Tag: Blake Corum

Opinion: Big Ten play is approaching, but Michigan football is ready for the challenge

What do you think #Michigan fans? Are you all-in?

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbzardvge799bm2 player_id=01f5k5y2jb3twsvdg4 image=https://wolverineswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

ANN ARBOR, Mich — Michigan is off to a 3-0 start to the season after obliterating NIU 63-10 on Saturday.

The Wolverines have gotten through nonconference play unmatched while beating two teams that all the pundits thought they would and defeating a Washington team that we truly don’t know enough about just yet.

The maize and blue are outscoring their opponents 141-34 through three games, which is a welcome surprise, and it seems that this is one of the more explosive Wolverine offenses that we have seen in quite some time.

Michigan has rushed for over 300 yards in each of the three games so far, and it now sits at 1,051 rushing yards this season. It can be argued that the Wolverines have the best rushing attack in all of college football while also being hard to believe anyone has a better duo than Hassan Haskins and Blake Corum at the moment.

So, what should your expectations be for the Wolverines?

Be excited and be very optimistic, because this appears to be a very good, energetic, and hungry football team. But remember, Big Ten play has not begun yet.

[lawrence-related id=44294,44175,44178]

The Wolverines just sleepwalked out of nonconference play unscathed, but things will most certainly get more challenging with the gauntlet of the Big Ten swiftly approaching. Teams like Wisconsin, Penn State, Michigan State, and Ohio State will be salivating to get a taste of the Wolverines, and all of them will want to flex their muscles to try and get on top of the Big Ten.

Every week in the postgame press conferences, after all three games, players have said that they ‘haven’t done anything’ yet. They said it after Western Michigan, Washington, and now Blake Corum is saying it again after the NIU win.

“I think this is a good start, but once again we haven’t really done much yet,” Corum said. “This is definitely a great win against a good team in the MAC. Right now we have Big Ten play coming up, keep our heads down, keep pushing, and keep getting better each practice”

Coach Jim Harbaugh doesn’t exactly agree, but he also said that there are things to improve on.

“I wouldn’t say they haven’t done anything,” Harbaugh said. “They’ve done some stuff! Things that are good, you want to build on. The team does have big goals and now you start playing for the championship, the Big Ten championship and ultimately, that’s what they want to achieve — and it starts next week.”

[vertical-gallery id=44191]

Everyone is going to have their own opinion of whether the Wolverines are good or not because they ‘beat two MAC teams,’ but you have to play who’s on your schedule. We have seen Michigan teams in the past come out extremely lackadaisical against middling teams and start extremely slow. The 2021 Michigan team has come out fighting right from the first whistle, and it plays so hard that it has gotten to play its backups in the third quarter of two games.

Yeah, maybe the players are right, they haven’t done anything yet. They have yet to when the Big Ten, make the playoffs, or beat Ohio State.

What I love about the statement that Aidan Hutchinson and Blake Corum have constantly made is that they are hungry and they are not getting overly confident — another deadly trait that has haunted Michigan in the past. They appear serious about taking this one game at a time and defeating whoever is next on the schedule — while focusing a little on Ohio State each day.

This feels like a different year, the energy and aura are something that we have not seen nor felt at Michigan in a very long time. Be optimistic Michigan fans, you just may be in for a glorious ride.

[listicle id=44151]

What they said: NIU coach Thomas Hammock recognizes big challenge in facing Michigan

He has some familiarity with how Harbaugh and his team operates.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbzardvge799bm2 player_id=01f5k5y2jb3twsvdg4 image=https://wolverineswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

No. 25 Michigan is set to take on Northern Illinois this weekend, which is a Mid-American Conference team that it doesn’t have much familiarity with.

The Wolverines have only faced NIU one other time — a comeback win in 2005 when the maize and blue took down the Huskies, 33-17. Michigan does however hold a 34-1 record against the MAC as a whole.

NIU coach Thomas Hammock met with the media this week to talk about the upcoming game and he has some familiarity with the Wolverines in a roundabout way. Hammock coached under John Harbaugh with the Baltimore Ravens for five years as their running backs coach from 2014-2018, which also means he spent some time with new Michigan defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald.

Hammock talked about the DNA the Harbaugh family presents, and how there are similarities between the two Harbaugh brothers.

