ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan whipped Western Michigan 49-3 in a battle of 0-1 college football combatants Saturday afternoon at Michigan Stadium.
The No. 21-ranked Wolverines roared out of the locker room for the opening kickoff and quickly jumped out to a 21-0 bulge at the end of the first quarter.
They increased the gap to 35-0 at halftime. Quarterback Shea Patterson was 9-of-11 passing with two scoring strikes while Karan Higdon had already racked up 156 yards rushing in the first half. Meanwhile, WMU’s Jon Wassink was 10-for-20 with an interception through the air at intermission.
Michigan scored once and was in command 42-0 at the end of the third period.
The Wolverines then cruised home to victory in the finale, with the Broncos finally getting on the scoreboard with a 35-yard field goal by Josh Grant with 2:34 remaining to play.
With the triumph, Michigan evened its record at 1-1 after a season-opening loss at Notre Dame last weekend. Coach Jim Harbaugh’s Wolverines will play host to Southern Methodist at 3:30 p.m. next Saturday before opening Big Ten Conference play at home against Nebraska on Sept. 22.
The defeat dropped Western Michigan to 0-2 on the campaign after a season-opening homefield setback to Syracuse one week ago today. Coach Tim Lester’s Broncos will entertain Delaware State at 7 p.m. next Saturday at Waldo Stadium in Kalamazoo.
Michigan finished 8-5 last season while Western Michigan went 6-6 during the 2017 campaign.
EARLIER STORY:
https://fox17online.com/2018/09/08/michigan-up-on-western-michigan-35-0-at-halftime/
