ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Retreating from the edge yet?



Michigan followed up its disappointing loss to Notre Dame with a clean, decisive 49-3 victory against Western Michigan on Saturday. Shea Patterson looked good — at times really good — while Karan Higdon slashed through the defense and the defense contained WMU’s passing attack with no problem.



Here’s a closer look:



1. Here’s how this offense is different from last season …



For the first time in 364 days, a Michigan quarterback threw a touchdown pass to a wide receiver. Actually, it happened three times. With Patterson in command (and this week with a little more time to throw), we saw that, yes, this Michigan offense can be different and better than last year’s unit.



Patterson went 12-for-17 for 125 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. His game felt even better than the numbers suggest. That’s because Patterson made a wide...