Michigan Football will open the Big Ten season at Purdue on Saturday afternoon. Kick off is scheduled for 4pm with TV coverage on the Big Ten Network. You can read my complete game preview here: Michigan Football at Purdue, for the extra points read on.
Jordan Kovacs needs 4 tackles to become the 15th player and first defensive back in school history to join the 300 tackle club.
Denard Robinson ranks third in the Big Ten and is tied for 16th in the nation in rushing, averaging 110.3 yards per game.
Robinson leads the B1G in total offense (319 yards per game).
Dating back to last season, linebacker Desmond Morgan has tallied at least seven tackles and a tackle-for-loss in five consecutive outings. Through three games in 2012, Morgan has tallied 22 tackles, including 2.0 TFLs.
Dennis Norfleet ranks second in the Big Ten in kick return average (24.1).
Will Hagerup leads the Big Ten in punting (49.0).
Senior defensive end Craig Roh has started a team-high 42 consecutive games. He has compiled 11 tackles this season.
Michigan leads the Big Ten and ranks 9th nationally in pass defense.
Michigan is last in the Big Ten and 114th nationally in turnover margin.
So far this season, the Michigan defense has registered just 3 sacks. That is good for last in the Big Ten and 116th nationally.
Purdue’s defensive tackle Kawaan Short leads the Big Ten with 7 TFLs.
ESPNs accuscore projects Michigan to pull out a 30-28 victory. Teamrankings.com has Michigan winning 31-28. numberFire likes the Wolverines to win 29-23.
Per his twitter account, Sophomore cornerback Blake Countess had successful surgery on his ACL
Brady Hoke was asked during his weekly radio segment on 97.1 why he doesn’t wear a headset more often on the sidelines. “It is overrated,” Hoke said. “You ever watch guys on headsets? They don’t say a word. This gives me an opportunity to coach kids during the course of a game. The game is a mental game. It’s a game of emotion and enthusiasm, a game of teaching. No. 1, not wearing a headset, I get to teach on the sideline, and I get to be a real part of it. The other thing is, I do know what the calls are, because there’s a guy standing right behind me who tells me every call that’s going in.”
Junior defensive tackle Nathan Brink suffered an undisclosed injury in practice and is out indefinitely.
Devin Gardner has a touchdown reception in 3 of Michigan’s 4 games this season.
The 20 point threshold: Under Brady Hoke, Michigan is 13-0 when they score 20 points or more and 0-4 when they do not.
Sophomore linebacker Jake Ryan is third on the team with 25 tackles, tied for first with 3 pass break ups and has recorded 2 tackles for loss.
This will be the 58th meeting between Michigan and Purdue. The Wolverines lead the series with a 43-14 record against the Boilers.
Denard Robinson and freshman tight end Devin Funchess lead the Wolverines with five 20+-yard plays each, wide receiver Devin Gardner has three plays of 20+yards.
Denard Robinson needs 226 rushing yards to pass Antwaan Randle El and become the Big Ten’s career rushing leader by a quarterback.
Sophomore Raymon Taylor has started the last two games at cornerback. “When you’re a starter, you got to make plays,” Taylor said. “And when you’re number is called, you got to make plays.” In his two starts, Taylor has recorded 4 tackles and an interception.
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Good stuff Rob. Won’t see the end of this game as I’ll be holed up inside Comerica Park. Hope they get it done.
I keep hearing how this is a big game for Purdue. Well, it’s big for Michigan too. I’m expecting them to come out firing after two weeks of stewing on ND