Michigan Monday: Game 8 vs. Michigan State
Michigan (4-3) vs. Michigan State (4-3)
Michigan Stadium / Ann Arbor, Mich.
Saturday, Oct. 26 | 7:30 PM
Television: BTN | Radio: Learfield Michigan Sports Network
What You Need to Know
• U-M and MSU will meet for the 117th time on Saturday.
• This will be the 72nd meeting for the Paul Bunyan Trophy; U-M holds a 40-29-2 advantage.
• The Wolverines have claimed victory in 44 of their last 50 games.
• Kalel Mullings leads the team in rushing with 676 yards on 110 carries and has seven rushing TDs.
• Colston Loveland leads the team in receiving with 36 receptions for 344 yards and two TDs.
• Ernest Hausmann is pacing the defense with 45 tackles, 3.5 TFLs, one sack and one PBU on the year.
• Josaiah Stewart leads the Big Ten with 10 TFLs and 5.5 sacks.
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Battle for the Paul Bunyan Trophy
• Saturday's game will be the 72nd meeting for the Paul Bunyan Trophy.
• Since the battle for the trophy began in 1953 with Michigan State's inception into the Big Ten, Michigan holds a 40-29-2 advantage in the quest for
the coveted trophy.
• Michigan has won 36 of the past 54 games (67%) played between the two rivals since 1970.
• The Wolverines have compiled a 36-21-3 record against the Spartans at Michigan Stadium, including victories in 13 of the last 19 games played by the in-state rivals.
• Overall, U-M has a 51-23-3 mark against MSU in Ann Arbor.
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Game Promotions
• Giveaway - Maize Poms (While Supplies Last)
• Michigan Football Alumni Recognition
• Football Alumni Team Recognitions
• Hero of the Game - Josh Zissler (US Marine Corps, Operation Iraqi Freedom)
• Championship Recognition - Men's Lacrosse
• Band Halftime Show - Desert Music
Full 2024 Promotions Schedule
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Michigan in Night Games
• U-M is 1-1 in night games this season.
• The matchup with Michigan State will be the 81st night game in school history.
• Michigan has compiled a 51-28 overall record in games starting after 5 p.m. local time, posting a 14-2 record at Michigan Stadium, a 29-16 mark on the road and an 8-1-0 record on a neutral site.
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Michigan State Series History
• This will be the 117th meeting in the all-time series with Michigan State.
• The Wolverines lead the all-time series, 73-38-5, and have won 28 of the last 45 games (.622) played between the two schools dating back to 1979.
• U-M has compiled a 36-18 mark against MSU since 1970, with winning streaks of eight games (1970-77) and six games (2002-07) during that stretch of 54 games.
• After losing his first game against the Spartans in 1969, head coach Bo Schembechler won 13 of his next 14 games in the series and posted a 17-4 record during his tenure at U-M.
• Michigan won back-to-back games in 2018 and 2019, and Michigan State followed with a pair of wins during the 2020 COVID season and 2021 season in East Lansing before the Wolverines won the past two seasons (2022-23).
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Game Notes Nuggets
• Fourteen (14) players have made their first career starts this fall: wide receiver Kendrick Bell, center Greg Crippen, tackle Andrew Gentry, center Dominick Giudice, tight end Marlin Klein, right tackle Evan Link, wide receivers Fredrick Moore and Peyton O'Leary, quarterback Alex Orji, quarterback Davis Warren on offense; defensive back Zeke Berry, edge TJ Guy, defensive back Jyaire Hill, and edge Derrick Moore on defense.
• Another eight players have made their first career starts as Wolverines after earning starting assignments at their previous institutions: C.J. Charleston (wide receiver), Josh Priebe (offensive line), Jack Tuttle (quarterback), Jaishawn Barham (linebacker), Aamir Hall (cornerback) Ernest Hausmann (linebacker), Josaiah Stewart (edge), and Dominic Zvada (kicker). Quarterback Jack Tuttle is expected to be added to this list against Illinois.
• Fifteen (15) Wolverines have made collegiate debuts this season: Chibi Anwunah (edge), Manuel Beigel (defensive line), Mason Curtis (defensive back), Jo'Ziah Edmond (defensive back), Jake Guarnera (offensive line), Hogan Hansen (tight end), Jason Hewlett (linebacker), Breeon Ishmail (edge), Ike Iwunnah (defensive line), Dominic Nichols (edge), Bryson Kuzdzal (running back), Evan Link (offensive line), Jordan Marshall (running back), Andrew Sprague (offensive line), and Cole Sullivan (linebacker).
• Pro Football Focus (PFF) grades U-M well in the following categories: overall (32nd, 90.1), rushing offense (32nd, 83.4), defense (sixth, 92.3), rushing defense (third, 93.2), tackling (28th, 75.9), and pass rush (first, 90.8).
