Michigan Monday: Game 1 vs. Middle Tennessee State

Middle Tennessee State (0-0) at #7/#7 Michigan (0-0)

Michigan Stadium (107,601) • Ann Arbor, Mich.
Saturday, Aug. 31, 2019 • 7:30 p.m. EDT
Television: BTN
Radio: Michigan/IMG Sports Network

Middle Tennessee State Game Promotions

• Two F-16 Fighting Falcons Flyover
• Halftime Performance: The Summer of 1969
• Kids Go Blue Club Loyalty Program Check In
• Championship Recognition: Field Hockey, Women's Cross Country and Cheer
• Full Promotions Schedule

Monday, Aug. 26

Complete Game Notes (PDF)

Coach Harbaugh Weekly Press Conference | Watch

Inside Michigan Football Radio Show (7 p.m.) | Listen

• U-M begins its 140th season of gridiron action in 2019.
• Ben Bredeson, Khaleke Hudson and Carlo Kemp were voted captains by their teammates.
• The Wolverines have a 10-1-1 record all-time against teams from the state of Tennessee: Tennessee (0-1), Vanderbilt (10-0-1).
• U-M has secured three 10-win seasons in coach Jim Harbaugh's four years leading the program and is one of 14 FBS programs to accomplish the feat.
• Michigan will face six teams ranked in the preseason top 25.

Wolverines and Blue Raiders

This will be the first-ever meeting between Michigan and Middle Tennessee State. The Blue Raiders will become the 151st all-time opponent for the Wolverines.

Series vs. MTSU: 0-0, first meeting
Series Streak: N/A
Last Meeting vs. MTSU: N/A
Last Michigan Win: N/A

Television Coverage

BTN will broadcast the game to a national audience. Kevin Kugler (play-by-play), Matt Millen (color) and Rick Pizzo (sideline) will call the game.

In the Polls

• The Michigan football team will open 2019 ranked in the top 10 of both national polls, listing No. 7 in the preseason Amway Coaches Poll and Associated Press rankings.

• Michigan finished last season ranked 14th in both national polls, the same position that it began the season.

• This is the 49th time since 1950 that U-M has been listed in the AP's top 25 in the preseason.

• U-M posted a 3-3 record against ranked teams in 2018, defeating No. 15 Wisconsin, No. 24 Michigan State and No. 14 Penn State while falling to No. 11 Notre Dame, No. 10 Ohio State and No. 10 Florida. The last time U-M beat three top 25 teams in the same season was 2005, and the last time it defeated three straight ranked opponents was 1997.

Game Notes Nuggets

• This week kicks off the 140th season of Michigan Football, beginning with Saturday's game against Middle Tennessee State. U-M has a 113-23-3 record all-time in season openers.

• Michigan owns a 10-2 record against non-conference opponents under Jim Harbaugh and a 15-2 record in the month of September.

• Middle Tennessee State is one of eight teams on Michigan's 2019 schedule that qualified for a bowl game in 2018. Six U-M opponents are ranked among the top 20 overall.

• Michigan returns eight starters from the 2018 season on offense, including four offensive linemen from the Big Ten's only unit to feature five all-conference honorees last year. First-team and second-team honorees Jon Runyan and Ben Bredeson headline the unit.

• Michigan led the Big Ten with 12 players named to preseason watch lists this summer.

• U-M lost 50 percent of its defensive production from last year, ranking 13th out of 14 schools in the Big Ten (Rutgers, 44 percent) and the 106th in the nation.

• U-M's five returning defensive starters are headlined by first-team honoree defensive back Lavert Hill, a Jim Thorpe Award semifinalist last fall.

• Michigan has ranked in the top three nationally in total defense all four years under defensive coordinator Don Brown. Before Michigan from 2016-18, the last team to allow fewer than 2,000 yards passing in three consecutive seasons was the 2001-03 Miami Hurricanes.

• Second-team All-America punter Will Hart headlines an exciting special teams corps for U-M. Fresh off being named the Eddleman-Fields Punter of the Year in the Big Ten, Hart is one of a possible six returning starters among specialists (long snapper, punt returner, kick returner, field goal kicker, kickoff).