U-M in the National Championship Game

• Michigan will be making its first appearance in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game.

• The Wolverines have played in the CFP semifinal the past two seasons, losing to No. 3 Georgia in the 2021 Orange Bowl (31-16) and to No. 3 TCU in the 2022 Fiesta Bowl (51-45).

• U-M last won the national title during the 1997 season, defeating Washington State in the 1998 Rose Bowl (21-16) to finish No. 1 in the Associated Press poll and receive the national championship by the Football Writers Association of American (Grantland Rice Trophy) and the National Football Foundation (MacArthur Bowl).

• Since the inception of the College Football Playoff in 2015, Michigan and Ohio State (2015 and 2021) are the only Big Ten schools to reach the National Championship Game.

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Wolverines and Huskies

• This will be the 14th meeting between the Wolverines and the Huskies.

• U-M sports an 8-5 record against Washington and won the last two games contested between the two programs.

• The last meeting between the schools came in 2021, a 31-10 victory for the Wolverines at Michigan Stadium.

• Michigan has compiled a 2-2 record against Washington in the bowl season, with all four previous matchups coming in the Rose Bowl; won the 1981 and 1993 games while suffering setbacks in the 1978 and 1992 contests.

• U-M has a 4-1 mark against the Huskies at the Big House and has a 2-2 record at Washington.

• The two programs were scheduled to play at Washington during the 2020 COVID season but that game was rescheduled to the 2028 season; it will not be played as a non-conference contest now that Washington has joined the Big Ten Conference starting with the 2024 season.

Series vs. Washington: Michigan leads 8-5
Series Streak: Michigan won 2
Last Meeting: 2021 (U-M 31, UW 10)
Last Michigan Win: 2021 (U-M 31, UW 10)

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Michigan on the Field

• The Wolverines have won a school-record 14 games this season.

• U-M became the fifth program in major college football history to win the first 13 games of the season in consecutive years (2022-23); the others are Clemson (2018-19), Florida State (2013-14), Yale (1891-92) and Yale (1888-89).

• Michigan has won 12-plus games in three consecutive seasons; the 2021-22 seasons were the first time in history that the team accomplished the feat in consecutive seasons.

• The Maize and Blue won 27 games in 2022-23, which are the most wins in a two-year stretch in school history.

• Michigan has won 10-plus games in six of coach Jim Harbaugh‘s nine seasons leading the program.

• The Wolverines have won 88 overall games during coach Harbaugh’s nine seasons (88-25).

• U-M has scored 479 touchdowns while allowing just 232 to its opponents during that stretch.

• The defense has been listed in the top-12 nationally in seven of his nine seasons, including five seasons ranking among the top-5 in total defense.

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Game Notes Nuggets

• Michigan will play in the College Football Playoff Championship Game for the first time in program history. U-M is seeking the program’s 12th national title and first since the 1997 season.

• The national title game will feature a matchup between two 14-0 teams for the fifth time in the CFP’s 10-year history (2015, 2016, 2018, 2019).

• The Maize and Blue reached the College Football Playoff for the third year in a row. The teams to make three consecutive CFP semifinals since the system was developed (2015) include Alabama (2015-19), Oklahoma (2018-20), and Clemson (2016-21).

• With 14 victories this season, U-M has set a single-season program record and became the 12th team since 2000 to reach at least 14 wins without a loss, joining: 2002 Ohio State, 2009 Alabama, 2010 Auburn, 2013 Florida State, 2015 Clemson, 2016 Alabama, 2018 Alabama, 2018 Clemson, 2019 Clemson, 2019 LSU, 2022 Georgia.

• The Rose Bowl was U-M’s third bowl game to go to overtime in program history. In those three games, the Wolverines are a perfect 3-0, previously defeating the Crimson Tide in the 2000 Orange Bowl and the Virginia Tech Hokies in the 2012 Sugar Bowl.

• Michigan captured its league-leading 45th Big Ten title, marking the first time in program history with three consecutive outright Big Ten championships.

• The last stretch with three consecutive Big Ten titles for the Wolverines was 1988-92, when four of five Big Ten titles belonged to U-M outright (1988, ’89, ’91, ’92).

