• Michigan is 5-0 in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2010-11.
• The Wolverines are scoring at a clip north of 45 points per game (45.4) and are limiting teams to 11.6 points against, ranking No. 6 nationally in both areas. Alabama (No. 4 offense, No. 5 defense) and James Madison (No. 8 offense, No. 9 defense) are the only other teams ranked in the top 10 in both scoring offense and scoring defense.
• The Wolverines are scoring four touchdowns for each one they allow (28 to seven) through five weeks and have made nearly three times as many field goals (eight) as opponents have attempted (three).
• At 227 points through five games, this is the highest-scoring Michigan team in recent history. In the last 100 years of Michigan Football, the only team with more points through the season’s first four games is the 1976 squad (234 points).
• Maryland (13 points, one touchdown) remains the only team to score at all against Michigan in the first half this season. In total, U-M is outscoring its opponents by a margin of better than 10:1 in the first half (133 points to 13).
• No team had scored a rushing touchdown all year against Iowa prior to last weekend. The Wolverines scored two, including the first career rushing score for wide receiver Ronnie Bell on the team’s opening drive. Michigan became the second team in Iowa’s last 10 Big Ten opponents to score a rushing touchdown on the opening drive (Nebraska, 2021).
• Dating to last season, U-M has totaled 32 rushing touchdowns across its last nine games (19 in first five games of 2022, 13 in final four games of 2021).
• Iowa had permitted opponents to run for 2.2 yards per rush this season before U-M doubled that up last weekend (4.7 sack-adjusted yards per carry). So far this season, the offensive line has paved the way to an average of 6.2 yards per sack-adjusted carry, and 7.0 yards per play overall.
• Overall, the offense ranks among the nation’s best in red zone percentage (eighth), rushing offense (13th), pass efficiency (14th) and total offense (31st).
• The defense lists 17th in first down defense, 10th in passing yards allowed per game, 25th in red zone defense, 14th in rushing defense, sixth in total defense.
• Blake Corum has 376 yards and three touchdowns across Big Ten play thus far, averaging 6.37 yards per carry. Since the end of his freshman year, Corum has averaged 5.97 yards per carry in Big Ten play.
• Corum ranks fourth in the country in rushing yards (611), 12th in yards per carry (6.57), and first in rushing touchdowns (10).
• Corum has produced nine of Michigan’s 27 explosive offensive plays (20-plus yards). He has at least one run of 20-plus yards in four of five games this season; Colorado State limited him to a 19-yard rush.
• PFFCollege credits Corum with 23 missed tackles forced on 93 carries this season, and notes he has picked up 36 first downs, third-most in the country. Corum’s 17 runs of 10-plus yards are five shy of his 2021 total (22), which came on 144 rushes.
• The U-M offensive line has permitted 19 negative plays on 325 offensive snaps (fewer than four per game), or on 5.8 percent of all offensive snaps. Opponents have hurried or sacked a U-M passer 12 times across 20 quarters of play.
• The line has helped bolster the run game to the tune of 6.32 sack-adjusted rush yards per attempt and 7.0 yards per play overall. U-M ballcarriers have lost just 35 yards on 190 rush attempts (does not include sacks).
• J.J. McCarthy’s completion percentage remains the best in the country among qualified passers at 78.4 percent (66-of-84). When blitzed, he is even sharper, grading at 22-of-26 (84.6 percent) passing.
• In four starts, McCarthy has thrown six touchdown passes and produces an average passing line of 204.5 passing yards on 20 attempts. His season-long yards-per-attempt figure (10.10) ranks sixth in the nation.
• McCarthy has accounted for seven touchdowns overall with a 7.1 touchdown percentage through the air. He also ranks fifth in pass efficiency (186.9) and has an NFL passer rating of 132.5 this season.
