The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1503142
THE WOLVERINE 2023 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 135 TOP 3 STORYLINES 1. Running It Back — Michigan came into the 2022 season with plenty of question marks. Was 2021 just a Cinderella story? Who would replace stars like Hassan Haskins, Aidan Hutchinson, David Ojabo and Daxton Hill? Did U-M have the quarterback play to not only sustain success but push the program forward? All questions were answered emphatically and proved that Michigan was no one-year wonder. Some of the names and faces were different, but the 2022 Wolverines were deeper and had even more of a mental edge, sweeping their rivalry games, winning a second straight Big Ten championship and making a second trip to the College Football Playoff in as many years. Everything was just a little bit better than the year before, including getting through the regular season unscathed. The season ended in the CFP semifinal again, but the Wolverines were right on the doorstep of playing for a national title if they had played better in the Fiesta Bowl. 2. Quarterback Change — Cade McNamara was a Big Ten champion and had just quarterbacked U-M to its best season in more than a decade, and yet he spent the entirety of the 2022 offseason looking over his shoulder. J.J. McCarthy proved in 2021 he had a dual-threat skill set that might be able to take the Michigan offense to the next level with more season - ing. Despite missing most of the offseason with a shoulder injury, McCarthy made a huge push for the starting job in fall camp and ultimately supplanted McNamara in Week 2. Once the decision was made, there was no going back. Luckily for Michigan, it got everything it could have asked for and then some from McCarthy as a sophomore. He became the first player in program history to win his first 12 starts, throw- ing for 2,719 yards, 22 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. All numbers surpassed what McNamara's output was in 2021, and McCarthy played his best football down the stretch, providing hope that there's much more to unlock at Michigan. 3. Second-Half Adjustments — Some would accuse the Wolverines of sleepwalking through the starts of some games, but it was what they did coming out of the locker room or weathering an early storm that was most impressive, especially defensively. Given the recent success, Michigan takes every team's best shot week in and week out, and sometimes that simply means survival until you can catch your breath and adjust. Jim Harbaugh's coaching staff was masterful at that throughout the 2022 season, outscoring opponents 319-104 in the second half of games. There was a stretch in the middle of the season where the Wolverines outscored four opponents (Indiana, Penn State, Michigan State, Rutgers) by a margin of 100-3. On most afternoons, the Wolverines were the most poised and well-conditioned team in America, and it showed with their dominance in closing out opponents. Team Statistics U-M OPP Total First Downs 326 216 Rushing 177 78 Passing 130 124 Penalty 19 14 Total Net Yards 6423 4090 Total Plays 970 879 Yards Per Play 6.6 4.7 Yards Per Game 458.8 292.1 Rushing Attempts-Yards 600-3345 421-1371 Yards Per Attempt 5.6 3.3 Yards Per Game 238.9 97.9 Pass Att.-Comp.-Int. 370-238-6 458-256-14 Passing Yards 3078 2719 Yards Per Completion 12.9 10.6 Yards Per Game 219.9 194.2 Punting: No.