Michigan Monday: Game 11 at Maryland

Game Notes Nuggets

• The Wolverines have been victorious in 22 straight Big Ten games dating to 2021, the longest streak in program history.

• The Big Ten does not recognize the 2021 or 2022 Big Ten championship games as conference matchups, so according to the league, U-M is at 20 straight Big Ten wins, a new program record surpassing the mark previously held by Gary Moeller's 1990-92 teams (19).

• Michigan has been victorious in 26 consecutive regular season games, tied for the third-longest stretch in Big Ten history with a streak set by the 1903-05 Michigan teams. Only the 1901-03 Michigan teams, which won 28 straight regular season games, have won more.

• The Maize and Blue are 10-0 for the second season in a row. The last time U-M achieved a 10-0 start in consecutive seasons was during a stretch of four straight seasons with 10 wins through 10 weeks from 1971-74. U-M is one of seven undefeated teams at 10-0 in the FBS.

• Michigan has been victorious in 10 straight road league games (dating to Penn State, 2021), the longest such streak for U-M since 1945-48. There are only six longer streaks in Big Ten history.

• Michigan has a top-10 win on the road in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1963 (at No. 2 Illinois) and '64 (at No. 9 Michigan State).

• Wolverines have been named semifinalists for the following awards: Maxwell Award (Blake Corum, J.J. McCarthy), Davey O'Brien Award (McCarthy), Chuck Bednarik Award (Kris Jenkins), John Mackey Award (AJ Barner), Lott IMPACT Trophy (Junior Colson), Lombardi Award, Outland Trophy (Zak Zinter), Wuerffel Trophy, Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year (Corum), Patrick Mannelly Award (William Wagner), Joe Moore Award (Offensive Line); Zinter is also a finalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy as an NFF Scholar-Athlete and McCarthy is a finalist for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award.

• The Wolverines were held to 24 points in State College, snapping a five-game streak of scoring 40-plus points in Big Ten play (at Nebraska, at Minnesota, Indiana, at Michigan State, Purdue), which was a program record.

• U-M's streak of scoring 30-plus points ended this past weekend 12 games, the longest in program history. The 1976 squad (eight straight games) previously held the record.

• The team's five-game scoring total (239 points, at Nebraska-Purdue) was the highest total over any single-season five-game stretch since the 1904 team scored 400 points in games three through seven.

• The Wolverines are averaging a scoring margin of +31.5 across their 10 wins this season, the best figure in the country and the only rate above +25 points per game. Only six other teams have an average margin of +20 points per game.

• Michigan is one of three teams to rank in the top 10 in both scoring offense (t-10th, 39.0 points per game) and scoring defense (first, 7.5 points per game allowed). Georgia (sixth, defense; sixth, offense), and SMU (ninth, defense; seventh, offense) are the other two.

• U-M has posted 400-plus yards of total offensive yards against six of seven Big Ten opponents, and in eight of 10 games overall this season. The Wolverines are one of two Big Ten teams averaging more than 400 yards per game of total offense (Ohio State).

• U-M's 0.621 points per play on offense is the best rate in the Big Ten (next: Ohio State, 0.493) and fourth overall (USC, LSU, Washington). The Wolverine defense allows 0.131 points per play against, the lowest rate in the nation. U-M's rate of 0.5 punts per score is the fifth-lowest rate nationally and leads the Big Ten (LSU, Georgia, 0.3; Oregon, Washington, 0.4).

• Yards per point is a metric that describes how much of the field the offense must travel to score, on average. U-M's offense ranks No. 2 at 10.5 yards per point, while the defense forces opponents to travel 31.1 yards per point (No. 1 nationally). That margin (+20.5) is by far the largest in college football and one of only two margins in double-digits (Ohio State, 13.2).

• Ten (10) players have made their first starts as Wolverines this season, including four on offense (Barner, LaDarius Henderson, Myles Hinton, Drake Nugent) and six on defense (Rayshaun Benny, Kenneth Grant, Keshaun Harris, Quinten Johnson, Keon Sabb, Josh Wallace).

• Michigan holds top-10 PFF grades and ranks in 11 of 13 major team categories Full list: overall team, No. 1 (96.4), offense, No. 4 (92.8), passing, No. 6 (90.2), receiving, No. 2 (89.0), run-blocking, No. 3 (76.7), defense, No. 1 (95.2), run defense, No. 6 (91.9), tackling, No. 1 (92.3), pass rush, tied-No. 3 (90.1), pass coverage, No. 4 (92.7), and special team, No. 9 (87.1)

• In McCarthy's 23 career starts, U-M is 22-1. In that span, the offense has registered 217 drives in which the quarterback starts and finishes the possession (excludes kneel-downs, ends of halves). The Wolverines have points on 131 of those drives (60.3 percent) with 98 touchdowns (45.2 percent of all drives) and 33 field goals.