• The Wolverines are averaging a scoring margin of +25.8 across their 14 wins this season, the best figure in the country (next: Oregon, +24.2). Washington’s average margin of victory is +13.5 points.

• U-M is one of seven teams to rank in the top 15 in both scoring offense (14th, 36.0 points per game) and scoring defense (first, 10.2 points per game allowed). Washington ranks 10th in scoring offense at 37.6 points per game but 53rd in scoring defense at 24.1 points per game.

• Michigan holds top-12 PFF grades and ranks in 10 of 13 major team categories Full list: overall team, No. 1 (95.2), offense, No. 6 (90.2), passing, No. 12 (86.2), receiving, No. 6 (86.8), run-blocking, No. 11, (72.9), defense, No. 1 (95.4), run defense, No. 5 (92.5), tackling, No. 2 (91.6), pass rush, No. 4 (90.9), and pass coverage, tied-No. 1 (93.6).

• The Wolverines faced a second-half deficit for the first time all season against Alabama and rallied for the comeback. U-M has at least three touchdowns in 13 of 14 games this season.

• Wolverines were chosen as finalists for the following awards: Lott IMPACT Trophy (Junior Colson, winner), NFF William V. Campbell Trophy (Zak Zinter), Rimington Trophy (Drake Nugent), Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award (J.J. McCarthy), Wuerffel Trophy (Blake Corum), Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year (Corum).

• Eleven (11) players have made their first starts as Wolverines this season, including five on offense (AJ Barner, LaDarius Henderson, Myles Hinton, Tyler Morris, Nugent) and six on defense (Rayshaun Benny, Kenneth Grant, Keshaun Harris, Quinten Johnson, Keon Sabb, Josh Wallace).

• U-M’s 0.571 points per play on offense is the best rate in the Big Ten (next: Ohio State, 0.491) and fifth overall (LSU, USC, Oregon, Notre Dame). The Wolverine defense allows 0.172 points per play against, the lowest rate in the nation.

• Yards per point is a metric that describes how much of the field the offense must travel to score, on average. U-M’s offense ranks No. 1 at 10.5 yards per point, while the defense forces opponents to travel 23.9 yards per point (No. 1 nationally). That margin (+13.4) is the largest in college football by a wide margin (next: Ohio State, 9.8). Washington ranks 16th in this metric at +4.2 with a higher ranking on defense (16.7 yards per point).

• In McCarthy’s 27 career starts, U-M is 26-1 for a winning percentage of 96.3. That figure is tied (Jameis Winston, Florida State, also 26-1) for the best mark by any quarterback (minimum 20 starts) since at least 1971, when Toledo’s Chuck Ealey ended his career with a 35-0 record as a starter. Oklahoma’s Jimmy Harris (25-0) is the only other FBS quarterback with at least 20 starts and no losses.

• McCarthy and Winston’s win rate ranks above those of Trevor Lawrence (34-2; 94.4), Kellen Moore (50-3, 94.3), Tua Tagovailoa (22-2; 91.7), and others.

• In McCarthy’s career as a starter, the offense has registered 258 drives in which the quarterback starts and finishes the possession (excludes kneel-downs, ends of halves). The Wolverines have points on 150 of those drives (58.1 percent) with 110 touchdowns (42.6 percent of all drives) and 40 field goals.

• McCarthy (2,851 pass yards) eclipsed his 2022 season passing total (2,719) and passed both his coach Jim Harbaugh (2,729, 1986) and Chad Henne (2,743, 2004) to advance to sixth all-time for passing yards in a single season. John Navarre (2003) owns the single-season record at 3,331 yards and Shea Patterson (2019, 3,061) ranks second).

• McCarthy also ranks sixth in career pass yards (6,086) with Denard Robinson (6,250) fifth, Devin Gardner (6,336) fourth, and Elvis Grbac (6,460) third.

• With three touchdown passes in the Rose Bowl, McCarthy (49) passed Rick Leach (48) and tied Denard Robinson (49) for fourth in career passing touchdowns at Michigan. He is up to 22 passing touchdowns this season, three shy of Elvis Grbac’s single-season record (25) set in 1991.

• Grbac had 19 more touchdowns than interceptions that season (25 to six), the largest difference for a passer in a single season in U-M history. McCarthy (22 to four) has thrown 18 more scores than interceptions this year, after a difference of 17 in 2022 (22 to five).

