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ANN ARBOR, Michigan (Ticker) -- Michigan once again did its part to set back another Heisman Trophy campaign. The fourth-ranked Wolverines shut down Drew Brees, who was victimized by several dropped passes, and for the second straight week recorded a huge Big Ten Conference victory, pounding No. 10 Purdue, 38-12. Michigan (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) held Wiscosin's Ron Dayne to 88 yards -- zero in the second half -- in a 21-16 victory a week ago and frustrated Brees, who completed just 20-of-49 passes for 293 yards with one touchdown and one interception. "It was missed opportunities, missed assignments and miscommunication," said Brees. "We had chances, we just didn't do anything with them. You'll see a different team next week. We'll execute better. On third downs guys will want the ball coming their way." "I didn't think he was pressing so much as he had so many dropped passes," Purdue coach Joe Tiller said. "If that was me, I'd sue for lack of support. Drew made only two bad decisions. One on an interception. We weren't in sync." Chris Daniels was Purdue's leading receiver, catching seven passes for 59 yards, but he was not pleased the offense's execution. "There's no excuse for dropping the balls," Daniels said. "I didn't see Michigan dropping any passes, we just didn't make the plays. Drew did an excellent job getting the ball where it was supposed to go. (We) receivers didn't do our jobs." The Wolverines used extra defensive backs in their defensive scheme but still were able to sack Brees twice after the junior had been caught only once in the season's first four games. "Maybe we (the secondary) won't be suspect any more," said Michigan defensive back Todd Howard. "Everybody seems to doubt us, so we call ourselves 'The Suspects.' This was a very important step for us, to play a quarterback like this and their great receivers." "We wanted to keep things going with our defensive reads and I think we had him rattled," added Michigan linebacker James Hall. Tom Brady threw two touchdown passes and Anthony Thomas ran for two scores, including a five-yard TD burst up the middle with 4:14 to play in the third quarter that capped a key 10-play, 75-yard drive and push Michigan's lead to 28-12. Thomas carried 23 times for 116 yards, for Michigan, which totaled 489 yards of offense. "What I was hoping for was our best game on both sides of the ball and I thought we did that," said Michigan coach Lloyd Carr. "Purdue had a temendous gameplan in terms of their substitution pattern, the way they ran guys in three or four at a time." The Wolverines are off to a 5-0 start for the third time in five seasons. They won five straight to begin the 1995 season and went undefeated en route to a share of the 1997 national championship. It was the first game of a nightmarish October slate for the Boilermakers (4-1, 1-1), who in the next three games face No. 9 Ohio State, No. 14 Michigan State and second-ranked Penn State. Purdue trailed 21-6 at halftime before getting back into the game 6 1/2 minutes into the second quarter as Brees' floater to the left went just beyond the reach of a Wolverine defensive back and into the hands of Vinny Sutherland, who sprinted 66 yards for a score. The Boilmermakers went for two points after Michigan was flagged for offsides on the extra point kick but Brees' pass was incomplete, leaving a 21-12 deficit. Michigan proceeded to feed Thomas on the ensuing possesion, taking over four minutes off the clock before the 6-2, 221-pound junior barrelled his way for a score that gave back the Wolverines control. A 10-yard TD run by freshman B.J. Askew and Jeff Del Verne's 24-yard field goal in the fourth quarter completed the scoring. The 38 points scored by the Wolverines were their most in a Big Ten game since they put up 45 against Michigan State on November 2, 1996. Purdue was held to its lowest total in the three-year tenture of Joe Tiller. Purdue's Travis Dorsch opened the scoring with a 28-yard field goal 2:40 into the contest before a Wolverine explosion that was five years in the making. Brady connected with David Terrell on a five-yard score just over two minutes later and found Marcus Knight for a 17-yard score with six minutes left in the first. Thomas' one-yard TD plunge eight minutes into the second period made it 21-3. Brady's hookup with Terrell was Michigan's first touchdown against Purdue sincew 1994. The Wolverines won the 1995 meeting, 5-0, and suffered a 9-3 loss to the Boilmermakers in 1996. Brady was 15-of-25 for 250 yards and was not picked off. Knight caught five passes for a carer-high 136 yards. "They (Purdue's defense) posed a challenge for us to keep up with them and our defense shut them down again," Brady said. "We showed what we can do when we execute. At halftime we had that 15- or 16-point lead and I said, 'If Purdue scores, we have to match them.' If we do that it wears on their offense." Dorsch connected again from 31 yards 21 seconds before halftime, bringing the Boilermakers within 21-6. But they could not recover and dropped their 14th straight game at Michigan Stadium. Michigan leads the all-time series, 36-11. "I was unimpressed with the way we played protecting the ball," added Tiller. "I honestly thought we could run the ball, but after a while we became a one-dimensional team."
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