By the numbers: Five stats that have defined Michigan's season thus far

By Clayton Sayfie

Michigan Wolverines football is nine games into the 2025 season, headed into the stretch run that will culminate with the Nov. 29 regular-season finale against Ohio State. Here are five key stats that have defined the season thus far.

1. Long runs

Michigan leads the nation with 7 runs of 50-plus yards, all by junior Justice Haynes (4) and sophomore Jordan Marshall (3). The Wolverines haven’t just consistently moved the football on the ground, they’ve gotten those explosive plays, as well.

Michigan has 19 plays of 30-plus yards, ranking tied for 54th in the country, after checking in 133rd with only 12 all of last season. This offense has a much more dynamic dimension this season.

As for the run game overall, the Maize and Blue are one of the best in the country, ranking 12th with 223.8 yards per contest. Both Haynes (122.4) and Marshall (81) slot in the top five in the Big Ten in rushing yards per game, though the former is injured and expected to miss significant time.

Michigan’s offensive line has improved throughout the season and is run blocking at a high level. The group has paved the way for 2.7 yards before contact per rush — up from 1.5 last season.

2. Up-and-down passing attack

Michigan hasn’t had a 300-yard passing game since the Nov. 4, 2023, win over Purdue, but the aerial attack has improved drastically since the 2024 campaign, when the season high was 208 yards (loss to Illinois). Michigan has surpassed that four different times this fall, against Wisconsin (270), New Mexico (251), Central Michigan (235) and Washington (230).

But the pass game has been subpar in some other outings, posting fewer than 150 yards in four tilts — wins over Purdue (145), Nebraska (142) and Michigan State (86), and a loss to Oklahoma (142).

As a result, the Wolverines haven’t had a balanced attack, ranking tied for 123rd in the FBS with only 24.9 passing attempts per game. They check in 106th with 185.7 passing yards per tilt.

3. Quarterback pressure

Michigan freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood has had a solid season overall but mixed results from week to week. One of the reasons for the struggles has been the pass protection. The 6-foot-4, 228-pound Underwood has been pressured on 31.9 percent of his dropbacks, per Sports Info Solutions, the 73rd-highest mark among the 142 signal-callers with 100-plus pass attempts this season.

PFF, meanwhile, charted that Underwood has been pressured on 27.7 percent of dropbacks. In those situations, he’s averaging 5.3 yards per attempt with 1 touchdown and 1 interception, compared to 8.2 yards per attempt with 6 scores and 2 picks when kept clean.

On the other side of the football, the Michigan defense is getting after opposing passers. The Wolverines rank third in the country with a 42.9-percent pressure rate. While the Wolverines aren’t adverse to bringing extra rushers, they don’t have to blitz to get pressure. That percentage is 40.7 percent, second in the nation, with less than five players rushing.

Senior EDGE Derrick Moore has been on a tear, emerging as one of the Big Ten’s best pass rushers. He has 28 pressures and 8.5 sacks on the season, and all of those sacks and 23 of the pressures have come in the last six games. He’s the first Michigan player since LaMarr Woodley in 2006 to have 2 sacks in three-straight games, doing so against Washington, Michigan State and Purdue, with the Maize and Blue going on a three-game win streak.

Coverage and tackling are big parts of pass defense, too, though. The Wolverines rank 22nd in the FBS by allowing 6.2 yards per pass, but they’ve been burned by missing tackles at different points, with 79 on the season.

4. Turnover margin

Michigan slots 10th in the FBS with a plus-0.89 average turnover margin per game, with 16 gained (11 interceptions, 5 fumble recoveries) and 8 lost (4 interceptions, 4 lost fumbles).

How important is it to win the turnover battle? Well, the 14 teams with an equal or better average turnover margin to Michigan own a combined win-loss record of 99-32 this season (75.6 percent).

Team	Wins	Losses
Southern Miss	7	2
Indiana	10	0
UConn	7	3
North Texas	8	1
Notre Dame	7	2
Alabama	8	1
SMU	7	3
Texas Tech	9	1
Temple	5	5
Maryland	4	5
Arizona	6	3
UNLV	7	2
Texas Tech	7	2
Michigan	7	2
Total	99	32

The Wolverines have forced at least 1 turnover in 15-straight games dating back to last season, and have had multiple takeaways in five of nine contests this season.

5. Special teams sloppiness

The third phase of the game has been rough for Michigan this season, with the Wolverines ranking 107th in the nation in special teams efficiency, according to ESPN’s Football Power Index. The Wolverines checked in third in the country last season.

Michigan senior Hudson Hollenbeck is tied for ninth in the Big Ten with 43.4 yards per punt, the Wolverines rank 17th in the conference with 1.9 yards per punt return and senior Dominic Zvada has missed 4 field goals. There’s been overall clunkiness, outside of the kick and punt coverage playing at a high level, for the most part.