The 2022 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the East Division of the Big Ten Conference during the 2022 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Wolverines were led by eighth-year head coach Jim Harbaugh and compiled an overall record of 12–0 (9–0 in the conference), winning the Big Ten East Division title for the second consecutive season. Michigan beat Purdue in the Big Ten Championship Game to repeat as conference champions. The Wolverines advanced to the College Football Playoff (CFP) for the second straight year, where they lost 51–45 to TCU in the Fiesta Bowl for the CFP semifinal on December 31.
Junior running back Blake Corum won the Big Ten Most Valuable Player and the Big Ten Running Back of the Year. Graduate transfer center Olu Oluwatimi won the Outland Trophy, as the nation's best interior lineman, and the Rimington Trophy, as the nation's best center. Senior defensive end Mike Morris was named the Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year and Harbaugh was recognized as the Hayes–Schembechler Coach of the Year by the conference. Corum was a unanimous All-American and Oluwatimi was a consensus selection on the 2022 College Football All-America Team. Michigan's offensive line was honored with the Joe Moore Award for second consecutive season.
Season highlights included: Sophomore J. J. McCarthy replaced senior Cade McNamara as the team's starting quarterback after the second game of the season against Hawaii. The Wolverines rushed for 418 yards, their highest single-game total since 2016, in a 41–17 victory over No. 10 Penn State. Corum rushed for 177 yards and a touchdown in a 29–7 victory over Michigan State. Eight Michigan State players were suspended after a post-game assault on two Michigan players. Fifth-year placekicker Jake Moody kicked a game-winning field goal with nine seconds remaining in a 19–17 victory over Illinois on Senior Day. The Wolverines had five explosive plays of 45 yards or more to defeat No. 2 Ohio State by a 45–23 score. It was Michigan's first victory at Ohio Stadium since 2000. Donovan Edwards rushed for 185 yards and a touchdown, receiving the most valuable player award in the Big Ten Championship Game as Michigan defeated Purdue
The team's statistical leaders were McCarthy with 2,719 passing yards, 22 touchdown passes, 5 interceptions, and a 64.6% completion percentage; Corum with 1,463 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns on 247 carries; and graduate wide receiver Ronnie Bell with 62 catches for 889 receiving yards. Moody converted 29 of 35 field goal attempts and 60 of 60 kicks for point after touchdown and led the team with 147 points scored, which broke the previous program record of 138 points scored, set by Desmond Howard during his Heisman Trophy-winning campaign in 1991. Moody also set program records for field goals in a season (29), career field goals (66), career points scored (355), and longest field goal (59 yards). Morris had a team-high 7.5 quarterback sacks. Sophomore linebacker Junior Colson paced the team with 101 tackles. Edwards rushed for 991 yards and 7 touchdowns on 140 carries, averaging 7.1 yards per rush, and had 18 receptions for 200 yards and 2 touchdowns through the air. Senior wide receiver Cornelius Johnson had a team-high six touchdown receptions.
Schedule
Rankings
Preseason Coaching changes Following the season, Michigan made a number of coaching changes.
On January 5, it was reported that defensive line coach Shaun Nua would be leaving Michigan after 3 seasons to join Lincoln Riley's staff at USC in the same role. This was announced by USC on January 10. On January 17, Michigan announced the hire of Mike Elston as the new defensive line coach, replacing Nua. Elston, a former Michigan player from 1993 to 1996, had spent the past 12 seasons on the staff at Notre Dame, most recently serving as the program's assistant head coach and defensive line coach. On January 27, defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald left Michigan after one season to return to the Baltimore Ravens as their defensive coordinator. On February 6, reports surfaced that offensive coordinator Josh Gattis would leave Michigan after 3 seasons for the same role at Miami. Miami officially announced the hire on February 9. On February 9, Harbaugh and Michigan hired Jesse Minter to replace Macdonald as defensive coordinator. Minter had spent the 2021 season as the defensive coordinator at Vanderbilt and had spent 4 seasons previously with the Baltimore Ravens. Also on February 9, Michigan announced the hire of former Michigan player Grant Newsome as the program's tight ends coach, after previously spending two seasons as a graduate assistant with the program. Harbaugh also announced a reassignment of numerous staff roles on February 9. Offensive line coach Sherrone Moore and quarterbacks coach Matt Weiss were named co-offensive coordinators, replacing Gattis. Safeties coach Ron Bellamy transitioned into the role of wide receivers coach. Running backs coach Mike Hart added the title of run game coordinator. Tight ends coach Jay Harbaugh will switch to the defensive side of the ball and coach safeties.
Game summaries Colorado State
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The Wolverines opened their 2022 season on September 3 against the Colorado State Rams. Before a crowd of 109,575 at Michigan Stadium, the Wolverines defeated the Rams, 51–7.
On the opening drive of the game, Michigan failed to gain a first down and was forced to punt. On Michigan's second drive, quarterback Cade McNamara threw a bubble screen pass to Roman Wilson who caught the ball at the 36-yard line and ran 64 yards for the opening score. On the next Colorado State possession, Michigan safety Rod Moore intercepted a pass at midfield and returned it to the Colorado State 13-yard line. After taking over in the red zone, McNamara threw a pass that was initially ruled as an interception but that was ruled incomplete after an official review. Michigan settled for a 31-yard field goal by Jake Moody and led, 10–0, at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Michigan's fourth drive stalled at the eight-yard line, and Michigan again settled for a 26-yard field goal by Moody. After a quarterback sack, Michigan was forced to punt on its fifth possession. On its sixth possession, Michigan started with excellent field possession near midfield, and Blake Corum capped the drive with a seven-yard touchdown run. On Michigan's eighth possession of the first half, Michigan stalled at the 16-yard line, and for the third time in the half, settled for a field goal by Moody. Michigan led, 23–0, at halftime.
