ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Michigan won nine games last season with stars Drew Henson, David Terrell and Anthony Thomas.

The 12th-ranked Wolverines beat Miami of Ohio 31-13 Saturday in the opener for both teams as their new-look offense sputtered with several new players.

Marquise Walker reels in one of his three catches in Saturday's opening victory.(AP)

"People have got to get over the fact that we lost a lot of guys," said B.J. Askew, who had 20 carries for 94 yards and a touchdown. "Everyone is talking about the guys that left when they talk about Michigan. We've got to change that."

John Navarre completed 19 of 32 passes for 205 yards and a touchdown. Calvin Bell caught five passes for 26 yards and Marquise Walker had three receptions for 44 yards.

"We've got some things to work on," Navarre said. "And I've got some things to work on."

The Wolverines were unable to add to their 17-6 halftime lead until early in the fourth quarter.

Jeremy LeSueur intercepted a pass in Michigan's end zone and on the ensuing possession, Bell scored on a 12-yard reverse with 10:49 left to give Michigan a 24-6 lead.

"I'm disappointed in some things," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. "But I'm not disappointed in this team and I'm not disappointed with this win."

Michigan, already the victory leader in Division I-A football, won its 806th game to tie Yale for the most wins in any division.

Michigan will face a tougher test Saturday at No. 15 Washington.

"I wouldn't have wanted to play Washington today," Carr said. "With their speed and ability, I'm glad that we got a game under our belt."

Miami redshirt freshman Ben Roethlisberger was 18-of-35 for 193 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions.

"I don't think I played particularly well," Roethlisberger said. "You can't make the stupid mistakes I made."

Jason Branch caught four passes for 66 yards and Luke Clemens ran for 63 yards on 14 carries.

Carl Diggs intercepted Roethlisberger's second pass and returned it 11 yards to Miami's 41 to set up Michigan's first touchdown.

On the next play, Navarre connected with Walker for a 39-yard pass. On a third-and-goal, Askew dove over a pile for a touchdown, although replays appeared to show him fumbling before reaching the goal line.

Michigan took a 10-0 lead late in the first quarter on Hayden Epstein's 22-yard field goal.

The RedHawks cut their deficit to 10-6 early in the second. On a third-and-5 at Michigan's 21, Roethlisberger bobbled a long snap with one hand, scrambled to his right and found Eddie Tillitz wide open in the end zone. Roethlisberger kept the drive alive three plays earlier with a 30-yard pass on a third down. The extra-point was blocked.

A gamble led to Michigan's 17-6 halftime lead.

After gaining only 1 yard on three plays, the Wolverines scored on a play-action pass -- from Navarre to Bennie Joppru -- on a fourth-and-goal at Miami's 1 with 24 seconds left.

The RedHawks had chances to cut into Michigan's lead in the second half, but mistakes got in their way.

Miami limited the Wolverines to 6 yards on their first three possessions of the second half before they started to move the ball on the ground and through the air.

"We were frustrated at times," Askew said. "We knew we weren't doing what we should've. We missed some reads and some blocks and things were cluttered. This was a nice win, but we need to play better."

In the third quarter, a touchdown pass and a play that would've given the RedHawks the ball at Michigan's 9 were negated by holding penalties on consecutive possessions.

Walter Cross' 1-yard run padded Michigan's lead to 31-6 with 3:43 left.

A holding play nullified another Miami touchdown late in the game, but Roethlisberger did hook up with Chauncey Henry for a 16-yard score with eight seconds left.

"The big game here will serve us well," Miami coach Terry Hoeppner said.