2018Michigan Wolverines football
Big Ten East Division co-champion
Peach Bowl,L 15–41 vs.Florida
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Division	East Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 14
AP	No. 14
Record	10–3 (8–1 Big Ten)
Head coach	Jim Harbaugh (4th season)
Offensive scheme	Multiple
Defensive coordinator	Don Brown (3rd season)
Base defense	4–3
MVP	Chase Winovich
Captains	Ben Bredeson Devin Bush Jr. Karan Higdon Tyree Kinnel
Home stadium	Michigan Stadium
Uniform
Seasons ← 2017 2019 →

The2018 Michigan Wolverines football team represented theUniversity of Michigan in the sport ofcollege football during the2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Wolverines were members of the East Division of theBig Ten Conference and played their home games atMichigan Stadium inAnn Arbor, Michigan. Michigan was coached byJim Harbaugh, who was in his fourth season as head coach of his alma mater.

Michigan began the year ranked 14th in both theAP Poll andCoaches Poll. Its first game of the year was on the road againstrivalNotre Dame, the first meeting between the two schools since 2014. The Wolverines lost that game, 24–17. Michigan won its next ten games, however, including wins over then-ranked Big Ten opponentsMichigan State,Wisconsin, andPenn State, all of whom beat Michigan the previous year. The team rallied around calling the season a "revenge tour".^[1] The Wolverines climbed to fourth in theCollege Football Playoff rankings, and would have clinched the Big Ten Eastern Division and a spot in the2018 Big Ten Football Championship Game with a regular-season-ending win overarch-rivalOhio State. However, the revenge tour came to an abrupt end as Michigan lost, 62–39, its seventh consecutive loss to the Buckeyes and 14th loss in 15 years in the series. The Wolverines were selected to their secondNew Year's Six bowl in three years, thePeach Bowl, where they lost toFlorida, 41–15. The team's final record was 10–3, Harbaugh's third ten-win season in four years, and the team finished exactly where it started in the polls, at 14th.

Michigan was led on offense by junior quarterbackShea Patterson, a transfer fromOle Miss, and running backKaran Higdon, who became the first Michigan running back to rush for 1,000 yards sinceFitzgerald Toussaint in 2011.^[2] On defense, the Wolverines were led by linebackerDevin Bush Jr., who was aconsensus All-American and won theNagurski–Woodson Award as the Big Ten's defensive player of the year. Five Michigan defensive players were namedfirst-team All-Big Ten by the coaches: Bush, defensive linemenRashan Gary andChase Winovich, and defensive backsLavert Hill andDavid Long.^[3]

In January 2018, the Wolverines hiredBen Herbert as Director of strength and conditioning, andSherrone Moore as tight ends coach.^[4][5] On February 20, 2018, the Wolverines hiredJim McElwain as wide receivers coach.^[6] On February 23,Tim Drevno resigned as offensive coordinator after three seasons. The offensive coordinator position remained vacant throughout the 2018 season, with play calling duties split among the offensive coaches in what coach Harbaugh described as a "collaborative effort", with passing game coordinatorPep Hamilton calling a majority of the plays.^[7]

Listed in the order that they were released

Michigan'srecruiting class consisted of 19 recruits, including three that enrolled early.^[22] Michigan's recruiting class was ranked No. 20 byESPN,^[23] No. 24 byRivals.com,^[24] and No. 21 by247Sports.com's Composite Rankings.^[25]

College recruiting information (2018)
Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight	Commit date
Aidan Hutchinson DE	Dearborn, Michigan	Divine Child High School	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	260 lb (120 kg)	Feb 21, 2017
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:
Myles Sims CB	Atlanta, Georgia	Westlake High School	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	173 lb (78 kg)	Apr 7, 2017
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:
Christian Turner RB	Buford, Georgia	Buford High School	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	187 lb (85 kg)	Apr 10, 2017
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:
German Green S	DeSoto, Texas	DeSoto High School	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	168 lb (76 kg)	Apr 20, 2017
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:
Gemon Green CB	DeSoto, Texas	DeSoto High School	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	Apr 20, 2017
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:
Joe Milton QB	Orlando, Florida	Olympia High School	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	May 7, 2017
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:
Jalen Mayfield OT	Lansing, Michigan	Catholic Central High School	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	273 lb (124 kg)	May 23, 2017
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:
Ryan Hayes OT	Traverse City, Michigan	Traverse City West High School	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	252 lb (114 kg)	May 27, 2017
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:
Luke Schoonmaker TE	Hamden, Connecticut	Hamden Hall Country Day School	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Jul 25, 2017
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:
Cameron McGrone LB	Indianapolis, Indiana	Lawrence Central High School	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Jul 31, 2017
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:
Sammy Faustin CB	Naples, Florida	Naples High School	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Aug 2, 2017
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:
Mustapha Muhammad TE	Missouri City, Texas	Ridge Point High School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Oct 20, 2017
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:
Hassan Haskins RB	Eureka, Missouri	Eureka High School	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	202 lb (92 kg)	Oct 29, 2017
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:
Taylor Upshaw DE	Bradenton, Florida	Braden River High School	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	240 lb (110 kg)	Nov 24, 2017
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:
Ben VanSumeren FB	Essexville, Michigan	Garber High School	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	228 lb (103 kg)	Dec 17, 2017
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:
Ronnie Bell WR	Kansas City, Missouri	Park Hill High School	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Dec 18, 2017
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:
Julius Welschof DE	Munich, Germany	N/A	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	248 lb (112 kg)	Dec 20, 2017
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:
Vincent Gray CB	Rochester Hills, Michigan	Adams High School	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Jan 21, 2018
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:
Michael Barrett QB	Valdosta, Georgia	Lowndes High School	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Jan 23, 2018
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:
Overall recruit ranking:   Rivals: 24   247Sports: 21   ESPN: 20
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Michigan Football Commitments". Rivals. RetrievedFebruary 8, 2018. "ESPN". ESPN. RetrievedFebruary 8, 2018. "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. RetrievedFebruary 8, 2018.

