The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1298950
14 THE WOLVERINE NOVEMBER 2020 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS BY THE NUMBERS 1st Is where former U-M guard Michael Onwenu was graded among all NFL rookies through the first five weeks of the season per Pro Football Focus (PFF). The sixth-round pick started the first two games as an extra line- man, and then was shifted to left guard in week three due to injury. He shined there, earning a spot on PFF's Team of the Week with the league's best grade at his position. The next week, he flipped to right guard and posted an even better PFF grade, logging top-five marks among guards as both a run and pass blocker. Through five contests, he had a sea- son-long grade of 92.9, which ranked second among all offensive linemen in the NFL. 1986 Was the last time that U-M football played a regular-season game in De- cember — a Dec. 6 date at Hawai'i. The Wolverines are slated to play three times in the last month of this year: Dec. 5 versus Maryland, Dec. 12 at Ohio State and an undetermined foe Dec. 19 as part of the Big Ten's newly created Champions Week. If I'm a player, that's the coach I want [referring to Baltimore Ravens head man JOHN HARBAUGH]. His brother [Jim] is the same, passion- ate and fights for his players." — Charlotte McKeon, the mother of former Michigan and current Dallas Cowboys tight end Sean McKeon, on Twitter Sept. 29, after a video surfaced of John Harbaugh (right) arguing intensely with a referee in defense of one of his players PHOTO BY BRANDON BROWN 17th 17th Is where the Wolverines checked in on NCAA. com's college basketball preseason rank- ings, updated Sept. 24. That placed them sixth among the eight Big Ten squads that made the top 36, behind No. 4 Illinois, No. 5 Iowa, No. 6 Wisconsin, No. 12 Michigan State and No. 13 Rutgers, while they were listed ahead of No. 18 Indiana and No. 32 Purdue. "ISAIAH LIVERS should be first-team All- Big Ten," Andy Katz wrote. "If he's healthy, he'll be a tough stop. Franz Wagner could be up for a banner sophomore year. Juwan Howard will continue to put his imprint on this program and lead the Wolverines to the NCAA Tournament." The Big Ten boasted seven programs among the top 18, while no other league had more than three in the top 18 (Big 12) or five overall (Big 12, Big East and SEC). PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL 1967-68 1967-68 Was the last time that Michigan hosted Michigan State in consecutive football seasons. The Spartans were originally scheduled to host the Wolverines, but the new Big Ten slate gave U-M consecutive home games in the series. MSU last hosted two straight rivalry games in 2013-14.