Michigan Wolverines football redshirt sophomore quarterback Joe Milton has thrown for at least 300 yards in two of his three career starts, racking up 300 yards on Oct. 31 against Michigan State and then compiling 344 yards last week at Indiana.
Three-hundred-yard passing outings in general have been a bit rare at Michigan throughout its history — it has happened only 34 times — much less for someone to do it twice so early in their career like Milton has.
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The 344 yards he threw for against the Hoosiers were the 15th most in a game in school history. What made Milton's performance even more impressive was that he also tossed three touchdown passes during the contest.
Three-touchdown performances have been more common than 300-yard outings throughout U-M's history, with signal-callers having hit the trifecta in a game 95 times. However, quarterbacks throwing for 300 yards AND three or more touchdowns (like Milton did last week) has occurred only 16 times.
Two of those 16 happened late last season in consecutive games, when Shea Patterson registered 384 yards and four touchdowns Nov. 16 against Michigan State, and 366 yards and five touchdowns the following week in a 39-14 win at Indiana.
Prior to Patterson's two outings, it hadn't occurred at Michigan since Wilton Speight accumulated 312 yards and four touchdowns in a 51-14 beatdown of UCF on Sept. 10, 2016.
According to Michigan's official record books, the first 300-yard passing game at U-M occurred in 1986, with Jim Harbaugh doing it twice that season — first when he threw for 310 yards Oct. 4 against Wisconsin and then when he racked up 300 yards Oct. 25 at Indiana.
It's no surprise the majority of the 300-yard passing games in Michigan history have occurred in the 21st century, considering the way the game has changed over the past 20 years.
Passing attacks have become more advanced and proficient, and throwing the ball at a high rate has become the preferred method to score for numerous programs around the country.
For example, the 51 times Milton threw the ball in the Oct. 31 loss to Michigan State stood as the fifth most in a single game ever at U-M. The only four Michigan contests that featured more passing attempts have each occurred since 1995.
Tom Brady's 56 attempts against Ohio State in 1998 lead the way, John Navarre's 55 throws against Oregon in 2003 check in second, Chad Henne's 54 attempts at Ohio State in 2004 rank third and Scott Dreisbach's 52 throws versus Virginia in 1995 slots in fourth.
Milton's name is likely to appear near the top of several school passing categories before his career is finished, especially when considering he's still only a redshirt sophomore (especially since this year won't technically count against his eligibility).
He has averaged 35.6 attempts per game through his first three starts. In comparison, here's the number of throws a few other recent notable Wolverine signal-callers averaged in their first three career starts at U-M:
• Shea Patterson — 21.6
• Wilton Speight — 26.6
• Jake Rudock — 30.3
• Chad Henne — 29.3
By The Numbers: Wisconsin At Michigan Football
0 Lost fumbles for the Maize and Blue through the first three games. U-M lost seven fumbles through the first three outings last year.
6 Passes broken up by Michigan redshirt sophomore cornerback Gemon Green this season, which are the most in the Big Ten. No other player in the conference has more than four.
19-Point comeback for U-M against Wisconsin in 2008, marking the largest home comeback in school history. The Wolverines trailed 19-0 late in the third quarter, before storming back to grab a 27-25 victory over the No. 9-ranked Badgers.
39 Degrees for a projected low on Saturday night in Ann Arbor, which will be somewhat mild for a mid-November evening. There will also only be 10 mile-per-hour wind gusts and just a 10 percent chance of precipitation.
51-16-1 All-time series edge for Michigan against Wisconsin, including a 24-6 mark at The Big House. The Badgers' last triumph in Ann Arbor came in 2010.
53.6 Yards per punt redshirt junior Brad Robbins averaged on seven attempts last week at Indiana, which was the fourth-best single-game punting performance in school history. Robbins replaced struggling fifth-year senior Will Hart during the Oct. 31 Michigan State game and has held onto the job ever since, after the latter was averaging just 37.8 yards on four punts this season (Robbins' year-long clip is 49.4, which would be a new single-season record by more than two yards).
95.2 Completion percentage (20-of-21 passing) for Wisconsin redshirt freshman quarterback Graham Mertz against Illinois on Oct. 23, which has been the only game the team has played this year. He also threw for 248 yards and five touchdowns against the Illini.
269 Receiving yards for junior wideout Ronnie Bell so far this season, which are the sixth most in the Big Ten. His 19.2 yards per reception also rank sixth in the league. The 149 yards he had last week against Indiana were the second most he had ever tallied in a game in his career, trailing only the 150 he had against Michigan State last season.
2017 Was the last time Michigan wasn't ranked in the Associated Press Poll, prior to this week. The Wolverines concluded that year at 8-5 and ended the campaign on a three-game losing streak. U-M has been ranked in 61 of 70 games during the Harbaugh era.
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