2020 Michigan
2–4 (2–4 Big Ten), coached by Jim Harbaugh. Share
Schedule and results
- Best winBeat No. 21 Minnesota 49–24Oct 24
Over the best-ranked team it beat, on the road.
- Most excitingBeat Rutgers 48–42Nov 21
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 24 | at 21Minnesota | W 49–24 | 44% |
| Oct 31 | vs Michigan State | L 24–27 | 78% |
| Nov 7 | at 13Indiana | L 21–38 | 54% |
| Nov 14 | vs 13Wisconsin | L 11–49 | 51% |
| Nov 21 | at Rutgers | W 48–42 | 71% |
| Nov 28 | vs Penn State | L 17–27 | 64% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Lost to Penn State 27–17; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 10th in the Big Ten.
In program history: The 114th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 140 on file).
AP poll, week by week
- Wk 1: 16
- Wk 5: 23
- Wk 6: 20
- Wk 7: 19
- Wk 8: 18
- Wk 9: 13
- Wk 10: 23
- Record
- 2–4
- Conference
- 2–4 tied for 10th in Big Ten
- AP final
- Unranked peak No. 13
- Points
- 170–207
- Coach
- Jim Harbaugh
- Elo
- 1551 −77 this season
- SP+ rating
- 10.7 No. 27 of 130; offense No. 34, defense No. 26
- SRS
- −0.6 No. 48 of 77 in FBS
- Returning
- 40% of last season’s EPA, No. 105 of 130
- Recruiting class
- No. 14 roster talent No. 14 in FBS
- Offensive coordinator
- Josh Gattis
- Defensive coordinator
- Don Brown
- Captains
- Carlo Kemp, Kwity Paye, Josh Ross, Aidan Hutchinson, Ben Mason and Andrew Vastardis
- Offense
- Pro spread
- Defense
- 4–3
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.15 | 42% | 1.41 | 43rd of 127 |
| Defense | 0.22 | 43% | 1.30 | 105th of 127 |
| Opponent-adjusted | 0.15 off 0.21 def | 43% off 45% def | — | 36th off 120th 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 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 4.1 | own 27 | 16% allowed |
| Defense | 4.4 | own 29 | 10% caused |
CORE rating -5.4, 86th of 127 (offense 3.6, defense 9.0).
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 yards | Joe Milton QB | 1,077 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Cade McNamara QB | 5 TD |
| Rushing yards | Hassan Haskins RB | 376 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | Hassan Haskins RB | 6 TD |
| Receiving yards | Ronnie Bell WR | 401 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | Cornelius Johnson WR | 3 TD |
| Tackles | Josh Ross LB | 53 tkl |
| Sacks | Carlo Kemp DL | 2 sacks |
| Interceptions | Josh Ross LB | 1 INT |
Top recruits in the 2020 class
| Andrew Gentry OT | ★★★★ | No. 88 |
| A.J. Henning WR | ★★★★ | No. 102 |
| Braiden McGregor SDE | ★★★★ | No. 123 |
| Blake Corum RB | ★★★★ | No. 129 |
| Kalel Mullings OLB | ★★★★ | No. 153 |
| Andre Seldon CB | ★★★★ | No. 161 |
| Jordan Morant S | ★★★★ | No. 165 |
| Darion Green-Warren CB | ★★★★ | No. 194 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2020 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 2 | 2.5 | 0.775 |
| Running backs | 2 | 3.5 | 0.881 |
| Receivers | 4 | 3.5 | 0.883 |
| Offensive line | 5 | 3.6 | 0.892 |
| Defensive line | 4 | 3.5 | 0.903 |
| Linebackers | 4 | 3.8 | 0.903 |
| Defensive backs | 5 | 4.0 | 0.920 |
| Athletes and specialists | 2 | 3.0 | 0.885 |
| Whole class | 28 | 3.5 | 0.889 |
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 2021
The 2021 draft| Rd 1 | Kwity Paye DE | Indianapolis Colts |
| Rd 3 | Jalen Mayfield OT | Atlanta Falcons |
| Rd 3 | Nico Collins WR | Houston Texans |
| Rd 3 | Ambry Thomas CB | San Francisco 49ers |
| Rd 5 | Cameron McGrone ILB | New England Patriots |
| Rd 5 | Ben Mason FB | Baltimore Ravens |
| Rd 6 | Chris Evans RB | Cincinnati Bengals |
| Rd 6 | Camaron Cheeseman LS | Washington Football Team |
Roster 133
The 2020 roster133 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2020 line; 53 have a stat line. See the roster
All-Big Ten
2 second teamSecond team
Kwity PayeDLMedia-2
Giles JacksonRSCoaches-3; Media-2
From Wikipedia’s 2020 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).
2020 Big Ten standings
Conference page| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
 Ohio State | 5–0 | 7–1 | 2 |
 Northwestern | 6–1 | 7–2 | 10 |
| Indiana | 6–1 | 6–2 | 12 |
 Iowa | 6–2 | 6–2 | 16 |
| Wisconsin | 3–3 | 4–3 | |
| Penn State | 4–5 | 4–5 | |
| Minnesota | 3–4 | 3–4 | |
 Maryland | 2–3 | 2–3 | |
 Nebraska | 3–5 | 3–5 | |
| Rutgers | 3–6 | 3–6 | |
| Michigan | 2–4 | 2–4 | |
 Purdue | 2–4 | 2–4 | |
| Michigan State | 2–5 | 2–5 | |
 Illinois | 2–6 | 2–6 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.