One win is an anomaly. Two is a trend. And on Saturday, Michigan football notched its second-straight win over the rival Ohio State Buckeyes.
With the win over OSU, the Wolverines win the Big Ten East division and will play in the Big Ten Championship game for the second-straight year, as well, with a College Football Playoff berth all-but sewn up. Whether or not Ohio State gets in depends on what happens the rest of this and next Saturday.
Surely, as you were engrossed in the game, there are likely a lot of facts, tidbits, stats, and things you didn’t know about the Wolverines’ big win. Thankfully, MGoBlue.com has all of us covered.
Here are some things you maybe didn’t know about The Game.
Facts/stats
• Michigan has won at least a share of the Big Ten East title for the third time in program history, and the second consecutive season. The Wolverines will seek their league-leading 44th Big Ten title next Saturday night at Lucas Oil Stadium.
• U-M earned its 60th win in 119 meetings with Ohio State (60-52-6) and evened up the all-time series in Columbus (28-28-2) with today’s victory.
• Michigan has won back-to-back games in the series since 1999-2000, and won for the first time in Ohio Stadium since 2000, ending a nine-game road losing streak in the series.
• Prior to today’s game, the Buckeyes had won every game by double-digits this season and led the FBS with a margin of victory of +29.5 points per game.
• U-M picked up its first road win against a top-five team since 2006 (at Notre Dame).
• The Wolverines ended the Buckeyes’ 29-game home Big Ten winning streak which dated to the 2015 season. OSU would have been the sixth team in FBS history to reach 30 straight league wins at home.
• Both of Ohio State’s Big Ten losses (two) under head coach Ryan Day have come against Michigan (2021).
• Michigan has reached the 12-0 mark for the first time since the 1997 season (12-0). It is just the fourth season in program history to produce a 12-win team (1905, 1997, 2021).
• On the season, U-M has allowed only 20 third-quarter points all season. The Wolverines kept the Buckeyes off the scoreboard in the third quarter today.
• Quarterback J.J. McCarthy registered his fourth game this year with at least three-plus touchdowns responsible for (Hawaii, at Indiana, Rutgers, at Nebraska). McCarthy’s four total touchdowns (one rushing) were a career-high.
• McCarthy is the first quarterback in program history to begin his career with at least 11 wins as a starter before taking his first loss. The previous record-holder was Dennis Franklin (10 wins to begin career as a starter) in 1972.
• Michigan’s scoring drive to put the game up 31-20 near the end of the third quarter and start of the fourth quarter was one of the longest of the year. It lasted 15 plays (tied-most plays in a single drive this season) and took 7:51 off the game clock. Only the 15-play, 9:26-second drive against Penn State took more time.
• Donovan Edwards ran for 216 yards on 22 carries (9.8 ypc) and two touchdowns with 207 of those yards coming in the second half.
• Michigan’s first points of the day came from a 49-yard field goal by kicker Jake Moody. It was the 15th made field goal of Moody’s career from beyond 40 yards, and his eighth this season. Both set new U-M career and single-season records.
• Cornelius Johnson made a 69-yard touchdown reception midway through the second quarter, marking the longest catch of the year by any Wolverine. It was Johnson’s team-leading fifth touchdown catch this season.
• Johnson followed up with a 75-yard score on the next drive. It was U-M’s first game with multiple touchdown passes of 60-plus yards since Western Michigan last year (69 yards, Daylen Baldwin; 76 yards, Ronnie Bell).
• The 45-yard touchdown catch from tight end Colston Loveland, the lone U-M freshman to start on either side of the ball in today’s contest, was his first career touchdown as well as the longest reception of his career.
• Johnson finished the game with 160 receiving yards, the fourth-highest single-game total in rivalry history. Only Jeremy Gallon (175 yards,2013), Braylon Edwards (172 yards, 2004) and Marquise Walker (160 yards, 2001) are the only Wolverines with at least that total.
• Only Penn State (482 yards) is the only team to put more yards of total offense against the Buckeyes than U-M did this season. No one scored more points than U-M did today.
• The Buckeyes were 5-of-17 on combined third- and fourth-down opportunities.
• In his third career start, defensive back Will Johnson set a new career high with eight tackles (seven solo).
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