Michigan Monday: Game 11 vs. Northwestern


Michigan (5-5) vs. Northwestern (4-6)
Michigan Stadium / Ann Arbor, Mich.
Saturday, Nov. 23 | 3:30 PM
Television: FS1 | Radio: Learfield Michigan Sports Network
What You Need to Know
• This will be the 77th meeting between U-M and Northwestern.
• The Wolverines have won seven straight games against the Wildcats.
• Dominic Zvada leads the team in scoring with 58 points; 13-14 on FGs and 19-20 on PATs.
• Colston Loveland needs one catch, 63 yards and two TDs to set Michigan's season records for a tight end; leads the team with 53 catches for 560 yards and two TDs.
• Kalel Mullings is pacing the rushing game with 750 yards on 141 carries and has scored eight TDs.
• U-M will recognize the effort of its 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th-year senior football players prior to the game.
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Wolverines and Wildcats
• This will be the 77th meeting between Michigan and Northwestern.
• The Wolverines hold a 59-15-2 advantage in the all-time series and have won 34 of the last 38 games played between the two schools.
• U-M has a 36-6-2 record against Northwestern in games played in Ann Arbor and is 23-7 in contests played in Evanston.
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Game Promotions
• Senior Day - The Michigan Football seniors will be recognized during pregame.
• George Jewett Trophy Game - The first rivalry game trophy named for an African American player in Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) history.
• Olympian Recognition - 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Athletes from the University of Michigan will be honored during the game.
• On-Field DJ - DJ Array
• Band Halftime Show - Into the Jazz Club
Full 2024 Promotions Schedule
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Second Matchup for the George Jewett Trophy
• The game will be the second matchup played for the George Jewett Trophy, the first rivalry game trophy named for an African American player in Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) history.
• Jewett was the first African American to play football at each institution and was the first Black player to suit up for any of the schools that currently make up the Big Ten Conference.
• Jewett played for Michigan during the 1890 and 1892 seasons, enrolling at the university after being named valedictorian at Ann Arbor High (now Ann Arbor Pioneer).
• Jewett starred on the gridiron for the Wolverines as a fullback and halfback and was the team's main kicker, all while studying medicine.
• He left Michigan for Northwestern in 1893 to finish his medical degree. While in Evanston, he also lettered and starred in football for the Wildcats for two seasons.
• Michigan won the inaugural meeting for the Jewett Trophy, 33-7, at Michigan Stadium during the 2021 season.
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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 nine 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), Wesley Walker (defensive back), and Dominic Zvada (kicker).
• Seventeen (17) 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), Channing Goodwin (wide receiver), Hogan Hansen (tight end), Jason Hewlett (linebacker), Breeon Ishmail (edge), Ike Iwunnah (defensive line), Dominic Nichols (edge), Jacob Oden (defensive back), 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 (34th, 87.9), defense (10th, 92.1), rushing defense (seventh, 93.1), pass rush (first, 91.2), and special teams (29th, 81.1).
• Now with five starts under his belt, quarterback Davis Warren is completing 61.6 percent of his passes with a 114.7 efficiency mark and five touchdown passes.
• 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 Pro Football Focus' No. 32-graded rusher (86.0), averaging 3.63 yards after contact per attempt. He's lost only 15 yards on 141 attempts this year.
• Both Mullings (5.2) and Donovan Edwards (4.5) have productive yards-per-carry numbers. Mullings ranks 49th overall with 740 rushing yards.
• Edwards is also just 31 yards shy of setting the career receiving yards record by a running back at Michigan, currently held by Anthony Thomas (810 yards).
• According to the Big Ten Network, Edwards is the only Big Ten running back this century with multiple touchdown rushes (18), receptions(four), and passes (two) in his career.
• Tight end Colston Loveland has been the leader or co-leader in receptions for U-M in every game he has played this season (nine), with 53 total catches. Loveland's 79 total targets are tied-fourth in the nation among FBS tight ends, one shy of the Big Ten lead.
