J.J. McCarthy walked alongside his teammates in a single-file formation as each player raised an arm over their head, letting suspended Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh know his players were thinking about him.
“That was definitely a tribute to coach Harbaugh,” McCarthy said after throwing three touchdown passes to Roman Wilson to help the second-ranked Wolverines rout East Carolina 30-3 on Saturday. “That was pretty cool to do that.”
Michigan (1-0) was without Harbaugh, who began serving a school-imposed, three-game suspension for breaking NCAA rules.
Noah Kim threw for 279 yards and two touchdowns, helping Michigan State pull away to beat Central Michigan 31-7 on Friday night.
The Spartans (1-0) started slow in Kim’s first start due to errant throws and dropped passes before taking control with accurate passes, clutch catches and stingy defense.
“I just think it was jitters,” Michigan State coach Mel Tucker said.
