By the numbers: The stats and facts that drove Michigan's Big Ten championship run

First Big Ten title since 2004, third 12-win season in program history, first win over Ohio State since 2011, first-ever College Football Playoff appearance … those are the things surrounding Michigan football that are being talked about. The Wolverines pulled off one of the top turnarounds in program history, after posting a 2-4 record during the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign. Michigan is the first team to begin the season unranked and wind up in the CFP, which began in 2014.

How did the Maize and Blue do it? Here, we go by the numbers and take a look at some of the most important stats and facts that defined the Wolverines’ Big Ten championship run.

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By The Numbers

3-1 Was Michigan’s record in games decided by one score. The Wolverines got a game-sealing turnover to hang on to beat Rutgers 20-13 Sept. 25, used a fumble recovery and game-winning field goal to win at Nebraska 32-29 Nov. 9 and scored on a 47-yard game-winning touchdown to defeat Penn State 21-17 Nov. 13 in State College. Michigan’s only loss in a one-possession game came at Michigan State (37-33 Oct. 30).

4 Interceptions thrown by redshirt freshman quarterback Cade McNamara, which is tied with two others for the fewest among Big Ten signal-callers who have attempted 150 or more passes. McNamara has thrown an interception on just 1.3 percent of his tosses this year.

Plus-5 In turnover margin for the Wolverines, who turned it over 11 times but forced 16 takeaways of their own.

11 Defensive players in history have been named finalists for the Heisman Trophy, and three of them are from Michigan, with junior defensive end Aidan Hutchinson joining Charles Woodson (winner, 1997) and Jabrill Peppers (2016).

15 Pressures by Hutchinson in the Ohio State win are the most a single player has recorded in a single game since Pro Football Focus (PFF) began tracking the stat in 2014. Hutchinson also set U-M’s single-season sack record and leads the rest of the field by two sacks, with 14.0 on the year. He has 73 pressures on 397 pass-rushing snaps.

16.1 Points per game allowed by the Michigan defense, which was overhauled by first-year coordinator Mike Macdonald in the offseason. That mark tops the Big Ten and slots fourth in the sport.

16.3 Pass attempts through the first four games, leading some to question if Michigan had enough firepower through the air. Meanwhile, though, the Wolverines ran for over 300 yards in their first three contests and established the physical identity of the team. Michigan opened up the offense in a 38-17 win at Wisconsin Oct. 2, passing for 253 yards and three touchdowns, and has tossed for over 200 yards in six games since traveling to Madison. McNamara has thrown 308 passes, which currently ranks as the 14th-most by any Michigan signal-caller in a single season, with at least one game to go.

17 Red-zone field goals for Michigan through nine games, which was the second-most in the nation at the time. Even heading into the last two games of the regular season, the Wolverines had a red-zone touchdown percentage of 55.3 percent, which slotted 93rd nationally. Then, Michigan scored touchdowns on five of its six red-zone opportunities at Maryland Nov. 20, before going 6-for-7 against Ohio State (with the one missed opportunity being a kneel down to win the game) and 4-for-4 versus Iowa. Junior kicker Jake Moody was not used for field goals in the last two contests.

17 Plays of 50-plus yards from scrimmage for Michigan, a mark that tops the nation. The Wolverines are tied for first with 10 plays of 60 or more yards and six plays of 70 or more yards.

27 Tackles for loss allowed by the Michigan offense, which tops the country. In fact, the Wolverines yielded 13 (!) less TFLs than any other team, with No. 2 Oregon State having given up 40. The Wolverines also gave up just 10.0 sacks, which slots second nationally and first among Big Ten teams. McNamara has been pressured on just 31.3 percent of his dropbacks, per PFF.

64 Rushing yards for Ohio State against Michigan, which checks in as the least amount of rushing yards the Buckeyes had accumulated in a game since 2011. That exemplified the way Michigan controlled — and really, dominated — the line of scrimmage. They ran for 297 yards and five touchdowns on offense, with redshirt sophomore Hassan Haskins becoming the first player to run for five scores on OSU, and sacked the Buckeyes four times on defense, including three from Hutchinson.

42 Is how many points the Michigan offense put up on Ohio State, which stands as the program’s most points scored on the Buckeyes since 1946 (58). The 15-point margin of victory stands as the largest for U-M in the rivalry since a 28-0 win in 1993.

42-3 Was the final score of Michigan’s Big Ten championship game win over Iowa Dec. 4, which stands as the program’s largest margin of victory against a ranked opponent since 1977, when it crushed No. 14 Wisconsin 56-0. Similarly, Iowa hadn’t lost a game by a wider margin since falling 49-3 to Michigan State in Hawkeye head coach Kirk Ferentz‘s first season of 1999.

67th In the country is where Michigan stands with 228.1 passing yards per game, but the Wolverines are 31st nationally and fourth in the Big Ten with 8.3 yards per attempt.

141-34 Was the combined scores of Michigan’s non-conference games, with the 107 margin of victory standing as the second-most by a Jim Harbaugh-coached Wolverine team. Needless to say, U-M had momentum heading into Big Ten play, then rattled off four straight victories. The Wolverines’ 7-0 start was their best since 2016, when they began 9-0.

194.7 Passing yards allowed per contest for Michigan, with that mark slotting 22nd in the country. Due to the Wolverines ranking inside the top 25 in passing defense after the regular season, per his contract, defensive passing game coordinator Steve Clinkscale will be named co-defensive coordinator for next season.

223.9 Rushing yards per game for Michigan, which ranks ninth in the country. The Wolverines recommitted to running the football in 2021, after mustering up just 131.5 yards per outing on the ground in 2020.

796 Of Haskins’ 1,288 yards have come after contact, per PFF, which checks in 11th nationally. His 101 runs that resulted in first downs top the country by seven, and the next best Power Five back in that category, Oregon’s Travis Dye, is 25 short of Haskins’ mark. Haskins slots 18th on Michigan’s all-time rushers list for a single season and is only 120 yards shy of tying Tony Boles (1988) and cracking the top 10.

900-Plus rushing yards for each of Haskins and second-year freshman running back Blake Corum, who has racked up 939 rushing yards. That means the Wolverines are one of two schools to have a duo of 900-plus yard rushers this season, with Texas A&M being the other.