Blake Corum rushed for two touchdowns and No. 2 Michigan notched its third straight Big Ten title by blanking No. 16 Iowa 26-0 in Indianapolis on Saturday night.
Corum tied Anthony Thomas’ school record of 55 rushing touchdowns while gaining 52 yards on 16 carries.
James Turner kicked four field goals and Semaj Morgan had an 87-yard punt return to set up one of Corum’s TDs. J.J. McCarthy passed for 147 yards for Michigan (13-0).
“Just another stepping stone along our journey,” Corum said. “We set these goals at the beginning of the year and we crossed one off right now. Now, we’ve got to figure out where we’re going tomorrow. We’ll have a month to prepare and get ready and continue chasing our goals.”
Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh returned to the sidelines after serving a three-game suspension issued by the Big Ten that stemmed from a signal-stealing scandal.
Michigan’s defense had three sacks and three fumble recoveries.
Iowa (10-3) was limited to 155 total yards of offense.
Morgan’s punt return was the highlight of the first half, which ended with Michigan up 10-0.
Iowa’s seven first-half possessions ended with six punts and a turnover.
On their first drive, the Wolverines ran 13 plays and picked up 52 yards before Turner converted a 35-yard field goal.
The Hawkeyes reached their 40-yard line before punting on the next possession. Tory Taylor booted a 52-yard punt, but Morgan returned it to the Iowa 5-yard line. He raced through traffic up the middle, then cut to his left and raced down the sidelines before Koen Entringer pushed him out of bounds.
Two plays later, Corum scored on a 2-yard run.
The pivotal play of the game came early in the third quarter. Iowa quarterback Deacon Hill’s throwing hand was struck by pass-rusher Mike Sainristil as Hill attempted a pass. Initially, the play was ruled an incompletion. Upon review, it was ruled a fumble and a recovery by Michigan’s Josh Wallace at the Iowa 12, even though the officials were blowing the play dead almost simultaneously.
An unsportsmanlike penalty against the Hawkeyes staff moved the ball half the distance to the goal line. Corum scored on the next play from 6 yards out.
Turner kicked a 46-yard field goal in the final minute of the third to increase Michigan’s lead to 20-0. Turner nailed another from 36 yards out after another Iowa turnover with 9:14 left in the game and later added a 50-yarder.
Hill completed 18 of 32 passes for 120 yards for Iowa.
“They were in the right spots at all times,” McCarthy said of Iowa’s defense. “They were physical, they were gritty, they were coached really well. It was just amazing to put ourselves in that matchup, going into the next one.”
–Field Level Media
