Michigan Monday: Game 9 at Rutgers
#4 Michigan (8-0, 5-0 Big Ten)
at Rutgers (4-4, 1-4 Big Ten)
SHI Stadium / Piscataway, N.J.
Saturday, Nov. 5 | 7:30 p.m. EDT
Television: Big Ten Network | Radio: Learfield Michigan Sports Network
What You Need to Know
• U-M is 8-0 in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1973-74.
• Michigan has won seven straight games against Rutgers (7-1 record).
• Saturday's game will mark the ninth meeting between the two programs and the 71st night game in U-M school history.
• U-M ranks third in the NCAA in scoring, total and rushing defense.
• Blake Corum (offense) and Jake Moody (special teams) were named the Big Ten Players of the Week; they are the second and third-leading scorers in the country.
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Among the Nation's Best
• U-M is scoring 41.0 points per game and allowing 11.5 points against, on average. Michigan is one of four teams that ranks in the top 10 in both scoring offense (eighth) and scoring defense (third), along with Georgia (sixth, offense; second, defense), Alabama (fourth, offense; t-seventh, defense), and Ohio State (second, offense; 10th, defense).
• Only five teams in the country have an average scoring margin above 25 points per game: Ohio State (+32), Georgia (+31), U-M (+29.5), Tennessee (+26.6), and Alabama (+26.5).
• Michigan's +236 cumulative scoring differential trails only Ohio State (+256) and Georgia (+250) for the best in the nation. In the last 50 years of Michigan football, only the 1976 (+294) and 2016 (+279) teams have outscored teams by more through eight weeks.
• Michigan lists top 12 nationally in 25 categories: 10 defensive, nine offensive, four special teams and two overall team.
• Michigan is one of the top teams in college football in time of possession, listing third in the Big Ten and eighth in the NCAA (34:43 avg.)
In the Polls
• For the ninth straight week, U-M is ranked in the top five of the national polls.
• The Wolverines list No. 4 in the AFCA Coaches Poll and rank No. 4 in the Associated Press Media Poll and following their 29-7 victory against Michigan State (Oct. 29).
• 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 (94 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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Wolverines and Scarlet Knights
• This will be the ninth meeting between Michigan and Rutgers, two of college football's oldest programs.
• The Wolverines lead the all-time series, 7-1, with victories in the last seven match-ups.
• Rutgers won the inaugural meeting between the two programs at home in 2014.
• Michigan claimed victories at Michigan Stadium in 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2021, and won on the road during the 2016, 2018 and 2020 seasons.
Series vs. Michigan State: Michigan leads 7-1
Series Streak: Michigan won 7
Last Meeting vs. Michigan State: 2021 - #19 Michigan 20, Rutgers 13
Last Michigan Win: 2021
Game Notes Nuggets
• Michigan is 8-0 for the second time under Jim Harbaugh (2016). It's the third time in the last 25 years that U-M has reached the 8-0 mark (2006).
• Only five teams in the country have an average scoring margin above 25 points per game: Ohio State (+32), Georgia (+31), U-M (+29.5), Tennessee (+26.6), and Alabama (+26.5).
• U-M has scored points on its opening possession in six of eight games this season. Five of those six scores were touchdowns. U-M is outscoring its opponents by a cumulative tally of 172 to 44 in the first half with only five offensive touchdowns allowed.
• Dating back to last season, U-M has averaged better than three rushing touchdowns per game. The team has scored 38 rushing touchdowns across its last 12 games (25 in the first eight games of 2022; 13 in the final four games of 2021).
• Blake Corum has 843 rushing yards and eight touchdowns (one receiving) across five Big Ten games in 2022, averaging 5.81 yards per carry in conference play. Across his last 13 Big Ten games (dating back to 2021), Corum has totaled 1,375 yards and 11 rushing touchdowns on 5.8 yards per carry.
• Corum ranks fourth in the country in rushing yards (1,078), 26th in yards per carry (6.02), and second in total touchdowns (15). He is also the best chain-mover in the country, having picked up an FBS-best 71 first downs.
• Corum has produced 11 of Michigan's 40 explosive offensive plays (20-plus yards). He has at least one run of 20-plus yards in six of eight games this season; Colorado State limited him to a 19-yard rush and he had a long run of 17 yards against Michigan State.
• Corum's 177 yards against the Spartans were the most in the rivalry since his mentor Mike Hart's 2005 performance (218 rushing yards).
• PFFCollege credits Corum with 52 missed tackles forced on 179 carries this season, second-most among Big Ten backs (Chase Brown, 60). Corum has 46 fewer rushing attempts than Brown. The service grades Corum as the highest-rated player in the Power 5 conferences at any position (93.4) and credits him a Big Ten-best 573 rushing yards after contact.
