By the numbers: Michigan's record against the spread under Jim Harbaugh

Michigan Wolverines football has been a massive favorite in each of its first three games, against East Carolina (35.5 points), UNLV (38) and Bowling Green (40.5). The Maize and Blue have failed to cover the Vegas point spread in all three, though they’ve stayed undefeated with lopsided victories. U-M opened as a 31.5-point favorite for this weekend’s Big Ten opener against Rutgers, which is also undefeated at 3-0, but the line has since slid to 24 points.

The Wolverines’ inability to cover the point spread in nonconference play may not be an indicator of what will occur in the future now that the conference season is here. Since 2015, head coach Jim Harbaugh‘s first season, they were 13-16 against the spread (ATS) in nonconference contests entering the 2023 campaign (they’re now 13-19), but 38-30-2 against Big Ten opponents, according to TeamRankings.com.

Overall under Harbaugh, Michigan is 51-49-2 ATS, with a 29-26-1 record at home and 18-17-1 mark on the road. Michigan is also 44-40-2 ATS as a favorite and 7-9-0 as an underdog.

Trend	ATS Record Under Harbaugh
Overall	51-49-2
Conference games	38-30-2
Nonconference games	13-19
Regular season / conference championship games	50-43-2
Bowl games	1-6-0
Home games	29-26-1
Away games	18-17-1
As favorite	44-40-2
As underdog	7-9-0
As home favorite	26-23-1
As home underdog	3-3-0
As away favorite	14-3-1
As away underdog	4-4-0

The under for total points has also hit in all three Michigan games this season, which shouldn’t come as a surprise. Under Harbaugh, the under is 30-19-1 when the Maize and Blue are a home favorite. It’s 30-25-1 in overall home games and 13-18-1 in nonconference contests during that span.

Trend	Over Record Under Harbaugh
Overall	55-46-1
Home games	25-30-1
Away games	22-14-0
As favorite	43-42-1
As underdog	12-4-0
As home favorite	19-30-1
As home underdog	6-0-0
As away favorite	16-12
As away underdog	6-2

Rutgers betting trends

Rutgers is 3-0 ATS this season, covering 5, 7.5 and 6.5 points against Northwestern, Temple and Virginia Tech, respectively. The under has hit in two of three outings.

Fourth-year head coach Greg Schiano has been great for Rutgers bettors in this spot during his second stint in Piscataway. Since 2020, Schiano’s first year back, the Scarlet Knights are 8-3-1 ATS as road underdogs, 10-5-1 ATS as a road team in general and 19-17-1 ATS over the three-plus seasons overall. However, they’re 2-6-1 ATS against ranked opponents, and Michigan stands No. 2 in the nation entering Saturday’s game.

By the numbers: Michigan vs. Rutgers

1st In the country is where Michigan ranks in scoring defense, allowing just 5.3 points per game. The Wolverines are second in total defense, giving up 222.3 yards per outing. Rutgers is tied for seventh in scoring defense, 20th in total defense, 57th against the pass and tied for 12th versus the run.

2 Rutgers opponents have failed to gain 70 rushing yards — Northwestern (12) and Temple (68). The Scarlet Knights have given up just 1 rushing touchdown this season, last week against Virginia Tech, which amassed 129 rushing yards (3.3 yards per carry).

2nd Nationally is where Michigan junior quarterback J.J. McCarthy ranks with his 82.4 completion percentage. He’s averaging 10.3 yards per attempt with 7 touchdowns and 3 interceptions.

3 Interceptions for McCarthy against Bowling Green. Coming into the game, he had 5 touchdown passes and only 7 incompletions on the season. McCarthy has thrown 10 career picks and only had 2 in last year’s regular season. He now has two multi-interception contests — in the 2022 Fiesta Bowl against TCU and last weekend.

7 Tackles for loss allowed for the Michigan offense, the fewest in the sport. The Wolverines are tied for second in least amount of sacks given up (1).

7-Percent Increase in Rutgers junior quarterback Gavin Wimsatt‘s completion percentage from last season to this year — 45 to 52. He’s connected on 34 of his 66 passes for 407 yards and 3 touchdowns with no interceptions this season. That mark still ranks 12th of 13 qualifying quarterbacks in the Big Ten. U-M picked Wimsatt off 3 times in the second half of last year’s 52-17 victory in Piscataway.

8-1 Record for Michigan against Rutgers, including a 4-0 mark at The Big House. The Wolverines have won the last eight in the series.

119 Rushing yards per game for Rutgers junior running back Kyle Monangai, the reigning Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week. That mark leads the Big Ten, and his 5 touchdowns are tied for second behind Michigan senior Blake Corum (6).

144 Rushing yards for Wimsatt, more than double his total in eight games last season (63 yards). He’s also scampered for 2 touchdowns this year.

210.7 Rushing yards per game for Rutgers, with that mark checking in 20th in the country. The Scarlet Knights have rushed for more than 250 yards in each of their last two games, wins over Temple and Virginia Tech.