Published Nov 7, 2018
By The Numbers: U-M's 8-1 Starts (Or Better) Often End With A League Title
Austin Fox  •  Maize&BlueReview
Staff Writer
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At 8-1 overall and 6-0 in conference play, Michigan controls its own destiny for not only a Big Ten championship, but likely a berth in the College Football Playoff.

Of the Wolverines' last 10 8-1 starts (or better) to a season, seven of them have ended with a conference title.

While that is obviously an encouraging statistic, the following is not — U-M's last two 9-0 starts (2016 and 2006) have not ended with a league crown and culminated with records of 10-3 and 11-2, respectively.

Prior to 2006, though, the Maize and Blue won the Big Ten each of the six times they began at least 8-1 from 1986-2004.

Michigan's Last 10 8-1 (Or Better) Starts To A Season
Year (Started)FinishedBig Ten Champions?Bowl Game

2016 (9-0)

10-3

No

Orange Bowl (Lost to No. 10 Florida State)

2006 (9-0)

11-2

No

Rose Bowl (Lost to No. 8 USC)

2004 (8-1)

9-3

Yes

Rose Bowl (Lost to No. 6 Texas)

1997 (9-0)

12-0

Yes

Rose Bowl (Beat No. 8 Washington State)

1992 (8-0-1)

9-0-3

Yes

Rose Bowl (Beat No. 9 Washington)

1991 (8-1)

10-2

Yes

Rose Bowl (Lost to No. 2 Washington)

1989 (8-1)

10-2

Yes

Rose Bowl (Lost to No. 12 USC)

1986 (9-0)

11-2

Yes

Rose Bowl (Lost to No. 7 Arizona State)

1979 (8-1)

8-4

No

Gator Bowl (Lost to No. 14 North Carolina)

1978 (8-1)

10-2

Yes

Rose Bowl (Lost to No. 3 USC)

The introduction of the Big Ten Championship game in 2011 has obviously made it more difficult for teams to take home the conference crown, with shared titles no longer an option.

Regardless, the Maize and Blue have seldom been in position to win it since the game's inception seven years ago.

A victory over Ohio State in 2016 would have at least put the Maize and Blue into the Big Ten Championship, while U-M would have won the crown outright with a triumph over the Buckeyes in 2006.

In 2004 (the program's last title), Michigan went 7-1 in league play and shared the crown with Iowa.

After an outstanding 9-1 start to the year, though, U-M dropped its final two contests to Ohio State and Texas, respectively.

The Maize and Blue began 9-0 in 1997, and went on to win their final three contests to grab not only the Big Ten crown, but also the National Championship.

The 1992 campaign saw U-M in a peculiar situation — it opened the year by tying with No. 3 Notre Dame, before ripping off wins in its next eight contests. Ties in two of the season's final three outings left the squad's record at 9-0-3, which was enough to win the league outright (every other member had at least two Big Ten losses).

Michigan's only defeats in 1991 came in non-conference play at the hands of No. 1 Florida State on Sept. 28 and to No. 2 Washington in the Rose Bowl, which gave the program the outright conference championship with an unblemished league record.

A perfect Big Ten mark in 1989 (the only setbacks were to No. 1 Notre Dame and No. 12 USC in the Rose Bowl) also let the Wolverines take home sole possession of the league championship, while the '86 club started 11-1 en route to a shared title, before dropping a Rose Bowl matchup to No. 7 Arizona State.

The 1979 journey is one of the three exceptions on the list. U-M began 8-1 and did not win the Big Ten — following its excellent start, the Maize and Blue dropped their final three clashes to finish a disappointing third in the conference.

Finally, 1978 saw Michigan jump out to a 10-1 record (only loss to MSU) and share the Big Ten championship with the Spartans, before falling to No. 3 USC in the Rose Bowl.

If the 2018 Wolverines come out victorious in their final three regular-season tilts, they will find themselves in the Big Ten title game.

Their quest to do so continues Saturday at Rutgers.

By The Numbers: Michigan at Rutgers

3 Different Wolverine pass catchers have hauled in at least 350 receiving yards this year — redshirt junior tight end Zach Gentry (350), sophomore wideout Donovan Peoples-Jones (364) and sophomore receiver Nico Collins (373). To put that in perspective, U-M's leading receiver all of last season was then-junior wideout Grant Perry, with just 307 yards.

4 Pick-sixes for Michigan in 2018, which is tied with Alabama and Utah State for the most in the nation. Fifth-year senior cornerback Brandon Watson has tallied two, while junior cornerback Lavert Hill and junior safety Josh Metellus each have one. U-M's cornerbacks have scored more touchdowns (three) than they've allowed (two).

7 Consecutive 100-yard efforts for senior running back Karan Higdon, dating back to the Sept. 8 win over Western Michigan (he missed the Sept. 15 SMU game with an injury). If the senior hits the century mark against the Scarlet Knights, he will tie Mike Hart's school record of eight straight 100-yard showings set in 2007.

12 Total tackles for junior linebacker Josh Uche this season, with over half of them sacks (seven). His seven quarterback takedowns are tied for the 19th most in college football and deadlocked for third in the Big Ten.

15 Interceptions Rutgers freshman quarterback Artur Sitkowski has thrown this season, compared to only four touchdowns. His 15 picks are the most in the nation and are three more than any other FBS signal-caller. Only three quarterbacks in the entire country (including Sitkowski) have thrown more than 10. This could spell disaster against a Michigan secondary that has picked off four passes in its last three games.

45 Degrees for a projected high on Saturday in Piscataway, with sunny skies and a zero percent chance of precipitation. However, wind gusts are projected to hit 16 miles-per-hour, which could making throwing the football difficult.

78-0 Was the final score of Michigan's last trip to Piscataway on Oct. 8, 2016. The score was 43-0 at halftime, and U-M outgained the Scarlet Knights, 600-39, including a 23-2 advantage in first downs.

276.9 Yards per game Rutgers is averaging, which ranks 128th in college football. On the flip side, U-M's defense is only yielding 216.2 per contest, which is 48.5 yards fewer than any other defense in the FBS.

1869 & 1879 Is when Rutgers and Michigan each played their first-ever football game, respectively, making the Scarlet Knights the oldest FBS program and U-M the third oldest (Northwestern is second). Rutgers played college football's initial contest against Princeton on Nov. 6, 1869, while U-M competed in its first-ever game against Racine College on May 30, 1879.

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