The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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THE WOLVERINE 2019 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 141 BY THE NUMBERS 7 Straight 100-yard outings for senior running back Karan Higdon from Sept. 8 through Nov. 3, tying Mike Hart (2004-07) for the all-time school record. Higdon had a chance to break Hart's mark in the Nov. 10 contest at Rutgers, but failed to do so after compiling just 42 yards against the Scarlet Knights. 10 Game winning streak for Michigan from Sept. 8 through Nov. 17, marking the program's longest sin- gle-season victory stretch since it won 11 in a row to start the 2006 campaign. 10 Win season for the third time in four years under head coach JIM HARBAUGH (the 8-5 record in 2017 being the exception). The last time Michigan won at least 10 contests three times in a four-year span was under Lloyd Carr from 1997-2000, when it went 12-0, 10-3, 10-2 and 9-3. 11 Points or more U-M won each of its home games by, with the 31-20 triumph over Indiana Nov. 17 marking the closest contest the Wolverines played all season in Ann Arbor. Heading into the Senior Day showdown with the Hoosiers, Michigan had actually won each of its home affairs by at least 21 points — if the club had been able to keep that streak intact against IU, it would have marked the first time the Maize and Blue had come out on top in each of their home games by such a margin since 1901. 17 Point comeback in the 20-17 victory at Northwest- ern Sept. 29 was tied for the third-largest, come- from-behind win in school history, and matched the largest deficit erased since a 35-31 win over Notre Dame in 2011. The biggest hole U-M has ever climbed out of was a 21-point margin against Min- nesota in 2003 (which resulted in a 38-35 triumph). 17 Game road losing streak against Associated Press top-25 foes that was snapped when the Wolverines picked up a 21-7 victory at No. 24 Michigan State Oct. 20. Prior to the contest, the last time U-M had defeated a ranked opponent on the road was when it won 47-21 at No. 2 Notre Dame in 2006. 22 Touchdown passes for junior quarterback Shea Pat- terson, which tied him with Chad Henne (2006) for the fifth most in a single season in school his- tory. The program record is 25, and is shared by Henne (2004) and Elvis Grbac (1991). 1,178 Rushing yards for Higdon, making him the Maize and Blue's first 1,000-yard running back since Fitzger- ald Toussaint compiled 1,041 yards in 2011. Higdon and Toussaint are the only two running backs to accomplish the feat since Hart's final season of 2007 (though quarterback Denard Robinson surpassed the plateau in each year from 2010-12). 1. YET ANOTHER DISAPPOINTING FINISH Michigan ended 2018 with consecutive losses to Ohio State and in its bowl game (this time to Florida in the Peach Bowl) for the third straight year under head coach Jim Harbaugh, erasing most of the good will it had built during its 10-game win streak. The Wolverines were demolished by a combined 103-54 in the two defeats. During its perfect stretch from Sept. 8 through Nov. 17, the Maize and Blue looked like they ready to take home the Big Ten crown, but for most the season-ending blowout losses are what likely define the 2018 campaign. 2. U-M'S 10-GAME WINNING STREAK Michigan won 10 straight games following its season-opening loss at Notre Dame, prov- ing it had improved tremendously from the 2017 club that finished 8-5. The highlights of the two-and-a-half month long victorious stretch included three straight triumphs over ranked foes from Oct. 13 through Nov. 3 (No. 15 Wisconsin, No. 24 Michigan State and No. 14 Penn State) and a win at North- western, the eventual Big Ten West champs. The successful period allowed the Wol- verines to remain legitimate contenders for the College Football Playoff until their late November loss at Ohio State. 3. THE REVENGE TOUR U-M's 2018 "Revenge Tour" (spearheaded by fifth-year senior defensive end Chase Win- ovich, who even made T-shirts for the team) was the squad's rallying cry for much of the year, with its sole purpose being to take down each club who had beaten the Wolverines in 2017. Michigan faced four of the five opponents once again in 2018 (South Carolina was the lone exception), and successfully exacted revenge on the first three — 38-13 over Wis- consin, 21-7 over Michigan State and 42-7 over Penn State. U-M's "Revenge Tour" came to a disappointing end when it lost 62-39 at Ohio State. TOP STORYLINES OF 2018 PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL Michigan's 10-game win streak — the best in- season stretch for the program since 2006 — was snapped by another disappointing defeat at the hands of Ohio State. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN