After playing to a 7-7 tie after the first quarter, Michigan scored 15 points to take a 22-7 halftime lead over Purdue in Ann Arbor. The Wolverines have scored 22 unanswered points on two touchdowns, a safety and two field goals to take control over the Boilermakers.
Michigan rolled up 294 yards of total offense in the first half, led by a sharp passing day so far from Denard Robinson. Robinson has passed for 156 yards, completing 8 of 13 passes. He also threw one interception, but the Michigan defense made sure that did no damage, forcing Purdue into a three-and-out.
Robinson has spread the ball around among his receivers. Jeremy Gallon, Junior Hemingway and Roy Roundtree each have two receptions. Gallon and Roundtree have combined for 126 yards receiving, each contributing a play over 40 yards.
More impressive is the Wolverines moving the ball on the ground without Robinson having to carry the load. Fitzgerald Toussaint has rushed for 75 yards and a touchdown on nine carries. Robinson has the other rushing score for Michigan, getting into the end zone on a two-yard run.
Purdue has struggled offensively after scoring a touchdown on its first possession of the game. Quarterback Caleb TerBush was throwing well, completing 4 of 5 passes for 64 yards. But he left the game with an injury after being sacked for a safety by Mike Martin. Robert Marve replaced TerBush, but hasn’t been very effective, completing 2 of 5 passes with an interception.
Other than a 48-yard pass from TerBush to Gary Bush that gave Purdue an early 7-0 lead, the Boilermakers haven’t been able to generate many big plays against the Michigan defense. Purdue had less than 50 yards rushing and less than 100 yards passing at the half.
Michigan gets the ball to begin the second half.