Colorado State took the second-half kickoff, and on fourth down, quarterback Clay Millen fumbled, and Michigan defensive back D. J. Turner recovered the loose ball and returned it 45 yards for a touchdown. On Michigan's first offensive possession of the second half, McNamara began the drive at quarterback, but J. J. McCarthy took over near midfield. With McCarthy in charge of the offense, freshman running back C. J. Stokes gained 19 yards on his first collegiate carry, and McCarthy then ran the remaining 20 yards for a touchdown. Michigan led, 37–0, at the end of the third quarter.
Michigan's first full drive with McCarthy at quarterback began at the Michigan 42-yard line. McCarthy carried the ball twice for gains of 19 and 12 yards. The drive concluded with a one-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter by Donovan Edwards. Colorado State responded with its only successful drive, scoring on a 34-yard touchdown pass from Millen to Tory Horton with 8:59 remaining in the game. Following the Colorado State touchdown, Alan Bowman took over at quarterback for Michigan, completing five of six passes. Bowman then gave way to fourth-string quarterback Alex Orji who ran four yards for Michigan's final touchdown with 1:41 remaining.
On defense, Michigan had seven quarterback sacks and 11 tackles for loss. The defense held Colorado State to 137 passing yards and 82 rushing yards. On offense, Michigan tallied 206 passing yards and 234 rushing yards. Cade McNamara completed nine of eighteen passes for 136 yards and one touchdown and had a quarterback rating of 39.7. McCarthy completed four of four attempts for 30 yards and a quarterback rating of 99.9. Blake Corum gained 76 rushing yards and a touchdown on 13 carries, and Donovan Edwards gained 64 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries.
Michigan's honorary captains for the game were CBS Sports analysts and Michigan alumni Dana Jacobson and Tracy Wolfson.
Hawaii
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On September 10, Michigan hosted Hawaii before a crowd of 110,012 at Michigan Stadium. The game was delayed by an hour due to a passing thunderstorm. The 9:01 p.m. kickoff was the latest in Michigan Stadium history. Due to the weather delay, the tradition of running under the M Club banner was not followed for the first time in some 60 years.
Michigan won the game, 56–10. The game was the first start for quarterback J. J. McCarthy. On their opening possession, the Wolverines drove 66 yards in 36 seconds on a 24-yard run by Blake Corum and a 42-yard touchdown pass from McCarthy to Roman Wilson. On their second possession, the Wolverines scored on a 77-yard drive that featured a 31-yard pass from McCarthy to Ronnie Bell and five runs by Corum, including a one-yard touchdown run. Michigan began its third possession in Hawaii territory after A. J. Henning returned a punt 35 yards to the 43-yard line. The Wolverines drove 43 yards on three plays, capped by Roman Wilson's second touchdown of the quarter on a 21-yard run. Michigan led, 21–0, at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, running back Donovan Edwards led a three-play, 59-yard touchdown drive. Edwards began the drive with a 25-yard run and then lined up wide to the right, covered by a linebacker, and caught a 33-yard pass at the Hawaii one-yard line. Edwards then ran one yard for the touchdown. On Michigan's next drive, Cade McNamara entered the game, and the drive stalled near midfield when McNamara was sacked – Hawaii's first sack of the season. McCarthy returned to the game for the final drive of the half with 2:06 remaining. McCarthy led a four-play, 52-yard drive, ending with a 17-yard touchdown pass to Cornelius Johnson. Michigan led, 42–0, at halftime.
In the third quarter, Michigan failed to score on three drives with McNamara at quarterback. Two drives ended in punts, and the third ended with Virdel Edwards II intercepting a pass. Hawaii scored the only points of the third quarter on a 26-yard field goal by Matthew Shipley.
Late in the third quarter, freshman Davis Warren entered the game as Michigan's quarterback. Warren led a 91-yard touchdown drive capped by a 15-yard touchdown run by C. J. Stokes. Hawaii responded with a 54-yard touchdown run by Tylan Hines. Warren then led the Wolverines on a 65-yard drive, concluding with a 38-yard touchdown run by Isaiah Gash.
McCarthy completed 11 of 12 passes for 229 yards and three touchdowns with a quarterback rating of 99.2. Warren compiled a quarterback rating of 96.6 in his first game for Michigan. McNamara compiled a career-low quarterback rating of 1.8. On the ground, five Michigan players scored rushing touchdowns. Corum led the way with 88 rushing yards on nine carries. Stokes contributed 61 yards on eight carries, and Gash added 48 yards on three carries. The coaching staff reached deep into the roster in the second half, giving 96 players an opportunity to participate for at least one play.
Michigan scored 42 points in the first-half, the most points since scoring 43 points in the first-half against Rutgers in 2016. Michigan's offense recorded 410 total yards in the first-half, the fifth most total yards in a half in program history.
UConn
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On September 17, Michigan played its final non-conference game, defeating UConn, 59–0, before a crowd of 109,639 at Michigan Stadium.