By The Numbers: Michigan Looking To Extend Sport's Longest Active Win Streak, Repeat As National Champions For Sixth Time In Program History

By Clayton Sayfie

Michigan Wolverines football will take the field Saturday — set to open the year against Fresno State — for the first time since walking off a confetti-filled one Jan. 8 in Houston after winning the national championship game.

The Maize and Blue took on all comers last season, winning the program’s 12th national title and finishing as the 64th college football team to post an undefeated record. They’re one of four teams in history to conclude 15-0 with a national title, joining Georgia in 2022, LSU in 2019 and Clemson in 2018. It’s worth noting that Alabama was 13-0 in the shortened 2020 campaign.

Of course, that gives Michigan the nation’s longest active win streak with 15 victories in a row. It hasn’t gone down since Dec. 31, 2022, a 51-45 loss to Texas Christian in the College Football Playoff semifinal.

Just 13 other teams have active win streaks of three games or more:
• Michigan — 15
• Arizona — 7
• Clemson — 5
• Army — 4
• LSU — 4
• Missouri — 4
• Northwestern — 4
• Ohio — 4
• Northern Illinois — 3
• Notre Dame — 3
• Ole Miss — 3
• West Virginia — 3
• Western Kentucky — 3
• Wyoming — 3

Michigan’s 15-game win streak is its longest since notching victories in 23-consecutive outings from 1946-49.

As part of an incredible three-year stretch from 2021-23, Michigan has actually won 40 of its last 43 games. Its 40 victories in the last three seasons and 28 in the last two are both program records.

Michigan has had stellar success at home in recent years, too. The Wolverines currently own a 22-game winning streak at The Big House, the largest stadium in the nation.

Michigan has won 13 of its last 17 season-openers, including eight of their last 10. The Wolverines haven’t lost a season-opener played in Ann Arbor since falling to Utah, 25-23, Aug. 30, 2008. The Utes went on to finish that season 13-0 with a Sugar Bowl victory over Alabama.

That loss to the Utes was actually Michigan’s last setback to a Mountain West opponent. Utah moved to the Pac-12 ahead of the 2011 season and is now a member of the Big 12.

Michigan is 13-1 all time against the Mountain West and has had recent success versus the conference. The Wolverines have taken on three programs from the league over the previous two seasons — UNLV in 2023 and Colorado State and Hawai’i in 2022 — winning those games by an average margin of 39.3 points. Michigan is 12-0 when facing schools that are currently in the Mountain West.

Michigan’s record after winning national championships

The 2024 Wolverines are hoping they won’t have the same early-season fate as the 1998 squad, which lost its first two games — to Notre Dame and Syracuse, both of whom were ranked — after winning the national title the previous season. They responded well, though, finishing 10-3 with a share of the Big Ten title.

In its 11 prior seasons following up national championships, Michigan has repeated as champs five times — in 1902, 1903, 1904, 1933 and 1948.

The Maize and Blue have also had some massive disappointments when defending national titles, including going 3-4 in 1919 and 1-7 in 1934.

Season	Record	Repeat?
1902	11-0	Yes
1903	11-0-1	Yes
1904	10-0	Yes
1905	12-1	No
1919	3-4	No
1924	6-2	No
1933	7-0-1	Yes
1934	1-7	No
1948	9-0	Yes
1949	6-2-1	No
1998	10-3	No

By the numbers: Michigan vs. Fresno State

.624 Is the winning percentage of Michigan’s 2024 opponents last season (98-59 overall record). Nine of the Wolverines’ 12 regular-season foes made bowl games in 2023. Michigan is one of 15 FBS programs not facing an FCS opponent this year.

1st-Ever meeting between Michigan and Fresno State will take place Saturday.

1-0 Is Fresno State interim head coach Tim Skipper‘s official record leading the program. He took over for Jeff Tedford before last season’s New Mexico Bowl in which the Bulldogs beat New Mexico State, 37-10. Health concerns were why Tedford was out at the time, and they forced him to step down in late-July. Michigan head man Sherrone Moore is also officially 1-0, leading the Wolverines to victory over Bowling Green last season. He was the acting head coach in three other games but didn’t get official credit for those wins.

4-11 Is Fresno State’s record versus the Big Ten. The Bulldogs have beaten Illinois twice and Purdue and Wisconsin once each.

5 Fresno State players received All-Mountain West recognition last season: senior offensive lineman Mose Vavao (second team), senior defensive lineman Devo Bridges (second team), junior quarterback Mikey Keene (honorable mention), senior running back Malik Sherrod (honorable mention) and senior offensive lineman Jacob Spomer (honorable mention).

5-6 Is Fresno State’s record against Power Conference opponents since 2018. Five of the six losses came by one possession.

9 Or more wins for Fresno State in each of the last three seasons, including two 10-win campaigns from 2021-22 and a nine-win year in 2023.

15 Combined career passes thrown by Michigan’s two contenders for the starting quarterback job: 14 by senior Davis Warren and 1 from junior Alex Orji. Warren is 5-of-14 for 89 yards with 1 interception, and Orji is 1-of-1 for 5 yards. Orji’s role to this point has been on the ground, with the 6-foot-3, 235-pounder racking up 123 yards and 3 touchdowns on 21 career carries.

33-Straight wins for Michigan against non-Power Conference / Notre Dame teams. The last time the Wolverines fell victim to one of those programs was a 13-10 setback to Toledo Oct. 11, 2008.

35 Of Michigan’s last 36 games with fans in the stands at The Big House have resulted in a Wolverine triumph. It’s important to note that the Wolverines went 0-3 at Michigan Stadium in 2020, when there weren’t more than 1,000 spectators allowed to be present due to a Big Ten rule.

2015 Is when Fresno State special teams coordinator John Baxter served in the same role for Michigan.