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Wolverines Blast U-Mass Minutemen

ANN ARBOR (WWJ/AP) - Denard Robinson threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Devin Funchess  to start the scoring frenzy as the Michigan Wolverines beat the University of Massachusetts Minutemen 63-13 on Saturday.

As heard on the Wolverine's flagship station WWJ 950 - Michigan scored early and often against UMass during the sunny, late summer game at the Big House in Ann Arbor.

Denard Robinson put up 397 yards of total offense and accounted for four touchdowns in No. 17 Michigan's rout over U-Mass.

Robinson, who came out of the game with Michigan (2-1) leading 56-13 late in the third quarter, rushed for 106 yards and a touchdown and completed 16 of 24 passes for 291 yards and three scores. Tailback Fitzgerald Toussaint, who missed Michigan's opener due to suspension and then carried for just seven yards against Air Force, had 85 yards and a touchdown against the Minutemen.

Former Wolverine Michael Cox, now a grad student at UMass, led the Minutemen (0-3) with 76 yards rushing, but Michigan finished the game with a 585-259 edge in yardage.

It was a much different outcome than two years ago, when UMass, then still a FCS member, took Rich Rodriguez's Michigan to the wire before losing 42-37. The Minutemen are now in their first season as an FBS member, and have been outscored by an average of 48-6 in their three losses.

This time, the Wolverines scored early and often, starting with Robinson's TD pass to freshman tight end Funchess on the game's opening drive. After a punt on the second drive - Michigan's only punt before Robinson left the game - Toussaint sprinted around left end on an 11-yard score to make it 14-0.

The Minutemen put together a nice drive that spanned the first and second quarters, but stalled inside the 10 and had to settle for a 25-yard field goal. On the next play from scrimmage, Robinson hit Drew Dileo for a 66-yard pass, setting up Vincent Smith's five-yard run.

Things didn't go as well for Robinson on the next offensive drive, as UMass pulled within 21-10 on Christian Birt's 32-yard interception return. The Minutemen, who added a field goal late in the half, scored six points in their first nine quarters before getting 13 in the second against the Wolverines.

That was UMass's last hurrah, though. Robinson hit former quarterback Devin Gardner for a 42-yard touchdown pass, ran for a 36-yard score, then set up another touchdown with a 49-yard rush to the Minutemen 2. That gave the Wolverines a 42-13 lead at the half.

Robinson led Michigan to touchdowns on the first two drives of the second half then spent the rest of the afternoon watching from the sidelines.

UM fan Cooper Barton (Jeff DeFran)
U of M fan Cooper Barton, 5 (WWJ/Jeff DeFran)

Cooper Barton, 5, an Oklahoma kindergarten student who wore a University of Michigan shirt to school and was asked to turn it inside-out while in school, due to the school's dress code policy that only allows team shirts from Oklahoma universities.

Barton became an instant sensation to Wolverine fans and was introduced at the 'Big House' to thunderous ovation from the Wolverine crowd.

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(TM and © Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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