The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1265378
154 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2020 FOOTBALL PREVIEW 1. Karan Higdon at Michigan State in 2018: Higdon's performance in Michigan's 21-7 victory at MSU on Oct. 20, 2018, takes the top spot on this list, due to the way his 144 rushing yards helped the Wolverines grind out the win in a driving rainstorm in the second half. He never found the end zone that day and only aver - aged 4.4 yards per carry, but the reason his 33-carry, 144-yard performance was so impressive was because it occurred against the No. 1 rush defense in the nation. The Spartan front seven yielded just 77.9 rushing yards per game that year, and yet Higdon nearly doubled that total on his own. His 33 carries were a career high, while his 144 yards marked his second highest total of the 2018 campaign. 2. Karan Higdon at Indiana in 2017: He basically willed the Maize and Blue to victory in their 27-20 overtime win at Indiana on Oct. 14, 2017, with his three touchdowns setting a career high and his 200 rushing yards matching it. Higdon's most important run of the day came in the overtime session, with the 5-10, 202-pounder ripping off a 25-yard touchdown scamper on the first play of the extra period, giving U-M the game-winning score. On a day where the Wolverines only threw for 58 yards, Higdon wound up providing Michigan with 60.7 percent of its offense (200 of the team's 329 yards). 3. Karan Higdon vs. Minnesota in 2017: The 33-10 triumph over Minnesota Nov. 4, 2017, at The Big House was the lone other 200-yard outing of Higdon's career, with the then-junior finding the end zone twice and averaging 12.5 yards per carry. He ripped off a 77-yard touchdown run against the Gophers, which was the longest rush of his entire Michigan career. On a rainy night in Ann Arbor where U-M relied heavily on its rushing attack and threw for just 56 yards, Higdon's shredding of Minnesota was even more impressive when considering the Gophers finished 30th nationally in total defense that year. 4. Karan Higdon vs. Penn State in 2018: In a matchup of two top-15 clubs, Higdon helped carry the Wolverine offense to a 42-7 destruction of then-No. 14 Penn State on Nov. 3, 2018, at The Big House. He rushed for 132 yards and a score on 6.6 yards per carry, with his 50-yard run on U-M's third offensive play of the day helping ignite the Maize and Blue offense. Higdon's lone touchdown of the day came with only 9:49 remaining and put Michigan up 35-0, helping enhance the obliteration of the Nittany Lions. 5. Zach Gentry vs. Maryland in 2018: The lone non- Higdon entry on this list, Gentry enjoyed a career af - ternoon in U-M's 42-21 win over Maryland on Oct. 6, 2018, in Ann Arbor. His seven receptions and 112 yards were both career highs, with the 6-8, 262-pounder stealing the pass-catch - ing headlines that afternoon (no other Michigan player had more than 51 receiving yards). Five of Gentry's seven grabs went for 15 yards or more, including a long of 31. Top Five Individual Performances Of The 2015 Class YEAR-BY-YEAR RECORD 2015: 10-3, 6-2 Big Ten, Citrus Bowl vs. Florida (W, 41-7). Final Rankings: AP No. 12, Coaches No. 11 2016: 10-3, 7-2 Big Ten, Orange Bowl vs. Flor- ida State (L, 33-32). Final Rankings: AP No. 10, Coaches No. 10 2017: 8-5, 5-4 Big Ten, Outback Bowl vs. South Carolina (L, 29-16). Final Rankings: AP unranked, Coaches unranked 2018: 10-3, 8-1 Big Ten, Peach Bowl vs. Florida (L, 41-15). Final Rankings: AP No. 14, Coaches No. 14 2019: 9-4, 6-3 Big Ten, Citrus Bowl vs. Alabama (L, 35-16). Final Rankings: AP No. 18, Coaches No. 19 FIVE-YEAR RECORD Overall: 47-18 (.723) Big Ten: 32-12 (.727) Bowl Games: 1-4 Versus Ohio State: 0-5 Versus Michigan State: 3-2 Versus Notre Dame: 1-1 Top-20 AP Finishes: 4 — 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019 BIG TEN TEAMS' WINNING PERCENTAGES FROM 2015-19 Rk. School Record Winning Pct. 1. Ohio State 61-7 .897 2. Wisconsin 52-16 .764 3. Penn State 49-17 .742 4. Michigan 47-18 .723 5. Iowa 47-19 .712 T6. Michigan State 39-26 .600 Northwestern 39-26 600 8. Minnesota 38-26 .593 9. Indiana 30-33 .476 10. Nebraska 28-34 .451 11. Purdue 22-40 .354 12. Maryland 21-40 .344 13. Illinois 20-41 .327 14. Rutgers 13-47 .216 NFL DRAFT PICKS WR Brian Cole — Minnesota Vikings; seventh round, No. 249 overall in 2020 (as a safety out of Mississippi State) TE Zach Gentry — Pittsburgh Steelers; fifth round, No. 141 overall in 2019 OL Jon Runyan Jr. — Green Bay Packers; sixth round, No. 192 overall in 2020 Karan Higdon was a unanimous first-team All-Big Ten running back as a senior, after he ran for 1,178 yards and 10 scores to become U-M's first 1,000-yard back since 2011. PHOTO BY BRANDON BROWN