“We have a big challenge this weekend in Michigan,” Hammock said. “They built their team the right way and one that we can certainly emulate. Obviously, I worked for Jim Harbaugh’s brother for five years, so I know the DNA of the Harbaugh family. They have a style that is very physical and demanding — It’s going to stress you out in all phases. We have a big challenge, and it got started on the right foot today in practice.

“Well, their DNA is quite similar (talking about John and Jim). They want to start with a physically demanding style that is going to put you in stress and see if you are going to hold up for four quarters. Michigan is running a lot of plays that I’m very familiar with, a lot of plays that we ran in Baltimore. Obviously, Coach Harbaugh went back to his roots – his Stanford roots – being able to window dress, run schemes, but continue to attack downhill. They have four or five concepts that they do a bunch of different ways, and a bunch of different window dressing to attack you downhill. It’s going to be a big challenge, and we need to meet the challenge.”

[lawrence-related id=43805,43524,43516,43434]

NIU is sitting at 1-1 on the season after upsetting Georgia Tech in Week 1 but then losing to Wyoming in Week 2. The Huskies are allowing the opponents to rush for 231 yards-per-game on the ground.

Hammock knows that his defensive line is going to be undersized compared to the Michigan offensive line and he also knows that his defense will need to help each other out and can’t leave a man alone against the Wolverines.

“Yeah, obviously, there is a physical challenge that comes with it,” said Hammock. “The one thing that we have to do a better job of is, if you feel yourself getting moved, create pile — you know, make it dirty, or make it dirty for the back, or dirty for the offense. You got to – you know, if there is a double team coming, and feel yourself moving more than you should be, then you need to create a pile. At the same time, I don’t think we will see this level of physicality all season – the rest of the season. What a great test for us, what an opportunity to go out there and try to prove that we can hold up, and give us confidence for the rest of the season.”

The Wolverines are running the ball at a 3:1 ratio compared to passing so far this season. The maize and blue are gashing the opponents for 339 yards-per-game on the ground after two games. Hammock believes that Michigan is building its team’s strength for its rival — Ohio State.

“Yeah, in the NFL, the one thing you do is build your team to beat your rival,” said Hammock. “So obviously they have a philosophy that they think they’re building to beat Ohio State. I think I read something a little bit ago that they have a ‘Beat Ohio’ drill – which is a 9-on-7 – so, they want to be a physical outfit, it’s their DNA. They have a good offensive line, good tight ends, they have two exceptional backs, and a quarterback that is going to manage the game. So, we understand what is coming out way.”

Hammock singled out Blake Corum — who has 282 running yards this year —  and the focus on practicing this week has been wrapping the ball carrier up.

“Well, he’s an exceptional player,” Hammock said. “We worked a lot today on tackling, and that’s something that will be continued to be worked on. I told our team today is, the Georgia Tech backs, and these two kids (Corum and Haskins) are probably as good as you’ll see. The good thing is we have two players on the scout team that is giving our defense a great look.”

[lawrence-related id=43260,43178,43172]

If NIU has any shot to compete with the Wolverines it will have to get out to a quick start. The head coach expressed how important it is for the Huskies to not only start fast on offense but on defense as well.

“It’s really important,” said Hammock. “The faster we start, the better chance we have. We started practice today with a special period to start fast. We want some good against good, and it went well for us. We have to be able to be a fast-starting operation both offensively and defensively.”

The Huskies do have one starting player who has previously terrorized the maize and blue in former Michigan State quarterback Rocky Lombardi. As we all know, MSU upset the Wolverines last year with Lombardi under center. Even though he has faced Michigan before, Hammock doesn’t believe it will help out his game plan much.

“Well, if you do your research, the whole staff is new – I think they have eight or nine new coaches,” said Hammock. “So, what they did in the past is insignificant to how they play right now. I worked with their defensive coordinator for five years, so I have a pretty good knowledge of what they’re trying to do. We spent a lot of time together talking about how to blitz people and attack protections and things like that. He has incorporated a lot of those principles. We have to use the two games they played as, that’s what they are doing now.”

You can watch the game on Saturday, Sept. 18th at noon EDT on BTN.

