Michigan vs. Purdue score, highlights: Wolverines grab easy 41-13 win

Michigan football returned from the two-week break filled with distractions and decimated Purdue 41-13. The Wolverines (9-0, 6-0 Big Ten) returned from the bye week to host Purdue (2-7, 1-5 Big Ten) and kept their perfect season intact.

The game kicked off at 7:30 p.m. at Michigan Stadium and will be televised on NBC. Michigan was a 32½-point favorite at home but failed to cover the spread thanks to a late Purdue touchdown.

The game came just one day after Connor Stalions, the U-M football staffer at the heart of the illegal sign-stealing allegations, resigned yesterday. No other coaches, including Jim Harbaugh, have been impacted by the NCAA investigation yet, and players said the allegations have them “locked in” for the final month of the season.

Check out the game recap from the Big House below.

Michigan vs. Purdue updates, highlights

Final: Michigan pummels Purdue for 41-13 win

Purdue put together their best drive of the game in the final four minutes. Hudson Card led the Boilermakers down the field and connected with Deion Burks with 18 seconds left for Purdue's only touchdown of the game.

Michigan moved to 9-0 on the year with another dominant win. The Wolverines ran all over the Purdue defense, finishing with 112 rushing yards and five total rushing touchdowns. Blake Corum reached the end zone three times to increase his nation-leading touchdown total and move him in a tie for second-most touchdowns in Michigan history. Semaj Morgan and Donovan Edwards each scored in the second half to solidify the rout. J.J. McCarthy had another strong performance, finishing 24-of-37 for 335 yards.

Michigan's defense had a nearly perfect night outside of the last-second touchdown. Purdue gained 249 total yards and scored six of their 13 points on short fields thanks to Michigan turnovers. Will Johnson set the tone early with an interception, the only turnover of the game. Michigan returns to action next week at Penn State.

4:30, fourth quarter: Donovan Edwards adds rushing TD, Michigan leads 41-6

Donovan Edwards finally broke through for his second touchdown of the season to get Michigan past 40 points. The drive started with a 35-yard completion from McCarthy to his favorite target, Roman Wilson, which put the Wolverines in scoring position. A few plays later, Edwards powered in on a handoff right up the middle from the I-formation to extend the lead to 35 late.

14:19, fourth quarter: Corum completes hat trick with 3rd TD, Wolverines lead 34-6

The nation's leader in rushing touchdowns can't stop finding the end zone tonight. Corum scored his third short touchdown of the night, this time after making a defender miss off the right tackle to scoot in for the three-yard touchdown. Corum is now up to 47 career touchdowns, tied with Tyrone Wheatley for the second-most in Wolverine history.

3:13, third quarter: Semaj Morgan scores on 44-yard reverse, Wolverines lead 27-6

Michigan's electric freshman wide receiver Semaj Morgan made his impact known late in the third quarter. On 3rd-and-short, Michigan sent Morgan into motion behind J.J. McCarthy towards the left sideline. McCarthy received the snap and stuffed the ball into Morgan's gut, and the true freshman did the rest. Morgan outraced the Purdue defenders to the sideline and showed off his blazing speed to win the race to the pylon.

Halftime: Purdue adds second FG, Michigan takes 20-6 lead into locker room

Michigan's defense stood strong in the red zone once again after the turnover on downs to force another Purdue field goal.

Michigan comfortably built a 20-0 lead by the middle of the second quarter thanks to another dominating performance on both sides of the ball. J.J. McCarthy was 12-of-19 for 166 yards and Blake Corum added two touchdowns to his country-leading tally. Will Johnson also recorded an interception in the first quarter to set the tone defensively.

The Wolverines were on their way to a shutout first half but two costly turnovers directly led to Purdue points. Michigan muffed a punt with five minutes left in the half then turned it over on downs three minutes later deep in their own territory. Both turnovers led to field goals but Michigan's defense did a good job standing strong in the red zone.

2:17, second quarter: Michigan turns it over on downs deep in own territory

Harbaugh decided to be aggressive and keep his offense on the field for fourth-and-one from the Wolverines' 34-yard line. Kalel Mullings got the carry right up the gut but he was stuffed short of the line to gain. It is the second consecutive drive for Purdue to start in Michigan territory.

