COLLEGE PARK, Md. — It wasn’t pretty, but neither was Week 12 last year. Regardless, Michigan football entered SECU Stadium at 10-0 and is leaving 11-0 with a chance to make its third straight Big Ten Championship game next week if it can beat Ohio State.
Maryland made it difficult, however, and like last year’s game against Illinois, it took everything the Wolverines had to escape with a victory. Whether it was the two safeties or the punt block, defense and special teams carried the way.
If you watched the game on TV or were even in the stands watching live, you have a good handle on what happened, but there’s a lot of things you may not know about the game. That’s where the folks at MGoBlue.com have us covered!
Here are some facts, tidbits and trivia from the game you might not have known.
Facts/tidbits:
- Today’s victory marked win 1,000 for the Michigan Football program. U-M is the first team at any level of football to achieve 1,000 wins.
- In the all-time series with Maryland (12 games), U-M is now 11-1 with an eight-game winning streak and a 5-0 mark in College Park.
- The Wolverines have been victorious in 23 straight Big Ten games dating to 2021, the longest streak in program history and the third-longest in Big Ten history.
- The Big Ten Conference does not recognize the 2021 or 2022 Big Ten championship games as conference matchups, so U-M is at 21 straight Big Ten wins. That figure surpassed the previous record, a mark held by Gary Moeller’s 1990-92 teams (19).
- Michigan has been victorious in 27 consecutive regular-season games, the third-longest stretch in Big Ten history. Only the 1901-03 Michigan teams, which won 28 straight regular season games, have won more in program history.
- The Maize and Blue have now gone 11-0 in back-to-back season for the first time in Michigan Football history. It is just the sixth season in program history with at least 11 wins (1986, 1997, 2006, 2021, 2022).
- Michigan has been victorious in 11 straight road league games — dating to Penn State in 2021 — which marks the longest such streak for U-M since a 17-game win streak that occured between 1988 and 1992. There are only five longer streaks in Big Ten history.
- In quarterback J.J. McCarthy’s 24 career starts, U-M is 23-1 for a win rate of 95.8 percent, the best mark by a starting quarterback in at least the last 10 seasons (minimum 20 starts). That stat lists above Trevor Lawrence (34-2; 94.4), Tua Tagovailoa (22-2, 91.7) and Trevone Boykin (22-2, 91.7).
- With 141 yards passing against Maryland, McCarthy (5,570 career pass yards) passed head coach Jim Harbaugh (5,449 yards) for eighth on the program’s all-time passing list. Shea Patterson (5,661 yards) ranks seventh on the list.
- Running back Blake Corum’s first-quarter rushing touchdown was his 19th of the season, passing his single-season total from 2022. He tied Hassan Haskins’ (2021) single-season rushing touchdown record when he scored his 20th in the second quarter.
- Rushing for 94 yards on Saturday, Corum (3,380 yards) is now eighth on U-M’s all-time rushing list, passing Rob Lytle (3,317 yards). He could tie Chris Perry for seventh all-time if he reaches 3,696 yards rushing.
- With two rushing scores today, Corum is at 51 for his career, good for second rank all-time at Michigan. Only Anthony Thomas (55) has more.
- U-M has scored three offensive touchdowns in every game this season.
- Tight end Colston Loveland converted two fourth-down plays with receptions to move the chains. U-M was three-for-three on fourth-down opportunities in the game.
- Linebacker Michael Barrett’s strip sack in the first quarter led to his third forced fumble of the season and the fourth of his career (tied-11th-most).
- Edge rusher Derrick Moore recovered a Maryland fumble and ran it in four yards for his first career touchdown. It marked the fifth touchdown scored by the Michigan defense this season.
- U-M has forced at least one interception, fumble or turnover on downs on the first series of an opponent’s drive in nine straight games — and 10-of-11 overall.
- On the season, U-M has allowed five passing touchdowns to 14 interceptions.
- In the first quarter, linebacker Christian Boivin blocked a punt near the goal line that Maryland’s punter turned and kicked out of the back of the end zone, resulting in a safety. It was the first punt blocked by U-M this season and the first safety for the Wolverines since Dec. 29, 2018 vs. Florida in the Peach Bowl.
- Maryland’s third-quarter rushing touchdown marked the first points U-M has allowed in any third quarter this season.
- Cornerback Mike Sainristil’s fourth-quarter interception shut down a Maryland comeback attempt. Sainristil recorded two picks in the second half for the first two-interception game of his career.
- For the second time in three games, punter Tommy Doman had two of his punts downed inside the 10-yard line. The second such punt against Maryland was downed at the one-yard line, and helped lead to Michigan’s second safety of the game.
- Previously ranking third in the Big Ten in total offense at 396.5 yards per game, Maryland could only muster 262 yards of offense against Michigan. U-M has allowed only one opponent over 300 total offensive yards all season (Nebraska, 305).
- The Wolverines have not allowed an opponent over 100 yards rushing in all but one half this season (first half vs. PSU; 107 yards).