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2012 Michigan

8–⁠5 (6–⁠2 Big Ten), coached by Brady Hoke, finished No. 24 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Michigan in 2012, game by game: lost vs. No. 2 Alabama 14–41; won vs. Air Force 31–25; won vs. Massachusetts 63–13; lost at No. 11 Notre Dame 6–13; won at Purdue 44–13; won vs. Illinois 45–0; won vs. Michigan State 12–10; lost at Nebraska 9–23; won at Minnesota 35–13; won vs. Northwestern 38–31; won vs. Iowa 42–17; lost at No. 4 Ohio State 21–26; lost vs. No. 11 South Carolina 28–33+50−27Lost 14–41 vs. No. 2 Alabama-27No. 2 AlabamaWon 31–25 vs. Air Force+6Air ForceWon 63–13 vs. Massachusetts+50MassachusettsLost 6–13 at No. 11 Notre Dame-7No. 11 Notre DameWon 44–13 at Purdue+31PurdueWon 45–0 vs. Illinois+45IllinoisWon 12–10 vs. Michigan State+2Michigan StateLost 9–23 at Nebraska-14NebraskaWon 35–13 at Minnesota+22MinnesotaWon 38–31 vs. Northwestern+7NorthwesternWon 42–17 vs. Iowa+25IowaLost 21–26 at No. 4 Ohio State-5No. 4 Ohio StateLost 28–33 vs. No. 11 South Carolina-5No. 11 South Carolina
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1vs2AlabamaL 14–⁠4133%
Sep 8vsAir ForceW 31–⁠2568%
Sep 15vsMassachusettsW 63–⁠1390%
Sep 22at11Notre DameL 6–⁠1336%
Oct 6atPurdueW 44–⁠1353%
Oct 13vsIllinoisW 45–⁠083%
Oct 20vsMichigan StateW 12–⁠1063%
Oct 27atNebraskaL 9–⁠2348%
Nov 3atMinnesotaW 35–⁠1365%
Nov 10vsNorthwesternW 38–⁠3168%
Nov 17vsIowaW 42–⁠1779%
Nov 24at4Ohio StateL 21–⁠2635%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs11South CarolinaOutback BowlL 28–⁠3339%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to South Carolina 33–⁠28 in the Outback Bowl; No. 24 in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 73rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 140 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 8
  2. Wk 2: 19
  3. Wk 3: 17
  4. Wk 4: 18
  5. Wk 7: 25
  6. Wk 8: 23
  7. Wk 9: 20
  8. Wk 12: 23
  9. Wk 13: 20
  10. Wk 14: 21
  11. Wk 15: 19
  12. Final: 24
Record
8–⁠5
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 3rd in Big Ten
AP final
No. 24 peak No. 8
Points
388–⁠258
Coach
Brady Hoke
Elo
1656 +30 this season
SP+ rating
20.5 No. 13 of 124; offense No. 26, defense No. 14, special teams No. 32
SRS
9.6 No. 25 of 124 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 6
Offensive coordinator
Al Borges
Defensive coordinator
Greg Mattison
Captains
Denard Robinson, Jordan Kovacs, Cameron Gordon and Jake Ryan
Most valuable player
Jordan Kovacs
Offense
Spread, pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense52nd of 124
  • Defense39th of 124
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted47th of 124
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted42nd of 124
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0743%0.9652nd of 124
Defense0.0341%0.8739th of 124
Opponent-adjusted0.08 off
0.04 def		43% off
41% def		—47th off
42nd 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-0.3own 315% allowed
Defense-0.1own 322% 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 QB1,319 yds
Passing touchdownsDevin Gardner QB11 TD
Rushing yardsDenard Robinson QB1,266 yds
Rushing touchdownsDenard Robinson QB7 TD
Receiving yardsJeremy Gallon WR829 yds
Receiving touchdownsDevin Funchess WR5 TD
InterceptionsRaymon Taylor DB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2012 class

Kyle Kalis OG★★★★No. 46
Ondre Pipkins DT★★★★No. 55
Joe Bolden ILB★★★★No. 76
Erik Magnuson OT★★★★No. 81
James Ross ILB★★★★No. 113
Chris Wormley SDE★★★★No. 127
Royce Jenkins-Stone OLB★★★★No. 143
Terry Richardson CB★★★★No. 147

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

The 2012 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs33.30.877
Receivers43.80.898
Offensive line43.50.923
Defensive line63.80.916
Linebackers43.80.935
Defensive backs33.70.909
Athletes and specialists22.50.781
Whole class263.60.901

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 2013

The 2013 draft
Rd 5Denard Robinson WRJacksonville Jaguars
Rd 6William Campbell OGNew York Jets

Roster 110

The 2012 roster

110 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2012 line; 31 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big Ten

3 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2012 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2012 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ohio State8–⁠012–⁠03
Nebraska7–⁠110–⁠425
Penn State6–⁠28–⁠4
Michigan6–⁠28–⁠524
Northwestern5–⁠310–⁠317
Wisconsin4–⁠48–⁠6
Michigan State3–⁠57–⁠6
Purdue3–⁠56–⁠7
Minnesota2–⁠66–⁠7
Indiana2–⁠64–⁠8
Iowa2–⁠64–⁠8
Illinois0–⁠82–⁠10

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