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 1	7:30 p.m.	at No. 12Notre Dame*	No. 14	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry,College GameDay)	NBC	L 17–24	77,622
September 8	12:00 p.m.	Western Michigan*	No. 21	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI	FS1	W 49–3	110,814
September 15	3:30 p.m.	SMU*	No. 19	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI	BTN	W 45–20	110,549
September 22	12:00 p.m.	Nebraska	No. 19	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI	FS1	W 56–10	111,037
September 29	4:30 p.m.	atNorthwestern	No. 14	Ryan Field Evanston, IL (rivalry)	FOX	W 20–17	47,330
October 6	12:00 p.m.	Maryland	No. 15	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI	ABC	W 42–21	109,531
October 13	7:30 p.m.	No. 15Wisconsin	No. 12	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (College GameDay)	ABC	W 38–13	111,360
October 20	12:00 p.m.	at No. 24Michigan State	No. 6	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI (rivalry)	FOX	W 21–7	76,131
November 3	3:45 p.m.	No. 14Penn State	No. 5	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (rivalry)	ESPN	W 42–7	111,747
November 10	3:30 p.m.	atRutgers	No. 4	HighPoint.com Stadium Piscataway, NJ	BTN	W 42–7	43,786
November 17	4:00 p.m.	Indiana	No. 4	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI	FS1	W 31–20	110,118
November 24	12:00 p.m.	at No. 10Ohio State	No. 4	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (The Game,College GameDay)	FOX	L 39–62	106,588
December 29	12:00 p.m.	vs. No. 10Florida*	No. 7	Mercedes-Benz Stadium Atlanta, GA (Peach Bowl)	ESPN	L 15–41	74,006
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings fromAP Poll andCFP Rankings after October 30 released prior to game All times are inEastern time

^[26]

To open the season, Michigan travelled to South Bend, Indiana to face the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to resume itslong-running rivalry after a three year hiatus.^[29]

Michigan lost to Notre Dame, 24–17.^[30] Notre Dame scored 14 points in the first quarter on a 13-yard touchdown run from Jafar Armstrong and a 43-yard touchdown pass fromBrandon Wimbush to Chris Finke. Michigan responded with 10 points in the second quarter on a 28-yard field goal byQuinn Nordin and a 99-yard kickoff return byAmbry Thomas. Notre Dame extended its lead in the second quarter on a four-yard touchdown run from Armstrong, which made the score 21–10 in favor of Notre Dame at half-time. Notre Dame added a 48-yard field goal byJustin Yoon in the third quarter. Michigan reduced Notre Dame's lead to seven points following a three-yard touchdown run fromKaran Higdon in the fourth quarter.^[31]

Thomas' 99-yard kickoff return was the third 99-yard kickoff return in program history, and first sinceTyrone Wheatley in1992. Michigan's defense held Notre Dame to only 69 yards on 29 plays and three points in the second half, and scoreless in the fourth quarter.^[29]

Following its opening game against Notre Dame, Michigan hosted the Western Michigan Broncos to open its home schedule. This was the first meeting between the schools since2011, a game shortened by lightning.^[34][35]

Michigan won in ablowout, 49–3.^[36] Michigan scored 21 points in the first quarter on a 17-yard touchdown pass fromShea Patterson toSean McKeon, a 67-yard touchdown run fromKaran Higdon and a 27-yard touchdown run fromChris Evans. Michigan added 14 points in the second quarter on a two-yard touchdown run from Evans, and a 44-yard touchdown pass from Patterson toNico Collins, which made the score 35–0 in favor of Michigan at half-time. Michigan extended its lead in the third quarter on a five-yard touchdown pass from Patterson toDonovan Peoples-Jones. Michigan added seven points in the fourth quarter on an 18-yard touchdown pass from Dylan McCaffrey to Jake McCurry. Western Michigan finally got on the board late in the fourth quarter with a 35-yard field goal by Josh Grant to avoid ashutout.^[37]

