Michigan Captain Reflects On What Made The Wolverines So Dominant In 2022
At the conclusion of the 2022 regular season, Michigan had achieved its fourth 12-0 season in program history, and the first during Harbaugh's tenure.
At the time, Michigan was one of only two teams in the country to have two wins against opponents ranked in the AP Top 10. After 12 weeks, Michigan was scoring 39.8 points per game and allowing just 12.7 points defensively, making the Wolverines one of just two teams ranked in the top 10 in both scoring offense (No. 7) and scoring defense (No. 3). They also led the country in scoring differential at +27.2, and only two other programs (Georgia at +26.4 and Ohio State +25.3) were the only other teams in the country with average scoring margins above +25 points per game.
Put simply, the Michigan Wolverines were absolutely dominant.
Christopher Breiler
Reflecting on what made the Wolverines so strong during the regular season, former captain Mazi Smith said it was about far more than just talent.
"We're good because of what we do up front, and how we play together, how we play complementary football, and how our coaches coach," said Smith. "We're not necessarily good just because we're better than every team we play talent-wise. We still have great talent, but we were more physical than everybody we played this year...except TCU."
The physical nature of Michigan's style of play was on display throughout the entire 2022 season, and presented itself in full-force when the Wolverines arrived in Columbus.
Entering the half with a 3-point deficit, Michigan emerged from halftime and bullied the No.2 Buckeyes into submission - outscoring their hated rival by a score of 28-3 in the second half. By the time the clock hit zero, Michigan had achieved its first road win over Ohio State in over two decades and its first back-to-back wins since 1999-2000.
That physical dominance continued in the Big Ten Championship game against Purdue, leading to the Wolverines to capturing their second consecutive conference championship - the first outright back-to-back conference championships for Michigan since 1991-92.
As the Wolverines look to continue that physical dominance in 2023, Smith says there's no shortage of guys who will step up defensively in his absence.
"Everybody on the front, particularly," said Smith. "On the back end, the freshman we have, you already know - like Will Johnson, Mason Graham, Kenneth Grant. People don't know Kenneth Grant as much, but he is big. In particular, Jaylen Harrell is going to make a big step in the right direction. I think Braiden McGregor, I think Kris Jenkins is going to take another step. Kris Jenkins will probably end up being better than me. I think Mason Graham is taking a big step, I think Rayshaun Benny...all the guys under my flock. Everybody who's been under my tutelage is going to take a big step."
Michigan kicks off the 2023 season in Ann Arbor at the Big House on Saturday, Sept. 2 against East Carolina.
