Michigan will keep control of the Little Brown Jug for another season with yet another beatdown of an overmatched opponent. Tonight it was the Minnesota Golden Gophers in Minneapolis, who were thoroughly destroyed by the mighty Wolverines. A few stats to showcase that crushing: Minnesota passed for 52 yards, while Michigan scored 52 points. Michigan's defense outscored Minnesota's offense. Michigan scored seven touchdowns, Athan Kaliakmanis completed five passes total. Michigan gained 7.7 yards per play, Minnesota gained 3.0. Yowza. 

Minnesota got the football first and on the second play from scrimmage, Kaliakmanis misread the coverage and sailed the throw intended for Daniel Jackson, intercepted by Will Johnson and returned down the sideline for a touchdown. Minnesota's second attempt at offense was nullified by a pre-snap penalty that set the Gophers behind the sticks, a drive ending on a 3rd & 3 incompletion from Kaliakmanis. Michigan took the football and started running the ball, picking up a 4th & 1 with a pretty play-action pass to Kalel Mullings. McCarthy passes to Cornelius Johnson and AJ Barner got Michigan into the red zone, but Johnson dropped an easy ball that would've converted a 3rd down and possibly a TD. Michigan kicked a field goal and led 10-0. 

Minnesota's next drive was one of their two good ones, utilizing pre-snap motion to toy with Michigan's linebackers while their offensive line got good push up front against Michigan's second-team defensive tackles. The Gophers picked up a 3rd & 2 once they got into Michigan territory, but the drive was turned upside down on one of multiple series-wrecking plays that Mason Graham would make on the evening, a -4 TFL where he exploded into the backfield. Michigan forced the Gophers to kick from 54 yards away and kicker Dragan Kesich drilled it through, 10-3. 

[Patrick Barron]

Michigan took the ball and drove just inside Minnesota territory, but opted to punt on 4th & 3 after JJ McCarthy's scramble came up just short of the sticks. Tommy Doman punted the ball inside the 15 and after a holding call on 1st down, the Gophers were backed up near their own goal line. As usual, Minnesota and its anemic passing offense was unable to dig out of that hole and Michigan's third drive started promptly. Blake Corum broke down the sideline for ___ yards and two plays later, a Roman Wilson reverse got Michigan inside the ten. It took three plays, all of which seemed like they earned a touchdown, to earn the approval of the referees, but Corum was eventually credited with a one-yard TD run. 17-3. 

The Gophers went three-and-out on their ensuing drive, ending in a Josaiah Stewart sack of Kaliakmanis, and Michigan was right back on offense. Donovan Edwards made his mark with a nice catch-and-run and then JJ McCarthy connected with Cornelius Johnson deep down field for a gain of 49 yards. On 1st & goal from the five, McCarthy pulled the ball and ran it in for a TD, narrowly inside the pylon. 24-3. 

That touchdown was scored with 5:50 to go in the second quarter and the next Minnesota drive would eat the remainder of that drive. For much of it, Minnesota was playing like Army, gaining 3 yards a time on the ground, seemingly with the sole goal of ending the first half. They picked up two 4th & shorts and spiked the ball at Michigan's 35 with just 15 seconds left in the half. Some thought that Fleck was planning to line up for a field goal, and he probably was. Their one deep shot to the end zone caught Michigan in man coverage and WR Daniel Jackson with a step on Mike Sainristil. The ball needed to be perfect and it was, a dime from Kaliakmanis to Jackson in the end zone and Minnesota closed the half down 24-10. 

[Patrick Barron]

Minnesota built on their momentum out of the locker room, forcing a three-and-out that concluded with a Donovan Edwards drop, but couldn't keep the offense's half of the deal. Their second down pass was bated down and Kaliakmanis' attempt to so scramble on third down was stopped short by Derrick Moore. Michigan took the football back and quickly restored the three score lead. McCarthy rekindled his connection with Roman Wilson on back-to-back passes to get Michigan deep in Minnesota territory before Kalel Mullings showed some legit sizzle with a nice cut to pick up a 3rd down. McCarthy paid it off with his legs again, another pull and scamper into the end zone. 31-10. 

Minnesota's offense was nonexistent for the remainder of the second half after this point. They went three-and-out again on their next drive after another holding call set Minnesota back and Graham sacked Kaliakmanis to end the series. Their drive after that ended when Keon Sabb intercepted Kaliakmanis and ran in for Michigan's second pick six of the game. And the drive after that one was another three-and-out. As was the next drive after that. Woeful. 

In between, Michigan's first team offense scored a TD on their final series, running it with Kalel Mullings right down the throat of the Gophers and ending in a Colston Loveland TD catch. That made it 38-10, a margin bumped up to 45-10 with the Sabb pick six. By the time Michigan got the football next, Jack Tuttle and the second-team offense was in, but they notched a TD of their own. Tuttle looked solid in this appearance, slippery on a 17 yard scramble to convert a 3rd down of exactly that distance. Leon Franklin trudged into the end zone from three yards out and Michigan now led 52-10. At this point there was 9:21 left in the game and both teams were content to run the clock out. Michigan's final drive saw Jayden Denegal take over at QB but found no traction, while Minnesota's kept the clock moving until there was 0:00 on the clock.

[Patrick Barron] 

Just as last week, this was a total domination. Michigan was vastly better, outgaining Minnesota 432 to 169. JJ McCarthy was 14/20 for 219 yards (11.0 Y/A), 1 TD. Kaliakmanis was 5/16 for 52 yards (3.3 Y/A), 1 TD to 2 INT. Minnesota had a little traction on the ground early, but still ended up finishing at just 3.0 YPC. Michigan, on the contrary, gained 5.8 YPC on the ground. Defensively, Michigan recorded two takeaways, two sacks, and seven tackles for loss. Michigan outscored Minnesota 24-10 in the first half and 28-0 in the second half. This game was not remotely competitive and I'm running out of ways to phrase that. 

Michigan is now 6-0 on the season and bowl eligible. They've been bowl eligible in every full season under Jim Harbaugh, with 2020's COVID-shortened (fake) season as the lone exception. Their 6-0 record has now been achieved four times in the Harbaugh era, each of the last three seasons + 2016. Next week's contest should be even easier against Indiana, a woeful squad who has struggled mightily this season. That game is in Ann Arbor and is scheduled for noon EST, broadcast on FOX. 

[Click the JUMP for the box score]