The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1514918
34 THE WOLVERINE ❱ FEBRUARY 2024 BY ANTHONY BROOME B lake Corum leaves U-M not only as a three-time Big Ten champion and with a national title under his belt, but also as one of the most prolific offensive players in school history. Corum ended the year with 1,245 rush- ing yards, making him the first Wolverine with back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons since quarterback Denard Rob- inson in 2010 (1,702), 2011 (1,176) and 2012 (1,266). The last Michigan running back to accomplish the feat was Mike Hart in 2006 (1,563) and 2007 (1,361). Corum ends his U-M career with 3,737 yards rushing, good for seventh all-time and officially passing Chris Perry after 21 carries for 134 yards and 2 touchdowns in the national title win over Washington. Corum scored 28 touchdowns overall this season, the most by any player in program history. His 27 rushing scores are the top mark in program annals, smashing the official record set by Has- san Haskins in 2021 (20). He also broke the unofficial record of 26, set by Albert Herrnstein in 1902. Corum exits Michi- gan as the leader in career rushing touch- downs with 58, surpassing the previous record set by Anthony Thomas with 55 in 1997-2000. Willie Heston holds the unofficial record with 72 career rushing scores from 1901-04. Corum set Michigan's single-season scoring record with 168 points and bol- stered his career point total to 356, sur- passing the career number set by Jake Moody (355). Corum and Donovan Edwards helped make history in the CFP title game, with Michigan becoming the first team in the four-team field all-time to record three 40-plus-yard runs in one half. Georgia is the only other team in CFP history with three 40-plus-yard runs in a CFP game, doing so in the 2018 Rose Bowl against Oklahoma. Edwards had first-quarter touchdown runs of 41 and 46 yards, while Corum had a 59-yard rush as time expired in the first quarter. Their efforts combined to help produce 174 total team rush yards in one quarter, a season-best for Michigan. U-M's 209 first-half rushing yards were also a single-half best. Corum (134) and Edwards (104) each eclipsed 100 yards rushing together in the title game for the first and only time during the season, last doing so in 2022 against Penn State and at Rutgers. It ❱ MICHIGAN FOOTBALL Corum, Edwards And McCarthy Make History In Title Game Quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) finished 27-1 as a starter at Michigan, and running back Blake Corum (2) leaves as the school's all-time leader in single-season (27) and career (58) rushing touchdowns. PHOTO BY GABRIELLA CERITANO