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2017 Michigan

8–⁠5 (5–⁠4 Big Ten), coached by Jim Harbaugh.

Schedule and results

Michigan in 2017, game by game: won vs. No. 17 Florida 33–17; won vs. Cincinnati 36–14; won vs. Air Force 29–13; won at Purdue 28–10; lost vs. Michigan State 10–14; won at Indiana 27–20; lost at No. 2 Penn State 13–42; won vs. Rutgers 35–14; won vs. Minnesota 33–10; won at Maryland 35–10; lost at No. 5 Wisconsin 10–24; lost vs. No. 8 Ohio State 20–31; lost vs. South Carolina 19–26+25−29Won 33–17 vs. No. 17 Florida+16No. 17 FloridaWon 36–14 vs. Cincinnati+22CincinnatiWon 29–13 vs. Air Force+16Air ForceWon 28–10 at Purdue+18PurdueLost 10–14 vs. Michigan State-4Michigan StateWon 27–20 at Indiana+7IndianaLost 13–42 at No. 2 Penn State-29No. 2 Penn StateWon 35–14 vs. Rutgers+21RutgersWon 33–10 vs. Minnesota+23MinnesotaWon 35–10 at Maryland+25MarylandLost 10–24 at No. 5 Wisconsin-14No. 5 WisconsinLost 20–31 vs. No. 8 Ohio State-11No. 8 Ohio StateLost 19–26 vs. South Carolina-7South Carolina
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vs17FloridaW 33–⁠1755%
Sep 9vsCincinnatiW 36–⁠1485%
Sep 16vsAir ForceW 29–⁠1372%
Sep 23atPurdueW 28–⁠1074%
Oct 7vsMichigan StateL 10–⁠1478%
Oct 14atIndianaW 27–⁠2064%
Oct 21at2Penn StateL 13–⁠4239%
Oct 28vsRutgersW 35–⁠1487%
Nov 4vsMinnesotaW 33–⁠1077%
Nov 11atMarylandW 35–⁠1076%
Nov 18at5WisconsinL 10–⁠2431%
Nov 25vs8Ohio StateL 20–⁠3152%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvsSouth CarolinaOutback BowlL 19–⁠2662%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to South Carolina 26–⁠19 in the Outback Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; 6th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 78th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 140 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 11
  2. Wk 2: 8
  3. Wk 3: 7
  4. Wk 4: 8
  5. Wk 5: 8
  6. Wk 6: 7
  7. Wk 7: 17
  8. Wk 8: 19
  9. Wk 11: 21
  10. Wk 12: 19

Consensus All-AmericanMaurice Hurst Jr., DL

Record
8–⁠5
Conference
5–⁠4 6th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked peak No. 7
Points
328–⁠245
Coach
Jim Harbaugh
Elo
1639 −12 this season
SP+ rating
19.6 No. 13 of 128; offense No. 49, defense No. 5, special teams No. 55
SRS
12.7 No. 18 of 130 in FBS
Returning
62% of last season’s EPA, No. 62 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 5 roster talent No. 7 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Tim Drevno
Defensive coordinator
Don Brown
Captains
Mason Cole and Mike McCray
Most valuable player
Maurice Hurst Jr.
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense101st of 130
  • Defense5th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted93rd of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted9th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0239%1.21101st of 130
Defense-0.0732%1.255th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.05 off
-0.04 def		41% off
32% def		—93rd off
9th 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
Offense3.1own 3417% allowed
Defense2.8own 2924% caused

CORE rating 10.7, 21st of 130 (offense -5.3, defense -16.0).

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. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsJohn O’Korn QB973 yds
Passing touchdownsBrandon Peters QB4 TD
Rushing yardsKaran Higdon RB994 yds
Rushing touchdownsKaran Higdon RB11 TD
Receiving yardsGrant Perry WR307 yds
Receiving touchdownsSean McKeon TE3 TD
TacklesDevin Bush LB93 tkl
SacksChase Winovich LB8.5 sacks
InterceptionsDavid Long DB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2017 class

Donovan Peoples-Jones WR★★★★★No. 12
Aubrey Solomon DT★★★★★No. 23
Cesar Ruiz OC★★★★No. 47
Luiji Vilain WDE★★★★No. 57
Drew Singleton OLB★★★★No. 79
Ambry Thomas CB★★★★No. 90
Jordan Anthony OLB★★★★No. 106
Chuck Filiaga OT★★★★No. 112

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

The 2017 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.944
Running backs23.50.876
Receivers63.70.904
Offensive line53.60.917
Defensive line83.90.917
Linebackers43.80.921
Defensive backs43.80.911
Athletes and specialists12.00.759
Whole class313.70.907

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 2018

The 2018 draft
Rd 3Mason Cole CArizona Cardinals
Rd 5Mo Hurst DTOakland Raiders

Roster 141

The 2017 roster

141 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2017 line; 59 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big Ten

4 first team, 4 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2017 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2017 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Wisconsin9–⁠013–⁠17
Ohio State8–⁠112–⁠25
Penn State7–⁠211–⁠28
Northwestern7–⁠210–⁠317
Michigan State7–⁠210–⁠315
Michigan5–⁠48–⁠5
Iowa4–⁠58–⁠5
Purdue4–⁠57–⁠6
Rutgers3–⁠64–⁠8
Nebraska3–⁠64–⁠8
Minnesota2–⁠75–⁠7
Indiana2–⁠75–⁠7
Maryland2–⁠74–⁠8
Illinois0–⁠92–⁠10

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