• U-M is on to Big Ten play. The Wolverines have 50 wins in the program’s last 54 Big Ten openers.
• Forty (40) players have seen their first playing time as Wolverines this season. That figure includes five different first-year Wolverines who joined the team via transfer, meaning 35 players have made collegiate debuts so far.
• U-M boasts the nation’s No. 1 scoring offense (55.3 points per game) and the No. 4 scoring defense (5.7 points allowed per game) through three weeks.
• The 17 points Michigan has allowed thus far represent the lowest total at this stage of the year since the 2003 squad limited its first three opponents to 10 combined points.
• Each of U-M’s first three opponents has failed to score in the first half and 14 of 17 points overall have been scored in the fourth quarter.
• No Michigan squad had ever opened the season with three consecutive games scoring 50 points until the 2022 team accomplished the feat. The last three-game stretch of any kind which saw the Maize and Blue score 50-plus points came in 1903. During that season, U-M won five consecutive games with scores of 76-0, 79-0, 65-0, 51-0, and 88-0.
• The Wolverines have secured victory with a margin of 40-plus points in each of the first three games (51-7, 56-10, 59-0). The last time Michigan won three straight games with a scoring margin of 40 points or more was during the 1991 season, when it beat Minnesota, 52-6, Purdue, 42-0, and Northwestern, 59-14.
• In his second career start, J.J. McCarthy continued to complete passes at a high clip. This season, he is 30-of-34 passing for 473 yards (13.9 yards per attempt) and three touchdowns, plus another on the run. That adds up to an 8.8 touchdown percentage this season, in line with his 8.6 career percentage (on 93 passes).
• So far, 20 different Wolverines have at least one catch this season. Ronnie Bell (14 catches) leads the group in receptions and yards (181) and Roman Wilson (two) leads in touchdowns. Wilson (one rushing, three total) has three touchdowns on seven offensive touches total.
• The U-M offensive line has allowed nine negative plays on 192 offensive snaps (three in each game), or on 4.6 percent of all offensive snaps. On average, Wolverine passers are hurried just once per game.
• The line has helped bolster the run game to the tune of 6.2 sack-adjusted rush yards per attempt and 7.8 yards per play overall.
• According to Pro Football Focus College (PFFCollege), Blake Corum has forced 13 missed tackles on 34 carries. His seven rushing scores lead the country and are the most by a U-M back through three games since Chris Perry (2003) had seven.
• U-M boasts a pair of scorers in the top 15 in the country — Corum (14.0 points per game) is No. 2 in the country and kicker Jake Moody (10.3) ranks 15th.
• Despite Michigan being a heavy favorite in each game thus far and the Wolverines jumping out to quick leads in all three contests, opponents have combined to average fewer than 100 yards per game (91.3) through the air. Opposing passers average 3.5 yards per attempt (274 yards on 77 passes).
• The run defense is even stingier, limiting opponents to 3.0 yards per carry, and opponents have lost 81 yards on sacks.
• Overall, 14 different players have contributed to 18 tackles for loss, led by Mike Morris (3.0)
• Jaylen Harrell has been credited by PFFCollege with the top Pass Rush Production (PRP) grade in the Big Ten. The service also ranks Mike Morris (ninth), Eyabi Okie (10th), and Braiden McGregor (13th) among the conference’s best pass rushers.
• Defensive back Gemon Green has been targeted more times (six) without allowing a completion than any player graded by PFFCollege. He has one pass breakup, allowing a 39.6 NFL Passer rating against.
• Fellow defensive back Will Johnson has also graded favorably, playing 14 coverage snaps out of 40 in man coverage. Johnson has yielded one reception on four targets in such situations, making him the No. 2-graded Big Ten corner in man coverage (minimum 30 snaps).
• Eight attempts into the 2022 campaign, no punt returner has gained a yard against the U-M punt coverage team and punter Brad Robbins, though two have tried without gaining a yard. The other six attempts have been downed, fair caught or rolled out of bounds.
• Robbins’ two-punt performance of 62 and 53 yards last weekend upped his career average to 43.4 yards on 144 career attempts, now within striking range of the career record (44.3) held by Will Hart (111 attempts).
• 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 (92 punts). Robbins missed the 2018 and most of the 2019 seasons.
• Robbins’ special teams partner Jake Moody has allowed one 23-yard return on 22 kickoffs. He’s also cracked the top 15 in all-time scoring at U-M with 239 points. With another eight points, he’ll pass former teammate Quinn Nordin (246 points) and enter the top-10 all-time.
• Punt return man A.J. Henning, who returned a kickoff for a touchdown against Maryland last year and a punt for a score this past weekend against UConn, is the fourth player in Michigan history with a touchdown via kick and punt return in his career (Steve Breaston, Desmond Howard, Dave Raimey).
• Maryland is the home state for five Wolverines: edges Derrick Moore, Eyabi Okie, defensive lineman Kris Jenkins, defensive back Quinten Johnson, and offensive lineman Olusegun Oluwatimi. In addition, running back Blake Corum and linebacker Nikhai Hill-Green attended school at St. Frances Academy in Baltimore.
