Michigan
Rutgers
Michigan Monday: Game 4 vs. Rutgers
9/20/2021 1:05:00 PM | Football
#19 Michigan (3-0) vs. Rutgers (3-0)
Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, Mich.
Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021 • 3:30 p.m. EDT
Television: ABC
Radio: Learfield Michigan Sports Network
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Rutgers Game Promotions
• Homecoming
• National Championship Recognition: Women's Gymnastics
• Big Ten Championship Recognition: Field Hockey, Softball
• Halftime Performance: "Spectrum"
• Full Promotions Schedule
Monday, Sept. 20
Complete Game Notes (PDF)
Coach Harbaugh Weekly Press Conference | Watch
Inside Michigan Football Radio Show (7 p.m.) | Listen
• The Wolverines moved up six spots in the national polls and enter the week ranked 19th.
• Michigan leads the NCAA in rushing attack (350.3 yards per game) and ranks third in scoring offense (47.0 points per game).
• The Wolverines rank ninth nationally in scoring defense, having allowed just 34 points through the first three games.
• Blake Corum leads the country in all-purpose yards (193.7 yards per game), rushing touchdowns (seven), and is tied for the lead among all FBS position players in scoring (16 points per game).
• Aidan Hutchinson ranks third nationally in sacks.
Wolverines and Scarlet Knights
• This will be the eighth meeting between Michigan and Rutgers, two of college football's oldest programs.
• The Wolverines lead the all-time series, 6-1, and won the last six match-ups after dropping the inaugural meeting in 2014.
• U-M defeated Rutgers, 48-42, in triple overtime last season in Piscataway.
• In the three games played at Michigan Stadium, the Wolverines posted a 49-16 win in 2015, tallied a 35-14 victory in 2017 and posted a 52-0 shutout in 2019.
Series vs. Rutgers: Michigan leads 6-1
Series Streak: Michigan won 6
Last Meeting vs. Rutgers: 2020 (Michigan, 48-42, 3OT)
Last Michigan Win: 2020
Television Coverage
ABC will broadcast the game to a national audience. Sean McDonough (play-by-play), Todd Blackledge (color) and Molly McGrath (sideline reporter) will call the game.
Homecoming at Michigan
• Saturday's game (Sept. 25) will serve as the 120th homecoming game (excluding alumni exhibitions) and the 124th all-time homecoming game played by the Wolverines in Ann Arbor.
• Michigan has a 92-27 record in homecoming games (93-28-2 including exhibitions).
• U-M has won nine straight homecoming games and 21 of its last 25 homecoming games. The Wolverines are 5-0 at homecoming under Jim Harbaugh.
• Rutgers will serve as U-M's homecoming opponent for the second time on Saturday (Sept. 25). The Wolverines won the only previous meeting against the Scarlet Knights at homecoming, claiming a 35-14 victory in 2017.
In the Polls
• Michigan moved up six spots this week and enters the Rutgers game ranked 19th in both national polls.
• U-M has been ranked for all but 13 contests under head coach Jim Harbaugh (75 games). The Wolverines were not ranked the first four games in 2015, four games in 2017 and 2020, and the first two games of the 2021 season.
• Over the last six seasons (2015-20), Michigan has faced more teams that have finished in the top 15 of the national polls (17) than any other program.
Game Notes Nuggets
• The Wolverines will play their 116th conference opener against Rutgers on Saturday (Sept 25). U-M has a 5-1 record in conference openers under head coach Jim Harbaugh and has won 13 of its last 15 Big Ten openers.
• The 141 points U-M has scored through three games represent the third-highest team total since 1976 (161 points), and the second-highest under Coach Harbaugh (159 in 2016).
• The team's 1,051 rushing yards are the highest team total through the first three weeks of the season since at least 1997.
• The Wolverine offensive line has been the heart of the offensive success, allowing just one sack and five tackles for loss, both No. 3 in the NCAA and No. 1 in the Big Ten.
• The defense ranks ninth nationally in scoring defense, having allowed 34 points through three weeks. These are the seasons in which Michigan has allowed fewer points through the first three games since 1980: 1992 (27 points allowed), 1997 (20), 1985 (15), and 2003 (10). The 2005 and 2017 teams also allowed 34 points through three games.
• With eight touchdowns (seven rushing, one receiving), Blake Corum is tied for the lead among all FBS position players in scoring, averaging 16 points per game.
• Corum also leads the country in all-purpose yards (193.7 yards per game) and rushing touchdowns (seven) and is third in the NCAA in rushing with 135.7 yards per game. He is the first Wolverine since Denard Robinson in 2011 to record three consecutive 100-yard rushing performances, and the first running back to do so since his position coach Mike Hart in 2007 (seven straight games).
• With 48 carries and six receptions, Corum is averaging a touchdown every 6.75 touches. Including kick returns, Corum averages 10.2 yards per touch.
• Corum spearheads the nation's No. 1 rushing attack (350.3 yards per game) and No. 3 scoring offense (47.0 points per game) along with Hassan Haskins, who ranks 33rd nationally at 93.7 yards per game.
• Cade McNamara has begun his career with 108 consecutive pass attempts with no interceptions. McNamara has been a 62 percent passer (67-of-108) during that stretch with eight passing touchdowns and two rushing scores.
• In 37 offensive possessions since he took over midway through the Rutgers game in 2020, McNamara has directed 25 scoring drives (21 touchdowns, 4 field goals), giving U-M points on 67.6 percent of all possessions.
• McNamara has touchdown passes of 76 and 87 yards this season, both among the 10 longest passing plays in program history. The latter, a touchdown connection with Cornelius Johnson last weekend, was the third-longest in program history.
Just two longer TD passes in @UMichFootball history:
— Michigan On BTN (@MichiganOnBTN) September 18, 2021
97 yards - Ryan Mallett ?? Mario Manningham in 2007 at Wisconsin
90 yards - Todd Collins ?? Derrick Alexander in 1993 vs. Illinois https://t.co/KUA0Q1ODlm
• Defensively, Aidan Hutchinson continues to lead the Wolverines in tackles behind the line of scrimmage. He's up to 4.5 sacks on the season after recording another against Northern Illinois (Sept. 18), tied for third in the country.
• The defense has seen 12 different players break up 18 passes and 12 different players record at least a share of a tackle for loss.
• After wide receiver Daylen Baldwin and outside linebacker Jaylen Harrell started for the first time in their Michigan careers last weekend, U-M is up to 12 first-time starters so far in 2021 (five on offense, seven on defense).
There are five players on the Michigan roster who are New Jersey natives: Brad Hawkins (Camden), R.J. Moten (Delran), Jordan Morant (Parsippany), George Rooks (Jersey City), and Dominick Giudice (Freehold).
Wisconsin Game Time, TV Announced
Michigan's game at Wisconsin on Saturday, Oct. 2, has been announced as an 11 a.m. CDT (noon EDT) start. Fox will televise the game from Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wis.
