Tracking toward a Season for the Ages
As nearly half of the 2023 football season passes, we are witness to a possible Season for the Ages in UM history in many ways. Hopefully, the most obvious will be our first 15 win season, but let's also look at the individual records that are likely to fall.
On an individual basis, we all know that JJ is having a fantastic year, but how does it compare to all-time? He is in a league all his own for passing percentage as compared to all previous Michigan QBs. After that, JJ is still very much in the running for nearly every other QB season statistic, especially since he's only been playing about 3/4 of most games.
I extrapolated to a 15 game season but did not account for increased minutes of playing 4 quarters which is very likely once we get into November and beyond.
Virtually every offensive statistic has the very realistic possibility of falling this year. The most likely records to fall are UM's anemic passing TD record of 25 and of course the passing percentage. Meanwhile, passing yards and even completions are possible with increased opportunities of more playing time and a full 15 game season which is even more amazing given the newly reduced plays per game.
Likewise, Blake Corum leads the NCAA with a dozen rushing TDs and has the potential to see many more touches down the stretch and to grow that beyond the ridiculous 1902 record of 26. Similarly, Roman is still tracking well toward 19 receiving TDs to at least tie our favorite Heisman WR.
Even Denard's "TDs responsible for" are within the reach of JJ but it will take a lot more touches to get him there. The only untouchable record, at least for 2023, is Denard's total offensive yards.
In all, we have the potential to witness the felling of 7 individual offensive records this season. Now that would be one for the ages.
October 18th, 2023 at 12:47 PM ^
Only 7?
The little lights aren't twinkling.
October 18th, 2023 at 6:11 PM ^
Thanks Art!
October 18th, 2023 at 12:55 PM ^
This is a cool thing to think about and I don't wanna be a dick or nothin' but I believe JJ has 17 TDs responsible for in his statline currently. 14 passing and 3 rushing, I think?
October 19th, 2023 at 9:56 AM ^
Oops. I had an error in my spreadsheet. You are correct. JJ is at 17 TDs responsible for. Thanks for catching that.
October 18th, 2023 at 1:00 PM ^
26 rush tds seems untouchable this season. corum has 12 with a lot of favoritism. we're not gonna score MORE tds in the last 5 games...a nd there's some uber assumptions in your 13-15 games, all of which will have significantly more defensive prowess.
Only one i see possible is passing TDs
October 19th, 2023 at 10:20 AM ^
26 is a stretch for anyone in any season. The NCAA leader last year ended the season with 21. Having said that, Blake is tracking very strongly this year at 1.7 TDs / game which is only slightly more than the 1.5 TDs / game he averaged last year.
I think Blake is the short yardage and goal line guy and will continue to pick up at least 1.5 per game the rest of the way.
So, if I had to put money on how many TDs Blake scores this year, I would say 23.
If JJ stays healthy, he should surpass the passing TDs by the end of the regular season especially with the additional playing time expected in November.
October 18th, 2023 at 1:00 PM ^
I hate to be that guy but wins feel like the only thing this team should, and does, care about. These stats are awesome and I hope the individual players can set some of these milestone accomplishments but based on the lack of recognition from the media for the star players, their legacy will be tied to what they do in post season. If not, we'll all look back fondly with the "what could've been" mindset.
Side note: I've never believed in the whole "this team deserves to win" mantra but many of us would hate to see guys like JJ, Corum, Sainristil, Jenkins, and Keegan go out without at least having played in CFP championship game. I think we've all felt like the stars have been so close to aligning for the program during previous years but now is really the time to take care of business.
Go win the whole damn thing and leave no doubt.
October 19th, 2023 at 10:24 AM ^
Hear! Hear!
I agree that the only statistic that will matter in the long run is winning it all. None of the current UM record holders has a national championship tied to their name, and I am sure that everyone of them would swap their personal records for a championship.
October 18th, 2023 at 1:02 PM ^
I don't aspire to be a phallus either, and I appreciate the stats review, but this is the season we've been waiting for since at least 1998, perhaps even longer. The only stat that matters is the one Jim and the boys are focused on: W's. 7 and counting...
October 18th, 2023 at 1:17 PM ^
The fact that our starters are still coming out after half the 3rd quarter against real B1G teams…seems like something is a bit different. I mean, are they that bad now? Idk man. Can’t wait to see what happens with PSU. Wouldn’t be surprised in the least to see Tuttle take some snaps at PSU. These teams can’t be that much worse where they’re getting the MAC treatment in week 9. At some point we have to give UM credit.
October 18th, 2023 at 1:22 PM ^
Ahh the record setting 2003 campaign for John Navarre. And if I recall, a not insignificant portion of the fanbase was clamoring for Matt Gutierez to be the starter. I loved that season, minus my first experience with Autzen, minus blowing a 14 point lead to Iowa, minus just getting depantsed in the rose bowl
October 19th, 2023 at 12:40 AM ^
One game at a time. Just win.