Michigan's honorary captains for the game were alumni Grant Newsome and Brenda Tracy. Michigan scored 21 points in the first quarter for the first time since2016 againstIllinois. Higdon's 140 rushing yards in the first quarter were the most by a Wolverine in a single quarter sinceDenard Robinson ran for 152 yards in the first quarter againstNotre Dame in2010. Michigan's defense held its opponent to single-digit points for the first time since allowing just a field goal toMaryland in 2016.^[35]

After playing Western Michigan, Michigan hosted the SMU Mustangs.^[40]

Michigan defeated SMU 45–20.^[41] After neither team scored in the first quarter, Michigan scored on every offensive possession from the second quarter onward. The teams exchanged touchdowns on a one-yard touchdown run fromBen Mason for Michigan, and a 50-yard touchdown pass from Ben Hicks toJames Proche for SMU to tie the game. Michigan responded with 14 points on a 35-yard touchdown pass fromShea Patterson toDonovan Peoples-Jones, and a 73-yard interception return fromJosh Metellus as time expired in the first half, which made the score 21–7 in favor of Michigan at half-time. Michigan added 14 points in the third quarter on two touchdown receptions from Peoples-Jones, from seven-yards and 41-yards, respectively. SMU responded with a two-yard touchdown pass from William Brown to Ryan Becker. SMU opened the scoring in the fourth quarter on a two-yard touchdown pass from Brown to Proche. Michigan extended its lead with a 45-yard field goal byQuinn Nordin and a nine-yard touchdown run from Tru Wilson.^[42]

Peoples-Jones' three touchdowns were the most scored by a Wolverine wide receiver sinceJehu Chesson scored four againstIndiana in2015. Metellus' 73-yard interception return was the sixth-longest interception return for a touchdown in program history and the longest since Brandon Herron's school-record 94-yard return againstWestern Michigan in2011.^[40]

Following its game against SMU, Michigan began its conference schedule when it hosted the Nebraska Cornhuskers.^[45]

Michigan won in a blowout, 56–10.^[46] Michigan scored 20 points in the first quarter on two touchdown runs byBen Mason, from one and four-yards, respectively, and a 44-yard touchdown run fromKaran Higdon. Michigan added 19 points in the second quarter, on a 50-yard field goal byQuinn Nordin, a five-yard touchdown pass fromShea Patterson toZach Gentry, a one-yard touchdown run from Mason, and a safety for Michigan after an illegal forward pass byAdrian Martinez, which made the score 39–0 in favor of Michigan at half-time. Michigan added 10 points in the third quarter on a 60-yard punt return byDonovan Peoples-Jones and a 38-yard field by Nordin. Nebraska finally got on the board late in the third quarter with a 35-yard field goal by Barret Pickering to avoid a shutout. The teams exchanged touchdowns in the fourth quarter on a 56-yard touchdown pass from Dylan McCaffrey toRonnie Bell for Michigan, and a three-yard touchdown run from Wyatt Mazour for Nebraska.^[47]

The 56 points scored were the fifth most in program history of Big Ten openers and the most since a 58–0 victory overMinnesota in2011. Michigan's offense tallied over 200 yards rushing (285) and passing (206) for the first time since the2017 season opener againstFlorida when the Wolverines had 215 yards rushing and 218 yards receiving. Michigan's defense held Nebraska to -5 yards in the first quarter and -1 yard in the second quarter. The last time the Michigan defense held an opponent to negative rushing yards in a quarter was againstOhio State in 2017. Quinn Nordin made a 50-yard field goal in the second quarter, his third career made field goal of at least 50 yards, tyingBob Bergeron (1984–87) for the second-most 50-yard field goals made in a career at Michigan.^[45]

After facing Nebraska, Michigan traveled to Evanston, Illinois, to face the Northwestern Wildcats.^[50]

Michigan defeated Northwestern 20–17.^[51] Northwestern scored ten points in the first quarter, on a one-yard touchdown run fromClayton Thorson and a 45-yard field goal by Charlie Kuhbande. Northwestern extended its lead in the second quarter on a three-yard touchdown run from John Moten IV. Michigan finally got on the board with a four-yard touchdown run fromKaran Higdon, which made the score 17–7 in favor of Northwestern at half-time. In the second half, Michigan held Northwestern scoreless while accumulating 13 points. First a pair of field goals byQuinn Nordin from 23-yards and 24-yards, respectively in the third quarter, and a five-yard touchdown run from Higdon in the fourth quarter to give Michigan its first lead of the game, and the eventual win.^[52]

