The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/526188
THE WOLVERINE 2015 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 19 MICHIGAN FOOTBALL MICHIGAN HAS GROUND TO MAKE UP ON NOTRE DAME Michigan began the 2014 season trailing Notre Dame in all-time winning percentage by .00057, and after a 5-7 campaign for the Wol- verines and an 8-5 mark for the Fighting Irish, U-M has fallen even further behind ND, at .00229. Since Lloyd Carr retired as head coach in 2007, Michigan is just 46-42 for a .522 winning percentage. The Blue and Gold, meanwhile, went 58-32 from 2008-14, a winning percentage of .644, in slipping past the Maize and Blue for first place in the NCAA for all-time win- ning percentage: .73177 to .72948. Michigan still maintains a comfortable lead in all-time victories, with 915, leading Notre Dame (882) and Texas (881). While U-M is looking to the Irish, it should be mindful of Boise State, which is closing on the Wolverines in winning percentage, just .00559 back. The Broncos went 12-2 in 2014 and have made a push to overtake Michigan by going 81-12 over the past seven years, for an .871 winning percentage. Ohio State, fresh off a 14-1 season that culminated in the 2014 national title, is also nipping at Michigan's heels, ranking among the four teams with a winning percentage of .720 or better (.72024). The Buckeyes trail U-M by only .00924. Georgia Southern (No. 14, .64851) and Appalachian State (No. 16, .62563) both make an appearance on the top 30 after making the full transition from the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Divi- sion I-AA) to the Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A). Division I Football Bowl Subdivision All-Time Won-Lost Records By Percentage School Games Pct. W L T Change 1. Notre Dame 1,234 .73177 882 310 42 — 2. Michigan 1,279 .72948 915 328 36 — 3. Boise State 565 .72389 408 155 2 — 4. Ohio State 1,235 .72024 863 319 53 Up 1 5. Oklahoma 1,220 .71844 850 317 53 Down 1 6. Alabama 1,218 .71552 850 325 43 Up 1 7. Texas 1,260 .71230 881 346 33 Down 1 8. Southern Cal 1,186 .70152 805 327 54 — 9. Nebraska 1,275 .70078 873 361 41 — 10. Tennessee 1,231 .68521 817 374 53 — 11. Florida State 767 .67862 512 238 17 — 12. Penn State 1,154 .65641 737 376 41 — 13. LSU 1,209 .64888 761 401 47 — 14. Georgia Southern 569 .64851 364 195 10 Up 1 15. Georgia 1,241 .64786 777 410 54 Down 1 16. Appalachian State 929 .63563 576 324 29 — 17. Miami (Fla.) 957 .63271 596 342 19 — 18. Auburn 1,202 .63020 734 421 47 — 19. Florida 1,131 .62865 691 400 40 — 20. Washington 1,179 .61154 696 434 50 — 21. Arizona State 981 .61264 589 368 24 — 22. Virginia Tech 1,196 .60702 703 447 46 Up 1 23. Miami (Ohio) 1,146 .60384 670 432 44 Down 1 24. Texas A&M 1,218 .60181 709 461 48 — 25. West Virginia 1,242 .60024 723 474 45 Up 1 26. Michigan State 1,152 .59983 669 439 44 Up 1 27. Central Michigan 1,025 .59902 596 393 36 Down 2 28. Clemson 1,189 .59840 689 455 45 — 29. Georgia Tech 1,231 .59504 711 477 43 Up 2 30. UCLA 1,013 .59477 584 392 37 Up 2 Fell Off: South Alabama (No. 29) and Fresno State (No. 30). Division I Football Bowl Subdivision All-Time Won-Lost Records By Victories School Years W L T Change 1. Michigan 135 915 328 36 — 2. Notre Dame 126 882 310 42 Up 1 3. Texas 122 881 346 33 Down 1 4. Nebraska 125 874 361 40 — 5. Ohio State 125 863 319 53 — 6. Oklahoma 120 850 317 53 — Alabama 120 850 325 43 Up 1 8. Tennessee 118 811 367 53 — 9. Southern Cal 121 805 327 54 — 10. Georgia 121 777 410 54 — 11. LSU 121 761 401 47 — 12. Penn State 128 737 376 41 — 13. Auburn 122 734 421 47 — 14. West Virginia 122 719 477 45 — 15. Virginia Tech 121 711 452 46 Up 1 16. Georgia Tech 122 711 477 43 Up 2 17. Texas A&M 120 709 461 48 — 18. Syracuse 125 708 511 49 — 19. Pittsburgh 125 696 510 42 — 20. Washington 125 696 432 50 — 21. Arkansas 121 694 475 40 — 22. Florida 108 691 400 40 — 23. Clemson 119 689 455 45 — 24. Colorado 125 681 481 36 Down 1 25. Navy 134 681 545 57 — Fell Off: Miami (Ohio) (No. 24). Wolverines Slipping In All-Time Big Ten Standings With losing records in five conference campaigns among the last seven seasons (2014, 2013, 2010, 2009 and 2008), Michigan continues to fall further back of Ohio State in all-time winning percentage for Big Ten games: .7218 to .7047. The Maize and Blue now trail the Buckeyes by .0171 after a 3-5 league mark last season and OSU's perfect 8-0 record. Michigan still leads the Big Ten in all-time victories with 485, but Ohio State is closing in, only four back. No other team has hit the 400-win mark. Four years a Big Ten participant, Nebraska ranks third in winning percentage with a mark of .6875 while Penn State is fourth at .6136 and Michigan State is fifth at .5573. Big Ten newcomers Maryland and Rutgers could move up this list quickly, like the Cornhuskers have, with some early success, though neither started strong, winning 50.0 and 37.5 percent of their games in 2014, respectively. With a 34-14 Big Ten record (.708) over the past six seasons, Wisconsin is honing in on a mark of .500. If the Badgers were to continue their winning pace of 70.0 percent, it would take six more years of such success to reach and eclipse .500. Northwestern and Indiana continue to rank as the two worst teams in the Big Ten, though the Wildcats have been far better over the past five years (15-25) than the Hoosiers (8-32). All-Time Big Ten Standings School Years G W L T Pct. Ohio State 102 683 481 170 24 .7218 Michigan 109 701 485 198 18 .7047 Nebraska 4 32 22 10 0 .6875 Penn State 22 176 108 68 0 .6136 Michigan State 62 471 258 204 9 .5573 Maryland 1 8 4 4 0 .5000 Wisconsin 119 752 345 366 41 .4860 Minnesota 119 741 340 374 27 .4771 Purdue 119 728 321 375 32 .4629 Iowa 115 697 306 366 25 .4570 Illinois 119 775 337 406 32 .4563 Rutgers 1 8 3 5 0 .3750 Northwestern 117 768 267 470 21 .3613 Indiana 112 699 199 476 24 .3019