ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Another hour for Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy to wait to make his first collegiate start. How could that possibly derail the sophomore who had patiently worked behind Cade McNamara last season to earn this opportunity?
Lightning in the area pushed kickoff against Hawaii to 9:01 p.m., the latest start in Michigan Stadium history, but it didn’t delay the rout Michigan was expected to deliver as ginormous favorites. The No. 4 Wolverines, with McCarthy leading the offense, scored on their first three drives and defeated Hawaii, 56-10, to improve to 2-0 this season.
Michigan scored five rushing touchdowns, by running backs Blake Corum, C.J. Stokes, Donovan Edwards, and Isaiah Gash and receiver Roman Wilson, a Hawaii-native who finished with two touchdowns.
This was never expected to be much of a challenge for the Wolverines. Hawaii, which collected $1.9 million for coming to the Big House, limped into the game having allowed 112 points in its first two games and yielding an average 506.5 yards a game.
The Wolverines had 410 yards of offense at halftime and led 42-0 in large part because of McCarthy, a five-star recruit who saw playing time last season in designed packages while Cade McNamara started every game and helped lead them to a 12-2 record and Big Ten championship.
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh said McNamara and McCarthy were “neck and neck” in their competition during preseason camp and decided to give McNamara the start in the season opener and McCarthy the start against Hawaii. Harbaugh has been unclear when exactly he will make a decision on who will take over as starter, but McCarthy, admittedly against a very overmatched Hawaii, made a very solid case.
McCarthy, whose athleticism and upside have often been cited, played fluidly and with ease. He completed his first four passes and led the team to touchdowns on its first three drives, including a 42-yard pass to Wilson. Corum, who rushed 24 yards on Michigan’s first play of the game, added a 1-yard run, and Wilson scored on a 21-yard run as the Wolverines took a quick 21-0 lead.
McNamara came in with 6:22 left in the first half to run the offense. The drive ended with McNamara taking a sack for a 10-yard loss.
But McCarthy returned for a final series in the first half. He was 11-of-12 — the incompletion a drop by Ronnie Bell — for 229 yards and three touchdowns. He had a 13-yard touchdown pass to Bell and the play before, McCarthy connected with Cornelius Johnson on a 54-yard pass. With 1:06 left in the half, McCarthy and Johnson connected on a 17-yard touchdown pass. McCarthy, who adds a running dimension to the position, also had one run for 16 yards.
McCarthy’s work was done in the first half, and McNamara started the second.
In the first game of the season, McNamara, as the starter, had an uneven performance. As McCarthy started and played almost flawlessly Saturday night, McNamara was among the first to congratulate him after each touchdown, smiled and looked engaged with his teammates on the sideline.
But he looked unsteady again when he took over in the second half and couldn’t move the offense. The first two drives went three-and-out and his third drive ended with an interception of an underthrown ball intended for Andrel Anthony.
Davis Warren was the third quarterback in and orchestrated a 91-yard touchdown drive when he first took over. A 56-yard pass to tight end Max Bredeson, younger brother of former Michigan offensive lineman Ben Bredeson, took the Wolverines to the Hawaii 15-yard line. Stokes, a freshman, scored on a 15-yard run. He finished with 61 yards on eight carries.
Warren followed that with another scoring drive, going 65 yards on eight plays as Gash, a redshirt sophomore, ran 38 yards for the touchdown.
Defensively, in the season opener, edge rusher Mike Morris said the defensive players were “eating” against Colorado State after recording 11 tackles for loss and seven sacks.
It wasn’t that sort of performance against Hawaii, which struggled to gain 46 yards of offense in the first half. Morris had the only sack in the first half, during which the Rainbow Warriors had six total three-and-outs. They were 1-of-9 on third down.
Hawaii scored 10 second-half points and had 207 offensive yards as Michigan liberally substituted the backups to get playing time.
This was always going to be a blowout. The oddsmakers knew it, and the Michigan players probably did, too. Was it the game that elevated McCarthy to starting quarterback? That will be Harbaugh’s call, but he certainly staked his claim.