• Loveland is now tied with Bennie Jopru (2002) for the most catches by a tight end in a single season in U-M history.
• Following his game at Indiana and his first career 100-yard effort (106) against Oregon, Loveland is 188shy of the single-season receiving yards record by a tight end (748) set by Devin Funchess in 2013. For his career, he's at 1,444 yards (record: Jake Butt, 1,646).
• Before Loveland, the last U-M tight end to reach 100 receiving yards was Jake Butt (Rutgers, 2015).
• Loveland remains highly efficient, averaging 2.84 yards per route run according to PFF. That figure is fourth in the country among FBS tight ends (minimum 30 targets) and second among Big Ten tight ends.
• Loveland is in third place all-time in touchdowns among U-M tight ends with 10 in his career (next: Jake Butt, 11; record by Jerame Tuman, 15).
• Among U-M tight ends, Loveland and Jake Butt (2013-16) are the only players to reach 12 games with at least 50 receiving yards.
• The Wolverine defense has had at least six TFL in six of seven Big Ten games, totaling 48 tackles for loss (fourth) and 21 sacks (tied-third) in league play.
• The Wolverines rank 36th nationally in sacks (2.50 per game), led by Josaiah Stewart's 6.5. Stewart ranks 24th in the country in sacks. In league play, he and T.J. Guy are tied for fifth with 4.5 sacks each. Mason Graham (3.5) ranks tied-13th.
• Stewart has at least a share of a sack in four of the last six games (2.0 vs. USC, 1.0 vs. Washington, 0.5 vs. Illinois, 1.0 vs. Michigan State). His win rate of 25.1 percent is No. 5 in the nation (minimum 70 pass rush snaps). Derrick Moore (20.3, 14th) and TJ Guy (20, 16th) are also among the nation's best in pass rush win rate.
• Zeke Berry (two interceptions, one fumble forced/recovered) leads the team in turnovers and is tied with Jyaire Hill for the lead pass breakups (eight). Six different players are responsible for U-M's 10 defensive turnovers (three fumble recoveries, seven interceptions). Hill has at least one breakup in seven of nine games played this year.
• Seventeen (17) different players have broken up passes for the defense this year including six different defensive linemen/edge rushers. Kenneth Grant leads all defensive linemen with five.
• Grant has been active in this area throughout his career; he had six breakups in 2023, giving him 12 for his career (includes one interception), the highest total among any U-M defensive linemen in history. Across 2023 and 2024 combined, the defensive line has been responsible for almost a quarter (24.5 percent) of the team's total pass breakups (11-of-49 in 2024; 18-of-69 in 2023).
• Among FBS interior defensive linemen, Mason Graham is credited with the second-most pressures (32; sacks, hits, hurries). He's also graded the nation's second-highest-graded run defender (90.9), with Kenneth Grant (84.5) rated 17th.
• Ernest Hausmann leads the U-M defense with 70 tackles, 11 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-plus tackles in four of the last six games.
• Tommy Doman is the 11th-highest-graded punter in the nation by PFF (78.6). The 21 fair catches he's forced are four off the national lead and three off the Big Ten lead.
• Doman is also a weapon on kickoffs, with 31 touchbacks on 46 kickoffs (67.4 percent). U-M is 16th in the nation in kick return defense (16.6 yards per return, on average).
• Doman, whose pro-style approach meshes hangtime with distance to give U-M effective coverage units, ranks seventh in the country and second in the Big Ten in average hangtime (4.22 seconds) among punters with 25-plus attempts.
• Dominic Zvada is 13-for-14 this year (one blocked). His seven conversions at 40-plus yards are three shy of the single-season record at U-M.
• Zvada's third attempt at Indiana was a 56-yarder, making him five-for-five from 50-plus yards this year. He is now the Michigan career and single-season record-holder for made field goals of 50-plus yards.
• Zvada is one of six kickers with five or more conversions at 50-plus yards, but only one of two (Florida State's Ryan Fitzgerald) who has gone five-for-five on such kicks.
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