Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • D1

FREEP.COM SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2021 1D The Blitz U-M On the flip side MSU 38, Northwestern 21: Kenneth Walker III brought the swag in his Spartans debut. 8D More Wolverines inside Michael grades: Everybody gets an except for one unit, which was still good. 2D More from Rainer Sabin: U-M from swinging sledgehammers on the ground. 3D Next up No. 21 Washington, 8 p.m.

Sat- urday, ABC Around the Big Ten 18 Iowa .....................................34 17 Rutgers .....................................61 Nebraska .................................52 Fordham .....................................7 Maryland 30 ............................16 West Virginia ...........................24 Michigan Wolverines 47 WMU Broncos 14 It became clear that Michigan coordina- tor Josh Gattis was enjoying himself on the pos- session of the fourth quarter Saturday. The Wolverines had already extended their lead over Western Michigan to 26 and amassed more than 220 rushing yards as a team. when Gattis, whose have only worked in since his ar- rival from Alabama in 2019, radioed in arguably Michi- most creative play of the game. On and 10 from his own 13-yard line, Gattis aligned speedy wide receiver Roman Wilson in a pecu- liar spot: a three-point stance on the right side of a heavy formation. And when the ball was snapped, Wilson peeled around into the on a reverse to take the ball from quarterback J.J.

McCarthy, who had already faked a to running back Donovan Ed- wards. The Broncos were hoodwinked and Wilson zipped around the left side of the formation for a beautifully Giddy, yup! Hassan Haskins rushed 13 times for 70 yards and a touchdown on Saturday against Western Michigan as the Wolverines piled up 335 yards on the ground. PHOTOS BY JUNFU FREE PRESS O-line, RBs stomp their way to rout of Broncos Michael Cohen Detroit Free Press USA TODAY NETWORK See U-M, Page 3D Stampede! Four Wolverines rushed for at least 40 yards in opener against Western Michigan: Blake Corum: As option 1-A in a dynamic duo, Corum rushed 14 times for 111 yards an average of 7.9 yards and a touchdown. A.J. Henning: The sophomore wideout had a 74-yard reverse for a touchdown on drive of the second half.

Hassan Haskins: Option 1-B, he had 13 carries for 70 yards (a 5.4-yard average) and a touchdown. Roman Wilson: Like Henning, the sophomore wideout carried the ball on a long reverse, rumbling 43 yards on the play of the fourth quarter. Whether the old Jim Harbaugh is back is uncertain. But at least he seemed at ease again. Inside Crisler Center, after Saturday's 47-14 tri- umph over Western Michigan, Harbaugh could savor the taste of victory again and on what went right, instead of all that had gone so terribly wrong over the past year.

victory may not foreshadow a come- back season for the Wolverines. But it must have felt pretty awesome. was good to see our players have he said. the thing that I wanted to see the As the old saying goes, winning cures all. For Michi- gan, which ailed throughout the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, any positive result was tantamount to an elixir.

The Wolverines endured so much last fall. Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh was once again unhappy with the refs, but his team? Them he could enjoy as Michigan rolled early and often in Ann Arbor. A joyous day in the Big House delivers some hope for 2021 Big Ten Insider Rainer Sabin Detroit Free Press USA TODAY NETWORK See SABIN, Page 3D.