Wheatley Runs for 148 Yards, Helps Michigan Win, 45-23

Tyrone Wheatley moved into second place on Michigan’s career rushing list with 148 yards, leading a ground game that accumulated 307 yards as No. 20 Michigan defeated Purdue, 45-23, Saturday.

Wheatley scored on runs of seven and one yard as Michigan gained 498 yards in its highest-scoring game of the year.

“If you can’t play defense in this league, you can’t win and we’re not stopping anyone,” said Purdue Coach Jim Colletto, whose team has yielded nearly 483 yards per game this season. “We can’t get lined up right, we can’t tackle. On defense we are not good at all.”

Wheatley gained 34 yards on his first rush and went on to pass Butch Woolfolk in bringing his career total to 3,916 with the 20th 100-yard game of his career. Jamie Morris set the school record of 4,393 yards between 1984 and 1987.

“It kind of set the tempo for everybody,” Wheatley said of his first run. “Everything just clicked for me.”

Michigan, 6-3 overall and 4-2 in the Big Ten, put together two 72-yard touchdown drives to take a 14-7 lead after one quarter and went on to its eighth consecutive victory over the Boilermakers (4-3-2, 2-2-2).

The Wolverines consistently threw underneath the Purdue defense with Todd Collins completing 15 of 18 for 191 yards and two touchdowns.

“Everything seemed to be working well,” said Collins, who completed passes to eight receivers. “We got off on the right foot from the beginning and it just kept on going.”