Michigan football countdown to kickoff: 88 days until 2022 season
There’s much anticipation heading into the Michigan Wolverines football season, and TheWolverine.com is counting down the days until the Sept. 3 opener against Colorado State. We’ll discuss the current Michigan events, upcoming season and/or take a look at a significant number that correlates with how many days remain until kickoff, whether it be a player’s jersey number, a year, a date, a score, etc.
Tight ends rule the day with 88 more flips of the calendar until Michigan begins its 2022 season. It’s about a tie when it comes to the best Wolverine to wear No. 88 — with Jim Mandich and Jake Butt both having extremely strong cases.
Mandich played at Michigan from 1975-69 and had an outstanding career. When considering tight ends weren’t used in the passing game as they are now, Mandich’s numbers are all the more impressive. He hauled in 119 catches for 1,508 yards and eight touchdowns during his career and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2004. He was first-team All-Big Ten in both 1968 and 1969.
A 1969 team captain, Mandich helped Michigan, under first-year head coach Bo Schembechler, take down undefeated Ohio State to conclude the regular season, 24-12, and win the Big Ten.
Mandich passed away of cancer in 2011.
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Mandich is second among tight ends in Michigan history in both career receptions (119) and receiving yards (1,508), behind Jake Butt‘s respective marks of 138 and 1,646.
An All-American in 2015 and a consensus All-American in 2016, Butt started 37 of his 49 career games and racked up 138 career catches (most in school history) for 1,646 yards (most in school history) and 11 touchdowns (second-most in school history).
The 2016 John Mackey Award winner for the nation’s top tight end suffered a torn ACL in the Orange Bowl that set him back in his professional career. He was a fifth-round pick to the Denver Broncos, before injuries continued to derail his NFL career.
A regular guest on The Wolverine Podcast, Butt is back in Ann Arbor working in broadcasting, most recently doing color commentary for Michigan’s spring game on Big Ten Network.
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88 consecutive made extra points for Jake Moody
Michigan graduate kicker Jake Moody hasn’t missed an extra point in his college career, a perfect 88 out of 88.
Knock on wood.
Moody’s 88 consecutive made extra points mark the fourth-longest streak in Michigan history, behind Brendan Gibbons (141), J.D. Carlson (126) and Kenny Allen (99). If he keeps it alive, given he made 56 extra points last season, Moody could beat out Gibbons and take the top spot on the leaderboard.
The Wolverines are fortunate to get Moody back for a fifth season, an underrated returning piece on the 2022 Michigan team. He was named preseason second-team All-American by Lindy’s and is the main man for a U-M special teams unit that ranked first in the country last season per Football Outsiders’ efficiency ratings.
A three-time All-Big Ten honoree, Moody was a 2021 consensus All-American and Michigan’s first ever Lou Groza Award winner, which is handed out to the nation’s top kicker. He led the team with 125 points, the second-highest single-season total in program history and most-ever by a kicker, nailing 23 of his 25 field goal attempts with a program-record 56 extra points. He also sailed 98 kickoffs with a 62.8-yard average and 65 touchbacks.
