Postgame Notes: No. 2 Michigan Shuts Out Little Brother

The No. 2 Michigan Wolverines saved their most dominant performance of the season for in-state rival Michigan State, and it was glorious.

It didn't really matter what side of the rivalry you were on heading into this one, most folks were quite confident in what the outcome would look like - and those folks were right. No. 2 Michigan began the evening with a 13 play drive that ended with a Blake Corum touchdown, and the Wolverines never looked back. 

Whether offensively or defensively, the Spartans simply had no answer for Michigan on Saturday night. The result was a dominant 49-0 road victory for the Wolverines, and the first time Michigan State had been shut out in the rivalry at home since 1985. 

Here are some noteworthy items from Michigan's dominant win, courtesy of MGoBlue.com:

• With today's win, the Wolverines have been victorious in 20 straight Big Ten games dating to 2021, the new longest streak in program history. Today's victory broke a tie with the 1990-92 squads coached by Gary Moeller which combined won 19 straight league games.

• The Maize and Blue have won 23 consecutive regular-season games dating to 2021, the third-longest streak in Big Ten history.

• U-M improved to 73-38-5 all-time in 116 meetings between Michigan and Michigan State. The Wolverines are 40-29-2 when playing for the Paul Bunyan Governor's Trophy (since 1953) and 20-15-2 all-time in Spartan Stadium (22-15-2 overall on the road in the series).

• The team is now 5-4 against the Spartans under head coach Jim Harbaugh.

• With a margin of victory of 49 over the Spartans, U-M has tied the 1974 Ohio State team for the most consecutive Big Ten wins by 38-plus points (four). Tonight's score was the largest margin of victory in the rivalry since 1983, when U-M won 42-0.

• U-M is the only team at the FBS level to be undefeated and win each of its games by 20-plus points through eight weeks.

• U-M was up 28-0 at the half, the largest halftime lead in the series since 1947 (also 28-0), when the Wolverines won 55-0.

• In holding the Spartans to zero points, Michigan has held its first eight opponents under 10 points (and won all of those games) for the first time since 1973 when the team went 10-0-1 and allowed a season-high 13 points.

• It was the first time MSU was shut out in the rivalry since 2000, a 14-0 win for U-M. It was the first time MSU was shut out at home in the rivalry since a 31-0 win in 1985.

• Michigan has scored 30-plus in 11 straight games, the longest streak in program history. The 1976 squad (eight games) previously held the record.

• U-M has scored 40-plus points in three straight Big Ten games for the first time since 2021, when Michigan scored 59 against Maryland, 42 against Ohio State, and 42 against Iowa.

• JJ McCarthy has made 21 career starts as a Wolverine. U-M is 20-1 in that span.

• McCarthy is 106 career passing yards shy of Steve Smith (4.680 career pass yards) to enter the top 10 all-time. His four touchdown passes in tonight's game moved him into a tie for sixth-most all-time with Shea Patterson (45). Rick Leach (48) is next on the list at fifth all-time.

• Blake Corum (3,038 career rushing yards entering) passed Billy Taylor (3,072) for ninth place on the all-time rushing list. Next up is Rob Lytle (3,317 yards) in eighth.

• Corum scored one rushing touchdown to give him 44 for his career, with only Tyrone Wheatley (47) and Anthony Thomas (55) above him.

• Roman Wilson became the 12th player in U-M history with 10 or more receiving touchdowns in a season, and tied Braylon Edwards for the 11th-most in one campaign, when he caught his first-quarter score. With two more touchdowns (12 total), Wilson can move into a tie with Mario Manningham (2007) for sixth-most in a single-season all-time. Four players had 11 in one season.

• Colston Loveland has at least one reception in every game this season. Loveland caught a 22-yard touchdown strike against the Spartans, giving him at least one receiving touchdown in three straight games. He added a second 22-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter for his first career multi-touchdown game.

• AJ Barner set new career highs with eight catches for 99 yards in tonight's game (previous best, five, while at Indiana). Barner caught an 11-yard touchdown against the Spartans in the third quarter. This was Barner's first touchdown of the season.

• Marlin Klein made his first career reception in the fourth quarter, an eight-yard grab.

• The U-M offense went 7-of-11 on third down. Before Saturday, the Spartan defense allowed opposing offenses to convert on third down only 24.7 percent of the time, which ranked first in the Big Ten and third in the FBS behind only Utah and Georgia.

• The Spartans managed only 10 rushing yards in the first half, the fewest in this rivalry since 2014, when it was U-M who was stifled to the tune of minus-five rush yards.

• The defense held the Spartans to 6-of-16 on third down. On the season, U-M has forced three-and-outs or turnovers in the first four plays of a series on 33-of-72 possessions (25 three-and-outs, eight turnovers forced).

• No opponent has scored more than one touchdown against the U-M defense and that trend continued in tonight's game.

• No team has run a play inside Michigan's 10-yard line this season.

• Mike Sainristil recorded U-M's fourth interception returned for a touchdown so far this year with his 72-yard pick-six in the third quarter. Sainristil has two, and and have one each. That output of four pick-sixes in a season matches the 1998 and 2018 seasons for the single-season program record.

• Sainristil's return for a touchdown was the seventh-longest in program history at 72 yards, and the longest since Josh Metellus' 73-yard return score against SMU in 2018.

• U-M has at least one interception in five straight games since returned to the starting lineup against Rutgers (Sept. 23), adding to that streak tonight with Sainristil's 72-yard interception returned for a touchdown in the third quarter. On the season, U-M has allowed three passing touchdowns to 10 interceptions (including four interceptions returned for touchdowns).

• MSU running back Nate Carter was held to a season low of 36 rushing yards (previous season low: 48 yards vs. Washington). Before today's matchup, he was averaging 88.2 rushing yards per game, which ranked fourth in the Big Ten.