MINNEAPOLIS - For Michigan football coach Lloyd Carr, it had almost become an obsession.
The big play.
Why was it missing? Where had it gone? Why had Michigan's offense had such trouble breaking it in the past two games?
"We're just not breaking any big plays," Carr would say at every press conference.
Indeed, the Wolverines seemed destined to live by the three-yard run and the seven-yard pass for the rest of the season.
But in the past, many teams have healed their wounds against Minnesota, and Saturday night, Michigan did the same. The Golden Gophers gave up exactly what Carr and the Wolverines had been starving for.
Big play after big play after big play.
"You just cannot give up those big plays," Minnesota coach Jim Wacker said. "It's that simple."
Simple or not, Minnesota gave them up to the Wolverines - seven plays for over 20 yards, to be exact.
Michigan's rushing attack was especially impressive. The Wolverines rolled up 252 yards rushing on 39 carries, an average of almost 6.5 yards per attempt.
In their past two games, Michigan running backs Clarence Williams and Chris Howard had not broken a run for more than 11 yards. Against Minnesota, the two backs combined for three carries over that mark and had two more runs that equalled 11 yards.
Late in the first quarter, Howard took a handoff from Dreisbach at the Michigan 14-yard line, broke a couple of tackles, and didn't slow down until he had reached Minnesota's end zone 86 yards later.
"The coaches stressed that that was our goal," Howard said. "I just didn't know that I was going to break it. I just didn't know it was going to be 86 yards."
The run tied for the fifth longest in Michigan history and was the Wolverines' longest since the 1993 Rose Bowl when Tyrone Wheatley ran 88 yards against Washington.
"(Howard's) run is the one that broke our backs," Wacker said. "That was the big one."
After that, Michigan's running game was far from finished.
Leading 14-7 early in the second quarter, Michigan had the ball first-and-10 at the Minnesota 26.
Williams took a handoff from Dreisbach and beat the entire Minnesota defense to the sideline. He then scooted down the sideline for the touchdown, and the murder of the Gophers had begun.
"(Minnesota's) overcommitted defense allowed us to make some big plays," Carr said. "When you get eight or nine men on the line of scrimmage, it gives you a chance to break a big one."
Quarterback Scott Dreisbach and the rest of the Michigan passing attack also got into the act. Dreisbach completed 8-of-11 passes for 184 yards and a touchdown. He and his receivers had their way with the Minnesota secondary, connecting on four plays that covered more than 20 yards.
And they set the tone early against the Gophers.
On the Wolverines' second possession, Dreisbach hit Mark Campbell for 27 yards to the Minnesota 38. One play later, Dreisbach found a wide-open Tai Streets 36 yards down field for a touchdown.
Later on, Dreisbach hooked up with tight end Jerame Tuman on a couple of plays that totaled 33 and 63 yards, respectively.
Even backup quarterback Brian Griese had some big-play fun. On Michigan's final possession, he threw 40 yards to Marcus Knight for a touchdown. The reception was Knight's first-ever touchdown.
JOE WESTRATE/Daily
From left to right: William Carr, David Bowens and Glen Steele walk over a downed Golden Gopher. Bowens had three sacks, tying the Michigan single-season record in just seven games.