Michigan Monday: Game 11 vs. Illinois
#3 Michigan (10-0, 7-0 Big Ten)
vs. Illinois (7-3, 4-3 Big Ten)
Game presented by Michigan Medicine
Michigan Stadium / Ann Arbor, Mich.
Saturday, Nov. 19 | Noon
Television: ABC | Radio: Learfield Michigan Sports Network
What You Need to Know
• Michigan is 10-0 for the first time under head coach Jim Harbaugh.
• The Wolverines lead the nation in four defensive categories: scoring defense, total defense, rushing defense and first downs allowed.
• Jake Moody leads the NCAA in points (109) and field goals per game (2.1 avg).
• Blake Corum is the national leader in total TDs (18) and lists second in rushing TDs (17) and points (108) as well as third in rushing (1,349 yards).
• Saturday’s game will serve as Senior Day for the Wolverines and mark the final home game of the 2022 season.
--------------------------------------------------
Top Offense and Defense
• Michigan is one of three teams ranked in the top 10 in both scoring offense (fifth) and scoring defense (first), along with Ohio State (second, offense; seventh, defense) and Georgia (seventh, offense; second, defense). U-M is scoring 41.4 points per game and allowing 11.2 points against, on average.
• Michigan (+30.2) and Ohio State (+31.2) are the only teams in the country beating their opponents by more than 30 points per game, on average. They are also the only two teams with cumulative scoring margins above 300 points (OSU, +312; U-M, +301).
• U-M is even more dangerous after the break, having outscored teams 91-6 in the third quarter and this season. In the last five games, U-M is outscoring its opponents 117-3 in the second half. The defense has not surrendered a touchdown in the third quarter this year.
• The defense is ranked No. 1 in total defense, scoring defense, rushing defense, and first downs allowed and also ranks second in pass efficiency defense and fourth in passing yards allowed per game.
Illinois Game Promotions
• Senior Day - The Michigan football seniors will be recognized during pregame.
• Flyover -- A-10's from the 127th Fighter Wing from Selfridge Air National Guard Base.
• Special Presentation during the National Anthem - The U-M Tri-Service ROTC will be joined on the field by members of the The Match-E-Be-Nash-E-Wish Ogitch-E-Daa Society to present two Eagle Staffs with the raising and lowering of the U.S. flag.
• Michigan Marching Band Halftime Show - The Michigan Marching Band and Marching Illini are joining forces to bring you the adventure of a lifetime!
• Big Ten Championship Recognition - Women's Soccer (2021 Big Ten Tournament)
• On-Field DJ: DJ Array
• Full Promotions Schedule
In the Polls
• For the 11th straight week, U-M is ranked in the top five of the national polls.
• The Wolverines list No. 3 in the AFCA Coaches Poll and Associated Press Media Poll following their 34-3 victory over Nebraska.
• U-M lists No. 3 in the current College Football Playoff rankings.
• Michigan began the season ranked sixth in the coaches poll and eighth in the AP rankings.
• Michigan has been ranked for all but 13 contests under Harbaugh (96 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.
--------------------------------------------------
Wolverines and Fighting Illini
• Saturday's contest will be the 97th meeting between the two programs and the 43rd game played between the two teams at Michigan Stadium.
• The Wolverines have a 71-23-2 record against the Fighting Illini and are 8-2 in the last 10 meetings, including wins in five straight contests between the two schools. .
• Illinois is Michigan's fourth most common opponent all-time with 96 previous match-ups.
• The Wolverines have compiled a 31-10-1 record all-time against the Illini at the Big House and hold a 34-11-1 advantage in Ann Arbor.
Series vs. Illinois: Michigan leads 71-23-2
Series Streak: Michigan won 5
Last Meeting vs. Illinois: 2019 - #16 U-M 42, ILL 25
Last Michigan Win: 2019
Game Notes Nuggets
• Michigan has achieved its first 10-0 start under head coach Jim Harbaugh. It's the third time in the last 25 seasons that U-M has reached the 10-0 mark (2006, 11-0; 1997, 12-0).
• The program's 12-game conference win streak is the longest stretch since U-M defeated 13 consecutive conference opponents in the 2003-04 seasons.
• Blake Corum ranks third in the country in rushing yards (1,349), the highest total by a Wolverine since Denard Robinson's 2010 season (1,702 yards) and the most by a U-M back since Mike Hart's freshman season of 2004 (1,445 yards).
• Corum is tied-first in the nation in total touchdowns (18). He is also the best chain-mover in the country, having picked up an FBS-best 91 first downs, and has 13 runs of 20-plus yards (fourth, nationally).
