Rutgers Scarlet Knights vs Michigan Wolverines Match Player Stats On Nov 07, 2015

The Sports Xchange
Nov 7, 2015

Senior quarterback Jake Rudock passed for a career-best 337 yards and accounted for three touchdowns Saturday as No. 17 Michigan rolled to a 49-16 victory over Rutgers in Big Ten play at Ann Arbor, Mich.

Rudock threw touchdown passes to junior receiver Jehu Chesson and senior receiver Amara Darboh and also rushed for a score for the Wolverines (7-2, 4-1). Junior tight end Jake Butt had a career-high 102 receiving yards, and junior defensive end Chris Wormley recorded two of Michigan's four sacks.

Sophomore quarterback Chris Laviano was just 11-of-26 passing for 97 yards and one interception for Rutgers (3-6, 1-5). Junior Janarion Grant returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown, and senior Kyle Federico kicked three field goals.

"A couple of times they had the ball in the scoring area inside the 20, and we only allowed field goals," Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh said. "Their only touchdown came on the kickoff return, so that's very impressive to me."

Rudock connected with Chesson from 13 yards out and scored on a 4-yard run as Michigan took a 14-3 first-quarter lead. Redshirt safety Jabrill Peppers continues to receive snaps on offense and he scored on an 18-yard run to make it an 18-point margin with 10:42 left in the first half.

Grant answered with his third kickoff return score of the season before junior tailback Drake Johnson scored on a 1-yard run to push Michigan's lead to 28-10. Rudock's 8-yard pass to Darboh made it 35-13 with two minutes left in the half.

Junior tailback De'Veon Smith scored on a 4-yard run early in the third quarter to boost the lead to 25. Harbaugh called for a two-point conversion despite the large lead and Rudock ran it in to make it 43-16 and Michigan cruised the rest of the way.

"Our hustle and our mindset (were better)," Wolverines junior cornerback Jourdan Lewis said. "We just came out there, and we were going to grind and pound those guys. It was going to be physical, and we knew it. We just went out there and tried to finish them for 60 minutes."

Grant finished with 263 all-purpose yards - 170 on kickoff returns, 67 on punt returns and 26 receiving. He had a school-record 337 all-purpose yards earlier this season against Washington State.

NOTES: QB Jake Rudock's passing yardage is the 12th-highest in Michigan history. ... Rutgers played its second straight game without senior WR Leonte Carroo (ankle), who has caught nine touchdown passes. ... Wolverines CB Jourdan Lewis had two passes defensed to raise his season total to 19, breaking the school record of 18 shared by Leon Hall (2006) and Marlin Jackson (2002).