2019 Michigan

9–⁠4 (6–⁠3 Big Ten), coached by Jim Harbaugh, finished No. 18 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Michigan in 2019, game by game: won vs. Middle Tennessee 40–21; won vs. Army 24–21; lost at No. 13 Wisconsin 14–35; won vs. Rutgers 52–0; won vs. No. 14 Iowa 10–3; won at Illinois 42–25; lost at No. 7 Penn State 21–28; won vs. No. 8 Notre Dame 45–14; won at Maryland 38–7; won vs. Michigan State 44–10; won at Indiana 39–14; lost vs. No. 2 Ohio State 27–56; lost vs. No. 9 Alabama 16–35+52−29Won 40–21 vs. Middle Tennessee+19Middle TennesseeWon 24–21 vs. Army+3ArmyLost 14–35 at No. 13 Wisconsin-21No. 13 WisconsinWon 52–0 vs. Rutgers+52RutgersWon 10–3 vs. No. 14 Iowa+7No. 14 IowaWon 42–25 at Illinois+17IllinoisLost 21–28 at No. 7 Penn State-7No. 7 Penn StateWon 45–14 vs. No. 8 Notre Dame+31No. 8 Notre DameWon 38–7 at Maryland+31MarylandWon 44–10 vs. Michigan State+34Michigan StateWon 39–14 at Indiana+25IndianaLost 27–56 vs. No. 2 Ohio State-29No. 2 Ohio StateLost 16–35 vs. No. 9 Alabama-19No. 9 Alabama
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31vsMiddle TennesseeW 40–⁠2172%
Sep 7vsArmyW 24–⁠2160%
Sep 21at13WisconsinL 14–⁠3544%
Sep 28vsRutgersW 52–⁠087%
Oct 5vs14IowaW 10–⁠354%
Oct 12atIllinoisW 42–⁠2574%
Oct 19at7Penn StateL 21–⁠2834%
Oct 26vs8Notre DameW 45–⁠1448%
Nov 2atMarylandW 38–⁠774%
Nov 16vsMichigan StateW 44–⁠1077%
Nov 23atIndianaW 39–⁠1465%
Nov 30vs2Ohio StateL 27–⁠5642%
Jan 1vs9AlabamaCitrus BowlL 16–⁠3537%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Alabama 35–⁠16 in the Citrus Bowl; No. 18 in the final AP poll; tied for 5th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 52nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 140 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 7
  2. Wk 2: 7
  3. Wk 3: 10
  4. Wk 4: 11
  5. Wk 5: 20
  6. Wk 6: 19
  7. Wk 7: 16
  8. Wk 8: 16
  9. Wk 9: 19
  10. Wk 10: 14
  11. Wk 11: 14
  12. Wk 12: 14
  13. Wk 13: 12
  14. Wk 14: 10
  15. Wk 15: 17
  16. Wk 16: 17
  17. Final: 18
Record
9–⁠4
Conference
6–⁠3 tied for 5th in Big Ten
AP final
No. 18 peak No. 7
Points
412–⁠269
Coach
Jim Harbaugh
Elo
1693 +69 this season
SP+ rating
20.7 No. 10 of 130; offense No. 21, defense No. 11, special teams No. 36
SRS
16.0 No. 13 of 130 in FBS
Returning
75% of last season’s EPA, No. 29 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 8 roster talent No. 11 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Josh Gattis
Defensive coordinator
Don Brown
Captains
Ben Bredeson, Khaleke Hudson and Carlo Kemp
Most valuable player
Shea Patterson
Offense
Pro spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense43rd of 130
  • Defense30th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted23rd of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted16th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1445%1.1943rd of 130
Defense0.0338%1.2130th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.18 off
0.01 def
47% off
36% def
—23rd off
16th 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
Offense4.1own 3119% allowed
Defense3.2own 2722% caused

CORE rating 14.0, 16th of 130 (offense 0.9, defense -13.2).

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 QB3,061 yds
Passing touchdownsShea Patterson QB23 TD
Rushing yardsZach Charbonnet RB726 yds
Rushing touchdownsZach Charbonnet RB11 TD
Receiving yardsRonnie Bell WR747 yds
Receiving touchdownsNico Collins WR7 TD
TacklesKhaleke Hudson LB101 tkl
SacksJosh Uche LB8.5 sacks
InterceptionsAmbry Thomas DB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2019 class

Daxton Hill S★★★★★No. 14
Christopher Hinton DT★★★★★No. 31
Zach Charbonnet RB★★★★No. 46
Mazi Smith DT★★★★No. 106
Trente Jones OT★★★★No. 108
Nolan Rumler OG★★★★No. 176
Cornelius Johnson WR★★★★No. 177
Trevor Keegan OT★★★★No. 178

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

The 2019 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.905
Running backs23.00.883
Receivers43.80.898
Offensive line63.70.913
Defensive line54.00.920
Linebackers23.50.899
Defensive backs63.70.906
Athletes and specialists23.00.832
Whole class283.60.902

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 2020

The 2020 draft
Rd 1Cesar Ruiz CNew Orleans Saints
Rd 2Josh Uche DENew England Patriots
Rd 4Ben Bredeson OGBaltimore Ravens
Rd 5Khaleke Hudson OLBWashington Football Team
Rd 5Mike Danna DEKansas City Chiefs
Rd 6Michael Onwenu OGNew England Patriots
Rd 6Donovan Peoples-Jones WRCleveland Browns
Rd 6Jon Runyan OGGreen Bay Packers
Rd 6Josh Metellus SMinnesota Vikings
Rd 6Jordan Glasgow ILBIndianapolis Colts

Roster 145

The 2019 roster

145 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2019 line; 64 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big Ten

3 first team, 5 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2019 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2019 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ohio State9–⁠013–⁠13
Penn State7–⁠211–⁠29
Minnesota7–⁠211–⁠210
Wisconsin7–⁠210–⁠411
Iowa6–⁠310–⁠315
Michigan6–⁠39–⁠418
Indiana5–⁠48–⁠5
Michigan State4–⁠57–⁠6
Illinois4–⁠56–⁠7
Nebraska3–⁠65–⁠7
Purdue3–⁠64–⁠8
Maryland1–⁠83–⁠9
Northwestern1–⁠83–⁠9
Rutgers0–⁠92–⁠10

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