3:52, second quarter: Purdue gets on board with field goal, Michigan leads 20-3

The muffed punt cost Michigan its shutout. Purdue moved it into the Wolverines' red zone thanks to a scramble from Hudson Card but ran into an impenetrable wall. Michigan forced three straight incompletions to stall the drive and force a 32-yard kick from Ben Freehill, which he made with ease.

5:12, second quarter: Michigan muffs punt, Purdue recovers

Purdue finally got its first break in the game late in the second quarter. After another three-and-out, Purdue lined up to punt. It was a short kick that bounced up to hit a Michigan gunner in the back of the leg, making it a live ball. Purdue pounced on it to take over in Michigan territory for the first time.

7:10, second quarter: James Turner hits second field goal to put Michigan up 20-0

Michigan had a 10-play drive that lasted nearly five minutes but could not finish off with a touchdown for the third straight drive. J.J. McCarthy made a few big throws to keep the drive alive despite penalties and sacks. The drive ran out of steam at the Purdue 13-yard line after a pair of incompletions and a two-yard run by Donovan Edwards. Turner made the 31-yard kick to make it 20-0.

4:20, first quarter: Michigan adds field goal off of interception, take 17-0 lead

Michigan couldn't get anything going on offense after the big interception. Donovan Edwards had two plays that went nowhere on first and second down and J.J. McCarthy couldn't connect on third down. James Turner hit the short 30-yard kick to extend the Wolverines lead to 17.

5:54, first quarter: Will Johnson intercepts Hudson Card deep in Purdue territory

Purdue gave the ball back to Michigan on the first play of the next drive. Michigan's defensive line generated pressure on Card, making him rush the throw and float it to no one over the middle. Johnson camped under the pass like he was fielding a punt and returned the interception to the Purdue 12-yard line.

6:05, first quarter: Blake Corum doubles lead to 14-0 with second rushing touchdown

Michigan is rolling early. After another quick stop from the defense, Michigan's offense got back to work with big passes to Roman Wilson and Tyler Morris. Corum finished the drive by diving over the line into the end zone from three yards away for his 46th career touchdown.

10:30, first quarter: Michigan takes 7-0 lead on Blake Corum TD run

It didn't take long for Michigan to pick up where they left off. The Wolverines forced an immediate Purdue punt and J.J. McCarthy quickly led them down the field for a touchdown. McCarthy connected on two deep passes to Roman Wilson and Donovan Edwards to put Michigan on the one-yard line, and Corum powered in the next play for the early lead.

Pregame notes

The last time Michigan was in action, they dismantled Michigan State 49-0 to retain control of the Paul Bunyan Trophy and move to 8-0 on the year. Through the first two months, Michigan has won games by a country-best 34.8 points per game thanks to its stifling defense and J.J. McCarthy’s Heisman-worthy play.

U-M’s dominance made them an easy choice for the College Football Playoff committee as one of the top four teams in the country in the initial playoff rankings. The Wolverines were ranked No. 3, behind Ohio State and Georgia, in the initial poll due to the lack of quality wins to this point of the year.

The success on the field has largely been overshadowed by the constantly-expanding sign-stealing scandal in the last two weeks. Stalions resigned Friday night but the NCAA is still investigating the alleged in-person scouting ring and pressure is mounting on the Big Ten from other schools to act before the NCAA completes the investigation. The investigation has also put a delay on Harbaugh’s rumored contract extension in Ann Arbor.

Michigan players are itching to get back on the field after the brief hiatus filled with speculation about the team. It is the first matchup with Purdue, who is struggling under first-year coach Ryan Walters, since the Big Ten championship last year, which the Wolverines won 43-22. Walters said earlier in the week that Purdue had proof that Stalions was buying tickets to their games and people filmed from those seats.

The Boilermakers enter the game averaging 21.9 points per game, seventh-best in the Big Ten, but rank last in points allowed, giving up an average of 30 points per game.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan-Purdue score, game highlights from Wolverines' 41-13 victory