• Corum has 1,114 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns (one receiving) across seven Big Ten games in 2022, averaging 5.8 yards per carry in conference play. Across his last 15 Big Ten games (dating to 2021), Corum has totaled 1,646 yards and 14 rushing touchdowns on 5.77 yards per carry.
• PFFCollege credits Corum with 64 missed tackles forced on 227 carries this season, sixth-most among in the country and second-most in the Big Ten (Chase Brown, 68). Corum has 54 fewer carries than Brown.
• The service grades Corum as the highest-rated player in the FBS at any position, offense or defense, (94.8). His current, active streak of seven straight games with 100-plus rushing yards and one-plus rushing touchdown is the longest in the last 25 years at U-M.
• Corum's 17 rushing touchdowns are three shy of the single-season record set by Hassan Haskins last season. He is in the midst of a seven-game streak of 100-plus rushing yards (all in Big Ten play).
• So far this season, the offensive line has paved the way to an average of 6.0 yards per sack-adjusted carry, and 6.5 yards per play overall. U-M (460.3 yards per game) has outgained opponents (232.8) by more than 225 yards per game, on average.
• The men up front have permitted just 44 negative plays on 706 offensive snaps (4.4 per game, or on 6.2 percent of all offensive snaps).
• Opponents have pressured a U-M passer 22 times (12 sacks, 10 hurries) across 40 quarters of play. When the line does allow a sack against starter J.J. McCarthy, it comes on an average of 4.60 seconds to throw, the ninth-most time when considering passers with at least 100 dropbacks.
• McCarthy is among the most efficient passers in the nation, ranking 18th in that statistic (157.6) and ninth in completion percentage (69 percent). He's averaging an FBS-best 13.5 yards per attempt on play action (minimum 100 drop backs), compared to 8.2 yards per attempt on all passes.
• When McCarthy starts and finishes a Michigan drive, U-M has produced 37 touchdowns and 17 field goals on 83 possessions, translating to points on 65 percent of drives. In his nine starts, the team has scored in 44 of 47 red zone trips (93.6 percent) with him on the field, scoring 37 touchdowns (78.7 percent red zone touchdown rate).
• U-M's high scoring rates have Jake Moody (109 points) leading the nation in points with Blake Corum (108) tied for second. The next-highest-scoring pair of teammates are Chase McGrath (95 points) and Jalin Hyatt (90 points) of Tennessee.
• Michigan's defensive unit has not allowed a team team to reach 150 yards on the ground this season, and Maryland is the only team to reach 300 yards of total offense.
• U-M has held five of the last six teams at or below 75 yards rushing with three opponents under 40 yards.
• Mike Morris leads the team in TFLs (10.5) and sacks (7.5), and ranks second in the Big Ten and tied-17th nationally in the latter category. Morris has PFF's top pass-rush productivity grade (PRP, minimum 65 pass rush snaps) in the Big Ten, No. 25 in the country.
• Morris is credited with 36 combined sacks, hits, and hurries in true pass-rush sets -- third-most in the conference -- on 191 pass-rush snaps. The two players with more combined sacks, hits and hurries than Morris have 223 and 306 pass rush snaps, respectively.
• Kris Jenkins leads all FBS defenders with a 18.3 stop percentage, a full two percentage points clear of the next-closest player (16.3 percent), with a minimum 80 run plays defended. Run stop percentage is a metric by PFF that measures the percentage of a player's defensive snaps that result in a stuff on a run play. Mazi Smith (11.9 percent) is also a standout in this category.
• Among punters with at least one punt per game (eight), Robbins' 4.29-second hang time is the best in the country, according to PFFCollege. He is one of five punters above 4.2 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 (109 punts). So far this year, return attempts gain 3.4 yards on average.
• Robbins' special teams partner Jake Moody has helped the Wolverines achieve the No. 10 kickoff coverage unit, with opposing returners gaining 16.57 yards per return attempt. Moody is tied-third in the country with 73 kickoffs and leads the country in combined touchbacks (49) and touchbacks (10) with 59.
• Last weekend, Moody became the third player in Michigan history to record consecutive 100-point seasons, joining Anthony Thomas (1999-2000) and Tom Harmon (1939-40).
• Moody's 109 points this year are 16 shy of his 14-game total from 2021. Desmond Howard (1991, 138 points) is the single-season record-holder for points scored.
• Moody's 61 career made field goals are three shy of the record held by Garrett Rivas (64 from 2003-06). With four more made field goals, Moody would match the single-season record held by Remy Hamilton (1994, 25 FGM).
• Moody is also up to 46 PATs this season, 10 shy of his single-season record set a year ago.
• Moody is the second-highest-scoring kicker in program history (317 career points), good for fourth all-time. Only Tyrone Wheatley (324 points), Anthony Thomas (336 points) and Garrett Rivas (354 points) have scored more for Michigan Football.
