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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) -- John Navarre said he was nervous, yet he
didn't let it show.
Navarre, a redshirt freshman starting in place of injured Drew
Henson, tied a school record with four touchdown passes to lead Michigan (No. 4 ESPN/USA Today, No. 6 AP) to a 42-7 victory over Bowling Green in the opener for
both teams Saturday.
|  | | Michigan's offense didn't skip a beat Saturday behind redshirt freshman John Navarre. |
"I was very surprised," said Navarre, who had never taken a
snap in a college game. "That's just how it worked out."
Navarre completed 15 of 19 passes for 265 yards before being
relieved midway through the fourth quarter. He is the 11th player
in Michigan history to toss four TD passes in a game. The last was
Tom Brady in a win over Alabama in last season's Orange Bowl.
"At first, I was a little nervous," Navarre said. "I wanted
to run the right assignments and the right plays. But, like in high
school or any other football game, you start getting in a grove
after the first series."
The 6-foot-6, 242-pounder, tossed a 41-yard touchdown pass to
David Terrell in the first quarter. He hooked up with Ronald
Bellamy for scoring plays of 19 and 11 yards in the second quarter
as the Wolverines -- scoring on three straight possessions -- took a
21-0 lead at halftime. Navarre had a 4-yard scoring pass to
Marquise Walker in the fourth.
"Their quarterback was outstanding today, especially for it
being his first start," Bowling Green coach Gary Blackney said.
"He played with poise and confidence. He stood in there and did a
lot of nice things for them."
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Big Blue Debuts
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Here's how some recent Michigan quarterbacks did in their first starts for the Wolverines.
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Tom Brady
vs. Notre Dame (Sept. 5, 1998)
23 for 36, 267 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT.
Result: Lost, 36-20
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Brian Griese
vs. Miami, Ohio (Sept. 9, 1995)
14 for 24, 192 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT.
Result: Won, 38-19
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Scott Dreisbach
vs. Virginia (Aug. 26, 1995)
27 for 52, 372 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs.
Result: Won, 18-17
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Todd Collins
vs. Oklahoma St. (Sept. 19, 1992)
29 for 42, 285 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT.
Result: Won, 35-6
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Elvis Grbac
vs. UCLA (Sept. 23, 1989)
13 for 23, 130 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT.
Result: Won, 24-23
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Jim Harbaugh
vs. Miami, Fla. (Sept. 8, 1984)
11 for 21, 163 yards, 0 TD, 2 INTs.
Result: Won, 22-14
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Anthony Thomas, who turned in his 14th career 100-yard rushing
game, rambled for 108 yards on 23 carries, including a 28-yard TD
run. Freshman Chris Perry had 103 yards on 10 carries, with a
42-yard TD run.
In all, Michigan's offense rolled up 554 yards, the most for the
Wolverines since a 524-yard game at Hawaii in 1998.
"Offensively, we blocked pretty well up front," Michigan coach
Lloyd Carr said. "The backs ran hard. John Navarre passed the
test."
Andy Sahm completed 16 of 36 passes for 189 yards for Bowling
Green, including a 24-yard touchdown pass to Andre Pinchem with
5:21 remaining.
The Wolverines, who were 10-2 last season, also got solid play
from a young defense that lost several players to graduation and
injuries. The Falcons, 5-6 in the Mid-American Conference last
season, were held to 271 total yards, 58 on the ground.
"The Michigan defense played very well," Sahm said. "They
didn't try to fool us. They came right at us and played well."
Henson, the two-sport star who spends his summers playing
professional baseball, broke a bone in his right foot Aug. 23. That
moved Navarre from backup to starter. Still, if he was nervous, it
didn't show.
Part of that was by design.
Navarre's first four passes were short swing passes with little
chance of an interception. His first downfield pass went to
Terrell, who caught it between two defenders in the end zone.
Early in the second quarter, Navarre tossed a short pass to
fullback B.J. Askew, who turned it into a 58-yard play with a
spectacular run. Four plays later, Navarre -- his confidence
building -- threw the first scoring pass to Bellamy, completing a
90-yard drive in five plays.
On their next possession, the Wolverines went 42 yards in four
plays, with Navarre hitting Bellamy for 23 yards to open the drive.
Bellamy made a great leaping catch over a defender in the corner of
the end zone for the 11-yard touchdown play.
"I was just hoping he would throw the ball up and I would try
to make a play," Bellamy said. "At first, I thought John was just
throwing the ball away. I just wanted an opportunity to make a
play."
The scoring toss to Walker, on the second snap of the fourth
quarter, capped an 80-yard, 12-play drive.
Thomas' touchdown made it 28-0 with 12:41 remaining, but the
Falcons recovered a fumble on their own 10 and launched a 10-play
drive for their only score.
Perry scored with 3:02 left.
"Our defense never got a chance to rest," Blackney said, "and
that was the real problem."
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ALSO SEE
College Football Scoreboard
Bowling Green Clubhouse
Michigan Clubhouse
AUDIO/VIDEO
 John Navarre airs it out 41 yards to David Terrell, who scores.
avi: 923 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Anthony Thomas goes 28 yards for the touchdown.
avi: 658 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Ronald Bellamy out leaps his defender for the touchdown.
avi: 646 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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