EAST LANSING — Michigan football was already up by four touchdowns when Mike Sainristil intercepted Katin Houser's pass on the right sideline, tip-toed the boundary and followed a convoy of blockers up the field for a 72-yard pick-six.

Still, that didn't stop the fifth-year senior from cocking his head back, placing his hands on his hips, and striking the Paul Bunyan pose in front of what few patrons remained in the away student section. Meanwhile, on the far side of the field, Michigan State offensive lineman Spencer Brown was flagged for unnecessary roughness and ejected from the game as a chorus of "Go Blue" chants echoed through the stands.

No snapshot better captured the night. A night in which was all Wolverines from start to finish, as U-M completed a 49-0 drubbing of MSU, U-M's first shutout in the rivalry since 2000 and the largest margin of victory since U-M shut out MSU, 55-0, in 1947.

J.J. McCarthy, who entered the Heisman Trophy conversation earlier this month, only helped his case with perhaps the best performance of his career. He completed 21 of 27 passes for 287 yards, and a career-high four touchdowns before leaving the game in the third quarter.

The main beneficiaries were his tight ends. AJ Barner had a new career-best game in the maize and blue, pacing the unit with eight receptions for 99 yards and a score while Colston Loveland had the first multi-score game of his career, finishing with four grabs for 79 yards and two touchdowns.

Roman Wilson, who entered the game with the national lead with nine touchdown receptions, caught two passes for 50 yards and another score, while Blake Corum ran 15 times for 59 yards and scored once to add to his nation-leading rushing TD total, which now sits at 11.

Meanwhile, U-M's top-ranked defense held strong. Sainristil's pick-six was the highlight of the night, but the unit as a whole was nearly flawless. Junior Colson had a team-high 11 tackles, the unit finished with nine tackles for loss, seven quarterback hurries and three sacks.

Critical plays early

Michigan State entered with the nation's No. 3 third-down defense (24.7% conversions allowed) while Michigan entered with the No. 4 third-down offense (55.4%), so something was bound to give. It was MSU.

Facing third-and-14 on the game's opening series, McCarthy stayed clean in the pocket and sauntered right to buy time before he threw a laser 21 yards over the middle of the field for a deep conversion to Barner. On U-M's next third down, McCarthy found Wilson on a crossing route for a gain of 25, which set up the game's opening score.

When MSU got the ball for its first chance, U-M again won the game of inches.

MSU went for it on fourth-and-2 at midfield, and Nathan Carter's run up the middle was stuffed by Colson and Sainristil. Backed up against a short field it looked like MSU's defense would force a punt, but on third-and-13, McCarthy completed a swing pass to Donovan Edwards, who followed his blockers for a 14-yard gain to move the sticks.

On the next snap, McCarthy found Wilson for a 25-yard touchdown to put Michigan up two scores.

The Wolverines were far from done. McCarthy found Colston Loveland on third-and-8 to end the first quarter and extend the drive. A few plays later, McCarthy got MSU to jump offsides and connected with his tight end on the free play for a 22-yard score which put U-M up 21-0.

Michigan went 5-for-5 on third down attempts over its first three drives, which resulted in three touchdowns and 206 yards of offense. MSU's first three drives ended in two punts, one turnover on downs, and netted 42 total yards.

Tight ends mismatch

Michigan had a clear game plan in the passing attack — get the ball to the tight ends.

It worked, as both Loveland and Barner enjoyed career days.

It started on U-M's first third-and-long when Barner caught a deep crossing route and held on despite taking a shot over the middle for a gain of 21.

He added another 15-yard grab on the next drive before he hauled in six more passes in the first half which included two 11-yard grabs and a 22-yarder as he ended the first half with a career-high seven catches for 88 yards, which nearly matched his season totals (nine catches for 93 yards) in just two quarters.

Loveland first got involved on a 15-yard catch and run on third-and-8 to end the first quarter. Then, after McCarthy took a sack to face second-and-18, U-M's quarterback drew MSU's defense offsides to earn a free play and he found Loveland who boxed out MSU's DB Angelo Grose in the end zone for a 22-yard score.

Two throws later, McCarthy again found Loveland for a 22-yard touchdown, when he ran a go-route up the left seam past Cal Haladay.

Pour it on

The Wolverines' offense didn't touch the ball for the first seven minutes of the second half, but by the time it did, its 35-0 lead was even larger than before.

Corum took Michigan's first run of the second half off the left side for a gain of 10. Not only was he tackled late out of bounds, but MSU was flagged for a separate personal foul which moved the ball deep into MSU territory.

After another Corum run — which again ended with an MSU personal foul — McCarthy found Barner on an 11-yard play-action touchdown pass to go up 42-0 with 6:44 in the third quarter. The first team offense would leave the field from there as Michigan would milk the clock away.

Reserve QB Alex Orji added a late touchdown on a 6-yard scramble in the final 30 seconds to make it 49-0.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football dominates Michigan State from start in 49-0 win