Tag: Washington

Michigan’s 10 Longest Plays vs. Washington

Michigan is 9-5 against the Washington Huskies. They first met on November 4, 1916, which was a 66-7 win for the Wolverines. The last time they met was on September 11, 2021, another victory for Michigan, this one by a score of 31-10.

1. Tyrone Wheatley 88-yard TD run (1992)
2. Rick Leach 76-yard TD pass to Curt Stephenson (1977)
3. Blake Corum 67-yard TD run (2021)
4. Chris Perry 57-yard TD run (2002)
5. Tyrone Wheatley 56-yard TD pass (1992)
6. Tyrone Wheatley 53-yard TD run (1991)
7. Elvis Grbac 49-yard TD pass to Tony McGee (1992)
8. John Navarre 45-yard TD pass to Braylon Edwards (2002)
9. Cade McNamara 33-yard pass to Cornelius Johnson (2021)
10. Rick Leach 32-yard TD pass to Stan Edwards (1977)

NOTE: I’m having a tough time finding stats pre-1977, so if you have any resources/updates for me to mix into the post, let me know.

Hit the jump for highlights of Wheatley’s 88-yarder and Leach-to-Stephenson.

Thoughts on Big Ten Expansion

First of all, I’m not a college football writer. I hate talking about the business side of the sport, NIL, TV rights deals, etc. I’m a kid at heart who loves sports and hates the business aspect.

But I do love the games. The tradition. The uniforms. The clashes of playing styles. Air Raid vs. smash-mouth. Option vs. pro style. David vs. Goliath.

So if you want a discussion of how this opens up the Seattle TV market and increases the payout for the people in Piscataway, go somewhere else.

Otherwise, hit the jump.

2021 Michigan vs. Washington Awards

Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . a wide receiver catching the ball. Michigan completed just 3 passes to wide receivers on Saturday night, and just 7 in total. Washington has a formidable defense, but wide receivers are going to get frustrated pretty quickly if they don’t start getting the ball once in a while to show off their skills. Cornelius Johnson (1 catch, 33 yards), A.J. Henning (1 catch, 1 yard), and Mike Sainristil (1 catch, -1 yard) got the ball, which means Roman Wilson and Daylen Baldwin didn’t.

Hit the jump for more.

Michigan 31, Washington 10

Run, run, and run again. Michigan fans on Twitter were getting pretty grumpy about running the ball, but I don’t have a problem with it.* It turns out that despite the rumored good defense that Washington was bringing to Ann Arbor, they couldn’t fit the run properly. Michigan ran 56 times for 343 yards (6.1 yards per carry) and 4 touchdowns. The offensive line didn’t provide a ton of gaping holes, but they provided enough room for slippery backs like Blake Corum and Hassan Haskins to make hay. The last time Michigan ran for more yards was in the rain during the 2017 game against Minnesota, when Chris Evans and Karan Higdon ran wild to the tune of 370 rushing yards. You do what you have to do to win the game, and Michigan was obviously destroying the Huskies with the run.

*Except I do have a problem with it. I know I lied above. And I apologize. I don’t have a problem with running the ball like mad when it’s an attempt to win an individual game, but it’s going to be very hard to recruit good receivers on the edge if you don’t throw the ball. Josh Gattis came in with the “speed in space” mantra and that borrowed some time for the Wolverines, but now they’re reverting to the Jim Harbaugh days of yore. If I’m a good wide receiver, I have zero interest in playing for Michigan. Michigan wide receivers caught just three (3!!!) balls on Saturday night in a comfortable, three-touchdown win. The leading receiver was Blake Corum with 3 catches himself for just 11 yards.

Hit the jump for more.

Video: 1981 Rose Bowl – Michigan 23, Washington 6