• Through 10 games in 2023, McCarthy has completed 163-of-214 pass attempts for a completion percentage of 76.2, second-best in the country (Bo Nix, Oregon, 77.7). His completion rate is paired with an average depth of target (ADOT) of 10.3 yards downfield, whereas Nix's is 6.9.

• In the red zone, the Wolverines have 36 touchdowns in 42 scoring conversions (out of 47 opportunities). McCarthy has as many red-zone touchdowns as incompletions (nine) and 17 of Corum's 18 rushing scores have come from the 10-yard line or closer.

• Third down has been key for the U-M offense, converting 54.5 percent of attempts (No. 3 nationally).

• McCarthy has been particularly effective on third down, completing 34-of-46 pass attempts (73.9 percent) for 564 yards with a 205.6 passer rating. In situations of 3rd-and-7-plus yards, McCarthy is 23-of-30 (76.7 percent) for 398 yards with 22 first downs or touchdowns (four).

• This season, his 12.6 yards per attempt on play-action is fifth in the nation (minimum 30 attempts). He is 44-of-52 (84.6 percent) on play-action concepts with five touchdowns to one interception.

• Among players with at least 20 career touchdown passes, McCarthy has the best touchdown-to-interception ratio in Michigan history (45:10 / 4.5:1), over Drew Henson (3.43:1), Cade McNamara, and Shea Patterson (3.0:1).

• McCarthy is the program's career leader in yards per play (8.20) and ranks fourth in career touchdown percentage as a passer (7.56).

• This weekend's matchup pairs the Big Ten passers with the most (19, Tualia Tagovailoa) and second-most (16, J.J. McCarthy) Big Time Throws this year, according to PFF.

• McCarthy (5,429 career pass yards) is now positioned to pass his head coach (5,449 yards) for eighth on the list this coming weekend at Maryland.

• He also sits tied for sixth in all-time touchdown passes (45) with Shea Patterson. Rick Leach (48) and Denard Robinson (49) are fifth and fourth on the list, respectively.

• With 18 passing scores this season, McCarthy ranks fourth in the Big Ten and lists 32nd in the nation. He also ranks second in the nation in pass efficiency (187.2) and completion percentage (76.2) and third in yards per attempt (10.25). He is ESPN's No. 2 quarterback in total QBR (92.6) and PFF's No. 2-graded quarterback (92.5).

• McCarthy is averaging 236.5 yards of total offense per game in 2023 despite only nine fourth-quarter pass attempts on the season. Running back Blake Corum is the national leader with 18 rushing touchdowns despite 17 fourth-quarter rushes on the year. Eleven (11) of those rushes came at Penn State last weekend.

• Corum ranks ninth all-time in rushing with 3,286 yards and now sits 31 yards shy of Rob Lytle (3,317 yards) for eighth place.

• Corum (49 career rushing touchdowns) stands alone in second place on the career rushing scores list after breaking his tie with Tyrone Wheatley (47); only Anthony Thomas (55) has more.

• Donovan Edwards ranks eighth among running backs in all-time receptions (62), two shy of Gerald White for seventh. Edwards is fourth in receiving yards by a running back with 690, 120 shy of the career record held by Anthony Thomas (810).

• Corum is the national leader in rushing touchdowns (18) while wide receiver Roman Wilson is tied for seventh in receiving touchdowns (10). Corum also leads the nation in total points scored (108).

• Wilson set career highs with nine catches and 143 yards against Purdue. He leads the team with 12 plays of 20-plus yards.

• Wilson's 10 receiving touchdowns are the most by a Wolverine pass catcher in the Harbaugh era (previously, Jehu Chesson, nine, 2015). They are also the most by a Michigan wideout since Mario Manningham had 12 in 2007 and the most through nine games since Desmond Howard's Heisman Trophy-winning season in 1991 (18 through nine games).

• For his career, Wilson is up to 18 receiving touchdowns (plus two rushing), tied with Amani Toomer (18) for eighth-most all-time. Tai Streets (19) and Derrick Alexander (22) are next on the list.

• Twenty-two (22) of Cornelius Johnson's 28 offensive touches have been a touchdown or first down.

• Three Wolverine pass catchers are among the Big Ten's leaders in yards per route run (minimum 20 targets): Wilson (3.05) ranks 22nd in the country and second in the conference, Colston Loveland (2.57) ranks 59th among all pass catchers and third among tight ends nationally, fifth in the league among all pass catchers. Cornelius Johnson (2.14) and Edwards (2.10) give U-M three positions (receiver, tight end, running back) with at least one player at or above 2.00 yards per route run. Michigan and Bowling Green are the only such teams.

• Loveland has at least one catch in every game this year with 29 catches for 426 yards and four receiving touchdowns, ranking second on the team in each category. He has built on his freshman season totals (16 for 235, two touchdowns) and is up to six touchdowns for his career. One more will tie him with Luke Schoonmaker (seven) for the 10th-most in a career by a U-M tight end and make him one of eight U-M tight ends with at least five in a season.