• Through 14 games in 2023, McCarthy has completed 230-of-314 pass attempts for a completion percentage of 73.2, second-best in the country (Bo Nix, Oregon, 77.4). His completion rate is paired with an average depth of target (ADOT) of 9.5 yards downfield, whereas Nix’s is 6.8.

• In the red zone, the Wolverines have 45 touchdowns and 55 scoring conversions (out of 62 opportunities). McCarthy has nearly as many red-zone touchdowns (11) as incompletions (15) and 23 of Corum’s 25 rushing scores have come from the 10-yard line or closer.

• McCarthy has been particularly effective on third down, completing 51-of-71 pass attempts (68.9 percent) including a 5-of-7 mark in the Rose Bowl. He’s totaled 720 yards on those completions with a 177.41 passer rating. In situations of 3rd-and-7-plus yards, McCarthy is 34-of-46 (73.9 percent) for 535 yards with 27 first downs or touchdowns (six).

• He’s also 7-for-7 on fourth down with seven first-down conversions including one touchdown.

• This season, his 10.8 yards per attempt on play-action is ninth in the nation (minimum 60 attempts). He is 58-of-76 (76.3 percent) on play-action concepts with six touchdowns to one interception.

• Among players with at least 20 career touchdown passes, McCarthy has the best touchdown-to-interception ratio in Michigan history (49:11 / 4.9:1), over Drew Henson (3.43:1), Cade McNamara, and Shea Patterson (3:1).

• McCarthy is the program’s career leader in yards per play (8.08) and ranks sixth in career touchdown percentage as a passer (6.9).

• McCarthy is ESPN’s No. 3 quarterback in total QBR (89.5) and PFF’s tied-10-highest graded quarterback (90.6). Michael Penix is sixth in ESPN’s metric (85.7) and tied-third by PFF’s grading system (91.8).

• McCarthy is averaging 215.9 yards of total offense per game in 2023 despite only 31 fourth-quarter pass attempts on the season (2.2 per game).

• Blake Corum is at 1,111 rush yards for the year. He is the first Wolverine with back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons since Denard Robinson in 2010 (1,702), 2011 (1,176), and 2012 (1,266). The last U-M running back to post consecutive 1,000-yard seasons was Mike Hart in 2006 (1,562) and 2007 (1,361).

• Corum (3,603 yards) is eighth on U-M’s all-time rushing list; Chris Perry ranks one spot ahead of him (seventh) with 3,696 career yards rushing and Butch Woolfolk is sixth with 3,861 yards.

• With his 17-yard rush in overtime, Corum (25 this season, 56 in his career) added to his program single-season rushing touchdown record and passed Anthony Thomas (55) to own the outright career rushing touchdowns record at Michigan. He also added to his career total touchdowns record (59).

• Corum’s 26-touchdowns this season surpassed the previous modern-era record at Michigan (1940), but he has now matched Al Herrnstein (1902) for the all-time single-season mark in Michigan Football history. Hernstein had games with seven and five touchdowns that season.

• Corum’s first-quarter receiving touchdown was the third of his career and put him at 150 points scored during the 2023 season, setting a new single-season record for most points scored (previous: Jake Moody, 147 in 2022). His overtime score bumped the record up to 156 points. James Turner (109 points) is 12th on the single-season list and five points shy of cracking the top 10. Two points would put him past Kenny Allen (110 points, 2016) for the second-most by a kicker in a single season in program history.

• For his career, Corum has scored 344 points, 11 points shy of Jake Moody’s record and 10 points shy of Garrett Rivas (354) for second place.

• Before 2022, no kicker in U-M history had made more than two 50-plus-yard field goals in the same season. Now, Wolverines have done it in back-to-back years with Jake Moody converting 52-, 54-, and 59-yard field goals in the 2022 season and Turner converting three tries from exactly 50 yards in the 2023 season.

• One more make from 50-plus would tie Turner with Hayden Epstein, Quinn Nordin, and Jake Moody for most in a career at Michigan (four).

• Turner has 61 PAT conversions this year, a single-season record that broke the mark set by Jake Moody in 2021 (60).