[listicle id=42922]

Where Wisconsin RB Chez Mellusi ranks among 2021 Big Ten rushing leaders

A look at the Big Ten rushing leaders through two weeks of action:

The Wisconsin RB’s have been a welcome, albeit familiar, sight for Badger fans through two weeks of football.

Clemson transfer Chez Mellusi has led the way in that department, racking up more rushing yards through two weeks as a Badger than he had in his Tigers career. Opportunity has met preparation for Wisconsin’s starter, who has carried the ball 51 times in two games.

The conference as a whole has produced solid runners through a pair of weeks. Fellow Big Ten running back Kenneth Walker III exploded in Week 1 for Michigan State, as he torched Northwestern’s defense to the tune of 264 yards on the ground and 4 touchdowns.

Class of 2020 product Miyan Williams starred for Ohio State in Week 1, and Michigan’s one-two punch of Blake Corum and Hassan Haskins have excelled in Ann Arbor.

Mellusi’s first two weeks rank near the top of the conference, but where does he currently stand among the Big Ten rushing leaders? Here is a look at the top ten Big Ten running backs through two weeks according to total rushing yards:

Opinion: Why running the football is Michigan’s official identity

It’s pretty obvious after last night, but yeah.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbzardvge799bm2 player_id=none image=https://wolverineswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — After a year where the ground game was non-existent, we were hearing from the coaches during fall camp that they wanted to get back to running the football more, and even making that the identity at Michigan.

The Wolverines ran the ball 43 times for 335 yards against WMU in Week 1 and they followed that up with 56 carries for 343 yards against a tough Washington front. By comparison, the maize and blue passed the ball 17 times for 246 yards against the Broncos, and then 15 times for 44 yards against the Huskies on Saturday.

That’s roughly a 3:1 ratio in terms of run-pass play.

Based on those stats — and yes, I know it’s only been two weeks — but the Wolverines are officially a running team again, and it’s hard for anyone to say any different.

I’ve been in the press box for both of the home games so far this year, and it’s apparent Michigan is sold on running the ball down the opposition’s throat. Even against the Huskies when there was 1:33 left in the second quarter, and the maize and blue had the ball — which is a perfect time for a two-minute drill — all they did was run the ball. The play-calling was as conservative as it could be, and they didn’t even attempt a ball downfield to try and score.

Aside from that drive in particular, it didn’t matter, because Washington couldn’t stop it.

Michigan is making the run game work, and I don’t have any issues with what some would call a ‘boring offense’ as long as it’s successful. My only issue is, Michigan won’t be able to go through the gauntlet of the Big Ten without throwing the ball more, and I felt like there was ample opportunity against Washington to do so.

Left tackle Ryan Hayes pretty much backed this up after the game when he was asked about the game plan going into Washington.

“This is what we envisioned happening, obviously we didn’t play perfect by any means,” Hayes said. “With the backs we have, we can make mistakes and it gets covered up by them. They can also make mistakes and it gets covered up by us. We’re working well together, but we have a long ways to go.”

You would think that as a running back, Blake Corum would eagerly say that the ground game is the team’s identity, but he demurred.

“I wouldn’t say we have an identity,” said Corum. “I feel like, personally, we can run the ball and throw the ball. Obviously, we ran the ball more than we threw the ball, but we can throw that thing too. So don’t get that wrong, I wouldn’t say we have an identity. We’re physical – were physical up front, at receivers, and our backs are physical.”

I definitely believe what Corum is saying, that Michigan can throw the ball, but we need to see it. We need to see it against the better competition because lets be honest, we haven’t seen the most consistent quarterback play from Michigan in a long time.

The Wolverines have a perfect opportunity come Saturday when they host Northern Illinois on Saturday — which is their last non-conference matchup before Big Ten play. It’ll be interesting to see if the coaching staff allows McNamara to sling the rock and show the fans that Michigan really can do both.

[listicle id=42645]

Blake Corum, Hassan Haskins credit OL for Michigan’s run game success

Everything involving the run game is firing on all cylinders early on.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbzardvge799bm2 player_id=none image=https://wolverineswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The Michigan Wolverines are off to a great start to the young season after defeating the Washington Huskies, 31-10, on Saturday night. The maize and blue improved to 2-0 with the victory.

Michigan wanted to keep the ground game going on Saturday after last weekend when the Wolverines rushed for 335 yards against Western Michigan. The maize and blue were able to top that feat by rushing for 343 yards on 56 carries against the Huskies.

