Michigan Monday: Game 6 at Indiana
#4/#4 Michigan (5-0) at Indiana (3-2)
Memorial Stadium / Bloomington, Ind.
Saturday, Oct. 8 / Noon ET
Television: Fox | Radio: Learfield Michigan Sports Network
What You Need to Know
• Michigan will play its 22nd game all-time at Memorial Stadium; has a 19-2 record at the venue.
• U-M is 5-0 in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2010-11.
• J.J. McCarthy leads the NCAA in completion percentage and is fifth in pass efficiency.
• Blake Corum leads the NCAA in scoring, total TDs and rushing TDs; lists sixth in rushing yards.
• Mike Morris is second in the Big Ten and 20th nationally in sacks.
• The Wolverines are the least penalized team in college football.
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Spotlight on the O' on D'
• Michigan ranks sixth nationally in scoring offense, averaging 45.4 points per contest, and sixth in scoring defense by allowing just 11.6 points per game.
• The Wolverines have outscored the opposition 227 to 58 margin this fall.
• U-M has scored 227 points: 29 touchdowns (19 rushing, 8 passing, 1 punt return, 1 interception return) and eight field goals.
• The Wolverines have scored points in 18 of the 20 quarters played so far this season.
• Michigan has outpaced opponents in the first quarter, 65-10, and has outscored the opposition by a 133-13 margin in the first half of games this fall.
• U-M has scored points on five of the six opponent miscues in 2022, while yielding just three points following its two turnovers.
• The Wolverines have gained 27 points off sudden change situations.
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Wolverines and Hoosiers
• Saturday's game between Michigan and Indiana will be the 71st meeting between the two programs in history.
• Michigan's .857 winning percentage against Indiana is the program's highest versus any conference school.
• The Wolverines lead the series, 60-10, and have won 25 of the past 26 games against the Hoosiers.
• Michigan has won 40 of the previous 42 games played between the two schools.
• Coach Jim Harbaugh has a 6-1 record against Indiana.
• The last U-M loss was a 38-21 setback in Bloomington during the 2020 season, ending a 24-game winning streak in the series for the Wolverines.
Series vs. Indiana: Michigan leads 60-10
Series Streak: Michigan won 1
Last Meeting vs. Indiana: 2021 (U-M, 29-7)
Last Michigan Win: 2021
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In the Polls
• For the fifth straight week, U-M is ranked in the top five of the national polls.
• The Wolverines list No. 4 in both the Associated Press Media Poll and the AFCA Coaches Poll following its 27-14 win over Iowa
• Michigan began the season ranked sixth in the coaches poll and eighth in the AP rankings.
• U-M finished the 2021 season ranked No. 3 in both national polls, its first top five finish for the program since 1999 (No. 5) and the highest final ranking since winning the 1997 national title.
• Michigan has been ranked for all but 13 contests under Harbaugh (91 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.
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Game Notes Nuggets
• Michigan is 5-0 in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2010-11.
• The Wolverines are scoring at a clip north of 45 points per game (45.4) and are limiting teams to 11.6 points against, ranking No. 6 nationally in both areas. Alabama (No. 4 offense, No. 5 defense) and James Madison (No. 8 offense, No. 9 defense) are the only other teams ranked in the top 10 in both scoring offense and scoring defense.
• The Wolverines are scoring four touchdowns for each one they allow (28 to seven) through five weeks, and have made nearly three times as many field goals (eight) as opponents have attempted (three).
• Michigan's +169 scoring differential trails only Ohio State (+170) and Alabama (+187). That figure ranks as U-M's best mark through five weeks since the 1976 season (+183) and the third-best mark in the last century of Michigan Football (1925, +180). Michigan is one of three teams in the nation with an average margin of victory above 30 points (Alabama, +37.4; Ohio State, +34.0; U-M, +33.8).
• At 227 points through five games, this is the highest-scoring Michigan team in recent history. In the last 100 years of Michigan Football, the only team with more points through the season's first four games is the 1976 squad (234 points).
• Maryland (13 points, one touchdown) remains the only team to score at all against Michigan in the first half this season. In total, U-M is outscoring its opponents by a margin of better than 10:1 in the first half (133 points to 13).
• Blake Corum has 376 yards and three touchdowns across Big Ten play thus far, averaging 6.37 yards per carry. Since the end of his freshman year, Corum has averaged 5.97 yards per carry in Big Ten play.
