ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The Michigan players made what they described as an unusual situation feel as usual as possible in the season opener with a ho-hum dominant performance as enormous favorites with interim head coach Jesse Minter leading the way.
Quarterback J.J. McCarthy, in his second season as starter, looked sharp as he connected with receiver Roman Wilson on three touchdowns, leading Michigan to a 30-3 win over East Carolina on Saturday before 109,480 at Michigan Stadium.
It was the first of three games Michigan will play without head coach Jim Harbaugh, who is serving a three-game self-imposed suspension relating to an NCAA investigation. Offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Sherrone Moore also missed the game as part of a one-game suspension in a negotiated resolution approved by the NCAA.
While Harbaugh is not allowed in the stadium or on the premises during the first three games, the Wolverines arrived for the game wearing various tributes to their coach. Most notable was McCarthy’s shirt with Harbaugh’s name and No. 4 from his playing days with wide piece of tape and the word “Free” above Harbaugh. On the second series of the game, the players lined up in the train formation and each raised four fingers for their coach before settling into their normal formation.
Minter, Michigan’s defensive coordinator, was the first of four assistants to take on interim head coaching duties in Harbaugh’s absence and, with quarterback coach Kirk Campbell calling the plays, he will get the credit for the win. Harbaugh will not be credited with a win/loss in the first three games.
McCarthy completed 26 of 30 passes for 280 yards and three touchdowns, while Wilson, now wearing the No. 1 jersey, had six catches for 78 yards and the three scores, half his touchdown production last year. Running back Blake Corum, in his return from surgery to repair a meniscus knee tear suffered in the final home game last year, had 77 yards and a score on 11 carries. Veteran receiver Cornelius Johnson had five catches for 71 yards.
The Wolverines did not record a sack but tackles Kris Jenkins and Kenneth Grant each had a quarterback hurry. The linebackers were the most productive tacklers, including Junior Colson, who led the team with two tackles for loss.
This was an East Carolina team coming off an 8-5 season but lost so many of its key pieces. Michigan didn’t lose a lot, but with some player departures for the NFL and injuries heading into the opener, there were position battles whose resolutions may or may not be clear. Harbaugh has said he is employing what he called the “Michigan Method” and will use the first few games to determine the starters heading into the Big Ten season.
Injuries in the secondary provided starting opportunities for transfer cornerback Josh Wallace, who may very well be the starter opposite Will Johnson, the sophomore cornerback who was in uniform but did not play in the opener as he continues to recover from offseason knee surgery. Keshaun Harris also started at corner and sophomore Keon Sabb started at safety with Rod Moore out.
Harbaugh and Sherrone Moore, in his third season coaching the offensive line, have raved all preseason about the depth of the offensive line with 10 potential starters. Coming into the game, it was unclear would be the starting tackles and center. Veteran Karsen Barnhart, who had made 15 starts mostly at right tackle, started at left tackle, while captains Trevor Keegan and Zak Zinter were the guards, Stanford transfer Drake Nugent was at center and Stanford transfer Myles Hinton was at right tackle.
Michigan built a 23-0 halftime lead as transfer kicker James Turner added a 50-yard field goal with one second left. That tied a career-best for Turner, formerly of Louisville, from 2020. It was the first field-goal attempt post-Jake Moody, whose 355 points set a program scoring record. Turner did miss an extra point after Michigan’s third score and a 52-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.
The Wolverines scored on all but their first possession of the game that started at their 2-yard line and did nothing. They finished with 242 first-half yards, including 181 passing and 14 first downs. McCarthy was 16 of 18 for 181 yards and two touchdowns, both to Wilson, who scored on catches of 14 and 10 yards. Corum had a 2-yard touchdown run a play after running 37 yards.
Michigan’s first score was set up by Mike Sainristil’s interception of East Carolina starter Mason Garcia, who faced pressure on the play from Grant. East Carolina switched to quarterback Alex Flinn after that series. Flinn started the second half, but Garcia returned late in the third quarter and played the rest of the game.
East Carolina missed a chance to get on the board in the first half missing on a 51-yard field-goal attempt, but snapped the shutout with a 33-yard field goal as time expired. The Pirates had 12 first downs in the game and were 5 for 13 on third down.