There are three days and counting, until Michigan invades the land of Tressel wreckage, looking to slow the Urban renewal. Here are a few nuggets to chew on, while the countdown clock ticks away.

- Denard Robinson getting back in the lineup was obviously most important for what it means to Michigan's team, and its chances in Columbus. And the sentimental among Wolverine fans soaked up the chance to see him perform one last time in Michigan Stadium.

But it wouldn't have felt quite right, had Robinson's injury kept him out of the rest of the season, for a lot of reasons. He came into the Iowa game sitting on 946 rushing yards, following two straight 1,000-yard campaigns.

Now Robinson has enough numbers to fill John Nash's noggin, but and the senior professes not to care about them, but for him to not finish off three straight years with 1,000-plus yard would have just felt wrong. He's at 1,044 now, and counting.

- Just so you know, Michigan's other running backs, combined, have rushed for 926. Fitzgerald Toussaint's own run ended at 514, and he'll be looking for a healing offseason and a better start (and finish) to 2013.

- Everybody knows junior quarterback Devin Gardner has been throwing the ball well, and the numbers bear that out. Michigan's top two receivers have taken off over the last three games.

Redshirt junior Jeremy Gallon made 18 catches for 318 yards and one touchdown over Michigan's first eight games. Over the past three, he's snagged 16 catches for 299 yards and a TD.

Similarly, fifth-year senior Roy Roundtree made 13 catches for 175 yards and one touchdown over the first eight games. In the last three, he has 12 catches for 286 yards and one touchdown.

- Robinson, meanwhile, racked up 1,319 passing yards and nine touchdowns before his injury. Gardner is sitting on 834 passing yards and seven aerial TDs with at least two games remaining. In case your calculator is on the fritz, Gardner stands only 485 passing yards behind.

The junior quarterback is also now tied for the team lead in rushing touchdowns, with six. Robinson also has six, so it's a race to the finish.

- They say defense wins championships. Well, that's true in many instances. Right now, though, Nebraska has the inside track on the Legends Division title with a scoring defense that's No. 9 in the Big Ten (24.0). Giving up 112 points or so to Ohio State in Columbus skews the numbers slightly, but still…

And oh, Michigan State leads the conference in scoring defense, allowing only 16.9 points per game. The Spartans will try to pare that back to 16.8 in Minneapolis on Saturday, while they battle to try and become bowl eligible.

- Brady Hoke is 18-0 when the Wolverines score at least 18 points in a game. That mark might get put to the test in Ohio Stadium on Saturday.


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