The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1386887
12 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2021 FOOTBALL PREVIEW MICHIGAN FOOTBALL By The NUMBERS 1902-03 1902-03 Was the last time Michigan hosted Ohio State in Ann Arbor in consecutive meetings, like it will do in 2021 (and 2019). The last time two consecutive meetings occurred in Columbus was in 1912 and 1918, with the two clubs not playing one another from 1913-17. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY 3 Trophy games for Michigan football, with the Maize and Blue adding one with Northwestern ahead of this fall's meeting in Ann Arbor (Oct. 23). The Wolverines and the Wildcats will square off for the George Jewett Trophy from here on out. Jewett was the first African-American to play football at each in- stitution and was the first black player in the history of the Big Ten Conference. Jewett played for Michigan during the 1890 and 1892 seasons, enrolling at the university after being named valedictorian at Ann Arbor High (now Ann Arbor Pioneer), where he was a standout in track, football and baseball. Jewett starred on the gridiron for the Wolverines as a fullback and halfback and was the team's main kicker, all while studying medicine. He left Michigan for Northwestern in 1893 to finish his medical degree. While in Evanston, he also lettered and starred in football for the Wildcats for two seasons. The Wolverines' other two trophy games are for the Little Brown Jug (against Minnesota) and the Paul Bunyan Trophy (versus Michigan State). 15 Scholarship players have transferred out of the Michigan program since the team last played a game, which is in line with the recent trend in college football. More than 2,100 athletes in the sport have entered the transfer portal since last August, according to The Athletic. Players who have departed U-M as of June 6 are: sixth-year senior offen- sive lineman Willie Allen (Massachusetts; never played a game at U-M since transferring in from Louisiana Tech), redshirt freshman offensive lineman Zach Carpenter (Indiana), sophomore running back Zach Charbonnet (UCLA), fifth- year senior punter Will Hart (San Jose State), sophomore wide receiver Giles Jackson (Washington), redshirt junior quarterback Dylan McCaffrey (Northern Colorado), redshirt sophomore quarterback Joe Milton (Tennessee), freshman linebacker William Mohan (Tennessee), redshirt junior defensive tackle Phillip Paea (Utah State), redshirt junior safety Hunter Reynolds (Utah State), redshirt junior linebacker Adam Shibley (Notre Dame), redshirt sophomore running back Christian Turner (Wake Forest), redshirt sophomore linebacker Ben VanSu- meren (Michigan State), redshirt junior defensive end Luiji Vilain (Wake Forest) and freshman linebacker Cornell Wheeler (unknown). 16 Seasons of six games or fewer have occurred in Michigan football history, including 2020. The Maize and Blue saw their final three games canceled due to COVID-19 concerns last fall. The six-game slate was the fewest contests U-M played since 1918, when the Wolverines took the field five times. The 2020, 1910 and 1907 seasons have been the only ones where U-M played exactly six games. 23 Is where Michigan's Jim Harbaugh ranked on CBS Sports' list of the top 25 head coaches in college football. "Like nearly everybody else, my opinion of Harbaugh has dropped in recent years when it comes to these rankings," Tom Fornelli wrote. "I think this might be a little too low, but when it comes to Harbaugh, everything seems embel- lished one way or the other. I had him at No. 17 on my ballot. I mean, he went 2-4 last season, but Michigan has still been a solid top-20 program during his tenure. The inability to beat Ohio State looms large for obvious reasons, but we don't seem to hold that against other Big Ten coaches like we do Harbaugh." 42-24-1 Is Michigan's all-time record against Pac-12 oppo- nents. The Wolverines will host Washington in week two Sept. 11. U-M hasn't played the Huskies since 2002, when head coach Lloyd Carr and Co. notched a 31-29 triumph in Ann Arbor. The Maize and Blue are 7-5 in its history against Washington.