Things you might not have known about Michigan football’s win over Minnesota
Michigan football continued its dominance from the previous week, going on the road for the second straight week and eviscerating Minnesota even worse than it had Nebraska the week before.
The 52-10 blowout featured yet another defensive gem, while the offense continued to move the ball with ease. The game was so out of hand again, that J.J. McCarthy still did not see fourth-quarter action — he’s yet to play in the final period of any game this season.
While you may have gotten a pretty good idea of how the game went if you watched, listened, or were in Minneapolis, there are plenty of things you may not have known about the big win — that’s where MGoBlue.com has us covered!
Here are some facts, tidbits, and trivia from the game that you might not have known.
Facts/tidbits:
Tonight’s game marked the 105th in the history of the Michigan-Minnesota series. It was the 98th meeting for the Little Brown Jug. All-time, U-M is 77-25-3 in the series with wins in 44 of the last 47 matchups.
The victory was the 18th straight Big Ten win for the Wolverines, one shy of the program record (19) set from 1990-92.
U-M totaled 52 points in the game, marking the ninth straight game with Michigan scoring at least 30 points, a streak that began at Ohio State last fall. That is the longest such streak in program history, snapping the eight-game stretch set in 1976.
Michigan has at least five scores in every game this year. Minnesota joined Bowling Green (two field goals) as the only team with multiple scores against U-M this year.
This was the 19th career start for quarterback J.J. McCarthy (18-1). In that time, the quarterback has led and finished 182 drives (excludes kneel-downs). U-M has 80 touchdowns and 29 field goals.
The 52 passing yards Minnesota totaled in tonight’s matchup were the fewest allowed by the U-M defense since allowing 24 against UConn last year. It is the third time in the last 18 games that U-M has kept a team below 100 yards passing (UConn, Nebraska, 2022).
The Gophers were the most effective team on fourth down on offense against U-M (two-for-two), but the Wolverines got the better of them on third down, holding Minnesota to 3-of-14.
Defensive back Will Johnson’s first-quarter interception returned for a touchdown was the sixth interception by a Wolverine this year and the second returned for a touchdown (Sainristil, 71 yards at Nebraska).
Defensive back Keon Sabb added another interception for a touchdown in the third quarter. It was Sabb’s first career interception.
It was the first time the Michigan defense returned two passes for touchdowns since 2017 against Cincinnati on pick-sixes from Tyree Kinnel and Lavert Hill.
The Wolverines matched their 2022 season total of three defensive touchdowns through only six weeks of play.
Running back Blake Corum scored his 10th rushing touchdown of the season a few minutes into the second quarter, tying him with his position coach Mike Hart (41) for fourth-most all-time. Corum had a 40-yard run on the drive, his longest carry in Big Ten play this year.
McCarthy ran for a touchdown midway through the second quarter, his second game in a row with a rushing score. He added another on the ground midway through the third quarter, bringing him to 10 for his career. It was McCarthy’s first career game with multiple rushing scores.
The 24 points U-M scored in the first half were the second-highest total of the season (28 vs. Nebraska, Sept. 30). The 21 points U-M scored in the third frame were a single-quarter best for the season this year.
U-M scored more points against Minnesota tonight (52) than in the prior seven meetings (since 2011).
Wide receiver Cornelius Johnson finished the game with three catches for 86 yards, which he reached by halftime, passing his previous season best of 82 yards against UNLV (on five catches).
Running back Kalel Mullings set a career-high in rushing yards with 47 and tied a career-high in carries with eight.
Michigan handed Minnesota its first home loss of the season after their 3-0 start to the year in Huntington Bank Stadium.
The Wolverines beat Minnesota on the road for the 18th consecutive time, extending the longest such streak in the series.
