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2021 Michigan

12–⁠2 (8–⁠1 Big Ten), coached by Jim Harbaugh, finished No. 3 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Michigan in 2021, game by game: won vs. Western Michigan 47–14; won vs. Washington 31–10; won vs. Northern Illinois 63–10; won vs. Rutgers 20–13; won at Wisconsin 38–17; won at Nebraska 32–29; won vs. Northwestern 33–7; lost at No. 8 Michigan State 33–37; won vs. Indiana 29–7; won at No. 23 Penn State 21–17; won at Maryland 59–18; won vs. No. 2 Ohio State 42–27; won vs. No. 15 Iowa 42–3; lost vs. No. 3 Georgia 11–34+53−23Won 47–14 vs. Western Michigan+33Western MichiganWon 31–10 vs. Washington+21WashingtonWon 63–10 vs. Northern Illinois+53Northern Illino…Won 20–13 vs. Rutgers+7RutgersWon 38–17 at Wisconsin+21WisconsinWon 32–29 at Nebraska+3NebraskaWon 33–7 vs. Northwestern+26NorthwesternLost 33–37 at No. 8 Michigan State-4No. 8 Michigan StateWon 29–7 vs. Indiana+22IndianaWon 21–17 at No. 23 Penn State+4No. 23 Penn StateWon 59–18 at Maryland+41MarylandWon 42–27 vs. No. 2 Ohio State+15No. 2 Ohio StateWon 42–3 vs. No. 15 Iowa+39No. 15 IowaLost 11–34 vs. No. 3 Georgia-23No. 3 Georgia
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4vsWestern MichiganW 47–⁠1462%
Sep 11vsWashingtonW 31–⁠1059%
Sep 18vsNorthern IllinoisW 63–⁠1082%
Sep 25vsRutgersW 20–⁠1371%
Oct 2atWisconsinW 38–⁠1748%
Oct 9atNebraskaW 32–⁠2957%
Oct 23vsNorthwesternW 33–⁠775%
Oct 30at8Michigan StateL 33–⁠3746%
Nov 6vsIndianaW 29–⁠778%
Nov 13at23Penn StateW 21–⁠1745%
Nov 20atMarylandW 59–⁠1873%
Nov 27vs2Ohio StateW 42–⁠2742%
Dec 4vs15IowaBig Ten Championship GameW 42–⁠356%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvs3GeorgiaOrange Bowl, CFP SemifinalL 11–⁠3445%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Georgia 34–⁠11 in the Orange Bowl, CFP Semifinal; No. 3 in the final AP poll; Big Ten champions.

In program history: The tied 27th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 140 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 3: 25
  2. Wk 4: 19
  3. Wk 5: 14
  4. Wk 6: 9
  5. Wk 7: 8
  6. Wk 8: 6
  7. Wk 9: 6
  8. Wk 10: 9
  9. Wk 11: 9
  10. Wk 12: 8
  11. Wk 13: 6
  12. Wk 14: 2
  13. Wk 15: 2
  14. Final: 3

Big Ten champions8–⁠1 in the conference, won the Big Ten Championship Game

Heisman voteAidan Hutchinson, second

Lombardi AwardAidan Hutchinson, DE; also the Hendricks

Lou Groza AwardJake Moody, K

2 consensus All-AmericansAidan Hutchinson, DE; Jake Moody, K

Broyles AwardJosh Gattis, coach

Record
12–⁠2
Conference
8–⁠1 shared first in Big Ten
AP final
No. 3 peak No. 2
Points
501–⁠243
Coach
Jim Harbaugh
Elo
1739 +204 this season
SP+ rating
23.4 No. 4 of 130; offense No. 19, defense No. 10
SRS
20.3 No. 3 of 130 in FBS
Returning
54% of last season’s EPA, No. 99 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 10 roster talent No. 15 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Josh Gattis and Sherrone Moore
Defensive coordinator
Mike Macdonald
Captains
Aidan Hutchinson, Josh Ross, Andrew Vastardis and Ronnie Bell
Most valuable player
Aidan Hutchinson
Offense
Pro spread
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense31st of 130
  • Defense14th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted21st of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted12th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2147%1.2331st of 130
Defense0.0238%1.2014th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.23 off
0.03 def		48% off
37% def		—21st off
12th 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
Offense4.2own 3110% allowed
Defense3.0own 2617% caused

CORE rating 15.3, 11th of 130 (offense 4.2, defense -11.1).

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 yardsCade McNamara QB2,576 yds
Passing touchdownsCade McNamara QB15 TD
Rushing yardsHassan Haskins RB1,327 yds
Rushing touchdownsHassan Haskins RB20 TD
Receiving yardsCornelius Johnson WR627 yds
Receiving touchdownsAndrel Anthony Jr. WR3 TD
TacklesJosh Ross LB106 tkl
SacksAidan Hutchinson DL14 sacks
InterceptionsD.J. Turner DB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2021 class

J.J. McCarthy QB★★★★★No. 25
Donovan Edwards RB★★★★No. 42
Giovanni El-Hadi OT★★★★No. 88
Junior Colson LB★★★★No. 90
Rayshaun Benny DL★★★★No. 177
Raheem Anderson II OL★★★★No. 215
Cristian Dixon WR★★★★No. 234
Louis Hansen TE★★★★No. 257

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

The 2021 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks15.00.987
Running backs23.50.935
Receivers33.70.901
Offensive line43.80.918
Defensive line63.50.878
Linebackers33.70.917
Defensive backs23.00.879
Athletes and specialists13.00.836
Whole class223.60.902

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 2022

The 2022 draft
Rd 1Aidan Hutchinson DEDetroit Lions
Rd 1Daxton Hill SCincinnati Bengals
Rd 2David Ojabo OLBBaltimore Ravens
Rd 4Hassan Haskins RBTennessee Titans
Rd 7Andrew Stueber OGNew England Patriots

Roster 120

The 2021 roster

120 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2021 line; 68 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 5

The 2021 portal
Daylen Baldwin WR★★★from Jackson State
Lance Dixon OLB★★★from Penn State
Alan Bowman QB★★★from Texas Tech
Jordan Whittley DL★★★from Oregon State
Willie Allen OT★★★from Louisiana Tech

Transfers out 20

Zach Charbonnet RB★★★★to UCLA
Joe Milton III QB★★★to Tennessee
Zach Carpenter OG★★★to Indiana
Jordan Anthony LB★★★to Troy
Luiji Vilain DE★★★to Wake Forest
Christian Turner RB★★★to Wake Forest
Dylan McCaffrey QB★★★★to Northern Colorado
Giles Jackson WR★★★★to Washington
Osman Savage LB★★★★to Alabama A&M
Ben VanSumeren LB★★★to Michigan State
Charles Thomas LB★★★no new school on file
Cornell Wheeler LB★★★to Kansas

And 8 more, lower-rated or unrated.

All-Big Ten

6 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2021 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2021 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Michigan8–⁠112–⁠23
Ohio State8–⁠111–⁠26
Michigan State7–⁠211–⁠29
Iowa7–⁠210–⁠423
Wisconsin6–⁠39–⁠4
Minnesota6–⁠39–⁠4
Purdue6–⁠39–⁠4
Penn State4–⁠57–⁠6
Illinois4–⁠55–⁠7
Maryland3–⁠67–⁠6
Rutgers2–⁠75–⁠8
Northwestern1–⁠83–⁠9
Nebraska1–⁠83–⁠9
Indiana0–⁠92–⁠10

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