Oct. 11--Northwestern players insisted the moment wasn't too big for them.
But from the opening kickoff Saturday, Michigan seized the moment and the momentum en route to a thorough 38-0 thrashing in front of 110,452 zealous homecoming fans in the Big House.
The Wildcats (5-1, 1-1 Big Ten) fell from the ranks of the unbeaten as Michigan (5-1, 2-0) recorded its third straight shutout for the first time since 1980.
Jehu Chesson returned the opening kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown and Michigan proceeded to take a 21-0 lead by the end of the first quarter.
"You can't give away momentum and they took it," Wildcats coach Pat Fitzgerald said. "Credit Michigan on a well-played game ... a great performance by them in all three phases. And momentum obviously got on their sideline pretty quickly."
Northwestern had won the opening coin toss and elected to defer its choice to the second half. By then, Michigan was up 28-0.
Fitzgerald obviously felt more comfortable having his defense on the field first, but his special teams unit missed some assignments as his best-laid plans were dashed.
"It looked like we over-ran the ball at multiple positions, which leads to an explosive play," Fitzgerald said.
Still, there was plenty of time for the Wildcats to rebound from the early deficit. But the offense managed just 38 rushing yards. Justin Jackson was limited to 32 yards on 12 carries.
Quarterback Clayton Thorson was 13 for 27 for 106 yards and a pick-6 interception that gave the Wolverines the four-touchdown halftime advantage.
"We just couldn't get out of our own way offensively," Fitzgerald said. "We'd put something together, then we'd get a drop or a missed assignment. It starts and ends with me, and I believe in that group of guys in the locker room.
"We have a darn good football team. We just didn't get 'em prepared to play that way today. And I have to give credit to Michigan. I thought they played very well. I am absolutely ecstatic to see Jake Rudock graduate."
Rudock, who transferred to Michigan from Iowa as a graduate student this season, completed 17 of 23 passes for 179 yards while directing an offense that welcomed back from injury De'Veon Smith (59 yards rushing and three catches). Michigan amassed 380 total yards against the touted Wildcats defense.
Northwestern entered the game leading the nation in points allowed per game (7.0). The opening kickoff return and the pick-6 interception put the defense in a deeper bind.
"They had a good game plan against us. They moved the ball, rushed with Smith," defensive end Deonte Gibson said. "All in all, they executed on some of our miscues. They are a great team."
Northwestern was coming off a shutout (27-0) of Minnesota, but found itself allowing 21 first downs and 4.4 yards per rush against Michigan.
The task doesn't get any easier for the Wildcats, as ounbeaten Iowa (6-0, 2-0) visits Saturday.
"We just have to flush this," senior superback Dan Vitale said of the humbling loss. "We're a much better team than we showed today. If we can do that and get back to where we need to be, I think we will be OK."
fmitchell@tribpub.com
2-minute drill
The book on NU? Michigan's defensive plan obviously was to neutralize running back Justin Jackson and force redshirt freshman Clayton Thorson and his receivers to try to beat them. The plan worked.
Nothing special: To beat a quality opponent like Michigan, the Wildcats needed to play error-free special teams, not turn the ball over and eliminate mental penalties such as false starts. Didn't happen.
A little help, please: The Wildcats defense can't be expected to throw a shutout every week, The offense needs to do a better job controlling time of possession. Michigan held the ball 37 minutes, 5 seconds to Northwestern's 22:55.
Injury front: Cornerback Matthew Harris was carted off the field late in the third quarter but coach Pat Fitzgerald is hopeful the injury is not serious. "He was doing pretty well in the locker room," he said. "Most of that was precautionary measures. He does have a little bit of a laceration that they cleaned up."
Up next: Iowa visit Ryan Field at 11 a.m. Saturday.
