The Michigan football team is off to an 8-0 start for the second straight season after demolishing rival Michigan State 49-0 Saturday night.
QB J.J. McCarthy ran the show with 287 yards and four touchdowns on 21-of-27 passing as the No. 2 Wolverines put up the largest margin of victory in the rivalry since 2002 (a 49-3 win in Ann Arbor) and the first shutout in the series since 2000 (a 14-0 win in Ann Arbor).
The Wolverines’ defense, which held the Spartans to under 200 yards of total offense Saturday night, is now allowing just 5.9 points per game, ranking No. 1 in the country.
Michigan scored on its first three drives of the game and had the contest out of reach by halftime, taking a 28-0 lead into the break.
The closest the Spartans came to getting on the board was late in the fourth quarter. Their longest drive of the game -- 58 yards on 13 plays -- ended in a turnover on downs, just a yard shy of a first down deep into Michigan territory.
The Wolverines head into a bye week before gearing up to host Purdue in a rematch of last year’s Big Ten Championship Game on Nov. 4. A big showdown at No. 7 Penn State, which lost its first game of the year at No. 3 Ohio State this weekend, looms the following week.