Michigan Football: 3 Stats that defined Big Ten Championship win over Iowa
Saturday night, the #2 Michigan Wolverines (12-1) throttled the #13 ranked Iowa Hawkeyes (10-3) in the Big Ten Championship. This is the Wolverine’s first Big Ten Championship since 2004, and first, since the Big Ten Championship Game was introduced.
It’s great, to be, a Michigan Wolverine!! An emphatic statement was made by the Michigan Wolverines on Saturday against the Hawkeyes. Michigan football’s beatdown on the Hawkeyes was the largest margin of loss the Hawkeyes have endured since Kirk Ferentz took the job in 1999.
Michigan football controlled the game in all three phases. A team that prides itself on special teams and defense was critically exposed by a Wolverines offense that is often not given the credit it deserves, as well as a special teams unit that’s had back-to-back games with a blocked punt.
Michigan’s win is accredited as the 2nd largest margin of victory in a Big Ten Championship game, period (#1 59-0 OSU vs WISCO 2014). Michigan also holds another silver medal with opponent’s points, holding Iowa to only 3 points, which is second to the same game previously mentioned.
We’ve discussed 5 key plays that were difference makers in the Wolverines slaughter against the Hawkeyes, but we’re going to talk about 3 statistics that made a difference in the outcome of the Big Ten Championship (still crazy to say!).
1. 461 Total Yards from Michigan football’s offense
While at times it seemed that Michigan just could not get it going offensively, other times we could only just marvel at the genius of Jim Harbaugh and Josh Gattis’ playcalling.
Michigan dominated, not just throwing the ball, but running the ball as well on a very good and fundamentally sound defensive unit.
Michigan pulling some tricks out of their bag was a huge difference-maker in this game. The two quick-strike plays with Corum’s gashing run and Donovan Edwards’ 75-yard bomb were momentum killers for a Hawkeyes defense that had feasted all season.
Michigan’s Tight Ends have really grown into their own respective beasts toward the end of this season. Campus hero Erik All who’s run against Penn State quite literally ended up being the difference between a Big Ten Championship and not. Erik All had a fantastic one-handed grab for a touchdown late in the game which sealed the deal for the Wolverines.
Not just Erik All, but Luke Schoonmaker was just unstoppable against the Hawkeyes. Having more of a quiet impact on the team with blocking and short-yardage situations, he came into his own against Iowa with two receptions and 59 yards. Schoonmaker too had a one-handed grab but was knocked out of bounce just before he could get into the endzone.