• Michigan will take its top-ranked scoring offense on the road to face the top-ranked scoring defense in the country in Iowa.
• The Wolverines are scoring at a clip of 50 points per game and claim the No. 7 scoring defense (11 points allowed per game) through the first quarter of the regular season. Alabama (No. 5 offense, No. 3 defense) is the only other team in the country ranked in the top 10 on both sides of the ball.
• The Wolverines are scoring 5.2 touchdowns for every one they allow (26 to five) in the early going, and have made twice as many field goals (six) as opponents have attempted (three).
• At 200 points through four games, this is among the highest-scoring Michigan teams in recent history. Since 1905, the only team with more points through the season’s first four games is the 2016 squad (208 points).
• Maryland’s early field goal last weekend marked the first time an opponent had put points on the board in the first half against U-M this season. That ended a streak of 92 minutes and 25 seconds of first-half shutout football by the Michigan defense to begin the season.
• Iowa has the nation’s No. 1 scoring defense (5.8 points per game), having allowed only two touchdowns and 23 total points this season. No team has scored a rushing touchdown against them through four games.
• Dating to last season, U-M has totaled 30 rushing touchdowns across its last eight games (17 in first four games of 2022, 13 in final four games of 2021).
• Blake Corum’s explosive start to the season continues. Corum’s career-best 243 yards last weekend were the most by a U-M back since Tshimanga Biakabutuka in 1995 (313 yards vs Ohio State). Denard Robinson’s 2010 performance against Notre Dame (258 rushing yards) was the last time any Wolverine had a game on the ground like Corum did against Maryland.
• Corum ranks seventh in the country in rushing yards (478), fifth in yards per carry (7.47), and first in rushing touchdowns (nine).
• In Michigan’s modern era, no player has rushed for as many touchdowns through the first four games of the season than Corum has this year. Tyrone Wheatley’s 1993 season is closest (eight). The last Wolverine at any position responsible for nine touchdowns in the first four games of the year was Shea Patterson in 2019 (six passing, three rushing).
• Among backs with at least 30 carries, Corum’s 7.5 yards per attempt ranks eighth in the country. As a freshman, Corum averaged 3.0 yards per carry on 26 rush attempts. In the ensuing 207 carries across 16 games, he has averaged better than 6.9 yards per carry, including 6.35 yards per carry in Big Ten play.
• Corum has produced eight of Michigan’s 26 explosive offensive plays (20-plus yards). PFFCollege credits him with 11 designed runs of 15-plus yards, most among FBS ball carriers.
• More than two-thirds of Corums’ 243 yards against Maryland came after contact (165), via PFFCollege. The service also credits Corum with 18 missed tackles forced on 63 carries this season, and notes he has picked up 26 first downs, eighth-most in the country.
• The U-M offensive line has permitted 16 negative plays on 258 offensive snaps (four in each game), or on 6.0 percent of all offensive snaps. Opponents have hurried or sacked a U-M passer 10 times across 16 quarters of play.
• The line has helped bolster the run game to the tune of 6.32 sack-adjusted rush yards per attempt and 7.6 yards per play overall. U-M ball carriers have lost just 25 yards on 156 rush attempts,
• J.J. McCarthy will make his first career road start this weekend. He continues to complete passes at a lofty rate, with a nation-leading 80 percent (48-of-60) line this year. McCarthy was 17-for-18 for 171 yards and two touchdowns on short (0-10 yards) and intermediate throws (10-20) on Saturday.
• The signal-caller has tossed five touchdown passes, calculating to an 8.3 touchdown percentage this year. McCarthy also leads the FBS in yards per attempt (11.6) and ranks third in pass efficiency (204.5).
• McCarthy has generated two turnover-worthy plays in 60 pass attempts, according to PFFCollege. Iowa’s Spencer Petras has generated four in 95 attempts.
• When McCarthy starts and finishes a Michigan drive, U-M has produced 16 touchdowns and three field goals on 26 possessions, translating to points on 73 percent of drives. In his three starts, the team has scored in 16 of 17 red zone trips (94.1 percent) with 14 touchdowns.
• The U-M passing attack has been varied in the early going. So far, 20 different players have at least one catch. Ronnie Bell leads all pass catchers in receptions (17) and yards (253), while Roman Wilson leads in touchdown catches (three) and yards per catch (24.5). Luke Schoonmaker’s seven catches last weekend were not only a career-high, but tied for the most for a U-M pass catcher in a single game this season (Bell, UConn).
• U-M boasts a pair of scorers in the top 15 in the country — Corum (13.5 points per game) is the No. 1 point-producer in all of FBS competition and kicker Jake Moody (10.2) ranks 15th.
• Opponents have been held to 3.9 yards per play, including a stingy 4.7 yards per pass. Opponents have lost 104 yards on tackles for loss.
• Overall, 15 different players have contributed to 26 tackles for loss, led by Mike Morris and Mike Sainristil (4.0 each).
• Among Big Ten defenders with at least 30 pass rush snaps, Morris ranks third in PFFCollege’s PRP (pass rush productivity) grade. The service grades him with a 23.8 percent win rate in pass rush situations.
• Kris Jenkins has been credited with 11 run stops, tied-seventh among front seven defenders in the Big Ten.
• Among defenders with at least 100 coverage snaps, DJ Turner grades as the seventh-best in the country. He has allowed an NFL passer rating against of 14.6, allowing a catch every 21.6 snaps in coverage.
• Robbins entered the season with a career average of 43.2 yards on 136 attempts. In just 11 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 (four), Robbins’ 4.55-second hang time is the best on 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 3.98 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 (95 punts). Robbins missed the 2018 and most of the 2019 seasons.
• Maryland registered an eight-yard punt return last weekend, marking the first return yards allowed by U-M’s punt coverage unit this year. Eight of Robbins’ 11 punts have been downed, fair caught, or rolled out of bounds.
• Robbins’ special teams partner Jake Moody has allowed three returns on 29 kickoffs this season. When opponents do attempt a return, they start at their 18-yard line on average. He’s also cracked the top 10 in career scoring at U-M with 249 points. With his next field goal, he’ll tie Denard Robinson (252) for ninth-most all-time.
• PFF ranks Michigan as the No. 1 team in the nation in pass coverage and tackling; second in overall team ranking and total defense; fourth in run defense; seventh in total offense; eighth in receiving grade; tied-ninth in special teams.
• Iowa is the No. 1 team in total defense and ranks third in run defense, as well as sixth in pass coverage and tackling,
