ANN ARBOR, Michigan (Ticker) -- Steve Breaston is bringing plenty of excitement to the "Big House."
Breaston returned a punt 68 yards for a touchdown and also had a reception for a score as 10th-ranked Michigan coasted to a 31-17 victory over Indiana in the Big Ten Conference opener for both teams.
A freshman wide receiver, Breaston not only is a threat in the passing game but also has established himself as one of the nation's top punt returners.
Breaston's return midway through the first quarter opened the scoring and his 20-yard TD reception with 2:03 left in the opening half gave the Wolverines (4-1, 1-0 Big Ten) a 24-0 advantage.
In the Wolverines' 38-0 rout of Notre Dame here in September, Breaston returned a punt 55 yards to set up a touchdown. He also had two TD catches in last week's loss at Oregon.
"He wants to be the best and he has an attitude that could allow him to reach his potential," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. "Practice is when you develop and he calls all out in practice every day. He's a very coachable kid. I don't want to put a lot of pressure on him because he's just starting out."
Breaston also said he's taking his success in stride.
"I don't feel any great pressure. I'm just trying to do my job," Breaston said.
In the loss at Oregon, the Wolverines' special teams badly struggled. They had a punt blocked for a touchdown, a punt returned for a touchdown, a botched fake punt that set up a score and two missed extra points.
John Navarre passed for two touchdowns and Chris Perry rushed for 112 yards for the Wolverines, who cruised despite committing four first-half turnovers. Perry, a Heisman Trophy candidate, lost two fumbles in the opening half.
"When you turn the ball over four times in the first quarter and a half, you can't be pleased with that," Carr said. "We turn the ball over far too many times but our objective is to win and play well."
Jeremy Lesueur also returned an interception 60 yards for a touchdown for Michigan, which won its 22nd straight Big Ten opener.
Buster Larkins brought back a blocked punt 20 yards for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter for the Hoosiers (1-4, 0-1), who have lost the last 12 meetings against the Wolverines.
Indiana has lost its three road games by a combined 103-40.
"In the first half, the offense was not taking advantage of good fortune," Indiana coach Gerry DiNardo said. "It's the same story we had last week. Michigan is not a turnover team. We had our chances but you can't come into Michigan and hope for an upset if you don't do anything on offense."
After Breaston opened the scoring with his return 6:27 into the contest, the Wolverines received a huge defensive play just over four minutes later when Lesueur stepped in front of pass by Matt LoVecchio and returned the ball 60 yards for a touchdown, making it 14-0.
"I got protected well and then I just tried to make something happen," Breaston said. "My first thing is to focus on the ball and made sure it's secure. So that's all I was concentrating on."
LoVecchio struggled the entire afternoon and completed 16-of-33 passes for 107 yards and two interceptions.
"We just couldn't move the ball," LoVecchio said. "We weren't together and we couldn't create any momentum. All we can do is go back to work tomorrow."
Garret Rivas kicked a 44-yard field goal early in the second quarter and Navarre's 20-yard TD to Breaston with 2:03 left in the half provided a 24-0 advantage.
"He's (Breaston) a playmaker and our philosophy here at Michigan is to put the playmakers in a position to get the ball," Navarre said.
Navarre completed 15-of-24 passes for 161 yards. The senior surpassed 7,000 career passing yards.
One of the few bright spots for the Hoosiers was a 19-play, 72-yard drive that lasted nearly nine minutes to open the third quarter. The drive resulted in a 26-yard field goal by Bryan Robertson.
Navarre found Braylon Edwards with a 15-yard touchdown pass with 9:05 remaining in the fourth quarter extending the Wolverines' lead to 31-3.
With the game out of reach, Larkins scored on his return with 4:16 left and Brian Lewis ran three yards for a TD in the closing seconds.
Lewis finished with 70 yards on 21 carries.
