Ann Arbor, Mich. ? Chris Perry hurdled defenders, broke tackles and even made a one-handed catch.

This wasn’t Central Michigan or Houston. It was Notre Dame, and it wasn’t supposed to be this simple.

But everything came remarkably easily for No. 5 Michigan in a 38-0 win Saturday, the most lopsided in the Wolverines’ storied rivalry with the Irish.

Perry ran for three touchdowns and caught a scoring pass, running through the spacious holes cleared by Tony Pape and the offensive line. John Navarre provided steady quarterback play, and Larry Stevens and Pierre Woods caused havoc in Notre Dame’s backfield, turning it into a blowout of historic proportions.

“In a way I’m shocked, in another way it’s expected,” Perry said. “We’re on a mission.”

In a rivalry known for its nailbiters — nine of the previous 11 meetings were decided by seven points or fewer — Michigan posted the first shutout in the series since its 23-0 win in 1902.

The biggest margin of victory in the previous 30 meetings between the two winningest teams in college football history was 23.

“They came at us in every imaginable way,” Notre Dame coach Tyrone Willingham said. “There’s nothing positive about how we played. We were outplayed, outcoached, everything.”

Michigan, which is 3-0 for the first time since 1999, has outscored its opponents 133-10 this season.

No. 2 Miami 38, East Carolina 3

North Carolina tailback T.A. McLendon is stopped shot of the goal line by Ohio State's Will Allen (4) during the last play of the third overtime while N.C. State tight end John Richter (15) blocks. The third-ranked Buckeyes survived a scare Saturday, winning 44-38 in triple overtime at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.

Miami — Frank Gore ran for 134 yards and a touchdown to help Miami extend the nation’s longest home winning streak to 24. Miami (3-0) opened the game with a touchdown on its third play, then stalled against the nation’s worst rushing defense. Gore averaged 5.6 yards on 24 carries and became the first player in school history to run for more than 100 yards in each of the first three games. He sat out the fourth quarter.

No. 3 Ohio State 44, No. 24 N.C. St. 38, 3OT

Columbus, Ohio — Craig Krenzel hit Michael Jenkins on a seven-yard scoring pass in the third overtime, and No. 3 Ohio State made a goal-line stand to beat North Carolina State.

Will Allen barreled into Wolfpack tailback T.A. McLendon on fourth-and-goal, lowering his left shoulder to stop McLendon just inches from the end zone as the defending national champion Buckeyes (3-0) won their 17th consecutive game.

Ohio State needed double-overtime Jan. 3 to beat top-ranked Miami, 31-24, in the Fiesta Bowl, capturing its first national championship in 34 years. The Buckeyes also beat Illinois in overtime a year ago to remain unbeaten.

No. 4 USC 61, Hawaii 32

Los Angeles — Matt Leinart threw two touchdown passes, and Southern California’s defense held Hawaii’s Timmy Chang in check until late in the game. Southern California (3-0) took control against the Warriors (1-1) with four touchdowns in the second quarter — three in the final 4:29 for a 31-6 lead, and made it 52-6 in the third quarter.

No. 8 Georgia 31, No. 25 South Carolina 7

Athens, Ga. — Reggie Brown helped Georgia end its three-year touchdown drought against South Carolina, catching two short scoring passes and setting up another TD. Sean Jones led another dominating defensive performance by Georgia (3-0, 1-0 SEC), which just missed its second shutout of the season. The junior safety made two interceptions and a bone-rattling hit that stuffed a South Carolina (2-1, 0-1) threat.

No. 10 Florida St. 14, Georgia Tech 13

Tallahassee, Fla. — Chris Rix shook off two interceptions to run for one touchdown and pass for another in the final 7:09 as Florida State rallied to beat Georgia Tech. Rix’s five-yard touchdown pass to P.K. Sam, and Xavier Beitia’s extra point put Florida State (3-0, 3-0 ACC) ahead with 2:57 left.

No. 11 Pittsburgh 42, Ball St. 21

Pittsburgh — Brandon Miree ran for three touchdowns, and Rod Rutherford threw for three, helping Pittsburgh withstand a sloppy, sluggish start. Larry Fitzgerald caught scoring passes of 37 and 26 yards, giving him five touchdowns as Pitt (2-0) has outscored a pair of Mid-American Conference opponents by a combined 85-24.

No. 12 LSU 35, W. Illinois 7

Baton Rouge, La. — Matt Mauck set career highs with 305 yards passing and four touchdowns for LSU. Mauck, 8-1 as a starter, also had a career-high 23 completions in 33 attempts to help the Tigers to their first 3-0 start since 1998. Since taking over as the starter, Mauck has rushed or passed for 20 of LSU’s 37 offensive touchdowns. Western Illinois (2-1) is ranked No. 1 in I-AA.

No. 19 Florida 63, Florida A&M 3

Gainesville, Fla. — DeShawn Wynn tied a school record with four touchdowns in Florida’s last tuneup before the Southeastern Conference opener next week against Tennessee. Wynn, a red-shirt freshman, ran for 95 yards and joined Jesse Palmer, Fred Taylor and four others with the single-game TD record. The Gators (2-1) built a 35-3 lead at halftime against the Division I-AA Rattlers (1-2).

Purdue 16, No. 20 Wake Forest 10

Winston-Salem, N.C. — Ben Jones kicked three field goals, and Purdue held Wake Forest to 244 yards, spoiling the Demon Deacons’ first game as a ranked team in more than a decade.

Kyle Orton threw a seven-yard touchdown pass to Taylor Stubblefield for Purdue (1-1), which fumbled five times, but got four of them back to avoid its first 0-2 start since 1996. Wake Forest is 2-1.