The stars of the show, once again, were ‘Thunder and Lightning,’ Hassan Haskins and Blake Corum. Corum zigged and zagged his way to 171 rushing yards and three scores, while Haskins bruised his way to 155 yards and a score of his own.

Michigan ran the ball at an elite rate as it averaged 6.1 yards-per-rush.

Even though they aren’t listed on any stat chart you look at — other than PFF — the offensive line has to get some major credit for the beatdown Michigan gave to the Huskies on the ground. The Wolverine offensive line gave phenomenal push and opened up gaping holes for the running backs most of the night, and both backs took advantage.

The running backs and coach Jim Harbaugh met with the media after the game and they all shared their opinion of the line play. The opening statements from both Corum and Haskins were resounding compliments to the line.

“First off, shout out to the O-line,” said Corum. “As you guys saw tonight they fired off the ball and were real physical. It made H (Haskins) and my job easy. Shout-out to them.”

[lawrence-related id=42759,42706,42704]

“ I just want to thank them (offensive line), once again,” Haskins added. “They’ve been working — they’ve been working their (expletive deleted) off. They just make holes for me and Blake, and that’s how we get our rushing yards. I just can’t thank them enough – they definitely been working and getting better each day.”

Washington came into the game with the game plan of stopping the run, in fact, a few players said they would stop the run, but it was to no avail. The Huskies were throwing different looks at Michigan all game, but it didn’t matter — the Wolverine offensive line kept pushing the Husky line around.

Jim Harbaugh had more of a detailed talk about what he saw from the Michigan offensive line against the different packages Washington drew up.

“Yeah, the line really did a great job,” Harbaugh said. “Obviously, runs for 343 yards, that’s gonna be the case. But it was even more than that. Washington kept changing their defense from four-down to three-down, bear to strong safety SAM blitz, corner blitz and double corner blitz. They were doing everything they could. But they were just having a hard time tackling the backs. Hassan, Blake and then the way our offensive line was, when they started bringing the edge pressure, there were some real creases in between the tackles. Our guys hit them. Blake hit the big long one. Both backs — Hassan was 150 and some change and Blake was 170s or 180, even. Very impressive. Very impressive.”

If disguising blitz packages didn’t get the job done, then why not stack the box? Well, that didn’t work either, and Blake Corum shared why — obviously, again, it was because of the offensive line.

“I believe they started to stack the box tonight, but we kept running it,” said Corum. “It’s not a matter if they stack the box or not, but if they can stop it. I have faith in my offensive line to follow the ball and do their job. If you can’t stop the offensive line, then stacking the box doesn’t matter.”

Michigan has a good chance to make it three straight 300-plus rushing games next Saturday when it hosts Northern Illinois. If the offensive line keeps playing the way they are, then the Wolverines will continue to have success in the ground game.

[listicle id=42645]

3 things we learned about Michigan after defeating Washington

It certainly was an interesting game!

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbzardvge799bm2 player_id=01f5k5y2jb3twsvdg4 image=https://wolverineswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan welcomed the Washington Huskies into Ann Arbor on Saturday for the first time since 2002 — where the Wolverines won 31-29 on a last-second field goal by Phil Brabbs — and the maize and blue held a 7-5 all-time record going into the ballgame.

This has been a highly anticipated matchup for quite some time now — especially with last year getting canceled due to COVID-19 –, and while neither team is ranked in the AP Top 25, it was still a nationally televised game on a prime-time stage.

It got off to a defensive battle in the first half. The Wolverines led 10-0 at halftime due to their run game and a strong defensive performance — getting a ton of pressure on Dylan Morris.

Although Washington scored some points, not much changed in the second half. Michigan continued to have a run-heavy offense while playing solid defense. The defensive line held their own the entire game and continued to get pressure on Morris.

Michigan ended up defeating Washington 31-10 on Saturday.

Here are three things that we learned from the win.

[listicle id=42643]

WATCH: Blake Corum streaks for a long touchdown

Electric! #GoBlue

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbzardvge799bm2 player_id=01f5k5y2jb3twsvdg4 image=https://wolverineswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

It appeared to be a stalemate of sorts, a defensive battle, a slugfest between Michigan football and the Washington Huskies.