-Avg. 45-41.3 78-42.0 Fumbles-Lost 14-4 12-4 Penalties-Yards 58-448 62-628 Sacks By-Yds. Lost 37-249 17-140 Third-Down Conversions 84-186 67-198 Conversion Pct. 45.2 33.8 Fourth-Down Conversions 17-21 9-28 Conversion Pct. 81.0 32.1 Avg. Time Of Possession 33:48 26:12 SCORING BY QTR. 1st 2nd 3rd 4th OT Total Michigan 122 125 139 180 0 566 Opponent 62 59 43 61 0 225 Rushing G No Gain Lost Net Avg TD Lg Yd/G Corum, Blake 12 247 1494 31 1463 5.9 18 61 121.9 Edwards, Donovan 11 140 1016 25 991 7.1 7 85 90.1 McCarthy, J.J. 14 70 429 123 306 4.4 5 39 21.9 Stokes, C.J. 12 55 286 13 273 5.0 1 21 22.8 Gash, Isaiah 9 19 104 3 101 5.3 2 38 11.2 Dunlap, Tavierre 10 9 46 0 46 5.1 0 15 4.6 Wilson, Roman 12 2 39 0 39 19.5 2 21 3.2 Orji, Alex 3 6 37 0 37 6.2 2 19 12.3 Hughes, Danny 7 6 35 0 35 5.8 0 16 5.0 Mullings, Kalel 12 14 32 1 31 2.2 3 6 2.6 Warren, Davis 6 3 30 0 30 10.0 0 12 5.0 Bell, Ronnie 14 3 26 3 23 7.7 1 16 1.6 Franklin, Leon 8 4 9 0 9 2.2 0 3 1.1 Henning, A.J. 13 3 9 0 9 3.0 0 6 0.7 Donohue, Henry 1 2 6 0 6 3.0 0 5 6.0 Anthony, Andrel 14 1 0 2 -2 -2.0 0 0 -0.1 Loveland, Colston 14 1 0 8 -8 -8.0 0 0 -0.6 TEAM 14 11 0 14 -14 -1.3 0 0 -1.0 McNamara, Cade 3 4 0 30 -30 -7.5 0 0 -10.0 Total 14 600 3598 253 3345 5.6 41 85 238.9 Opponent 14 421 1741 370 1371 3.3 10 69 97.9 Passing G Att Comp % Int Yds TD Lg Yd/G McCarthy, J.J. 14 322 208 64.6 5 2719 22 75 194.2 McNamara, Cade 3 25 14 56.0 1 180 1 61 60.0 Warren, Davis 6 9 5 55.6 0 89 0 56 14.8 Bowman, Alan 4 7 6 85.7 0 60 1 20 15.0 Mullings, Kalel 12 1 1 100.0 0 15 0 15 1.2 Mann, Brandon 1 1 1 100.0 0 7 0 7 7.0 Orji, Alex 3 1 1 100.0 0 5 0 5 1.7 Maddox, Andy 1 1 1 100.0 0 4 0 4 4.0 Bell, Ronnie 14 1 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0.0 Loveland, Colston 14 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0.0 TEAM 14 1 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0.0 Edwards, Donovan 11 1 1 100.0 0 -1 0 0 0.1 Total 14 370 238 64.3 6 3078 24 75 219.9 Opponent 14 458 256 55.9 14 2719 11 76 194.2 Receiving G No Yds Avg TD Lg Yd/G Bell, Ronnie 14 62 889 14.3 4 49 63.5 Johnson, Cornelius 14 32 499 15.6 6 75 35.6 Schoonmaker, Luke 12 35 418 11.9 3 40 34.8 Wilson, Roman 12 25 376 15.0 4 61 31.3 Loveland, Colston 14 16 235 14.7 2 45 16.8 Edwards, Donovan 11 18 200 11.1 2 33 18.2 Anthony, Andrel 14 7 80 11.4 1 29 5.7 Corum, Blake 12 11 80 7.3 1 41 6.7 Bredeson, Max 14 5 78 15.6 0 56 5.6 Henning, A.J. 13 9 60 6.7 0 16 4.6 All, Erick 3 3 36 12.0 0 22 12.0 Morris, Tyler 8 3 25 8.3 0 9 3.1 Gash, Isaiah 9 3 24 8.0 0 20 2.7 Franklin, Leon 8 1 20 20.0 1 20 2.5 Hibner, Matthew 13 2 15 7.5 0 10 1.2 Stokes, C.J. 12 1 15 15.0 0 15 1.2 Neff, Hunter 3 1 8 8.0 0 8 2.7 Clemons, Darrius 11 1 7 7.0 0 7 0.6 Dunlap, Tavierre 10 1 5 5.0 0 5 0.5 O'Leary, Peyton 5 1 4 4.0 0 4 0.8 Walker, Amorion 6 1 4 4.0 0 4 0.7 Total 14 238 3078 12.9 24 75 219.9 Opponent 14 256 2719 10.6 11 76 194.2 Total Offense G Rush Pass Total PG McCarthy, J.J. 14 306 2719 3025 216.1 Corum, Blake 12 1463 0 1463 121.9 Edwards, Donovan 11 991 -1 990 90.0 Stokes, C.J. 12 273 0 273 22.8 McNamara, Cade 3 -30 180 150 50.0 Warren, Davis 6 30 89 119 19.8 Gash, Isaiah 9 101 0 101 11.2 Bowman, Alan 4 0 60 60 15.0 Dunlap, Tavierre 10 46 0 46 4.6 Mullings, Kalel 12 31 15 46 3.8 Orji, Alex 3 37 5 42 14.0 Wilson, Roman 12 39 0 39 3.2 Hughes, Danny 7 35 0 35 5.0 Bell, Ronnie 14 23 0 23 1.6 Franklin, Leon 8 9 0 9 1.1 Henning, A.J. 13 9 0 9 0.7 Mann, Brandon 