Michigan cruises by UConn in opener

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP)

Denard Robinson accounted for 383 yards and two touchdowns in his first game as Michigan's starting quarterback, leading the Wolverines to a 30-10 win over Connecticut on Saturday at the bigger than ever Big House.

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Robinson ran for 197 yards — setting a school record for a QB — and a TD. He was 19 of 22 for 186 yards and a score.

The Wolverines and embattled coach Rich Rodriguez desperately needed a victory to start his third season in Ann Arbor. Michigan lost 16 games in his first two seasons with college football's winningest team and violated major NCAA rules for the first time in program history.

The opener could not have gone much better as the Wolverines dominated an experienced UConn team considered a contender in the Big East.

The Huskies trailed by 21 early and had a chance to pull within a TD late in the third quarter, but USC transfer D.J. Shoemate fumbled at the Michigan 3 and the Wolverines were never threatened again.

A football attendance record crowd of 113,090 were able to enjoy a relatively relaxing day at the new-look Big House.

The previous mark was 112,118 - also at Michigan Stadium - in 2003, the last time the Wolverines beat rival Ohio State.

A video tribute — with Keith Jackson's booming voice piped in — ribbon-cutting ceremony and a miraculous walk by Brock Mealer, whose brother is a Michigan offensive lineman, got the crowd fired up before kickoff.

Doctors had told Mealer he wouldn't be able to walk again after he and his brother were involved in a car accident on Christmas Eve in 2007 that killed their father and Elliott Mealer's girlfriend.

Steadying himself with crutches, Brock Mealer slowly made his way onto the field with his brother at his side and even stopped to grab the big Go Blue banner the team runs under as they enter the field.

When the game began, the Wolverines didn't let their fans down.

Michigan's defense, which was a huge problem last season, forced the Huskies to go three-and-out on the opening drive.

Robinson beat out last year's starter, Tate Forcier, and highly touted freshman Devin Gardner, for the right to take the first snap and quickly showed why.

The player known as ''Shoelace'' because he doesn't lace up his cleats displayed his blazing speed then proved he could throw, too, after failing to instill faith in his arm last year as a freshman. He threw sharp passes in the flat, over the middle and deep downfield and displayed an ability to pump fake one way and throw another.

Robinson ran the ball 29 times — usually by design — and broke Steve Smith's QB rushing record of 147 yards, set in 1983 at Minnesota.

Vincent Smith, coming off knee surgery, scored his first of two touchdowns on a 12-yard run on the opening possession and on an 11-yard pass early in the fourth to make it 30-10.

Robinson had a 32-yard TD run late in the first quarter and handed off to Michael Shaw for a scoring run early in the second that put the Wolverines ahead 21-0.

UConn bounced back with a field goal and Jordan Todman's TD run to pull within 21-10 at halftime.

Brendan Gibbons made his first field goal to give the Wolverines a 14-point cushion midway through the third.

Michigan's defense — which also blocked a field goal — forced Shoemate to fumble late in the quarter in one of the pivotal plays of the game.

Notre Dame transfer Zach Frazer was 18 of 37 for 205 yards. Todman ran for 105 yards.