Game recap: Michigan football steamrolls UConn in nonconference finale

Michigan football moved to 3-0 on the season after a 59-0 win over the visiting UConn Huskies on Saturday afternoon in Ann Arbor. The shutout is the Wolverines’ first since a 52-0 win over Rutgers in 2019.

It was a mostly clean and dominant performance as the team prepares itself for the start of Big Ten play.

Sophomore quarterback J.J. McCarthy received his second-straight start and was efficient again. He finished the day 15-for-18 for 214 yards. Senior wide receiver Ronnie Bell had 7 catches for 96 yards, while junior running back Blake Corum had 12 carries for 71 yards and 5 touchdowns. He becomes the third back in program history to post 5 rushing scores in a single game, joining Ron Johnson and Hassan Haskins.

Here is a recap of how we got to Week 3’s end result:

First Quarter

Michigan won the toss and elected to take the ball first. This put McCarthy and the Wolverine offense on the field to start the game. They did not need much time to get things rolling, using a 38-yard bubble screen to junior wideout Roman Wilson and a 20-yard touchdown rush from Corum to take a 7-0 lead after the extra point with 12:52 to play in the first. The defense forced its first opening-drive three-and-out of the season, which was matched on the next drive by the Michigan offense. The Wolverine defense did its part, forcing a punt after 5 plays for 9 yards by UConn on the next drive.

Michigan’s offense picked things up again on their third possession of the game. An 8-play, 54-yard drive ended in a 1-yard touchdown from Corum, his second of the day. The Wolverines led 14-0 at the 2:52 mark after Jake Moody‘s extra point. Following a fumble by the Huskies, Michigan’s offense tackled on a 26-yard field goal from Moody with 38 seconds to go in the quarter. They would lead 17-0 after the first 15 minutes of play.

Second Quarter

On UConn’s next possession, Michigan forced a punt that was blocked by Caden Kolesar and returned to the 18-yard line by linebacker Kalel Mullings. Corum finished off the drive with his third touchdown rush of the day to take a 24-0 lead with 12:08 left in the half. Junior weapon AJ Henning scored on a 61-yard punt return to extend the lead to 31-0 at the 6:05 mark after Moody’s extra point.

Corum added his fourth touchdown score on the day to cap off a 3-play, 60-yard drive to extend the lead to 38-0 with 3:11 left in the quarter. That is where things would be heading into the locker room after a 61-yard field goal miss from Moody.

Third Quarter

UConn started the second half with the ball but gave it back to Michigan after a 7-play, 24-yard drive that end in a punt down to U-M’s 17-yard line. The Wolverines answered with an 11-play, 83-yard drive that took 6:02 off the clock. For the fifth time on the afternoon, Corum scored to close out a drive, this time from 11 yards out to give U-M a 45-0 lead with 4:36 left in the quarter.

Michigan would maintain the 45-0 lead at the end of the third as it began to empty its bench.

Fourth Quarter

The U-M backups continued to get the job done heading into the fourth quarter, going 66 yards in 11 plays capped off by a 10-yard run from freshman quarterback Alex Orji. Moody’s 7th extra point of the day gave Michigan a 52-0 lead with 12:44 left to play.

A UConn turnover on downs gave Michigan the ball back on the Huskies’ 30-yard line. The drive was capped off by a 20-yard touchdown catch from senior running back Leon Franklin from graduate quarterback Alan Bowman. The PAT from sophomore Tommy Doman was good, giving Michigan a 59-0 lead with 7:54 remaining.

Michigan football vs. UConn box score

Up next for Michigan

Michigan football kicks off Big Ten play next weekend with Maryland in town for homecoming. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. ET on FOX.