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2011 Michigan

11–⁠2 (6–⁠2 Big Ten), coached by Brady Hoke, finished No. 12 in the AP poll.

Michigan, 2011
Photo: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Schedule and results

Michigan in 2011, game by game: won vs. Western Michigan 34–10; won vs. Notre Dame 35–31; won vs. Eastern Michigan 31–3; won vs. San Diego State 28–7; won vs. Minnesota 58–0; won at Northwestern 42–24; lost at No. 23 Michigan State 14–28; won vs. Purdue 36–14; lost at Iowa 16–24; won at Illinois 31–14; won vs. No. 17 Nebraska 45–17; won vs. Ohio State 40–34; won vs. No. 17 Virginia Tech 23–20+58−14Won 34–10 vs. Western Michigan+24Western MichiganWon 35–31 vs. Notre Dame+4Notre DameWon 31–3 vs. Eastern Michigan+28Eastern MichiganWon 28–7 vs. San Diego State+21San Diego StateWon 58–0 vs. Minnesota+58MinnesotaWon 42–24 at Northwestern+18NorthwesternLost 14–28 at No. 23 Michigan State-14No. 23 Michigan StateWon 36–14 vs. Purdue+22PurdueLost 16–24 at Iowa-8IowaWon 31–14 at Illinois+17IllinoisWon 45–17 vs. No. 17 Nebraska+28No. 17 NebraskaWon 40–34 vs. Ohio State+6Ohio StateWon 23–20 vs. No. 17 Virginia Tech+3No. 17 Virginia Tech
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3vsWestern MichiganW 34–⁠1059%
Sep 10vsNotre DameW 35–⁠3149%
Sep 17vsEastern MichiganW 31–⁠380%
Sep 24vsSan Diego StateW 28–⁠753%
Oct 1vsMinnesotaW 58–⁠079%
Oct 8atNorthwesternW 42–⁠2455%
Oct 15at23Michigan StateL 14–⁠2841%
Oct 29vsPurdueW 36–⁠1473%
Nov 5atIowaL 16–⁠2442%
Nov 12atIllinoisW 31–⁠1447%
Nov 19vs17NebraskaW 45–⁠1749%
Nov 26vsOhio StateW 40–⁠3461%
Jan 3Bowls & playoffvs17Virginia TechSugar BowlW 23–⁠2045%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Virginia Tech 23–⁠20 in the Sugar Bowl; No. 12 in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 55th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 140 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 4: 22
  2. Wk 5: 19
  3. Wk 6: 12
  4. Wk 7: 11
  5. Wk 8: 18
  6. Wk 9: 17
  7. Wk 10: 13
  8. Wk 11: 22
  9. Wk 12: 20
  10. Wk 13: 17
  11. Wk 14: 17
  12. Wk 15: 13
  13. Final: 12

Rimington TrophyDavid Molk, C

Consensus All-AmericanDavid Molk, C

Record
11–⁠2
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 2nd in Big Ten
AP final
No. 12 peak No. 11
Points
433–⁠226
Coach
Brady Hoke
Elo
1689 +197 this season
SP+ rating
20.0 No. 14 of 120; offense No. 12, defense No. 20, special teams No. 77
SRS
15.4 No. 9 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 30
Offensive coordinator
Al Borges
Defensive coordinator
Greg Mattison
Captains
Kevin Koger, Mike Martin and David Molk
Most valuable player
Denard Robinson
Offense
Spread, pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense36th of 120
  • Defense43rd of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted38th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted48th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0843%1.0036th of 120
Defense0.0242%0.9243rd of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.07 off
0.04 def		44% off
42% def		—38th off
48th def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.1own 313% allowed
Defense-0.3own 302% caused

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsDenard Robinson QB2,075 yds
Passing touchdownsDenard Robinson QB20 TD
Rushing yardsDenard Robinson QB1,130 yds
Rushing touchdownsDenard Robinson QB16 TD
Receiving yardsJunior Hemingway WR662 yds
Receiving touchdownsJunior Hemingway WR4 TD
InterceptionsCourtney Avery CB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2011 class

Justice Hayes APB★★★★No. 135
Brennen Beyer OLB★★★★No. 167
Blake Countess CB★★★★No. 171
Antonio Poole OLB★★★★No. 274
Kellen Jones ILB★★★★No. 288

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2011 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs23.00.852
Receivers13.00.878
Offensive line13.00.881
Defensive line13.00.833
Linebackers34.00.904
Defensive backs43.30.868
Athletes and specialists13.00.821
Whole class133.30.869

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2012

The 2012 draft
Rd 3Mike Martin DTTennessee Titans
Rd 7David Molk CSan Diego Chargers
Rd 7Junior Hemingway WRKansas City Chiefs

Roster 112

The 2011 roster

112 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2011 line; 30 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big Ten

1 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2011 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2011 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Michigan State7–⁠111–⁠311
Michigan6–⁠211–⁠212
Wisconsin6–⁠211–⁠310
Penn State6–⁠29–⁠4
Nebraska5–⁠39–⁠424
Iowa4–⁠47–⁠6
Purdue4–⁠47–⁠6
Ohio State3–⁠56–⁠7
Northwestern3–⁠56–⁠7
Illinois2–⁠67–⁠6
Minnesota2–⁠63–⁠9
Indiana0–⁠81–⁠11

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.