Michigan's powerful defense, underrated offense: The numbers behind the Wolverines' season
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Anthony Gharib, ESPN
A season full of headlines for the No. 1 Michigan Wolverines concludes on Monday in the College Football Playoff National Championship Presented by AT&T against the No. 2 Washington Huskies.
The Wolverines steamrolled through the regular season, with 10 of their 13 victories being by double digits. They finished 13-0 for the second straight regular season and a win on Monday will break the Big Ten record for the most wins in a single season.
In the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Rose Bowl, Michigan battled back from a seven-point deficit in the fourth quarter to win, tied for its largest fourth-quarter comeback victory under head coach Jim Harbaugh, according to ESPN Stats & Information. The Wolverines are now in their first national championship game of the CFP era.
Here are the key numbers behind Michigan’s undefeated season.
9.5: The Wolverines’ defense dominated during the regular season, allowing just 9.5 points per game, the fewest in a regular season since the Alabama Crimson Tide in 2011 (8.8).
Michigan held eight of its opponents to single-digit scores — including two shutouts. The Wolverines’ average points allowed reached 10.2 after the CFP semifinal.
89.5: Quarterback J.J. McCarthy threw for a career-high 2,851 passing yards plus 22 touchdowns and a career-low four interceptions. McCarthy also had a total QBR of 89.5, the third-best in the nation behind Oregon Ducks‘ Bo Nix and LSU Tigers‘ Jayden Daniels.
25: The score in overtime of the Rose Bowl came from a touchdown run by Blake Corum, his 25th of the season. That total is the most in a season in Michigan history and tied for fifth-most in Big Ten history.
Corum also has 56 career rushing touchdowns, the most by any Wolverines player and fourth-most all time in the Big Ten.
17: Michigan had an FBS-best turnover margin of plus-17 this season. Its defense forced 25 turnovers, while its offense only had eight.
36: It hasn’t all been the Wolverines’ defense this season. Michigan’s offense averaged 36 points per game, second-most in the Big Ten and 14th-best in the FBS.
ESPN Stats & Information research contributed to this article.