While the Wolverines had more success offensively behind the run game, offense was coming at a premium for both teams. The Huskies were accomplishing nothing in either the run or pass, but Michigan was able to run the ball with Hassan Haskins — save for a goal-line stand by UW.

That’s when Blake Corum changed everything.

Relatively early in the second quarter, with Michigan up 3-0, Corum burst through the line for a 67 yard touchdown, putting the maize and blue up 10-0 against the Huskies.

Watch below:

Jimmy Lake, Washington on high-alert for Michigan football playmakers

#Michigan’s playmakers vs. Washington’s defense. It’ll be a huge battle! #GoBlue

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbzardvge799bm2 player_id=01f5k5y2jb3twsvdg4 image=https://wolverineswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

While Washington is currently reeling from the upset loss on Saturday to FCS-level Montana, the one bright spot the Huskies had was the defense. Yes, the level of competition was significantly less compared to that of the Power Five, but UW allowed just 105 yards passing and 127 yards rushing. The Grizzlies scored only one offensive touchdown in the 13-7 upset.

But second-year Huskies head coach Jimmy Lake is cognizant that Washington’s defense will be seeing an increase in level of competition when it squares off against Michigan on Saturday night and two players have caught his eye.

First and foremost is Wolverines quarterback Cade McNamara, who only attempted 11 passes but completed 9 of them for an 83% completion rate. Lake pointed to the touchdown throw to Ronnie Bell as an example of just how formidable the first-year starter can be.

“He’s a great decision maker,” Lake said. “He can make all the throws. They did a nice job with him — well first, they ran the football. They made it very easy for him to dish the football out after running the ball for over 300 yards against Western Michigan. He didn’t attempt very many passes against Western Michigan, didn’t need to. But they won the football game. Goes back to our prior conversation there. But he looks like a great decision maker,  can make all the throws. Made an awesome throw vs. a zero blitz, which was a 60-yard touchdown pass last Saturday. He’s a quality, quality quarterback that we’re gonna have to be ready to defend.”

[lawrence-related id=41495,41344,41183]

Naturally, McNamara isn’t the only player that Lake is concerned with. As he mentioned, Michigan ran the ball at-will on Saturday, with the biggest threat coming from Blake Corum, who also scored on a swing pass while having also added a 79-yard kickoff return.

To defend Corum, Lake notes that Washington is going to need to be prepared to see him in multiple phases of the game.

“Yeah, he’s a special player,” Lake said. “You just said it all — he’s not just a running back, he’s a returner. We’re gonna have to be ready for him in the special teams department and also at running back. He’s shifty, reminds us a lot of Myles Gaskin — his body type, his height, how he sees the linebackers and the safeties in the box and how he’s able to make them miss. That’s always a great quality in a running back is making people miss and he does a good job of making people miss in the return game but also at running back.”

Short-handed Huskies

On the other side of the ball, there is some concern for the Huskies. While they will be bringing Giles Jackson back to Ann Arbor — albeit in a different uniform — they are notably thin at wide receiver.

Lake confirms that wideout Ja’Lynn Polk suffered a season-ending chest injury on the first play of the game, while Terrell Bynum, Rome Adunze, and Jalen McMillan are all considered week-to-week — leaving Washington with but four scholarship receivers at the moment. Polk, Bynum, and Adunze are all starters at the position. Taj Davis and Jackson are the only receivers aside from Polk who caught passes in Washington’s season debut.

Speaking of Jackson, Lake was asked if he would share why he transferred to Seattle after spending two years at Michigan. He wouldn’t, but is excited that he spurned the Wolverines.

“I’m not gonna share exactly what he told me about something like that,” Lake said. “All I know is that I’m very happy that Giles is here and what he’s done is he’s bought into our culture, he’s an extremely hard worker. We believe he’s given us an added boost in the return game and at wide receiver. And he’s only gonna get better from here.”

[lawrence-related id=41178,41150,41148]

Leaving early

Lake confirmed that Washington will arrive in Michigan on Thursday rather than Friday. The team plans to practice at 8 p.m. EDT on Thursday and Friday in order to get acclimated to the time change.

