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By the numbers: A Michigan football trend to keep an eye on

clayton-sayfieby: Clayton Sayfie4 hours agoCSayf23
Justice Haynes
Michigan Wolverines football running back Justice Haynes against Oklahoma. (Photo by Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images)

Stop us if you’ve heard this before: Michigan Wolverines football was the only team in the country without a passing play of 40-plus yards during the 2024 college football season. The Maize and Blue didn’t have a 40-yard gain through the air even by happenstance, a blown coverage, a missed tackle. None. Zero.

Yes, even Navy (8), Army (7) and Air Force (4) had several a piece, adding to the embarrassment.

Michigan talked all offseason about being more “explosive” under new coordinator Chip Lindsey, and we’ve seen glimpses of that in the early going. But, through two weeks, the results are fascinating in a different way.

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In the 34-17 season-opening win over New Mexico, Michigan came oh-so-close to hitting the 40-yard passing play, with freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood connecting with sophomore wide receiver Channing Goodwin for a 39-yard gain just before halftime. But in last week’s 24-13 loss at Oklahoma, the Wolverines finally got on the board with one — a 44-yard gain by graduate wideout Donaven McCulley, who pinned the ball on the back of a defender to come down with an impressive grab.

In a small sample size, the Wolverines have shown some explosiveness, ranking tied for 14th nationally with 7 scrimmage plays of 30-plus yards. Junior running back Justice Haynes — who dashed 75 yards for a score at Oklahoma — has accounted for 3 of those.

However, the Wolverines’ offense hasn’t been consistently gashing opponents. Michigan checks in tied for 121st in the sport with only 17 plays of 10-plus yards. They’ve hit some home runs, but aren’t getting on base for doubles or triples nearly as often.

The run game is a prime example. Michigan has had only 4 rushes of 10-plus yards — and 3 of them are 50-plus-yard chunk gains by Haynes.

Taking out the 190 yards on 3 attempts from Haynes — runs of 56, 59 and 75 yards — Michigan is averaging 2.6 yards per carry. Now, those long rushes by Haynes did happen and are important, but the Wolverines could use more productive runs outside of just the explosives.

At his Monday press conference, Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore didn’t seem overly concerned, because he’s seen it go the other way and even itself out throughout the course of the season. Two years ago, the Wolverines came off some early-season games where they were productive on a consistent basis but didn’t break many long runs.

“When you have four explosives, that’s pretty good,” Moore explained. ‘But when those runs are 5, 6, that’s what you kind of, that’s what the run game is. It’s 3, it’s 4, it’s 5, then all of a sudden you got a 50.

“We’ll get to the 10s. We’ll get to those. I can remember back when I was coaching the line, there were times where we had only had 130 yards rushing. And it was a 10-yard, it was a 10-yard, it was a 5-yard. And then people said, ‘Well, you’re not getting the 50s.’ I’m like, ‘Well, sometimes you don’t.'”

By the numbers Michigan vs. Central Michigan

6-16 Was Michigan interim head coach Biff Poggi‘s record as the head coach of the Charlotte 49ers from 2023-24. He will lead the Wolverines against CMU and next week at Nebraska, with Moore serving a two-game, self-imposed suspension.

Plus-1.5 Average turnover margin for Central Michigan, which has forced 4 takeaways (3 interceptions, 1 fumble recovery) and lost just 1 fumble with no interceptions.

6-Plus Pass attempts on the season for each of Central Michigan’s three quarterbacks who are slated to see action this week — redshirt senior Joe Labas, redshirt freshman Jadyn Glasser and junior Angel Flores. As a group, the Chippewas have completed 70 percent of their passes (28-of-40) for 292 yards and a touchdown.

7 MAC championships for Central Michigan, with the last one coming in 2009. The Chippewas have won their conference three times this century — in 2006, 2007 and 2009.

11th In the Big Ten is where McCulley ranks with 17.4 yards per catch. Minnesota’s Javon Tracy is pacing the league at 29 yards per reception on 4 grabs.

36-1 Is Michigan’s record against teams in the MAC, with all 37 games coming at The Big House. The Wolverines have outscored opponents from the conference 1,355-360. The lone loss came Oct. 11, 2008, a 13-10 setback to Toledo, which had a 100-yard interception return for a touchdown in the first quarter.

285-33 Is the total point margin in the four-game series between Michigan and CMU. The Wolverines have won all four meetings, with the most recent being a 59-9 win Aug. 31, 2013. The first time the two teams matched up was Oct. 3, 1931, in Ann Arbor, a 27-20 Wolverine victory.