• So far this season, the offensive line has paved the way to an average of 6.08 yards per sack-adjusted carry, and 6.7 yards per play overall. U-M (469.8 yards per game) has outgained opponents (250.3) by more than 200 yards per game, on average.
• The men up front have permitted just 36 negative plays on 557 offensive snaps (4.5 per game, or on 6.5 percent of all offensive snaps). When the line does allow a sack, it comes on an average of 5.10 seconds to throw, the fourth-most time when considering passers with at least 100 dropbacks.
• J.J. McCarthy's completion percentage remains the best in the country among qualified passers at 74.6 percent (126-of-169), and he's averaging 13.2 yards per attempt on play action with a touchdown percentage of 9.75.
• McCarthy's yards-per-attempt figure (8.7) ranks 23rd in the nation among passers with at least 100 dropbacks. He also ranks 13th in pass efficiency (164.5) and has an NFL passer rating of 115.1 this season (12th).
• When McCarthy starts and finishes a Michigan drive, U-M has produced 29 touchdowns and 15 field goals on 64 possessions, translating to points on 68 percent of drives. In his seven starts, the team has scored in 34 of 37 red zone trips (91.9 percent) with 28 touchdowns.
• Receiver Ronnie Bell leads all pass catchers in catches (39) and yards (482), while Roman Wilson and Cornelius Johnson are tied for the lead in receiving touchdowns (three). Seven different players have at least one touchdown catch.
• Tight end Luke Schoonmaker has come on strong in the pass game while also posting career-best blocking grades. Schoonmaker is one of three Big Ten tight ends (minimum 20 targets) above two yards per route run (2.07).
• Schoonmaker entered the 2022 season having never caught more than three passes in a game, but has four or more catches in four of the last five contests. He has established new career highs in catches (nine at Indiana) and yards (72 vs. Maryland) since the start of conference play.
• U-M boasts a pair of scorers in the top five in the country -- Corum (90 points) is second in all of FBS competition and kicker Jake Moody (89) ranks third.
• The defense is ranked in the top 12 of 10 major categories, with top-five ranks in rushing defense (fifth), scoring defense, total defense (third), and passing efficiency defense (second). No team has reached 150 yards on the ground against Michigan this season and Maryland is the only team to reach 300 yards of total offense.
• Opposing offenses have been held to 4.1 yards per play, including a stingy 2.8 yards per rush. On average, teams suffer more than six negative plays per game (6.25) for 32.1 yards lost. Maryland is the only team to reach 300 yards of total offense against the Wolverines.
• Mike Morris leads the team in TFLs (9.0) and sacks (5.5). Morris has 29 combined sacks, hits, and hurries in true pass-rush sets -- fourth-most in the Big Ten -- on 158 pass-rush snaps, translating to the league's No. 2 pass-rush productivity grade (minimum 60 pass-rush snaps).
• Mike Sainristil has been one of the Big Ten's best slot coverage players, allowing one reception every 13.1 snaps in coverage in that part of the field. That is the fifth-lowest rate in the league among players with at least one target per game in slot coverage.
• Among punters with at least one punt per game (eight), Brad Robbins' 4.32-second hang time is the best in the country, according to PFFCollege. He is the only punter in the nation above 4.3 seconds. The average among Big Ten punters who meet the same qualifications is 3.83 seconds.
• With Robbins directing the unit, no opponent has registered a punt return of 10-plus yards since U-M played Ohio State in the 2017 season (103 punts). So far this year, return attempts gain 3.4 yards on average.
• Fourteen (14) of Robbins' 19 punts have been downed, fair caught, or rolled out of bounds. The other five have been returned for a combined total of 17 yards. U-M is No. 3 in the nation in net punting (44.5 yards per attempt). The slim difference between Robbins' yards per punt (45.5) and net yards per punt has long been the veteran's calling card.
• Robbins' special teams partner Jake Moody has allowed nine returns on 58 kickoffs this season (15.5 percent return rate). When opponents do attempt a return, they start at their 16-yard line on average.
• Moody has entered truly elite company in the Michigan record books. He's now the No. 5 all-time scorer in program history (297 points), a field goal shy of the 300-point club. He'll have a chance to become the highest-scoring kicker in Michigan history by passing Mike Gillette (307 points) for fourth.
• In converting on a 54-yard field goal against Michigan State (Oct. 29), Moody set a career-long and made his third career field goal of 50-plus yards, one shy of the all-time record shared by Hayden Epstein (1998-2001) and Quinn Nordin (2017-20). Only four longer field goals have been made in program history.
• Four Wolverines are from the state of New Jersey: Dominick Giudice, R.J. Moten, George Rooks, and Keon Sabb.
