ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Tate Forcier threw three touchdown passes and Denard Robinson ran for a score before halftime, leading Michigan to a 31-7 win over Western Michigan on Saturday.
The freshmen quarterbacks helped the Wolverines (1-0) look better on offense than they ever did last year, when they lost a school-record nine games in Rich Rodriguez's debut season with college football's winningest program.
The Wolverines insisted they were focused on Western Michigan — and not distracted by a report alleging they have broken NCAA rules under Rodriguez because of the time they've spent training and practicing and stories about a real estate deal gone bad involving the coach and a booster banned from Clemson.
The Broncos (0-1) avoided a shutout on Tim Hiller's 73-yard pass to Juan Nunez early in the fourth quarter.
Forcier was 13-of-20 for 179 yards, and two of his three TD passes went to Junior Hemingway. Chad Henne and Rick Leach are the only freshmen QBs to start an opener for the Wolverines in three-plus decades.