Michigan Football's regular season superlatives

Michigan football closed out one of its best regular seasons in program history with a 12-1 record and Big Ten Championship win. With weeks to go until the College Football Playoff semifinal vs. Georgia, we have rounded up some superlatives from a memorable campaign.

Here are some of the unsung heroes, critical moments and more from Michigan’s season.

Most valuable player

This one does not seem all that debatable. Fourth-year defensive end/linebacker Aidan Hutchinson is a godsend for this group and led all season. He came back to Michigan for another football season to beat Ohio State and win a Big Ten Championship. Hutchinson more than did his part, notching a program-record 14 sacks in 13 games and finishing second in the Heisman Trophy race.

Michigan’s offensive unsung hero

It is not often that the quarterback is not the most popular offensive player. Redshirt freshman Cade McNamara had to fight off criticisms – some warranted, many not – that he could lead a Big Ten Champion. The stats (2,470 yards, 15 touchdowns, four interceptions) do not jump off the paper but he was everything Michigan asked him to be.

McNamara’s biggest strength was his poise and ability to produce within the framework of the offense. He came through almost every time Michigan needed to put a drive together in a critical moment.

The defensive unsung hero

No matter the style or the scheme, good defenses start with being stout upfront. Third-year nose tackle Mazi Smith did what was asked of him this year and helped absorb blockers. His success there opened things up for all three levels of Michigan’s defense. Smith was Michigan’s Hard Hat Player of the Week for performances against Washington and Indiana. He also shared Defensive Player of the Week honors for his play at Nebraska. Smith’s role is far from a glamorous one, but he does the dirty work well.

Most sustainable Michigan breakout

Redshirt freshman cornerback DJ Turner has the look of Michigan’s next star on the back end. He came on halfway through the season and immediately became one of the better defenders on the roster. Turner ended the regular season with PFF’s 13th-highest coverage grade in the country (87.4). He had two interceptions this season, one of which was returned for a touchdown. Turner should be considered the leader for the CB1 job next season.

Best playcall

Offensive coordinator Josh Gattis pulled rabbits out of his hat all season long. It would be tough to top one of the signature moments of the Big Ten Championship win over Iowa, though.

Gattis dialed up a halfback pass from freshman Donovan Edwards to wide receiver Roman Wilson to go up 14-0 in the first quarter in Indianapolis.

There were plenty of flea flickers and reverses in the Michigan playbook this year, but this was the peak of Gattis’ creativity. We will have to wait and see what tricks could be in store for the College Football Playoff game vs. Georgia.

Best performance

Hutchinson’s three-sack game against the Ohio State Buckeyes is likely what sent him to the Heisman Ceremony. But we will look at the other side of the ball for the season’s best performance.

Junior running back Hassan Haskins‘ showing in Michigan’s domination of the Buckeyes is one for the ages. He finished with 168 yards and five touchdowns on the day, punishing OSU’s defense all afternoon.

The “this team is different” moment

Michigan football had trouble in the past with games on the road, especially in tough environments. In its first road game of the 2021 campaign, they found themselves in a familiar house of horrors in Wisconsin. Not only did they flip the script and inflict a 38-17 beatdown, but they also made the environment their own.

The Wolverines took Wisconsin’s “Jump Around” tradition between the third and fourth quarters and decided to participate on their own. This was no longer a team with a “deer in the headlights” look away from the Big House. In hindsight, this is where it started to feel the DNA of this team was different than the past.

Michigan football’s signature moment

Michigan exorcised a major demon on Nov. 27 when it beat Ohio State. There were other gut checks this season (at Nebraska and Penn State) that showed the team’s grit and toughness. However, the Ohio State game paid off a year’s worth of work and slaying narratives about the football program. The excitement spilled over onto the field and has lasted well into the month of December. Time will tell if it was a turning point for the program and the rivalry, but for one day it was a celebration.

Harbaugh compared the next week’s challenge vs. Iowa as having to refocus in the style of the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team did after beating the Russians. Given they blew the barn doors off of Iowa, it seems it was a job well done. The Big Ten Championship was a coronation for the Wolverines.

Biggest anomaly

The 20-13 win over Rutgers on Sept. 27 was a snapshot that looked more like a blip on the radar the longer the season went. Both Michigan and the Scarlet Knights came into the football game 3-0, but it was the Wolverines who jumped out to a 20-3 halftime lead. From there, they could hardly move the football and the offense looked all out of sorts. It took a little bit of luck and some big-time stops on defense to seal the victory. There were legitimate concerns coming out of the game about the performance and Michigan did not look like a Big Ten contender to start conference play.

The games that followed were the road wins at Wisconsin and Nebraska. They blew out the Badgers and fought hard in a night game in Lincoln to prove what happened a few weeks before was a fluke.

Best coaching job

Harbaugh’s fingerprints are over the entirety of this operation, which earned him AP Coach of the Year honors. However, we will single out an assistant on each side of the ball.

Offensive line coach/co-offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore helmed a group that led the way all season. The guys in the trenches on offense set the identity for the team and it started with the mindset that was preached by Moore. There was enhanced ownership and communication in the room and we saw it play out on the field. It opened things up for the rest of the offense to do its job.

Defensive backs coach Steve Clinkscale gets the nod for the work he did on the back end. We mentioned Turner earlier in this article, but Vincent Gray played his best football at the other corner spot. That was seen as a position group with question marks coming into the year and he helped develop one of the better cornerback duos in the Big Ten.