The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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THE WOLVERINE 2017 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 139 The mistakes, coupled with some dis- puted refereeing, resulted in a 30-27 double- overtime win for the Buckeyes on the back of 125 rushing yards from quarterback J.T. Barrett. With two losses, Michigan was eliminated from the College Football Playoff conten- tion, but was picked to take on Florida State in the Orange Bowl. In the New Year's Day game in Miami, the Wolverines fell behind 20-6 at the half, in large part due to the play of Seminoles running back Dalvin Cook, who finished the game with 145 rushing yards and an average of 7.2 yards per carry. Michigan responded, outscoring the Semi- noles 26-13 in the second half, but fell just short for the third time in its final four games of the season, losing 33-32. A second 10-3 record, with the three losses coming by a total of five points, has announced to the college football world that the Wolverines are a contender again. Michigan went 10-3 for the second straight year under Jim Harbaugh. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN 1 Michigan's NCAA rank in total defense. Under first-year coordinator DON BROWN, the Wolver- ines gave up just 3,403 yards (261.8 per game) in 2016. 3 All-Americans on Michigan's roster in 2016 — tight end Jake Butt, cornerback Jourdan Lewis and linebacker/safety Jabrill Peppers. Peppers was a unanimous selection, the first since of- fensive tackle Jake Long in 2007, and Lewis was a consensus pick. 4 Wolverine running backs who rushed for at least 400 yards in 2016 — freshman Chris Evans, senior De'Veon Smith, redshirt junior Ty Isaac and sopho- more Karan Higdon. 7 Michigan's turnover margin in 2016, which was a plus-11 improvement over the 2015 season. The plus-seven mar- gin tied for No. 24 in the Football Bowl Subdivision. 8 U-M opponents that were held to fewer than 85 rushing yards. It is also the number of Wolverine opponents that were held with- out a rushing touchdown. 29 The day in October when Michigan defeated Michigan State (32-23) for the first time since 2012. It also marked the first time the Wolverines had won in East Lansing since 2007. 78 The number of points Michigan scored against Rutgers in 2016. The Wolverines shut out the Scarlet Knights, making it the second-largest mar- gin of victory in school history. 524 The number of points scored by the U-M of- fense in 2016 — the fifth most in a season in school history. The 2016 Wolverines trail only the "Point A Minute" teams from 1901-04. 1947 The last time Michigan had a four-game streak of scoring at least 45 points. They did so in the first four contests. 110,468 Average attendance at Michigan Stadium in 2016, ranking the Wolverines No. 1 nationally, just ahead of Ohio State. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN BY THE NUMBERS