Recap: Michigan routs Minnesota to win Little Brown Jug

Recap: Michigan wins Little Brown Jug in rout of Minnesota

The 52 points the Michigan Wolverines scored in Saturday night's 52-10 victory over the Golden Gophers are not only a season high, but it's also the most points they have ever scored at Minnesota.

J.J. McCarthy was his usual spectacular self, going 14 of 20 for 219 yards and one touchdown to Colston Loveland. He also rushed for two touchdowns.

"I love this team so much because we play for each other," McCarthy told NBC Sports after the game. "We don't play for individual accolades, we don't worry about the NFL or anything in the future. We keep it moment to moment and we strive to get better every single day. It's a beautiful thing."

Blake Corum had nine carries for 69 yards and a touchdown, his Big Ten-leading 10th this season. Kalel Mullings had eight carries for 47 yards and Donovan Edwards had four for 20.

Cornelius Johnson had three catches for 86 yards while Roman Wilson had three catches for 56 yards but, surprisingly, no touchdowns.

The defense was so spectacular that they had two players — Will Johnson on the second play of the game and Keon Sabb later — with interceptions returned for touchdowns.

Corum said seeing the defense score fired the offense up.

"It just gets us going," Corum told NBC Sports. "When the defense is scoring, it's just amazing. I was saying, 'Y'all didn't even need us today. Y'all put up 14 points, they put up 10. Y'all would have got the dub. Great team win today."

After the game, Johnson told NBC Sports, "Our goal is to go all the way so we're going to keep working every week to do what we can to get there."

9:21 4Q: Michigan with new season high in points, 52-10

The starters are out of the game but the Wolverines are not done scoring.

This time Jack Tuttle led an 11-play, 70-yard drive that culminated in Leon Franklin's 2-yard touchdown run.

That gives Michigan a new season high in points.

The only small problem was after not getting any penalties at Nebraska, they took a holding penalty on the last drive. Not a big deal with such a huge lead, of course.

End 3Q: Michigan leads Minnesota, 45-10

It is time for the party to get underway back in Ann Arbor because this game is completely out of hand.

For the sixth straight game, the Wolverines did not allow a point in the third quarter.

1:43 3Q: Another pick-six for Michigan, now up 45-10

Michigan just tied its season high in points with 45 thanks to Keon Sabb's 28-yard pick-six.

They also had 45 points last week at Nebraska.

3:20 3Q: Colston Loveland in the mix, 38-10 Michigan

Up until now, the tight ends haven't been a huge part of the offense.

But J.J. McCarthy finally got the ball to Colston Loveland for a 24-yard touchdown, his first of the season.

8:28 3Q: McCarthy runs again, 31-10 Michigan

J.J. McCarthy took it into his own hands again, running 7 yards for his second touchdown of the game.

It marks McCarthy's first game rushing for multiple touchdowns.

Favorite receiver Roman Wilson was pivotal on the drive, with a 17-yard reception and a 34-yarder.

Kalel Mullings had some good runs, especially the 9-yard one to get to Minnesota's 9-yard line.

Halftime: Michigan leads Minnesota, 24-10

The Michigan Wolverines had a great start, getting a pick-six from Will Johnson on the second play of the game.

It took the offense a little time to get rolling but then they were back to normal.

J.J. McCarthy was 8 of 10 for 124 yards. He also rushed for a 5-yard touchdown.

Blake Corum has seven carries for 60 yards and a 1-yard touchdown, his 10th of the season. He leads the Big Ten in rushing touchdowns.

Cornelius Johnson leads the receivers with three catches for 86 yards. Roman Wilson has just one catch for 5 yards but did have a 10-yard run on a reverse.

The only black mark was allowing the Golden Gophers to get the 35-yard touchdown late in the second quarter.

0:06 2Q: Minnesota gets a touchdown, 24-10 Michigan

Minnesota's young quarterback, Athan Kaliakmanis, has his own favorite target in Daniel Jackson, and he found him for a 35-yard touchdown.

That cut Michigan's lead to 24-10.

5:50 2Q: McCarthy runs for touchdown, 24-3 Michigan

J.J. McCarthy is always a threat to keep the ball and run and he ran for 5 yards and the touchdown.

That followed a spectacular pass to Cornelius Johnson for 49 yards in which the offensive line gave McCarthy what seemed like a half an hour to throw the ball.

10:08 2Q: Corum gets his 10th touchdown, 17-3 Michigan

The Michigan offense finally got its turn in the end zone as Blake Corum scored on a 1-yard run, his 10th touchdown this season.

Corum also had a 40-yard run on the first play of the drive and Roman Wilson got a first down on a reverse.

End 1Q: Michigan leads Minnesota, 10-3

The Wolverines had just the kind of start they could have hoped for, getting a pick-six from Will Johnson on the second play of the game.

The offense has done a few good things but has yet to reach the end zone.

Both teams have gotten field goals, a 31-yarder for Michigan's James Turner and a 54-yarder for Minnesota's Dragan Kesich.

2:35 1Q: Now that's a field goal; Michigan leads 10-3

The Golden Gophers had a few good runs by Zach Evans on that drive.

But the most impressive thing was former soccer star Dragon Kesich hitting a career-best 54-yard field goal to get Minnesota on the board.

7:37 1Q: Turner hits from 31 yards, 10-0 Michigan

Michigan's opening offensive drive had some nice moments, including Blake Corum starting it off with a 10-yard run.

The fourth-down pass from J.J. McCarthy to Kalel Mullings for 13 yards was excellent.

But normally sure-handed Cornelius Johnson, who had a 20-yard reception during the drive, dropped a sure first down and the Wolverines had to go for three.

James Turner kicked the 31-yard field goal for a 10-0 lead.

14:48 1Q: Michigan's defense opens the scoring, 7-0

It did not take long for the Wolverines to get on the board, which is expected, but what was unexpected was how it happened.

Will Johnson picked off Minnesota quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis and returned it 36 yards for a touchdown on the second play of the game.

Michigan beat writer Angelique Chengelis has this week's Michigan availability report:

Pregame

It's time to square off for the Little Brown Jug and this time the game is in Minnesota.

What happens when an offense that is rolling meets a defense that is not even remotely a juggernaut?

That's what we're about to find out when the Wolverines meet the Golden Gophers.

So far this season, Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy has completed 83 of 105 passes for 1,071 yards and 10 touchdowns, eight of which have gone to receiver Roman Wilson.

Minnesota is giving up 21.6 points and 361.4 yards per game.

The Golden Gophers have running back Darius Taylor, who went to Walled Lake Western. He is ninth in the country with 532 rushing yards.

Follow along here for live updates from Detroit News contributor Dana Wakiji.

Michigan at Minnesota

▶ Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Huntington Bank Stadium, Minneapolis

▶ TV/radio: NBC/97.1

▶ Line: Michigan by 20½

▶ Records: No. 2 Michigan 5-0, 2-0 Big Ten; Minnesota 3-2, 1-1

▶ Series: Michigan leads 76-25-3 (Last meeting: Oct. 24, 2020 — Michigan 49-24)