No. 19 Michigan starts shaky, finishes strong in 52-17 win over UTEP
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7:04 PM on Saturday, September 19
By LARRY LAGE
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — No. 19 Michigan sputtered early against UTEP, trailing twice after giving up two touchdowns off turnovers.
For nearly a half, it looked like college football's winningest program might be in trouble again against a Group of Six program in coach Kyle Whittingham's first month as charge.
The Wolverines flipped the script.
Bryce Underwood threw two touchdown passes and Savion Hiter had two rushing scores to help Michigan pull away and beat UTEP 52-17 on Saturday.
The Wolverines (3-0) scored 38 straight points to turn a potential scare into a rout, just two weeks after their controversial win over Western Michigan.
“We went into halftime — kind of like the same thing that we were thinking against Western Michigan — that we weren't giving it our all,” Hiter said. “So, we went out in the second half and finished the job.”
The Miners (1-2) recovered two fumbles in the first half and took advantage with two touchdown passes by E.J. Colston: 45 yards to Carver Cheeks and 18 yards to Lamar Sperling.
Underwood's 21-yard touchdown pass to JJ Buchanan and Trey Butkowski’s 49-yard field goal over the last 1:31 of the first half put Michigan ahead for the first time.
The sophomore quarterback threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Marsh and Jonah Lea'ea returned an interception for a score over the last 1:18 of the third quarter, giving the Wolverines a 45-14 lead.
Underwood was 19 of 25 for 223 yards with two touchdowns and a lost fumble. Marsh had 10 catches for 105 yards and a touchdown.
Tommy Carr made his Michigan debut and threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Salesi Moa. His grandfathers are former Michigan coach Lloyd Carr and Tom Curtis, an All-America defensive back for the Wolverines, and his brother is Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr.
Michigan's starting running back, Jordan Marshall, ran for 59 yards and a touchdown before leaving the game in the third quarter after his right leg got tangled up as he was tackled.
Whittingham said Marshall aggravated a nagging injury.
“We hope to have him ready to roll next week,” Whittingham said.
Starting offensive tackle Andrew Sprague and defensive back Zeke Berry were held out of the game with injuries, but Whittingham is hopeful both will play next week at home against No. 18 Iowa.
UTEP: After leading twice in the first half, the finish was familiar. The Miners fell to 4-63 against AP Top 25 teams and their only road win against a ranked opponent was in 1974 against No. 14 Arizona State.
Michigan: The Wolverines have fumbled six times in three games, losing four. Underwood lost his second fumble this season and Hiter also lost one against UTEP.
“Big concern,” Whittingham said. “Hopefully that can slow down because six in three games is way too many.”
UTEP: Hosts Oregon State next Saturday.
Michigan: Hosts the Hawkeyes next Saturday in a matchup of AP Top 25 teams.
“We’ve gotten better each week and we’re just now starting to play our ball, to our level,” Marsh said. “But it’s real now and every game is a big game.”
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