Like a boxer getting stronger in the late rounds of a heavyweight title fight, Michigan pummeled Purdue after halftime Saturday night to win its 2nd straight Big Ten championship.

The Boilermakers put up one heck of a fight, but the Wolverines landed a haymaker on their first offensive play of the third quarter and slugged their way to a 43-22 victory.

Michigan clinched the 1 absolute spot the Big Ten will receive in the College Football Playoff, further distancing itself from Ohio State and the rest of the league with its 13th victory in as many games this season. The Wolverines are now 19-1 against B1G competition over the past 2 seasons.

While other CFP contenders (TCU, USC) were beaten on Championship Weekend, Jim Harbaugh’s team solidified a No. 2 seeding in the 4-team field that will be announced at noon Sunday on ESPN. The only minor negative for fans of the Maize and Blue is that the other results around the country mean the hated Buckeyes (11-1) probably will make the Playoff as well. It’s possible a rematch of The Game, which Michigan won 45-23 in Columbus last weekend, will occur in the national semifinals.

The Wolverines will have a shot to become college football’s third 15-0 national champion and the B1G’s first. After Saturday’s results, No. 1 Georgia is the only other team with a shot at a perfect season. The Playoff semifinals will be played on New Year’s Eve in Atlanta (Peach Bowl) and Glendale, Arizona (Fiesta Bowl), followed by the title game on Jan. 9 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif.

Harbaugh, in his 8th year leading his alma mater, has Michigan dominating the B1G with a smashmouth style that would make Bo Schembechler proud. He appears to be the most secure head coach in the conference just 2 years after being vilified for a 2-4 finish in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

Without injured would-be Heisman candidate Blake Corum, the Wolverines relied on backup tailback Donovan Edwards and got (former?) linebacker Kalel Mullings involved in the backfield as well. They struggled early. Edwards had just 37 yards on 11 carries in the first half for the nation’s No. 5 rushing offense.

But behind an offense line among the best in the nation, the ground game came alive after the break, pounding out 225 yards, a bit less than its average of 244.5 yards per game but more than enough.

JJ McCarthy, who improved to 12-0 as Michigan’s starter, again minimized mistakes — though he did throw his 3rd interception of the season — and made plays when needed. The 6-3, 196-pound sophomore displayed his dual-threat chops with a few key runs to go along with more than 160 yards and 3 TDs through the air. The key plays included several rollouts to avoid pressure and extend plays.

But the ground game made the difference. Edwards busted free for a 60-yard run to start the second half, setting up Mullings’ 1-yard score 4 plays later. In the first half, the 6-2, 232-pound Mullings converted a key 4th down to keep a touchdown drive alive. It was the 2nd career carry for the junior, who also has 22 tackles to his credit over 17 game appearances for the Wolverines dating to 2020.

Michigan scored on its first 2 possessions in the third quarter to go up 28-13, with Edwards accounting for nearly 100 rushing yards in the period and scoring on a 27-yard jaunt. He finished with 185 yards on 25 carries. Mullins finished with 26 yards and 2 TDs on 8 carries.

Purdue, 8-4 and unranked entering the game, gave Michigan all it could handle, especially in the first half as senior quarterback Aidan O’Connell delivered a great performance.

It was the final Big Ten matchup for the 24-year-old O’Connell, who has meant as much to Purdue football as anyone in recent memory.

“Aidan O’Connell does a lot of things that make you shake your head and say, ‘Nobody can be like this. This guy’s too good to be true,'” 6th-year Purdue coach Jeff Brohm said in the lead-up for Saturday night’s showdown.

O’Connell followed up his inspirational performance from a week ago, when he played through the emotional gut-punch of his older brother Sean’s death in a tragic accident. The 2017 walk-on helped Purdue get by Indiana for the Old Oaken Bucket and the B1G West crown. Michigan was an exponentially tougher challenge, not a foundering 4-8 program but a 12-0, No. 2-ranked juggernaut.

But O’Connell, making his 27th career start, completed 16 of his first 17 passes and finished the opening 30 minutes 19-of-22 for 183 yards.

The 16-point underdog “Spoilermakers” were entertaining thoughts of a 4th upset of a top-3 team in as many tries under 6th-year coach Jeff Brohm. O’Connell led 3 straight scoring drives — a touchdown and 2 field goals — after an initial 3-and-out, and the Boilermakers trailed just 14-13 at the break.

O’Connell connected 7 times through 2 quarters with fellow 6th-year senior and new/old favorite target Charlie Jones, whose career went through Buffalo and Iowa before reaching Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship Game.

O’Connell continued to fire away in the second half, topping 250 passing yards in the quarter as Jones went over 100 on the receiving end. But the veteran quarterback threw 2 interceptions, 1 of them spoiling a 57-yard drive that had reached the red zone.

Will Johnson made both of the picks, with the 2nd one setting up Michigan in the red zone. Three plays later, McCarthy hit Ronnie Bell for a 17-yard touchdown, and the Wolverines led 36-19 after a 2-point conversion. Just like that, Michigan was covering the spread with 9:06 remaining.

The problem for Purdue was that 6 red zone trips resulted in only 1 TD, 4 FGs by Mitchell Fineran and a turnover.

The very game Purdue squad had run out of gas, sputtering late as it had early. But the game had plenty of drama in between, with O’Connell racking up more than 300 passing yards.

After losing 10 yards on its first 3 plays of the game, Purdue outgained Michigan 212-135 over the remainder of the first half.

But Michigan had a 1-point lead anyway, thanks to its much younger signal-caller. McCarthy was 7-of-11 for 90 yards in the first half, including a pair of touchdown strikes to tight ends. He hit Colston Loveland for 25 yards to cap a 7-play, 55-yard drive for the game’s first score. In the second quarter, he bought time with a rollout to his right and threw slightly across his body for a 7-yard score to Luke Schoonmaker. That put the Wolverines back on top at 14-10 in the second quarter.

With both teams making time-consuming scoring drives, the Wolverines had only 4 possessions in the first half.

At the end of the first quarter, Purdue was outgaining Michigan 131-57 in total yards, and the Wolverines had just 7 on the ground. After its rough first possession, the Boilermakers racked up 9 first downs and 138 yards on their next 2 to take a 10-7 lead. O’Connell was 12-of-13 for 109 yards at that point, and Jones had 7 catches for 74 yards despite his first one losing 6 yards.