• Donovan Edwards ranks tied-fourth among running backs in all-time receptions (68), 15 shy of B.J. Askew for third all-time. He is fourth in receiving yards by a running back with 714, just 96 shy of the career record held by Anthony Thomas (810).

• Wide receiver Roman Wilson is tied for ninth nationally in receiving touchdowns (12), ranking second in the Big Ten. Washington’s Rome Odunze has 13 receiving scores. Wilson’s 12 receiving touchdowns are the most by a Wolverine pass catcher in the Harbaugh era (previously, Jehu Chesson, nine, 2015). They are also the most by a Michigan wideout since Mario Manningham had 12 in 2007.

• For his career, Wilson is up to 20 receiving touchdowns (plus two rushing), seventh-most all-time at Michigan. Derrick Alexander (22) is next up on the list.

• Thirty-two (32) of Cornelius Johnson‘s 47 offensive touches have produced a touchdown or first down (68 percent). He has multiple catches in 12 games and at least one catch of 20-plus yards in 10 contests.

• Three Wolverine pass catchers are among the Big Ten’s leaders in yards per route run (minimum 36 targets): Wilson (2.69) ranks 31st in the country and second in the conference, Colston Loveland (2.30) ranks 70th among all pass catchers and third among tight ends nationally, fifth in the league among all pass catchers. Washington’s Rome Odunze (tied-15th, 3.06), Jalen McMillan (27th, 2.74), and Ja’Lynn Polk (tied-45th, 2.48) are top-50 in that metric, nationally.

• Loveland has at least one catch in every game this year with 42 catches for 585 yards and four receiving touchdowns, ranking second on the team in the latter two categories and third in receptions. He has built on his freshman season totals (16 for 235, two touchdowns) and is up to six touchdowns for his career. One more will tie him with Luke Schoonmaker (seven) for the 10th-most in a career by a U-M tight end and make him one of eight U-M tight ends with at least five in a season.

• Loveland is seventh in receiving yards by a tight end across the NCAA this season (585) and fifth in single-season Michigan history; he lists tied-10th nationally among tight ends in receptions (40).

• Wilson (17 receiving), Loveland (11 receiving), Cornelius Johnson (eight receiving, one rushing) and Semaj Morgan (three receiving, one rushing, five returns) have combined for 46 explosive plays (20-plus yards). Six Wolverines have six or more explosive plays overall.

• Michigan’s offensive line has allowed only 19 sacks on the season (1.36 per game), the 26th-lowest rate nationally and third-lowest in the Big Ten. With that unit as the engine, U-M permits the third-fewest negative plays per game (3.21) of any team in the country.

• Alabama’s 288 total yards on offense in the Rose Bowl marked a season low (previous: 306). U-M has allowed only two teams over 300 total offensive yards this season (Nebraska, 305; Ohio State, 395). Washington averages 473 yards of offense per contest (10th).

• The Wolverines registered five sacks in the first half alone, matching their previous single-game season best in just 30 minutes and setting an all-time College Football Playoff record for sacks in a half per AP Sports (previous: four, Clemson, 2016 National Championship game).

• It was just the fourth time in Nick Saban’s tenure at Alabama that the Tide have suffered five sacks in a half, per ESPN Stats and Info (previous games in 2021, 2013, 2010).

• U-M finished the game with seven sacks to set a new season-high. The Huskies have permitted 11 sacks on the season (0.79 per game) and won the Joe Moore Award this season after U-M took home the honor in 2021 and 2022.

• The Wolverine defense ranks among the nation’s best in third down conversion rate against (30.2, 12th), passes intercepted (16, ninth), rushing defense (93.1 yards per game, eighth), fourth down conversion rate against (31.0, seventh), pass efficiency defense (101.51, third), red zone defense (69.6, second), pass yards allowed per game (150, second), and leads the nation in total defense (243.1), defensive touchdowns (tied; five) and scoring defense (10.2 points per game).

• The FBS-leading 4.9 points per half that U-M is allowing across second halves so far this season is the lowest rate nationally. No team has scored more than twice in any half this season.

• The defense has held opponents to one series (four plays) or fewer on 46.7 percent (71-of-152) possessions with 54 three-and-outs/turnovers on downs, and 17 turnovers or safeties forced in the first four plays of drives. U-M has at least one three-and-out forced in 27-of-28 halves this season.

