Michigan-Maryland Cancellation Clinches First Winless Home Season in Wolverines History

The decision to cancel this week's Michigan-Maryland game has deprived the Wolverines a chance to finish the regular season with a winning record. At 2-4, the lone game remaining on the schedule is a road matchup against Ohio State on Dec. 12, followed by a to-be-determined opponent on Dec. 19.

The cancellation also clinched another dubious mark in what's been a historically dismal season: For the first time in program history, Michigan has gone winless at home.

The Wolverines first started playing football in 1879 and began keeping track of home and away records in 1883. Michigan Stadium, commonly known as the Big House—the largest sporting arena in the country and third-largest in the world after it was renovated in 2010—opened in 1927, and never before has Michigan been shut out at home for a full season.

In three home games this year, the Wolverines have lost to Michigan State, Wisconsin and Penn State. Three games is obviously well short of a normal season's worth of home games, but the program routinely played that many (or fewer) in the early 20th century.

The last time Michigan had even a losing record at home was in 2008, when the team went 2-4 at the Big House in Rich Rodriguez's first season. Even if the team's Dec. 19 matchup is scheduled as a home game and the Wolverines win, it would mark the first season with just one home win since 1937. That year, Michigan defeated rival Chicago, 13–12, at home but lost to Michigan State, Minnesota and Ohio State.