Rutgers actually came out in all black uniforms. Fittingly, it turned into a black and blue night quicker than you could say Ash to ashes.

The Scarlet Knights packed 53,292 into High Point Solutions Stadium, the largest gathering in the history of the facility. But for Rutgers, there was no high point, there were no solutions, and by the end, a heavy concentration of Michigan fans owned the place.

Harbaugh couldn’t dip far enough into his bench to halt the carnage, not that the notion of a letup crossed his mind. The Wolverines went for two after their fourth touchdown and went for the jugular every time a QB dared to drop back.

“It was constant pressure, and that field position — we were playing on half the field,” Harbaugh said. “The team has been tremendous. We didn’t allow a third-down conversion tonight, defensively.

“[Defensive coordinator] Don Brown is an amazing coach. I know I’ve been saying that a lot, but it’s obvious to everyone. It is to our team and to our whole defensive staff. It’s pretty spectacular what they’re doing defensively.”

It’s pretty spectacular what the Wolverines are doing, period. They rushed for 481 yards, and the leader of that pack, freshman Chris Evans, posted 153 of them. He also mentioned a tidbit passed along to him by Mike Brown, one of several behind-the-scenes men at Schembechler Hall.

“He tells me a little quote every week,” Evans said. “He told me: ‘It’s a sin to be good when you’re sent to be great.’ I just feed off that.”

Harbaugh called the notion “profound,” and you could tell it struck a chord. He’s not looking for good, and neither is his team, as it steamrolls into a bye week seeking more victims.