Jim Harbaugh welcomed Scott Frost to the Big Ten on Saturday.
It wasn't very friendly.
Michigan football rushed for 101 yards and two touchdowns on its first six rushing attempts of the game and spent the next three hours physically pounding Nebraska into a fine powder at Michigan Stadium, racking up a dominant 56-10 win over the visiting Cornhuskers.
Karan Higdon rushed for 136 yards and a touchdown, all before halftime, while fullback Ben Mason crossed the goal line three times in a first half that saw Michigan out-gain the Cornhuskers, 305-17.
The Wolverines finished the game with 491 yards to Nebraska's 132. Defensively, U-M registered four sacks and 14 tackles for loss as Nebraska pulled touted freshman quarterback Adrian Martinez after halftime. The Huskers finished with 93 yards passing, 39 yards rushing.
Michigan (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten) will visit Northwestern next Saturday (4:30 p.m., FOX).
This one got out of hand early and often, as Josh Metellus collected a tipped-ball interception on Nebraska's first drive before Higdon busted a 46-yard rush on the team's second offensive snap of the game. Four plays later, Mason – who served as the team's No. 2 running back with Chris Evans sidelined due to injury – scored from 1 yard out.
The onslaught continued after a quick three-and-out, as Higdon needed one play to rip off a 44-yard touchdown run. Mason capped a 66-yard drive five minutes later with a 4-yard plunge to make it 20-0. Michigan out-gained Nebraska, 174-30, in the first quarter.
The second wasn't much better for the Huskers, as Michigan added a 50-yard field goal from Quinn Nordin before Shea Patterson capped a 59-yard drive with a 5-yard scoring strike to Zach Gentry. Mason's third touchdown of the half made it 37-0 with 5:25 to play in the half and Michigan's defense added a late safety to make it 39-0 at the break.
Donovan Peoples-Jones put all the icing on the cake 6 minutes into the third quarter, dazzling the crowd on a 60-yard punt return touchdown to make it 46 unanswered points for the Wolverines.
Michigan pulled its first-string offense midway through the third quarter, but continued to pummel Nebraska's defense – as Dylan McCaffrey's 56-yard touchdown pass to freshman Ronnie Bell made it 56-3 with 14:21 left to go in the game.
The only issue for Michigan?
Junior linebacker Khaleke Hudson was ejected for targeting in the fourth quarter for the second week in a row. He'll have to miss the first half of next week's game at Northwestern.
Contact Nick Baumgardner: nbaumgardn@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @NickBaumgardner. Download our Wolverines Xtra app for free on Apple and Android devices!
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