Speight throws 3 TDs as No. 7 Michigan routs Hawaii
The Sports Xchange
Sep 3, 2016
ANN ARBOR, MICH. -- Wilson Speight went from humbled to exalted in a hurry during his first start as quarterback for Michigan on Saturday in the season opener against Hawaii.
After throwing an interception on his first pass of the game, Speight more than made amends after that, completing 10 of 13 passes for 145 yards and three touchdowns to help lead No. 7 Michigan to a 63-3 rout of Hawaii in front of 110,222 people at Michigan Stadium.
Speight ended up winning the starter's job after August camp but made a horrible first impression when he threw an interception to Damien Packer of Hawaii at the Michigan 38-yard line early in the first quarter.
But the groans from Michigan fans quickly turned to cheers after Speight responded by throwing touchdown passes on Michigan's next three drives.
The first of those touchdown passes was a 12-yard strike into the end zone to sophomore wideout Grant Perry that gave Michigan a 7-0 lead with 7:29 left in the first quarter and capped off an 11-play, 98-yard drive.
Speight hit senior and returning All-American tight end Jake Butt on a 19-yard touchdown pass with 1:25 left in the first quarter and then senior wideout Amara Darboh on a 5-yard touchdown pass with 11:21 remaining in the first half to give the Wolverines a 21-0 lead.
The Michigan defense added two touchdowns of its own on a 27-yard interception return for a touchdown by Delano Hill and a 51-yard interception return for a touchdown by senior Channing Stribling in the third quarter.
Freshman running back Chris Evans ran for 112 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries for Michigan (1-0), which had 305 rushing yards and 511 yards of total offense.
NOTES: It was a star-studded affair before the game for Michigan, with former NBA great Michael Jordan serving as honorary captain and former New York Yankees infielder Derek Jeter also in attendance chatting with Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh near midfield. ... This was the third meeting all-time between the schools, but the first one in Ann Arbor. Michigan won games at Honolulu in 1986 (27-10) and 1998 (48-17). .. This was the first of five consecutive home games Michigan has to start the season. The Wolverines won't play on the road until Oct. 8 at Rutgers. ... As Hawaii had its field-goal unit on the field to kick a 26-yard field goal with two seconds left in the first half, officials threw a flag and determined on the previous play it was intentional grounding on QB quarterback Ikaika Woolsey when he threw the ball out of bounds in the pocket to escape a sack. Since it was a 10-second runoff on the clock for an illegal pass in the final minute, the half ended and Hawaii never attempted the field goal. ... All three of Michigan's quarterbacks that played in the game -- Wilson Speight, junior John O'Korn and junior Shane Morris -- led drives that ended in touchdowns.
Sep 3, 2016
ANN ARBOR, MICH. -- Wilson Speight went from humbled to exalted in a hurry during his first start as quarterback for Michigan on Saturday in the season opener against Hawaii.
After throwing an interception on his first pass of the game, Speight more than made amends after that, completing 10 of 13 passes for 145 yards and three touchdowns to help lead No. 7 Michigan to a 63-3 rout of Hawaii in front of 110,222 people at Michigan Stadium.
Speight ended up winning the starter's job after August camp but made a horrible first impression when he threw an interception to Damien Packer of Hawaii at the Michigan 38-yard line early in the first quarter.
But the groans from Michigan fans quickly turned to cheers after Speight responded by throwing touchdown passes on Michigan's next three drives.
The first of those touchdown passes was a 12-yard strike into the end zone to sophomore wideout Grant Perry that gave Michigan a 7-0 lead with 7:29 left in the first quarter and capped off an 11-play, 98-yard drive.
Speight hit senior and returning All-American tight end Jake Butt on a 19-yard touchdown pass with 1:25 left in the first quarter and then senior wideout Amara Darboh on a 5-yard touchdown pass with 11:21 remaining in the first half to give the Wolverines a 21-0 lead.
The Michigan defense added two touchdowns of its own on a 27-yard interception return for a touchdown by Delano Hill and a 51-yard interception return for a touchdown by senior Channing Stribling in the third quarter.
Freshman running back Chris Evans ran for 112 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries for Michigan (1-0), which had 305 rushing yards and 511 yards of total offense.
NOTES: It was a star-studded affair before the game for Michigan, with former NBA great Michael Jordan serving as honorary captain and former New York Yankees infielder Derek Jeter also in attendance chatting with Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh near midfield. ... This was the third meeting all-time between the schools, but the first one in Ann Arbor. Michigan won games at Honolulu in 1986 (27-10) and 1998 (48-17). .. This was the first of five consecutive home games Michigan has to start the season. The Wolverines won't play on the road until Oct. 8 at Rutgers. ... As Hawaii had its field-goal unit on the field to kick a 26-yard field goal with two seconds left in the first half, officials threw a flag and determined on the previous play it was intentional grounding on QB quarterback Ikaika Woolsey when he threw the ball out of bounds in the pocket to escape a sack. Since it was a 10-second runoff on the clock for an illegal pass in the final minute, the half ended and Hawaii never attempted the field goal. ... All three of Michigan's quarterbacks that played in the game -- Wilson Speight, junior John O'Korn and junior Shane Morris -- led drives that ended in touchdowns.