• Entering the season, Kalel Mullings had a career-long run of 23 yards (at Minnesota, 2023). So far this season he has five runs of at least 30 yards: 30 (touchdown), 30, 38, 53 (touchdown), and 63 yards.
• Mullings has seven rushing touchdowns this season. He is tied as Pro Football Focus' No. 6-graded rusher (90.9), averaging 4.13 yards after contact per attempt. He's lost only eight yards on 110 attempts this year.
• Mullings is 32nd in the nation in yards per carry (6.15) and 20th in rushing yards (676). Donovan Edwards is at 4.89 yards per carry, including 5.7 yards per carry over the last four games (44 carries, 249 yards). Edwards' two longest runs have come in that span (39, 41 yards) along with two of his three touchdowns.
• Edwards is also just 51 yards shy of setting the career receiving yards record by a running back at Michigan, currently held by Anthony Thomas (810 yards).
• Tight end Colston Loveland has been the leader or co-leader in receptions for U-M in every game he has played this season (six), with 36 total catches.
• Loveland remains highly efficient, averaging 2.67 yards per route run according to PFF. That figure is seventh in the country among FBS tight ends (minimum 25 targets) and second among Big Ten tight ends.
• Only two tight ends in the FBS, Bowling Green's Harold Fannin Jr. (72), and Ball State's Tanner Koziol (69) have been targeted more often than Loveland (52) this season.
• Loveland's 97 career receptions rank fourth all-time among U-M tight ends. With two more catches, he'll pass Jerame Tuman (98) third-most all-time. Loveland's 1,228 career receiving yards are fifth all-time among tight ends at U-M (next: Lowell Perry, 1,261), and his eight touchdowns are tied-seventh.
• Opponents have struggled to run the ball effectively against the Wolverines (92.1 yards per game). Teams are averaging 3.3 yards per carry overall on the Maize and Blue's ninth-ranked rushing defense.
• USC's Woody Marks reached exactly 100 rushing yards on 13 carries against U-M. He was the first back to reach 100-plus rushing yards on U-M since Emari Demercado (150 yards on 17 carries) of TCU (Dec. 31, 2022), and U-M has not allowed another 100-yard rusher since.
• Zeke Berry (one interception, one fumble forced/recovered) is tied with Will Johnson (two interceptions) for the team lead in turnovers. Six different players are responsible for U-M's eight total turnovers (two fumble recoveries, six interceptions).
• Sixteen (16) different players have broken up passes for the defense this year including six different defensive linemen/edge rushers. Jyaire Hill leads the team with seven (including one interception) and Kenneth Grant leads all defensive linemen wit four.
• Grant has been active in this area throughout his career; he had six breakups in 2023, giving him 10 for his career, the highest total among any U-M defensive linemen in history. Across 2023 and 2024 combined, the defensive line has been responsible for more than a quarter (26.1 percent) of the team's total pass breakups (10-of-38 in 2024; 18-of-69 in 2023).
• Ernest Hausmann leads the U-M defense with 45 tackles, eight clear of the next-highest total. Hausmann set a Michigan career-high with 12 tackles at Washington, matching his best career total at Nebraska, and registered nine solos against Minnesota, also a Michigan-best.
• The Wolverines rank 29th nationally in sacks (2.57 per game), led by Josaiah Stewart's 5.5. Stewart ranks second in the Big Ten with one fewer game played; Graham ranks 12th (3.5).
• Stewart has two multi-sack games this season (Fresno State, USC, 2.0 each) and is PFF's No. 1-graded pass rusher at any position at 93.7. His win rate of 28.0 percent is No. 3 in the nation (minimum 60 pass rush snaps). TJ Guy (21.8, eighth) and Derrick Moore (84.6, 15th) are also among the nation's best in pass rush win rate.
• U-M co-leads the Big Ten in sacks (14) and leads outright in tackles for loss (31.0) in conference play, with at least four sacks in three of four league games so far.
• Tommy Doman is the tied-fifth-graded punter in the nation by PFF (79.9) among those with at least 18 attempts. The 16 fair catches he's forced are four off the national lead and two off the Big Ten lead.
• Doman is also a weapon on kickoffs, with 22 touchbacks on 32 kickoffs (68.8 percent). U-M is 14th in the nation in kick return defense (15.8 yards per return, on average).
• Doman, whose pro-style approach meshes hangtime with distance to give U-M effective coverage units, ranks eighth in the country and second in the Big Ten in average hangtime (4.26 seconds) among punters with 18-plus attempts.
• Dominic Zvada is a perfect eight-for-eight this year. Zvada is tied for the U-M career record with four made field goals at 50-plus yards and is the first U-M kicker with four field goals of 50-plus yards in the same season.
• Zvada is one of five kickers with four or more conversions at 50-plus yards, but only one of two (FSU's Ryan Fitzgerald) who has gone four-for-four on such kicks.
• U-M's special teams units have now blocked a kick in three straight games: one punt (vs. Minnesota) and two field goals (at Washington, at Illinois).
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