1 0 7 7 7.0 Donohue, Henry 1 6 0 6 6.0 Maddox, Andy 1 0 4 4 4.0 Anthony, Andrel 14 -2 -2 -0.1 Loveland, Colston 14 -8 0 -8 -0.6 Total 14 3345 3078 6423 458.8 Opponent 14 1371 2719 4090 292.1 All Purpose G Rush Rec PR KR IR Total PG Corum, Blake 12 1463 80 0 0 0 1543 128.6 Edwards, Donovan 11 991 200 0 0 0 1191 108.3 Bell, Ronnie 14 23 889 45 0 0 957 68.4 Wilson, Roman 12 39 376 0 114 0 529 44.1 Henning, A.J. 13 9 60 201 241 0 511 39.3 Johnson, Cornelius 14 0 499 0 0 0 499 35.6 Schoonmaker, Luke 12 0 418 0 0 0 418 34.8 McCarthy, J.J. 14 306 0 0 0 0 306 21.9 Stokes, C.J. 12 273 15 0 0 0 288 24.0 Loveland, Colston 14 -8 235 0 0 0 227 16.2 Gash, Isaiah 9 101 24 0 12 0 137 15.2 Anthony, Andrel 14 -2 80 0 0 0 78 5.6 Bredeson, Max 14 0 78 0 0 0 78 5.6 Moore, Rod 14 0 0 0 0 71 71 5.1 Mullings, Kalel 12 31 0 22 0 0 53 4.4 Barrett, Michael 14 0 0 0 0 52 52 3.7 Dunlap, Tavierre 10 46 5 0 0 0 51 5.1 Orji, Alex 3 37 0 0 0 0 37 12.3 All, Erick 3 0 36 0 0 0 36 12.0 Hughes, Danny 7 35 0 0 0 0 35 5.0 Taylor, Joe 13 0 0 0 34 0 34 2.6 Warren, Davis 6 30 0 0 0 0 30 5.0 Franklin, Leon 8 9 20 0 0 0 29 3.6 Johnson, Will 14 0 0 0 0 29 29 2.1 Morris, Tyler 8 0 25 0 0 0 25 3.1 Hibner, Matthew 13 0 15 0 0 0 15 1.2 Thaw, Jake 2 0 0 10 0 0 10 5.0 Neff, Hunter 3 0 8 0 0 0 8 2.7 Paige, Makari 12 0 0 0 0 8 8 0.7 Sainristil, Mike 14 0 0 0 0 8 8 0.6 Clemons, Darrius 11 0 7 0 0 0 7 0.6 Donohue, Henry 1 6 0 0 0 0 6 6.0 O'Leary, Peyton 5 0 4 0 0 0 4 0.8 Walker, Amorion 6 0 4 0 0 0 4 0.7 Turner, DJ 14 0 0 3 0 0 3 0.2 McNamara, Cade 3 -30 0 0 0 0 -30 -10.0 Total 14 3345 3078 281 401 168 7273 519.5 Opponent 14 1371 2719 83 440 117 4730 337.9 Punt Ret G No Yds Avg TD Lg Yd/G Henning, A.J. 13 28 201 7.2 1 61 15.5 Bell, Ronnie 14 2 45 22.5 0 40 3.2 Mullings, Kalel 12 1 22 22.0 0 22 1.8 Thaw, Jake 2 1 10 10.0 0 10 5.0 Turner, DJ 14 1 3 3.0 0 3 0.2 Total 14 33 281 8.5 1 61 20.1 Opponent 14 8 83 10.4 1 31 5.9 Kick Ret G No Yds Avg TD Lg Yd/G Henning, A.J. 13 11 241 21.9 0 31 18.5 Wilson, Roman 12 5 114 22.8 0 26 9.5 Taylor, Joe 13 2 34 17.0 0 24 2.6 Gash, Isaiah 9 1 12 12.0 0 12 1.3 Moten, R.J. 14 1 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 Total 14 20 401 20.1 0 31 28.6 Opponent 14 25 440 17.6 0 27 31.4 Punting G No Avg Lg Blk TB FC 50+ In 20 Robbins, Brad 14 43 42.3 64 0 0 21 9 16 Doman, Tommy 4 1 41.0 41 0 0 1 0 1 TEAM 14 1 0.0 0 1 0 0 0 0 Total 14 45 41.3 64 1 0 22 9 17 Opponent 14 78 42.0 64 1 4 16 16 15 Field Goals G Att Made Lg Blkd Moody, Jake 14 35 29 59 1 Andersen, Rhett 1 0 0 0 0 Doman, Tommy 4 0 0 0 0 Total 14 35 29 59 1 Opponent 14 18 17 53 1 Scoring G TD FG SAF PAT-1 PAT-2 Total PG Moody, Jake 14 0 29 0 60 0 147 10.5 Corum, Blake 12 19 0 0 0 0 114 9.5 Edwards, Donovan 11 9 0 0 0 0 54 4.9 Johnson, Cornelius 14 6 0 0 0 0 36 2.6 Wilson, Roman 12 6 0 0 0 0 36 3.0 Bell, Ronnie 14 5 0 0 0 2 34 2.4 McCarthy, J.J. 14 5 0 0 0 0 30 2.1 Schoonmaker, Luke 12 3 0 0 0 1 20 1.7 Mullings, Kalel 12 3 0 0 0 0 18 1.5 Gash, Isaiah 9 2 0 0 0 0 12 1.3 Loveland, Colston 14 2 0 0 0 0 12 0.9 Orji, Alex 3 2 0 0 0 0 12 4.0 Anthony, Andrel 14 1 0 0 0 0 6 0.4 Barrett, Michael 14 1 0 0 0 0 6 0.4 Franklin, Leon 8 1 0 0 0 0 6 0.8 Henning, A.J. 13 1 0 0 0 0 6 0.5 Stokes, C.J. 12 1 0 0 0 0 6 0.5 Turner, DJ 14 1 0 0 0 0 6 0.4 Doman, Tommy 4 0 0 0 2 0 2 0.5 Andersen, Rhett 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 1.0 Total 14 68 29 0 63 3 564 40.3 Opponent 14 25 17 0 22 1 225 16.1 Offensive Statistics