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With big plays and gaudy stats, Michigan rolls to feel-good romp over WMU
By Adam Biggers
Published:
It was the way that Michigan needed to start the season — a dominant victory over an opponent that had never emerged with a win in 7 attempts. Now it’s 0-for-8. Saturday’s 47-14 over Western Michigan was punctuated by AJ Henning’s 74-yard touchdown off an end-around in the third quarter, completely fooling Western Michigan’s defense that has routinely given up roughly 400 yards per game since 2017.
The Broncos gave up 549, so that was a positive for UM.
That was what the Wolverines needed: a perfect play and gaudy stat line to boost confidence.
During the late stages of the third quarter, and up 33-7, Michigan trotted out true-freshman QB JJ McCarthy and RB Donovan Edwards — two highly touted recruits who are most certainly major pieces of the future of the program. It was a sign that the Wolverines were in full control and confident in giving their young guns a shot at in-game reps.
In terms of season-openers, Michigan’s was about as good as it gets for a team coming off an embarrassing 2-4 finish in 2020. The Wolverines put up 549 total yards, compared to WMU’s 317, and looked pretty good for the majority of the 60 minutes. Of course, there were errors and red flags — but the Wolverines definitely did what they had to do in order to instill confidence moving forward into Week 2 against No. 20 Washington.
Jim Harbaugh and his staff will address the 5 penalties for 48 yards, but that will probably be the only gripe. Saturday was a clean game, for the most part.
Michigan’s first half wasn’t all-too impressive but it was efficient and showed signs of a potent offense — but don’t get too excited, because this was shown during the 2020 opener at Minnesota. But still, it was a bright spot for the Wolverines — one that was badly needed. Blake Corum, running back, had a 71-yard kick return in the second quarter that was eventually wasted as UM settled for a 37-yard drive-ending field goal by Jake Moody.
Michigan needed a touchdown to really put an exclamation point on the drive.
However, Corum looked like the prime piece of the Wolverines’ offense during the first half, carrying the ball 11 times for 66 yards. He also had a 14-yard touchdown catch, snagging the ball in the backfield and speeding toward to the end zone before hopping over the goal line.
He’s fast — really fast. He’ll be a major component of the offensive scheme this season.
Corum finished with 14 carries for 111 yards, averaging 7.9 yards per touch.
Though it seemed relatively close during the first quarter — Michigan held a 10-7 lead — it was clear that Western Michigan was physically overmatched, tiring from the Wolverines’ constant bullying. The Wolverines may have something cooking … but let’s wait to cast judgement.
Don’t get overly excited about Michigan, because we’ve seen this before — but Saturday’s stomping of WMU was exactly the type of beginning that the Wolverines needed to start the 2021 season.
Now 1-0, Michigan just has to reflect on what worked Saturday and expand upon it through the coming weeks. You can ask any coach, and they’ll that a win in Week 1 can really set the tone for the rest of the year. It’s too early to forecast success for Michigan, but a 47-14 win over Western Michigan will definitely get the ball rolling.
Adam Biggers brings his expertise on the Michigan beat to Saturday Tradition. Follow him on Twitter @AdamBiggers81.