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Michigan Routs Oregon State, 35-7, In Harbaugh's Home Debut

LARRY LAGE, AP Sports Writer

ANN ARBOR (AP) — Jim Harbaugh was a winner in his home debut as Michigan's coach thanks in large part to De'Veon Smith's 126 yards rushing and three touchdowns that lifted the Wolverines to a 35-7 victory over Oregon State on Saturday.

Michigan (1-1) got some breaks in the pivotal second quarter and made the most of them against the Beavers (1-1), who gave up 35 straight points after scoring first.

Smith gave the Wolverines a running game they lacked in last week's loss to Utah. Defensively, they put pressure on Oregon State's quarterbacks and didn't give up a lot on the ground — much to the delight of nearly 110,000 fans who filled the Big House with hopes the sagging program's new leader will make a difference.

Perhaps fittingly, Smith wears No. 4 just as Harbaugh did as Michigan's quarterback in the mid-1980s. Harbaugh, meanwhile, wore a navy blue cap with a maize block M much like the one his coach and mentor, Bo Schembechler, wore on the same sideline.

Harbaugh was quietly pacing the sideline for much of the first quarter and early in the second, rarely saying anything to players, coaches or officials.

That changed when he saw a penalty he didn't like. The game changed, too.

Michigan's Jeremy Clark was called for roughing the kicker, setting off Harbaugh.

The former San Francisco 49ers coach shouted at officials, flailed his arms and threw laminated sheets behind him, apparently thinking Nick Porebski lost his protection as a punter while rolling to his right before kicking the ball.

A little later, Oregon State coach Gary Andersen made a curious decision by choosing to punt instead of going for it on a fourth-and-3 from the Michigan 39 while trailing 10-7. Then, a snap from midfield sailed over Porebski's head and bounced back to the Beavers 3.

Smith scored his second TD with 12 seconds left in the first half to put Michigan up 17-7 and the Beavers never got back in the game.

Jake Rudock, who threw three interceptions in his Michigan debut, was 18 of 26 for 180 yards with an interception.

Oregon State's Seth Collins completed nine of 16 passes for 79 yards and a score and ran for 28 yards with many of his positive gains coming early in the game. He was replaced by Marcus McMaryion late in the third quarter, but he failed to provide a spark. Collins got another chance to play early in the fourth quarter, but the game was essentially over.

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AP college football website: collegefootball.ap.org

 

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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