• On the season, U-M has allowed 182 first downs, an average of 13.0 per game which is the lowest rate in the country. On average, teams reach a first down by passing 6.6 times per game, the lowest rate in the country and the only mark below 7.0. Michael Penix Jr. has thrown for 212 passing first downs, the most of any quarterback in the nation, an average of 15.1 per game.

• U-M excels in the second half defensively. Opponents have accumulated 41 total first downs in 14 third quarters played. Twelve (12) of 14 teams failed to reach 75 yards of offense in the quarter and four teams have been held under 15 yards of total offense.

• Opponents average 1.5 red zone trips per game against the Wolverines, the fewest in the country and the only rate below 2.0 in the nation. U-M’s defense is a threat to score itself, with five touchdowns, tied for the national high mark. Four have come via interception returns and one via a fumble return.

• Seven of the 16 touchdowns U-M has allowed this year have been on explosive plays: a 20-yard rush by UNLV, a 69-yard pass by Rutgers, a 74-yard rush by Nebraska, a 35-yard pass by Minnesota, a 44-yard pass by Indiana, a 24-yard pass by Purdue, and a 34-yard rush by Alabama. Penn State was the first team to run a play from inside the 10-yard line against U-M this season.

• The Wolverines have four interceptions returned for touchdowns this season (Mike Sainristil, Will Johnson, Sabb), tied for the program record set in 1998 and matched in 2018. On the season, U-M has allowed seven passing touchdowns to 16 interceptions, and the Wolverines average 21.1 yards per interception return.

• Sainristil is tied for the all-time lead in career interceptions returned for a touchdown with his two this season, as well as the single-season mark. His 158 return yards are ninth. Reaching 175 return yards would take him to fifth.

• In total, Michigan has forced 25 turnovers (16 interceptions, nine fumble recoveries) and forced two safeties, while having lost eight turnovers themselves. The defense had a streak of at least one interception in seven straight games (Bowling Green to Purdue) and has one in 10-of-14 overall.

• Ten (10) different players have forced 14 fumbles (nine recovered), in addition to one blocked kick. Michael Barrett leads the team in fumbles forced (three) and is tied with Josh Wallace for the lead in recoveries (two). Wallace’s recoveries have come in the last two games, the Big Ten Championship and Rose Bowl/CFP Semifinal.

• The 14.4 completions per game U-M’s pass defense is permitting are the third-fewest in the country. The Huskies average 24.9 pass completions per game on 37.4 pass attempts per game.

• The Wolverines have gotten their hands on 64 passes thrown by opponents (of 364 attempts, 17.5 percent) with 16 interceptions and 48 pass breakups. Defensive linemen account for 15 of those breakups and two of those interceptions (26.5 percent of all breakups/interceptions).

• Twenty-four (24) different players have at least a share of a tackle for loss on the season. Thirteen (13) different players have recorded at least a share of a sack so far this season, led by Jaylen Harrell (9.0 TFL, 6.5 sacks).

• Harrell ranks 18th nationally and fifth in the Big Ten in pass-rush win rate (19.1 percent). Josaiah Stewart is 39th in the country and ninth in the league (17.4), Graham is 58th and 11th (16.1) and Moore is 65th and 13th (15.7). Braiden McGregor is 72nd nationally and 16th in the conference at 15.3 percent, giving U-M five of the 16 highest-graded pass rushers in the Big Ten. The Huskies have one pass-rusher (Bralen Trice) among the top 100 in win rate (16.4 percent).

• PFF gives Michigan front-seven defenders four of the top 25 grades for run defense in the Big Ten:  Mason Graham (sixth), Stewart (seventh), Kris Jenkins (17th), and Colson (22nd).

• Punter Tommy Doman is averaging 4.32 seconds of hangtime per attempt, the second-best average of any punter in the country (minimum one punt per game), and the best in the Big Ten.

• Doman had five straight games with a punt at or inside the opponent’s 12-yard line before the Rose Bowl. His current single-season average of 44.64 yards per attempt would rank sixth all-time at Michigan.

• The Wolverines are also among the best kickoff return defense units in the country, allowing 16.5 yards per return attempt (17th, NCAA). Doman has delivered 62 touchbacks and forced 10 fair catches on 92 kickoffs this season (78.2 percent).