Blake Corum had himself a night in Indianapolis.
With his second touchdown of the night – a bruiting 6-yard run up the middle after Mike Sainristil forced a fumble on Iowa’s Deacon Hill and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty by a Hawkeyes assistant coach – Corum made program history.
He now holds the modern Michigan record for total career touchdowns scored with 57, surpassing former running back Anthony Thomas at 56. He is tied with Thomas for most career rushing scores at 55.
“You know, the greats, that’s something I wanted to do when I came here,” Corum said after the game. “Obviously I wanted to be a great football player, but I just wanted to honestly just leave an impact on and off the field, just be a great person. I feel like I’ve done that.”
Corum finished the night with 52 yards on the ground and 10 through the air.
“Yeah, there’s nothing I don’t think Blake can’t do,” head coach Jim Harbaugh said. “No matter what people tell you you can’t do, you just go back and think of all the things that you have done to get you this far.”
It was also Corum’s 24th touchdown on the season, the most since Melvin Gordon in 2014.
Morgan, Turner set records of their own
During the first quarter on Saturday, wide receiver Semaj Morgan made a little bit of history.
Semaj Morgan set a Big Ten Championship game record with an 87-yard punt return, setting up Michigan’s first of two touchdown runs in Indianapolis. (Tony Patroske/The Pit Media)
After forcing Iowa to punt at their own 40-yard line, Morgan pulled it in and took off, dashing 87 yards all the way down to the Iowa 5 with 1:46 left on the clock. This set a Big Ten Championship record for punt returns.
“I was just looking up at it,” Morgan said. “I just had to go to the open space and keep going.”
Corum carried the ball on the following two plays – a 3-yard run up the middle followed by a 2-yard score to the left.
“Semaj is just a dog,” Khris Jenkins said of the punt return. “We were talking about who’s going to make that big time play in this big time game. He was the first one to jump on that opportunity.
Semaj is a dog. His work ethic is unbelievable and he’s going to keep climbing from here.”
James Turner’s 50-yard field goal also set a title game record. It was his fourth field goal on the night on as many tries. His others were 35 yards, 36 yards and 46 yards.
Johnson’s season high
The Iowa defense did plenty to stifle Michigan offensively, but this in turn allowed other names to shine.
Cornelius Johnson was one such name. He hauled in a season-high nine receptions for a game-leading 64 yards to help the Wolverines to another Big Ten title.
“We were able to connect,” Johnson said through hiccups. “You got to stay ready, nothing crazy. And hey, we’re Big Ten champs!”
Injury report
Michigan had an early scare during the Big Ten Championship on Saturday night.
Near the end of the Wolverines’ first drive, offensive lineman Drake Nugent appeared to be injured on a one-yard rushing play by Corum at the Iowa 18. After converting a 4th-and-7 earlier in the drive, Michigan faced a 4th-and-1 after the play, opting to kick a field goal instead.
James Turner knocked it through the uprights, giving Michigan an early 3-0 lead while eating just over six minutes off the game clock.
After the loss of fellow lineman Zak Zinter a week ago against Ohio State, fans and the team alike were fearing the worse. Fortunately, Nugent returned later in the quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Iowa’s Kyler Fisher was escorted off the field with 5:52 remaining. He entered the sideline tent. He returned to the field a few moments later.
Reporter David McDonald contributed to this article.