• Corum has produced nine of Michigan's 27 explosive offensive plays (20-plus yards). He has at least one run of 20-plus yards in four of five games this season; Colorado State limited him to a 19-yard rush.
• PFFCollege credits Corum with 23 missed tackles forced on 93 carries this season, and notes he has picked up 36 first downs, third-most in the country. Corum's 17 runs of 10-plus yards are five shy of his 2021 total (22), which came on 144 rushes.
• The U-M offensive line has permitted 19 negative plays on 325 offensive snaps (fewer than four per game), or on 5.8 percent of all offensive snaps. Opponents have hurried or sacked a U-M passer 12 times across 20 quarters of play.
• The line has helped bolster the run game to the tune of 6.32 sack-adjusted rush yards per attempt and 7.0 yards per play overall. U-M ballcarriers have lost just 35 yards on 190 rush attempts (does not include sacks).
• J.J. McCarthy's completion percentage remains the best in the country among qualified passers at 78.4 percent (66-of-84). When blitzed, he is even sharper, grading at 22-of-26 (84.6 percent) passing.
• McCarthy has accounted for seven touchdowns overall with a 7.1 touchdown percentage through the air. He also ranks fifth in pass efficiency (186.9) and has an NFL passer rating of 132.5 this season. His season-long yards-per-attempt figure (10.10) ranks sixth in the nation.
• With U-M's imposing run game, it's no surprise McCarthy is even more lethal when play action is employed. He has a rating of 16.2 yards per attempt on play action, the best in the nation among quarterbacks with at least 15 play action dropbacks. McCarthy has three touchdowns and 307 yards passing on 19 pass attempts following play action with an average depth of target 11.9 yards downfield.
• McCarthy has generated three turnover-worthy plays in 84 pass attempts, according to PFFCollege. Indiana's Connor Bazelak, a transfer who played the 2019-21 seasons at Missouri, has generated 11 in 247 attempts so far this season.
• When McCarthy starts and finishes a Michigan drive, U-M has produced 19 touchdowns and five field goals on 35 possessions, translating to points on 68.6 percent of drives. In his four starts, the team has scored in 20 of 21 red zone trips (95.2 percent) with 17 touchdowns.
• Roman Wilson (3.86 yards per route run) and Ronnie Bell (2.66) are among the Big Ten's most efficient pass-catchers (minimum 10 targets). Luke Schoonmaker (2.49) is the No. 2-ranked tight end in the league in that metric.
• U-M boasts a pair of scorers in the top 15 in the country -- Corum (12 points per game) is the No. 1 point-producer in all of FBS competition and kicker Jake Moody (10.0) ranks 13th.
• Opposing offenses have been held to 4.1 yards per play, including a stingy 2.9 yards per rush. Opponents have lost 140 yards on tackles for loss, spread across 17 different Wolverine contributors. Mike Morris (6.0) leads the group and has generated minus-31 yards for opponents on his own.
• Among defenders with at least 30 pass rush snaps (six per game), Morris leads the Big Ten and ranks second in the country in PFFCollege's PRP (pass rush productivity) grade. The service grades him with a 43.3 percent win rate in pass rush situations.
• In the category of 'total pressures', defined by sacks, hits, and hurries combined, Morris (19) and Jaylen Harrell (16) are Michigan's leaders and rank fourth and eighth in the Big Ten, respectively.
• Makari Paige has graded as one of the top slot defenders in the Big Ten (No. 3), allowing one catch for every 23 snaps spent in that area of the field. R.J. Moten (one catch per 14 snaps) and Mike Sainristil (one per 11 on 99 slot coverage snaps) have also been effective in that part of the field.
• Among punters with at least one punt per game (five), punter Brad Robbins' 4.45-second hang time is the best in the country, according to PFFCollege. He is the only punter in the nation above 4.4 seconds. The average among Big Ten punters who meet the same qualifications is 3.89 seconds.
• Eleven (11) of Robbins' 15 punts have been downed, fair caught, or rolled out of bounds. The other three have been returned for a combined total of nine yards. U-M is No. 3 in the nation in net punting (44.88 yards per attempt). The slim difference between U-M's yards per punt (45.7) and net yards per punt has long been Robbins' calling card.
• Robbins' special teams partner Moody has cracked the top 10 in career scoring at U-M with 257 points (eighth). Next up on the list: running backs coach Mike Hart (262 career points).
• Kenneth Grant is the lone Wolverine from the state of Indiana.
