In his first college game, Michigan's John Navarre goes 15-of-19 for 265 yards and four TDs.(AP)

Navarre completed 15 of 19 passes for 265 yards before being relieved midway through the fourth quarter. He is the 11th player in Michigan history to toss four TD passes in a game. The last was Tom Brady in a win over Alabama in last season's Orange Bowl.

"At first, I was a little nervous," Navarre said. "I wanted to run the right assignments and the right plays. But, like in high school or any other football game, you start getting in a grove after the first series."

The 6-foot-6, 242-pounder, tossed a 41-yard touchdown pass to David Terrell in the first quarter. He hooked up with Ronald Bellamy for scoring plays of 19 and 11 yards in the second quarter as the Wolverines -- scoring on three straight possessions -- took a 21-0 lead at halftime. Navarre had a 4-yard scoring pass to Marquise Walker in the fourth.

"Their quarterback was outstanding today, especially for it being his first start," Bowling Green coach Gary Blackney said. "He played with poise and confidence. He stood in there and did a lot of nice things for them."

Anthony Thomas, who turned in his 14th career 100-yard rushing game, rambled for 108 yards on 23 carries, including a 28-yard TD run. Freshman Chris Perry had 103 yards on 10 carries, with a 42-yard TD run.

In all, Michigan's offense rolled up 554 yards, the most for the Wolverines since a 524-yard game at Hawaii in 1998.

"Offensively, we blocked pretty well up front," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. "The backs ran hard. John Navarre passed the test."

Andy Sahm completed 16 of 36 passes for 189 yards for Bowling Green, including a 24-yard touchdown pass to Andre Pinchem with 5:21 remaining.

The Wolverines, who were 10-2 last season, also got solid play from a young defense that lost several players to graduation and injuries. The Falcons, 5-6 in the Mid-American Conference last season, were held to 271 total yards, 58 on the ground.

"The Michigan defense played very well," Sahm said. "They didn't try to fool us. They came right at us and played well."

Henson, the two-sport star who spends his summers playing professional baseball, broke a bone in his right foot Aug. 23. That moved Navarre from backup to starter. Still, if he was nervous, it didn't show.

Part of that was by design.

Navarre's first four passes were short swing passes with little chance of an interception. His first downfield pass went to Terrell, who caught it between two defenders in the end zone.

Early in the second quarter, Navarre tossed a short pass to fullback B.J. Askew, who turned it into a 58-yard play with a spectacular run. Four plays later, Navarre -- his confidence building -- threw the first scoring pass to Bellamy, completing a 90-yard drive in five plays.

On their next possession, the Wolverines went 42 yards in four plays, with Navarre hitting Bellamy for 23 yards to open the drive. Bellamy made a great leaping catch over a defender in the corner of the end zone for the 11-yard touchdown play.

"I was just hoping he would throw the ball up and I would try to make a play," Bellamy said. "At first, I thought John was just throwing the ball away. I just wanted an opportunity to make a play."

The scoring toss to Walker, on the second snap of the fourth quarter, capped an 80-yard, 12-play drive.

Thomas' touchdown made it 28-0 with 12:41 remaining, but the Falcons recovered a fumble on their own 10 and launched a 10-play drive for their only score.

Perry scored with 3:02 left.

"Our defense never got a chance to rest," Blackney said, "and that was the real problem."