Stat Analysis From An Ugly Day In The Big House

Michigan did a lot of things against Michigan State on Saturday, and almost none of them were good.

After Mel Tucker’s first victory as the Spartans head coach, he already has more underdog wins than Jim Harbaugh has had in his five plus seasons at Michigan. It was the Wolverines first lost against an unranked opponent at home since 2017 when the Spartans beat Michigan 14-10 in John O'Korn’s first start of the season.

Joe Milton became only the fifth quarterback in Michigan history to throw the ball over 50 times in a game. In his second start, Milton also became the only Wolverine quarterback to throw it over 50 times without a touchdown pass, less than 350 yards passing, average completion of fewer than 12 yards and longest completion of less than 30 yards. Milton finished the game with 300 passing yards, 9.3 yards per completion and his longest pass was a 26 yard gain. However, Milton was the first Wolverine quarterback to ever throw it over 50 times without throwing at least two interceptions, as Milton did not have a turnover against the Spartans. The Wolverines quarterback also had the highest completion percentage at 62.7% of any Michigan quarterback to throw it over 50 times in a game.

Michigan’s rushing offense wasn’t much more effective than their pass offense, as the Wolverines had 15 rushes for less than three yards, which didn’t end in scores. However, Milton became the first quarterback since Devin Gardner in 2013 to rush for 100 yards combined in the first two games of the season.

The Wolverines defense was even less impressive, as they allowed freshman wide receiver Ricky White to have four catches for over 30 yards, and allowed Rocky Lombardi to complete five passes for 204 yards and a touchdown on throws 20-plus yards down the field. White became the first receiver since Jeremy Gallon in 2013 to have over 190 yards receiving during a game in The Big House.

Overall the Wolverines got outplayed and beat by big plays, as they only had one play of more than 20 yards in the game while the Spartans had six plays which picked up at least 20 yards.