Michigan looks for bounce back win over Miami (Ohio)

Wolverines blasted 31-0 in South Bend last weekend

Michigan Stadium was home to the 2014 season opener between Michigan and Appalachian State on August 30. (ClickOnDetroit.com)

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Michigan has been involved in a pair of lopsided routs in its first two games but the Wolverines hope to show their Week 1 performance was more indicative of the team's talent level than last week's drubbing at Notre Dame. Michigan couldn't have hand-picked a better opponent for a bounce-back effort than visiting Miami (Ohio), who will come to town riding an 18-game losing streak. The Wolverines' 31-0 loss to Notre Dame marked their first shutout defeat since 1984.

Quarterback Devin Gardner and wide receiver Devin Funchess played superbly in the season-opening romp over Appalachian State, hooking up for three scoring passes, but both were shaken up at the end of last week's loss, leaving coach Brady Hoke to defend the decision to have them on the field. "We're going to fight to the finish in every game," Hoke said. "Those are lessons you can teach your team, that we're going to compete until the last second of that game." The RedHawks have opened with a pair of home losses, including last week's setback to FCS opponent Eastern Kentucky, and now hit the road for the next three games.

TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network. LINE: Michigan -31

ABOUT MIAMI (OHIO) (0-2): The RedHawks dominated Eastern Kentucky but quarterback Andrew Hendrix negated a 359-yard passing performance by getting picked off three times as part of six turnovers to keep the lengthy losing streak intact. "We had a lot of self-inflicted wounds," first-year coach Chuck Martin said. "It didn't look like we weren't in complete control everywhere except the scoreboard. In the fourth quarter, they got a little tight. They're not used to winning." Hendrix has thrown for 677 yards and his top targets are David Frazier and Rokeem Williams, who each went over 100 yards receiver last week.

ABOUT MICHIGAN (1-1): After completing 13-of-14 passes in limited action in the opener, Gardner took a big step back against the Fighting Irish by committing four turnover, including three interceptions while throwing for only 189 yards. Funchess followed up his stellar Week 1 performance by hauling in a career-high nine catches for 107 yards but a running game that amassed 350 yards on the ground against Appalachian State was bottled up to the tune of 100 yards on 35 carries versus Notre Dame. Michigan's defense allowed three long TD drives in the opening half but did limit the Fighting Irish to 280 total yards.

EXTRA POINTS

1. The Wolverines are 5-0 against Miami and have won 17 straight non-conference home games.

2. Despite their recent woes, the RedHawks are the Mid-American Conference's all-time leader in wins (668), league titles (15), bowl appearances (10) and bowl wins (seven).

3. Michigan is 0-7 when rushing for 100 yards or fewer over the past three seasons.