Michigan football did what it was supposed to do against a bad UConn team, dominating the game from start to finish. In fact, the Wolverines dominated the Huskies so much that they used101 players, and ended up playing seven quarterbacks in the game, with every one completing a pass (starter J.J. McCarthy was the only one to complete more than one).
Running back Blake Corum scored five rushing touchdowns, matching the record set by Hassan Haskins in the Ohio State game last year.
That said, there are a bunch of things you may not know about Michigan’s 59-0 win over Connecticut. The sports information department at MGoBlue.com put together some facts and tidbits you may not have known about the game, including players who got in for the first time and records set.
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Notes/tidbits:
• The Wolverines are 3-0 in all-time matchups with the Huskies. All of the contests have been played since 2010.
• Michigan completed a 3-0 nonconference schedule to begin the season. U-M is 18-0 in nonconference home games under head coach Jim Harbaugh.
• The Wolverines have 40-plus point victories in each of the first three games (51-7, 56-10, 59-0). The last time Michigan won three straight games with a scoring margin of 40 points or more was during the 1991 season, when it beat Minnesota, 52-6, Purdue, 42-0 and Northwestern, 59-14.
• The Maize and Blue piled 59 points on the Huskies. The Wolverines’ top-ranked scoring offense, which entered the game posting 53.5 points per game, surpassed its average.
• Michigan’s 59-0 victory marks the eighth-largest margin of victory in U-M history and the largest since 2016. It is Michigan’s first shutout since 2019 against Rutgers.
• Running back Blake Corum matched the U-M record with five rushing touchdowns (four in the first half), giving him a team-high seven total for the season (all rushing). This is the fifth multi-touchdown game of Corum’s career and a new career high.
• Only Corum, Ron Johnson (1968, Wisconsin) and Hassan Haskins (2021, Ohio State) have scored five times in one game in Michigan history.
• Corum’s four first-half rushing touchdowns today also put him in elite company. Only Corum and Ed Shuttlesworth (1972, Minnesota) have scored four first-half touchdowns in program history.
• The following players made their collegiate debuts in today’s game: defensive back Zeke Berry, quarterback Jayden Denegal, running back Henry Donohue, wide receiver Logan Forbes, offensive lineman Andrew Gentry, offensive lineman James Kavouklis, quarterback Andy Maddox, quarterback Brandon Mann and offensive lineman Dan Taraboi.
• U-M defense has forced three turnovers through the first three weeks (two interceptions, one forced fumble).
• In each of U-M’s first three games to start the season, the opponent has failed to score in the first half.
• Wide receiver A.J. Henning had his first career punt return touchdown (61 yards) on his 38th career attempt. U-M last returned a punt for a touchdown when Donovan Peoples-Jones did against Nebraska (Sept. 22, 2018).
• Henning, who returned a kickoff for a touchdown against Maryland last year, is the fourth player in Michigan history with a touchdown via kick and punt return in his career (Steve Breaston, Desmond Howard and Dave Raimey).
• Quarterback Alan Bowman‘s 20-yard touchdown pass to running back Leon Franklin in the fourth quarter marked the first touchdown in each of their U-M careers.
• Defensive back Caden Kolesar blocked a punt to end UConn’s first possession of the second half. It was the first blocked punt of his career and helped set up U-M’s third touchdown of the day.
• Defensive lineman George Rooks recovered the first fumble of his career to help set up U-M’s first-half field goal. The turnover marked three forced by the U-M defense so far this year.
• U-M has allowed 17 points through the first three weeks of the season, the fewest points allowed in that span since the 2003 season (10).
• Before today, the last time Michigan blocked a punt and returned a different punt for a touchdown in the same game was Sept. 22, 2018, against Nebraska. In that game, Donovan Peoples-Jones returned a 60-yard punt for a touchdown and the Wolverines blocked two Cornhusker punt attempts (Marshall, Metellus).
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