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2018 Michigan

10–⁠3 (8–⁠1 Big Ten), coached by Jim Harbaugh, finished No. 14 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Michigan in 2018, game by game: lost at No. 12 Notre Dame 17–24; won vs. Western Michigan 49–3; won vs. SMU 45–20; won vs. Nebraska 56–10; won at Northwestern 20–17; won vs. Maryland 42–21; won vs. No. 15 Wisconsin 38–13; won at No. 24 Michigan State 21–7; won vs. No. 14 Penn State 42–7; won at Rutgers 42–7; won vs. Indiana 31–20; lost at No. 10 Ohio State 39–62; lost vs. No. 10 Florida 15–41+46−26Lost 17–24 at No. 12 Notre Dame-7No. 12 Notre DameWon 49–3 vs. Western Michigan+46Western MichiganWon 45–20 vs. SMU+25SMUWon 56–10 vs. Nebraska+46NebraskaWon 20–17 at Northwestern+3NorthwesternWon 42–21 vs. Maryland+21MarylandWon 38–13 vs. No. 15 Wisconsin+25No. 15 WisconsinWon 21–7 at No. 24 Michigan State+14No. 24 Michigan StateWon 42–7 vs. No. 14 Penn State+35No. 14 Penn StateWon 42–7 at Rutgers+35RutgersWon 31–20 vs. Indiana+11IndianaLost 39–62 at No. 10 Ohio State-23No. 10 Ohio StateLost 15–41 vs. No. 10 Florida-26No. 10 Florida
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1at12Notre DameL 17–⁠2436%
Sep 8vsWestern MichiganW 49–⁠369%
Sep 15vsSMUW 45–⁠2079%
Sep 22vsNebraskaW 56–⁠1080%
Sep 29atNorthwesternW 20–⁠1752%
Oct 6vsMarylandW 42–⁠2176%
Oct 13vs15WisconsinW 38–⁠1347%
Oct 20at24Michigan StateW 21–⁠752%
Nov 3vs14Penn StateW 42–⁠757%
Nov 10atRutgersW 42–⁠791%
Nov 17vsIndianaW 31–⁠2087%
Nov 24at10Ohio StateL 39–⁠6242%
Dec 29Bowls & playoffvs10FloridaPeach BowlL 15–⁠4164%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Florida 41–⁠15 in the Peach Bowl; No. 14 in the final AP poll; tied for first in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 58th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 140 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 14
  2. Wk 2: 21
  3. Wk 3: 19
  4. Wk 4: 19
  5. Wk 5: 14
  6. Wk 6: 15
  7. Wk 7: 12
  8. Wk 8: 6
  9. Wk 9: 5
  10. Wk 10: 5
  11. Wk 11: 4
  12. Wk 12: 4
  13. Wk 13: 4
  14. Wk 14: 8
  15. Wk 15: 8
  16. Final: 14

Big Ten East champions8–⁠1 in the conference, shared with Ohio State

Consensus All-AmericanDevin Bush, LB

Record
10–⁠3
Conference
8–⁠1 shared first in Big Ten
AP final
No. 14 peak No. 4
Points
457–⁠252
Coach
Jim Harbaugh
Elo
1686 +93 this season
SP+ rating
22.0 No. 10 of 130; offense No. 25, defense No. 9, special teams No. 35
SRS
16.7 No. 6 of 130 in FBS
Returning
76% of last season’s EPA, No. 38 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 22 roster talent No. 8 in FBS
Defensive coordinator
Don Brown
Captains
Ben Bredeson, Devin Bush Jr., Karan Higdon and Tyree Kinnel
Most valuable player
Chase Winovich
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense19th of 130
  • Defense12th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted11th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted14th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1948%1.2119th of 130
Defense-0.0434%1.3912th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.21 off
-0.01 def		49% off
34% def		—11th off
14th 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
Offense3.9own 3313% allowed
Defense2.6own 3118% caused

CORE rating 21.9, 5th of 130 (offense 7.5, defense -14.4).

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 yardsShea Patterson QB2,570 yds
Passing touchdownsShea Patterson QB22 TD
Rushing yardsKaran Higdon RB1,180 yds
Rushing touchdownsKaran Higdon RB10 TD
Receiving yardsNico Collins WR632 yds
Receiving touchdownsDonovan Peoples-Jones WR8 TD
TacklesTyree Kinnel DB72 tkl
SacksJosh Uche LB7 sacks
InterceptionsBrandon Watson DB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2018 class

Aidan Hutchinson SDE★★★★No. 112
Cameron McGrone OLB★★★★No. 118
Mustapha Muhammad TE★★★★No. 168
Myles Sims CB★★★★No. 170
Joe Milton III PRO★★★★No. 204
Jalen Mayfield OT★★★★No. 268
Ryan Hayes OT★★★★No. 335

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

The 2018 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks23.00.839
Running backs23.00.866
Receivers33.30.876
Offensive line33.30.861
Defensive line33.30.898
Linebackers14.00.948
Defensive backs53.20.881
Athletes and specialists23.00.867
Whole class213.20.876

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 2019

The 2019 draft
Rd 1Devin Bush ILBPittsburgh Steelers
Rd 1Rashan Gary DEGreen Bay Packers
Rd 3Chase Winovich DENew England Patriots
Rd 3David Long CBLos Angeles Rams
Rd 5Zach Gentry TEPittsburgh Steelers

Roster 147

The 2018 roster

147 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2018 line; 63 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big Ten

8 first team, 2 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2018 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2018 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ohio State8–⁠113–⁠13
Michigan8–⁠110–⁠314
Northwestern8–⁠19–⁠521
Penn State6–⁠39–⁠417
Iowa5–⁠49–⁠425
Wisconsin5–⁠48–⁠5
Michigan State5–⁠47–⁠6
Purdue5–⁠46–⁠7
Minnesota3–⁠67–⁠6
Maryland3–⁠65–⁠7
Nebraska3–⁠64–⁠8
Indiana2–⁠75–⁠7
Illinois2–⁠74–⁠8
Rutgers0–⁠91–⁠11

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