The Wolverine

February 2019

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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FEBRUARY 2019 THE WOLVERINE 13   INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS 2nd Was U-M's rank in the final fall standings of the Learfield Directors' Cup, an annual competition to find the nation's top collegiate athletics department. The Big Ten held three of the top four spots, but Stanford of the Pac-12 ranked first overall. 2 Michigan signees were included among the top 25 nationally in Rivals' final rankings update — No. 15 Christopher Hinton, a defensive lineman, and No. 24 Daxton Hill, a safety. It is the only time in the Rivals era (since 2002) U-M has landed two of the nation's top 25 prospects besides 2012 (No. 14 Ondre Pipkins and No. 22 Kyle Kalis). 2-3 Was Michigan's record against teams that finished the football season ranked in the final Associated Press poll, where they checked in at No. 14. U-M beat No. 17 Penn State (42-7) and No. 21 Northwestern (20-17), but lost to No. 3 Ohio State (62-39), No. 5 Notre Dame (24-17) and No. 7 Florida (41-15). The Wolverines' 2019 slate features games against No. 25 Iowa (at home Oct. 5), No. 17 Penn State (on the road Oct. 19), No. 5 Notre Dame (at home Oct. 26) and No. 3 Ohio State (at home Nov. 30). 2.9 Yards per carry has been the Wolverines' magic number for success under head coach Jim Harbaugh. When the team reaches that clip on the ground, U-M is 38-1, but they are 0-13 when they don't average at least 2.9 yards per carry. The team posted an average of just 2.57 yards per carry in the Peach Bowl loss. 8.9 Was U-M football's average stand- ing in seven way-too-early top 25s for 2019 done by media outlets following the Jan. 7 national title game. Michigan's ranking ranged from No. 6 (SB Nation) to No. 12 (The Athletic). 29 Playoff victories heading into Super Bowl LIII for New England Patriots quarterback and former Wolverine TOM BRADY, an NFL record that more than doubles any other quarterback ex- cept for Joe Montana, who has 16. That total also eclipses the number of playoff starts for any player except former wideout Jerry Rice, who started 29 postsea- son contests. Brady also posted his 16th 300-yard passing game in the playoffs in his team's 37-31 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs Jan. 20 — the second most is nine by Peyton Manning — and now has 236 regular-season and playoff wins, tied for the most in NFL history with for- mer teammate Adam Vinateri. 29 Is where U-M linebacker Devin Bush Jr. checked in at on Rivals.com national recruiting director Mike Far- rell's list of college football's top 50 play- ers this season. Other Wolverines that made the cut included No. 36 Chase Winovich — the fifth-year senior defen- sive end was deemed "easily one of the most ex- plosive players in the country" — and No. 45 Shea Patterson, the junior quarterback. On Pro Football Focus' countdown of the top 101 players in college football, Winov- ich checked in at No. 29, while Bush was listed at No. 101. $924,625,003 Is Michigan football's 2018 value according to The Wall Street Journal. That figure ranks fourth nationally and is up from $892,951,000 in 2017. By The NUMBERS PHOTO COURTESY OF THE NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS/ DAVID SILVERMAN

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