| 2018 Michigan Wolverines football | |
|---|---|
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Big Ten East Division co-champion | |
Peach Bowl, L 15–41 vs. Florida | |
| Conference | Big Ten Conference |
| East Division | |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 14 |
| AP | No. 14 |
| Record | 10–3 (8–1 Big Ten) |
| Head coach |
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| Offensive scheme | Multiple |
| Defensive coordinator | Don Brown (3rd season) |
| Base defense | 4–3 |
| MVP | Chase Winovich |
| Captains |
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| Home stadium | Michigan Stadium |
Uniform | |
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| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| East Division | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 3 Ohio State xy$ | 8 | – | 1 | 13 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 14 Michigan x | 8 | – | 1 | 10 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 17 Penn State | 6 | – | 3 | 9 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michigan State | 5 | – | 4 | 7 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Maryland | 3 | – | 6 | 5 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indiana | 2 | – | 7 | 5 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rutgers | 0 | – | 9 | 1 | – | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| West Division | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 21 Northwestern xy | 8 | – | 1 | 9 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wisconsin | 5 | – | 4 | 8 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 25 Iowa | 5 | – | 4 | 9 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Purdue | 5 | – | 4 | 6 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minnesota | 3 | – | 6 | 7 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nebraska | 3 | – | 6 | 4 | – | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Illinois | 2 | – | 7 | 4 | – | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Championship: Ohio State 45, Northwestern 24 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 2018 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the sport of college football during the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Wolverines were members of the East Division of the Big Ten Conference and played their home games at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Michigan was coached by Jim Harbaugh, who was in his fourth season as head coach of his alma mater.
Michigan began the year ranked 14th in both the AP Poll and Coaches Poll. Its first game of the year was on the road against rival Notre Dame, the first meeting between the two schools since 2014. The Wolverines lost that game, 24–17. Michigan won its next ten games, however, including wins over then-ranked Big Ten opponents Michigan State, Wisconsin, and Penn State, all of whom beat Michigan the previous year. The team rallied around calling the season a "revenge tour".[1] The Wolverines climbed to fourth in the College Football Playoff rankings, and would have clinched the Big Ten Eastern Division and a spot in the 2018 Big Ten Football Championship Game with a regular-season-ending win over arch-rival Ohio State. However, the revenge tour came to an abrupt end as Michigan lost, 62–39, its seventh consecutive loss to the Buckeyes and 14th loss in 15 years in the series. The Wolverines were selected to their second New Year's Six bowl in three years, the Peach Bowl, where they lost to Florida, 41–15. The team's final record was 10–3, Harbaugh's third ten-win season in four years, and the team finished exactly where it started in the polls, at 14th.
Michigan was led on offense by junior quarterback Shea Patterson, a transfer from Ole Miss, and running back Karan Higdon, who became the first Michigan running back to rush for 1,000 yards since Fitzgerald Toussaint in 2011.[2] On defense, the Wolverines were led by linebacker Devin Bush Jr., who was a consensus All-American and won the Nagurski–Woodson Award as the Big Ten's defensive player of the year. Five Michigan defensive players were named first-team All-Big Ten by the coaches: Bush, defensive linemen Rashan Gary and Chase Winovich, and defensive backs Lavert Hill and David Long.[3]
- ^ Sang, Orion (October 29, 2018). "How Chase Winovich made Michigan football's revenge tour a rally cry". Detroit Free Press.
- ^ McCann, Aaron (November 10, 2018). "Michigan RB Karan Higdon hits 1,000 yards rushing". MLive.com.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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