• Wilson (12 receiving), Loveland (nine receiving), Johnson (eight receiving, one rushing), and Semaj Morgan (three receiving, one rushing, four returns) have combined for 38 explosive plays (20-plus yards). Six Wolverines have six or more explosive plays overall.

• Michigan's offensive line has allowed only 12 sacks on the season (1.2 per game), the 16th-fewest nationally. With that unit as the engine, U-M permits the fifth-fewest negative plays per game (3.60) of any team in the country.

• The Wolverine defense ranks among the nation's best in rushing defense (97.5 yards per game, 12th), fourth down conversion rate against (31.8, 12th), passes intercepted (12, 10th), pass efficiency defense (94.97, second), and leads the nation in the following categories: total defense (232.1 yards per game), pass yards allowed (134.6 per game), first downs allowed (11.9 per game), defensive touchdowns (tied; four), red zone defense (57.1 percent), and scoring defense (7.5 points per game).

• U-M has allowed 75 points across 10 games for an NCAA-leading 7.5 points allowed per game, the lowest average scoring against through 10 weeks since 1985 (5.8). Opponents are averaging 0.131 points per play and 0.701 points per possession against U-M (15 scores, 75 points on 107 possessions).

• The defense has held opponents to one series (four plays) or fewer on 47.1 percent (51-of-106) possessions against 41 three-and-outs/turnovers on downs, and 10 turnovers forced in the first three plays of drives. U-M has at least one three-and-out forced in each half this season.

• On the season, U-M has allowed 119 first downs, an average of 11.9 per game which is the lowest rate nationally and the only mark under 14.0. On average, teams reach a first down by passing 5.7 times per game, the lowest rate in the country and the only mark below 7.0.

• Opponents average 1.2 red zone trips per game against the Wolverines, the fewest in the country and one of two rates under 2.0 per game (Air Force, 1.9).

• Penn State is the only opponent who has scored more than one touchdown against the U-M defense. Six of the eight touchdowns U-M has allowed this year have been on explosive plays: a 20-yard rush by UNLV, a 69-yard pass by Rutgers, a 74-yard rush by Nebraska, a 35-yard pass by Minnesota, a 44-yard pass by Indiana, and a 24-yard pass by Purdue. Penn State was the first team to run a play from inside the 10-yard line against U-M this season.

• The Wolverines have four interceptions returned for touchdowns this season (Mike Sainristil, Will Johnson, Sabb), tied for the program record set in 1998 and matched in 2018. On the season, U-M has allowed five passing touchdowns to 12 interceptions, and the Wolverines average 26.6 yards per interception return.

• Sainristil is tied for the all-time lead in career interceptions returned for a touchdown with his two this season, as well as the single-season mark. His 158 return yards are ninth. Reaching 175 return yards would take him to fifth.

• In total, Michigan has forced 16 turnovers (12 interceptions, four fumble recoveries) and lost six turnovers. The defense had at least one interception-for in seven straight games (Bowling Green-Purdue).

• U-M is dominant out of the locker room. Opponents have accumulated 17 total first downs in 10 third quarters played. No team has reached 75 yards of offense in the quarter and four teams have been held under 15 yards of total offense.

• PFF gives Michigan front-seven defenders seven of the top 35 grades for run defense in the Big Ten: Josaiah Stewart (second), Jenkins (fifth), Michael Barrett (11th), Cam Goode (16th, Mason Graham (26th, TJ Guy (28th), Colson (31st).

• The 12.9 completions per game U-M's pass defense is permitting are the fewest in the country.

• The FBS-leading 3.0 points per half that U-M is allowing across second halves so far this season is the lowest rate nationally. Conversely, U-M was the first team to score on Penn State in the third quarter this year.

• Twenty-three (23) different players have at least a share of a tackle for loss on the season. Thirteen (13) different players have recorded at least a share of a sack so far this season, led by Jaylen Harrell and Stewart (4.5 each).

• Stewart and Harrell rank seventh and eighth in the country, respectively in pass-rush win rate (22.1 percent, 21.3) and rank two-three the Big Ten. Derrick Moore (27th, eighth, 18.3), Braiden McGregor (17th, Big Ten, 14.7), and Graham (21st, Big Ten, 14.0) give U-M nearly five of the league's top 25 pass-rushers.

• Punter Tommy Doman is averaging 4.35 seconds of hangtime per attempt, the second-best average of any punter in the country (minimum one punt per game), and the best in the Big Ten.

• The Wolverines are also among the best kickoff return defense units in the country, allowing 13.6 yards per return attempt (fourth, NCAA). Doman has delivered 50 touchbacks on 69 kickoffs this season (72.4 percent).

#2 Michigan (10-0) at Maryland (6-4)

What You Need to Know

Wolverines from Maryland

Wolverines and Terrapins

Michigan in the Big Ten Conference

Game Notes Nuggets

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