Wolverines pull away to bury Minnesota

Mario Manningham had five receptions for a career-high 162 yards and a victory-sealing touchdown early in the fourth quarter, helping No. 19 Michigan pull away with a 34-10 win over Minnesota on Saturday.

The Wolverines (7-2, 5-0 Big Ten) have won seven straight since opening the season being stunned by second-tier Appalachian State and getting routed by Oregon.

The Golden Gophers (1-8, 0-5) have lost eight of their first nine games for the first time in 15 years. They are in danger of winning only one game for the first time since 1983.

Without star seniors Mike Hart and Chad Henne, Michigan trailed 10-0 early in the second quarter and didn't lead by more than a score until late in the third.

Hart has missed 2 1/2 games since appearing to injure his right ankle. Henne was on and off the field in last week's win at Illinois with an unknown injury.

Michigan, which won the Little Brown Jug for the second year in a row after losing it at home in 2005, might've kept both off the field against the lowly Gophers to get them healthier for the final three games of the regular season: at Michigan State, at Wisconsin and against top-ranked Ohio State at home.

Brandon Minor and Carlos Brown — Hart's backups — each ran for more than 100 yards and combined for three scores.

Brown replaced Hart in the starting lineup, but after Brown fumbled on Michigan's second drive, Minor became Michigan's featured running back.

Minor had 21 carries for a career-high 157 yards and his TD with 2:49 left in first half put Michigan ahead 13-10 for its first lead.

Before Brown scored on an 85-yard run for the final score midway through the fourth quarter, he had about half as many carries and one-third as many yards rushing as Minor. Brown finished with 132 yards and two TDs on 13 carries.

Freshman Ryan Mallett started for Henne and made up for a fumble, many poor throws and decisions with some perfect throws deep down the field to Manningham.

Mallett hit Manningham in stride on a 48-yard pass that set up Brown's TD late in the third. He connected with Manningham on a 40-yard score early in the fourth, giving Michigan a 27-10 lead, one play after a QB sneak was good for a first down on fourth-and-1.

Mallett was 11-for-20 for 233 yards, a score and one fumble that Dom Barber returned 46 yards for a TD that gave the Gophers a surprising 10-0 lead early in the second quarter.

The Gophers struggled to do anything on offense after that point while their defense failed to keep Michigan's offense quiet as it did early in the game.

Minnesota's freshman quarterback, Adam Weber, completed 14 of 30 passes for just 99 yards and a fumble. Duane Bennett ran for 106 yards, becoming the first Gopher freshman to surpass the mark since Laurence Maroney in 2003.