Fact or fiction: Blake Corum will surpass 2022 statistical marks, Donovan Edwards will break RB receptions record

On this week’s episode of TheWolverine.com podcast, Clayton Sayfie, Chris Balas and Anthony Broome weighed in on some “fact or fiction” questions for Michigan Wolverines football‘s 2023 season. Here are the prompts and the writers’ responses below.

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Fact or fiction: Blake Corum will rush for EITHER more yards OR more touchdowns than last season — 1,463 yards, 18 touchdowns

Balas: “FACT. I think he’s going to have some really big games. He came back, and you want to reward a guy like that with the potential for a Heisman Trophy — and I think he will have an opportunity to do that. I think [junior running back] Donovan Edwards will have more carries [than he did last season], but Blake Corum will up his game to the point that, yes, he is going to eclipse that. Assuming he stays healthy, he will be one of the [four] guys invited to New York for the Heisman Trophy ceremony.

Broome: “FICTION. And not because I don’t think he’s going to be healthy … I think he’s going to be every bit the guy that he was, but I also think that Michigan is going to be a little bit more careful about his workload, and work Donovan Edwards a little bit more — again, assuming both stay healthy. There were times when Blake has had to carry more of the load because Donovan hasn’t been out there. I’m going to say fiction, but not off by much. I just think that those guys are going to have pretty spread out production. I think it will probably be pretty equal production, honestly.”

Sayfie: “FACT. I think 18 might be harder to attain — even though he will be that short-yardage guy — than the yards. I think he can get the yards, with more games. He played in 12 games last year, but one of those was the Ohio State game [when he was injured]. So I’m going to go with fact, probably on the yards.”

Fact or fiction: Donovan Edwards will break Michigan’s single-season record for receptions by a running back, set by Chris Perry, who had 44 catches in 2003

Broome: “FACT. Forty four is not a lot. I could see him somewhere in that 50 or 60 range. I think that 3 or 4 catches a game probably seems about right for him. Again, they’re going to want to mix him in as a running back, obviously, as well. We’ve talked about how maybe there’s a little bit of potential there where you can use him in that [San Francisco 49ers wide receiver] Deebo Samuel type of role. But I think 44 catches, assuming he stays healthy … there could be a couple game where he has 7, 8, 9 catches, depending on what defenses are giving Michigan, especially if these teams are trying to take away the deep ball again and you’ve got all this space to work with underneath.

Balas: “FICTION. I’d love to see it be fact, but I want to see him on the field at the same time as Blake Corum — I want to see him in the slot. [Michigan running backs coach and run game coordinator] Mike Hart said he could probably line up at slot receiver at many of the programs in this country and start. And I think he should. Do I think he will? I’ve gotta see it, because I think you’ve got a head coach who’s kind of set in his ways, and we’ve seen that. I do think he’ll get his touches and I think you’ll see him get some more touches at running back, as well, but man. That is kind of a lot of catches for a running back. I remember, I think it was Chris Howard, too, back in 1997 had a few. He might’ve even been Michigan’s leading receiver in terms of catches, and it wasn’t that many.”

Sayfie: “FICTION. It doesn’t seem like that big of a number, but it’s just really hard to do. I was looking at the Big Ten numbers last year, and only one Big Ten running back had anywhere near this — 55 from Evan Hull from Northwestern. But they had absolutely no one on their offense. I think Michigan has enough options to go to, including with the tight ends, including with even Blake Corum on some screen passes. … It’s just hard to do, and looking at the record book, there are a few guys in the 30s, even top 10 would be like 29. He’s easily, if he stays healthy, going to get in that top 10, maybe even top five.”

Fact or fiction: Michigan will have 3 or more regular-season games that are either 1) losses or 2) decided by single digits this season

Sayfie: “FACT. They had two last season — Illinois and Maryland. They had four in 2021, including a loss to Michigan State. They will have three or more. I could see them losing a regular-season game. You look at Ohio State, Penn State as the most likely there. And then those ones could be single digits even if they win. When I look at that Nebraska-Minnesota stretch, I just have a feeling, guys, that one of those games is going to be close. And you never know — even the Maryland game last year, yeah, they scored a garbage time touchdown late, but the score ended up in single digits.”

Balas: “FACT. I think Penn State is a loss, maybe, at this point. I have the right to change my mind! But, you know what, it’s so hard to go through a season undefeated, and if you had to pick one loss on the schedule going in, Ohio State could be up there, but I would think it’s going to be a road game. Five of the last eight games are on the road. Nebraska — they should win that game, but we were there a couple years ago, guys, and that place was crazy. Best environment for college football I’ve ever been in for a night game. It was absolutely nuts, and we’ve seen how that can play … emotions can play factors in games.”

Broome: “FACT. You’ve got the rivalry games that you have. You’ve got the road game at Penn State. There’s always the ‘oh shit’ games — there’s always one of those. So yeah, I’ll go fact on that one. I think Ohio State’s going to give them a battle for four quarters this year. I do think Michigan will win, but that one’s going to be a little bit more of a barn burner than the last two years.”

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