• With U-M’s imposing run game, it’s no surprise McCarthy is even more lethal when play action is employed. He has a rating of 16.2 yards per attempt on play action, the best in the nation among quarterbacks with at least 15 play action drop backs. McCarthy has three touchdowns and 307 yards passing on 19 pass attempts in play action with an average depth of target 11.9 yards downfield.
• McCarthy has generated three turnover-worthy plays in 84 pass attempts, according to PFFCollege. Indiana’s Connor Bazelak, a transfer who played the 2019-21 seasons at Missouri, has generated 11 in 247 attempts so far this season.
• So far, 20 different players have at least one reception. Ronnie Bell leads all pass catchers in catches (19) and yards (269), while Roman Wilson leads in receiving touchdowns (three) and yards per catch (18.7) among those with multiple catches. Six different players have at least one touchdown catch.
• Wilson (3.86 yards per route run) and Bell (2.66) are among the Big Ten’s most efficient pass-catchers (minimum 10 targets). Luke Schoonmaker (2.49) is the No. 2-ranked tight end in the league in that metric.
• U-M boasts a pair of scorers in the top 15 in the country — Corum (12 points per game) is the No. 1 point-producer in all of FBS competition and kicker Jake Moody (10.0) ranks 13th.
• Opposing offenses have been held to 4.1 yards per play, including a stingy 2.9 yards per rush. Opponents have lost 140 yards on tackles for loss, spread across 17 different Wolverine contributors. Mike Morris (6.0) leads the group and has generated minus-31 yards for opponents on his own.
• Among defenders with at least 30 pass rush snaps (six per game), Morris leads the Big Ten and ranks second in the country in PFFCollege’s PRP (pass rush productivity) grade. The service grades him with a 43.3 percent win rate in pass rush situations.
• In the category of ‘total pressures’, defined by sacks, hits, and hurries combined, Morris (19) and Harrell (16) are Michigan’s leaders and rank fourth and eighth in the Big Ten, respectively.
• Among Big Ten defenders with at least 100 coverage snaps, Gemon Green has earned the No. 11 coverage grade so far this season. Green has allowed one catch on six targets for four yards.
• Makari Paige has been graded as one of the top slot defenders in the Big Ten (No. 3), allowing one catch for every 23 snaps spent in that area of the field. R.J. Moten (one catch per 14 snaps) and Mike Sainristil (one per 11 on 99 slot coverage snaps) have also been effective in that part of the field.
• Punter Brad Robbins entered the season with a career average of 43.2 yards on 136 attempts. In just 15 punts this season, he’s already upped his average to 43.5 yards, now within a yard of the career record (44.3 yards per attempt) held by his former teammate Will Hart (111 attempts).
• Among punters with at least one punt per game (five), Robbins’ 4.45-second hang time is the best in the country, according to PFFCollege. He is the only punter in the nation above 4.4 seconds. The average among Big Ten punters who meet the same qualifications is 3.89 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 (99 punts). So far this year, return attempts gain 2.25 yards on average.
• Eleven (11) of Robbins’ 15 punts have been downed, fair caught, or rolled out of bounds. The other three have been returned for a combined total of nine yards. U-M is No. 3 in the nation in net punting (44.88 yards per attempt). The slim difference between U-M’s yards per punt (45.7) and net yards per punt has long been Robbins’ calling card.
• Robbins’ special teams partner Jake Moody has allowed four returns on 35 kickoffs this season. When opponents do attempt a return, they start at their 17-yard line on average.
• Moody has also cracked the top 10 in career scoring at U-M with 257 points (eighth). Next up on the list: running backs coach Mike Hart (262 career points).
• PFF ranks Michigan as the No. 1 team in the nation in tackling; second in overall team ranking; fourth in run defense and total defense; sixth in total offense; ninth in special teams; 11th in pass coverage, and 14th in receiving grade. The service also gives U-M a top-25 rank in run blocking and pass blocking.
• Kenneth Grant is the lone Wolverine from the state of Indiana.
