FINAL: Michigan 41, Purdue 13
Considering they were coming off a bye and considering the controversy with the sign-stealing investigation, Michigan managed to stay focused, coming away with a 41-13 victory over the Purdue Boilermakers.
After the game, Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh told NBC Sports, "Stalwart, resilient team. Just played really well, good coming off the bye. It wasn't easy. It's a heck of a victory for us."
The Michigan Wolverines remain undefeated at 9-0 with the playoffs in their sights.
Quarterback J.J. McCarthy finished 24-37 for 335 yards. Roman Wilson, his favorite target, had 9 receptions for 143 yards.
Both joined NBC Sports on the field after the game.
"All I know is this guy, he's the dog, he's the heart and soul of this team," Wilson said, pounding on McCarthy's chest. "Everything we are is this guy right here."
McCarthy insisted, "It's all 11, all 11."
When asked about passing Tom Brady in passing yards, McCarthy said, "It means a lot, so much credit to him. He helped me a lot this offseason. Just following in his path, that's all I'm doing."
Blake Corum had 15 carries for 44 yards and three touchdowns.
Semaj Morgan ran 44 yards for a touchdown, his only carry.
:18 4Q: Boilermakers get TD, Michigan leads, 41-13
There isn't enough time for Purdue to mount a real comeback but they finish with a pretty nice drive, going 75 yards in 8 plays.
Quarterback Hudson Card found Deion Burks for a 24-yard touchdown.
4:30 4Q: Edwards rushes for TD, Michigan leads, 41-6
You'd have to think that will be enough for J.J. McCarthy and the rest of the starters.
Donovan Edwards completed the 6-play, 57-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run, his second touchdown of the season.
The big play was McCarthy to Wilson for 35 yards, which took the Wolverines to Purdue's 22.
14:18 4Q: Corum gets his third TD, Michigan leads, 34-6
When you get this close to the goal line, it's a special area called the Blake Corum zone.
Corum ran for the 3-yard touchdown to complete the 5-play, 45-yard drive.
Corum now has 47 career touchdowns, tying him with Tyrone Wheatley for second all-time in Michigan history.
End 3Q: Michigan leads Purdue 27-6
Michigan continues to dominate the third quarter.
For the ninth straight game, the Wolverines have not allowed their opponent to score in the third.
3:12, 3Q: Morgan goes the distance, 27-6 Michigan
Just when you thought the Wolverines were done scoring for the night, Semaj Morgan breaks off a 44-yard run for the score.
Morgan also had a 4-yard reception on the first play of the drive.
And take a look at this stat:
At halftime, Michigan leads Purdue, 20-6
In the first quarter, it looked like the Michigan Wolverines were going to run away with this one before halftime.
Instead, the Purdue Boilermakers overcame adversity, some of their own making, and recovered with two field goals to end the second quarter.
Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy is 14-22 for 201 yards.
Blake Corum has 9 carries for 28 yards and two touchdowns. Kalel Mullings has 4 carries for 20 yards.
Roman Wilson leads with 4 receptions for 61 yards; Donovan Edwards has 3 for 41 yards; Cornelius Johnson has 2 for 39; and Colston Loveland has 2 for 29.
James Turner has two field goals.
Purdue quarterback Hudson Card is 5-16 for 71 yards. He also leads with 3 carries for 27 yards.
Ben Freehill has two field goals.
:29 2Q: Another Boilermakers FG, Michigan leads 20-6
After the Wolverines were unable to covert on 4th and 1, the Boilermakers capitalized with a 6-play, 20-yard drive that culminated in another Ben Freehill field goal, this one for 31 yards.
3:52 2Q: Purdue gets on the board, Michigan leads 20-3
It was such a weird play.
Purdue's Jack Ansell kind of shanked the punt but it went off the back of Quinten Johnson and bounced away and the Boilermakers recovered.
Rod Moore broke up a sure touchdown but Purdue kicker Ben Freehill finally managed to kick a 32-yard field goal to get his team on the board.
7:10 2Q: Another field goal and it's 20-0 Michigan
That drive had a little bit of everything in it, including the rare instance of a team getting two penalties on the same play.
Purdue was called for roughing the passer and then unnecessary roughness, which gave Michigan an extra 30 yards.
But J.J. McCarthy was also sacked by Cole Brevard for a 7-yard loss.
McCarthy found Cornelius Johnson for 16 yards and Roman Wilson for 14.
But the drive ended with a 31-yard field goal from James Turner.
End 1Q: Michigan leads Purdue, 17-0
The first quarter has been all Michigan.
J.J. McCarthy is 7-9 for 106 yards, Blake Corum has 7 carries for 28 yards and two touchdowns.
Will Johnson has been the defensive start so far with his interception.
The Wolverines have the ball and will start the second quarter near midfield.
4:20 1Q: Interception leads to a Turner field goal, 17-0 Michigan
On the first play of the drive, Purdue quarterback Hudson Card was hit and the ball ended up in the hands of Will Johnson.
Johnson was able to return it to Purdue's 12-yard line.
The Wolverines couldn't really get anything going with the super short field so they settled for a 30-yard field goal from James Turner.
6:05 1Q: Corum again, 14-0 Michigan
J.J. McCarthy directs another successful drive, this one seven plays for 67 yards and ending in yet another Blake Corum touchdown run, this one for three yards.
Roman Wilson had another 20-yard reception on the drive and McCarthy also found Tyler Morris for 21 yards.
The sneaky play to Cornelius Johnson led to a 14-gain to the Purdue 3-yard line.
Then it was time for Corum to fly into the end zone.
10:30 1Q: Corum scores, 7-0 Michigan
It's another quick, efficient drive for Michigan.
It started off a little shaky, until quarterback J.J. McCarthy found Roman Wilson for 20 yards on 3rd and 7.
Then Purdue forgot about Donovan Edwards but McCarthy did not. Had Edwards' momentum not taken him out of bounds, he would have scored easily.
Instead, after Edwards; 37-yard reception, Blake Corum capped the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run.
That's 14 touchdowns for Corum this season.
Under the lights
It's a lovely night for some football at the Big House.
Tonight's Michigan availability
Michigan beat writer Angelique Chengelis has tonight's availability report:
Despite having a bye last week, the Michigan Wolverines have been in the news quite a bit for not such great reasons.
But that doesn't change the task at hand — beating the Purdue Boilermakers to remain undefeated.
At home against a struggling Purdue team, Michigan is more than likely to continue rolling on the field.
Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy is already having a spectacular season and even if he has a bad day (unlikely), the Wolverines will still be tough to beat.
Follow along here for live updates from Detroit News contributor Dana Wakiji.
Purdue at Michigan
▶When:7:30 p.m. Saturday, Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor
▶TV/Radio:NBC/950
▶Records:Michigan 8-0, 5-0 Big Ten; Purdue 2-6, 1-4
▶Line:Michigan by 32½
