MINNEAPOLIS - For most Michigan teams, a victory over Minnesota isn't reason for celebration.
After all, the Wolverines haven't lost to the Golden Gophers since 1986 and have kept the Little Brown Jug in Ann Arbor for 10 straight years. But the 44-10 pounding of the Gophers on Saturday was exciting for the Wolverines in at least three respects.
With the victory, they remained in the Rose Bowl race. They proved that they can blow out an inferior team. And perhaps most important, the much maligned rushing attack finally had a break-through game.
After two-straight sub-par rushing performances, Michigan (3-1 Big Ten, 6-1 overall) rolled up 252 yards on the ground, including 198 in the first half, in front of 41, 246 at the Metrodome.
"Obviously (it's) a very big win for us," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. "Keeping the jug is very important. It was a big win to stay in the race for the Big Ten championship."
Running backs Chris Howard and Clarence Williams led the Wolverines with 127 and 83 yards rushing, respectively, and quarterback Scott Dreisbach completed 8-of-11 passes for 184 yards and one touchdown. Michigan outgained Minnesota (0-4, 3-4) for the evening, 489 to 359.
"It was a disappointing loss to a good football team," Minnesota football coach Jim Wacker said. "They really pound at you. We had too many breakdowns, and you can't do that against a good team and expect to win."
The game's key sequence - if a 44-10 game has a key sequence - occurred late in the third and early in the fourth quarters.
Trailing 27-10, the Gophers drove from their own 18 to the Michigan 27. But on first down, Michigan defensive end David Bowens sacked Minnesota quarterback Cory Sauter for a nine-yard loss. On second-and-19, Sauter was stopped for no gain by Will Carr and Jarrett Irons. And on the first play of the fourth quarter, Sauter's third-down pass fell incomplete. Place kicker Adam Bailey then was short on a 53-yard field goal attempt.
The Wolverines took over, and on the first play following the missed field goal, Dreisbach rolled to his right and hit a wide-open Jerame Tuman for 63 yards to the Minnesota one. Tuman, a tight end, had the best receiving day of his career, catching three passes for 101 yards. On the following play, fullback John Anes went off left tackle for a touchdown.
The Gophers, who moments earlier had a chance to cut the lead to 14 or even to 10, now trailed, 34-10, with 14:37 to play in the game.
When Woody Hankins picked off an errant Sauter pass on the next series, Minnesota fans said bye-bye to their team.
So did Michigan.
From that point, the Wolverines rolled to the victory, playing backups the majority of the fourth quarter.
"Our offense gained confidence," Carr said. "We ran the ball well. We came out relatively healthy, which will be very important down the stretch."
After losing to Northwestern and then struggling against Indiana, the Wolverines wanted to take the Gophers out of the game early.
And that's exactly what they did.
After Bailey missed a 38-yard field goal, Michigan marched 79 yards in six plays to take a 7-0 lead. Dreisbach threw a 36-yard strike to wide receiver Tai Streets for the touchdown to end the drive.
On their next possession, the Gophers were forced to punt, and Michigan needed just one play to make the score 14-0. On first-and-10 from the Michigan 14, Howard broke a couple of tackles and raced 86 yards down the Minnesota sideline for a touchdown. The run was the fifth longest in Michigan history.
In the first quarter alone, the Wolverines rolled up 173 yards of total offense and outrushed the Gophers, 110 to five.
Minnesota finally got moving early in the second quarter, marching 80 yards in nine plays to cut Michigan's lead in half. Running back Byron Evans' four-yard touchdown run capped a drive that was highlighted by a 38-yard pass play from Sauter to Greg Nelson. With 10:12 left until halftime, the Wolverines led, 14-7.
On the next possession, Michigan needed just 3:15 to increase its lead to 14 again. Facing a third-and-seven from his own 41, Dreisbach caught Minnesota in a blitz. He dumped the ball over the middle to Tuman, and Tuman raced 33 yards to the Minnesota 26. On the next play, running back Clarence Williams got to the outside and motored 26 yards for a touchdown. With Remy Hamilton's extra point, Michigan led, 21-7.
One their next possession, the Wolverines put the game away - for the most part.
A nine-yard touchdown run by Howard capped a 46-yard, nine-play drive. On the carry, Howard broke the 100-yard rushing mark in the first half. He finished the half with 108 yards on six carries and two touchdowns. Hamilton missed the extra point, but the Wolverines still led, 27-7, at halftime.
In addition to Howard's numbers, Williams had 91 yards rushing and Michigan rolled up 206 yards on the ground as a team in the first half. Dreisbach didn't throw the ball much, but with Howard and Williams blowing like cannon fire through the Minnesota defense, he didn't need to. Dreisbach was 4-of-5 for 101 yards and a touchdown in the first half.
The Gophers kicked a field goal in the third quarter, before the Wolverines took control in the fourth, and cruised to the victory.
JOE WESTRATE/Daily
Even when sandwiched by Golden Gophers, Michigan quarterback Scott Dreisbach completed most of his passes, this one a dainty shovel pass to Chris Howard. Dreisbach threw just 11 passes, but completed eight of them as the Wolverines' running game did most of the work.