[listicle id=41184]

Why Blake Corum says running the ball gives the offense momentum

He really broke out on Saturday! What a game! #GoBlue

[mm-video type=video id=01femfheaa5yj6qf76hb playlist_id=none player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01femfheaa5yj6qf76hb/01femfheaa5yj6qf76hb-de4c569442f8125bdfd4755bb2a7d96f.jpg]

Michigan started its season 1-0 on Saturday when it defeated Western Michigan 47-14.

Hearing from the coaching staff and players in weeks leading up to the first game, we knew they wanted to install more of a run-first offense. They wanted to get back to the old school ways of Michigan football — ground and pound.

It was a very successful day on the ground for the Wolverines since they rushed for 335 yards and had 3 rushing touchdowns as well. If the maize and blue wanted this to be their identity, then it sure is looking good after one game.

Though there hasn’t been an MVP named after the first game, it would be hard to argue that it isn’t Blake Corum — who rushed for 111 yards on 14 carries and a score. He also caught 2 passes for 22 yards and a score. We can’t forget that he also had an electric kick return for 79 yards that set the Wolverines up in great field position. In fact, Corum had a career day — he rushed for yards today than he did all of last season combined (77 total rushing yards in 2020).

After the game was over, Corum met the media to answer some questions, but he didn’t want to take all of the credit, giving his offensive lineman plenty of praise blocking for him against Western Michigan.

“All week, really all camp, our O-line has been putting work in at the weight room,” Corum said. “That’s what we saw today, they were physical upfront. It made Cade’s job, my job, and the running backs job so much easier today”

Corum may have been the leader statistically on Saturday but we can’t forget about the starter, Hassan Haskins. Haskins played admirably running the ball 13 times for 70 yards and a score. Corum likes to refer to the tandem as ‘Thunder and Lightning.’

“Me and Hassan — Hassan is a strong dude. It’s hard to tackle him, so he will run through you,” Corum said. “Me, I’m more of a finesse guy, so I might make you fall. We’re a good 1-2 punch when we get to the next level, it’s like thunder and lightning.”

With running the ball more, it felt that it created more momentum for the team, especially since Western Michigan couldn’t stop it. Corum went on talking about how running the ball creates momentum for the offense.

“I think it brings a ton of momentum, because if we’re running the ball then they have to do something defensively to stop it,” Corum said. “Then that will open up the pass, then the QB1 (he says while looking at McNamara) will sling that thing.”

Cade McNamara had similar sentiments when talking about Blake Corum and the running game. McNamara only had to attempt 11 total passes on Saturday — he completed nine of them. So how did the starting quarterback feel about attempting such a low number?

“The playcalling today was fine, or it was perfect, we got the job done,” said McNamara. “If running the ball gets the job done, then that makes my job easier”

Overall, you really couldn’t have asked for much more from the Wolverines offense. They blocked well, created holes for the running backs, and we saw today how ‘speed and space’ works.

Things will get a little harder for Michigan next week, however, when it hosts Washington during primetime.

[listicle id=40608]

3 things we learned about Michigan football after defeating WMU

Great start for the Wolverines! #GoBlue

[mm-video type=video id=01femfheaa5yj6qf76hb playlist_id=none player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01femfheaa5yj6qf76hb/01femfheaa5yj6qf76hb-de4c569442f8125bdfd4755bb2a7d96f.jpg]

After missing the last three games of last year, due to COVID-19, the Wolverines were back in action on Saturday when they faced Western Michigan out of the Mid-American Conference – with a full crowd in the Big House.

The Wolverines have had incredible success when it comes to the Broncos, as they held a 7-0 all-time record against WMU going into the contest.

The maize and blue easily made it 8-0 all-time against Western Michigan after defeating them 47-14 on Saturday.

After a back and forth start to the game – Michigan led 10-7 in the first quarter – the Wolverines controlled the rest of the first half, as they went into the locker room up 27-7. We saw a lot from Blake Corum, Hassan Haskins, and Cade McNamara early on. The only major downside was the apparent right leg injury to Ronnie Bell who ended up getting carted into the locker room.

Things picked up right where they left off in the second half, the defense forced a punt, and A.J. Henning took a 74-yard run to the house for a score.

The Wolverines were able to unload some bench players to get some needed experience towards the end of the third quarter – and we saw freshman J.J. McCarthy and Donovan Edwards.

Here are three things we learned about Michigan after Saturday’s game.

[listicle id=38790]