Michigan's 17-point comeback victory was its first since rallying for a 17-point comeback againstNotre Dame in2011. Northwestern had 105 total yards of offense in the first quarter, while Michigan's defense held them to just 97 yards in the final three quarters. Michigan's defense had season highs in sacks (six) and tackle-for-loss (10).^[50]

After its game against Northwestern, Michigan hosted the Maryland Terrapins in its homecoming game.^[55]

Following a 70-minute weather delay due to thunderstorms in the area, Michigan defeated Maryland 42–21.^[56] Michigan opened the scoring in the first quarter on a 34-yard field goal byQuinn Nordin. Maryland responded with a 98-yard kickoff return byTy Johnson, to take its first and only lead of the game. Michigan scored 14 points in the second quarter on a one-yard run byBen Mason and a 22-yard touchdown pass fromShea Patterson toRonnie Bell, which made the score 17–7 in favor of Michigan at half-time. Michigan extended its lead in the third quarter on a 31-yard field goal by Nordin and a 34-yard touchdown pass from Patterson toDonovan Peoples-Jones. Michigan added 15 points in the fourth quarter on a seven-yard touchdown pass from Patterson to Jared Wangler, and a two-point conversion Mason run, and a 46-yard interception return byBrandon Watson. Maryland added 14 points on a one-yard run fromJavon Leake, and a five-yard touchdown run from Tyrrell Pigrome.^[57]

Michigan's honorary captain for the game was former director of strength and conditioning Mike Gittleson. Running backKaran Higdon rushed for 103 yards, becoming the 23rd player in program history to surpass 2,000 career rushing yards (2,020). Michigan's defense, which entered the game leading the nation in total defense at 232.6 yards per game, held Maryland to 220 yards of total offense, nearly 180 yards less than its average of 399.8 entering the game.^[55]

Following its homecoming game against Maryland, Michigan hosted the Wisconsin Badgers.^[60]

Michigan defeated Wisconsin 38–13.^[61] After a scoreless first quarter, Michigan got on the board first with a two-yard touchdown run fromKaran Higdon. Wisconsin responded with a 33-yard touchdown run from Kendric Pryor, for its only points of the first half, to tie the game. Michigan regained the lead following two field goals fromQuinn Nordin from 42-yards and 33-yards, respectively, which made the score 13–7 in favor of Michigan at half-time. Michigan extended its lead in the third quarter on a seven-yard touchdown run fromShea Patterson, followed by a two-point conversion pass toNico Collins. Michigan added 17 more points in the fourth quarter. First with a 35-yard field goal by Nordin, then a 21-yard interception return fromLavert Hill and a 44-yard touchdown run from Dylan McCaffrey. Wisconsin then scored its only points of the second half on a three-yard touchdown pass fromAlex Hornibrook to A. J. Taylor.^[62]

Michigan's defense held Wisconsin to season-lows of 283 total yards, 100 passing yards and 183 rushing yards. Michigan held Wisconsin to just 2-of-11 (18.2 percent) on third-down conversions.Shea Patterson's 81-yard run early in the second quarter was Michigan's longest sinceDenard Robinson's 87-yard run againstNotre Dame in2010. It was tied for the 15th longest run from scrimmage in Michigan history and was the second longest run by a Michigan quarterback.Lavert Hill's 21-yard interception return for a touchdown was his second of his career, becoming the third player in Michigan program history to register two interception returns for touchdowns, following Lance Dottin andThom Darden.^[60]

After its game against Wisconsin, Michigan traveled to East Lansing to face its in-state rival, the Michigan State Spartans, in the battle for thePaul Bunyan Trophy.^[63]

Michigan defeated Michigan State 21–7.^[64] After a scoreless first quarter, Michigan scored first with a six-yard touchdown pass fromShea Patterson toNico Collins, which made the score 7–0 in favor of Michigan at half-time. Michigan State opened the scoring in the second half on a four-yard touchdown pass fromDarrell Stewart Jr. toBrian Lewerke to tie the game, for its only points of the game. Michigan responded with a 79-yard touchdown pass from Patterson toDonovan Peoples-Jones to re-gain the lead. Michigan extended its lead in the fourth quarter on a five-yard touchdown run fromBen Mason.^[65]

Michigan's defense held Michigan State to just 94 total yards of offense, including 15 yards rushing. This was its fewest total yards gained in a game since only having 56 total yards of offense in1947, also against Michigan. Michigan State entered the game averaging 394.5 yards of offense. Michigan has held seven of eight opponents to their season low in yardage this year. Michigan State failed to convert a third-down attempt, going 0-for-12 during the game. The seven points scored by Michigan State were the fewest in a rivalry game against Michigan since2002, when Michigan won 49–3.Karan Higdon finished the game with 139 rushing yards, his sixth consecutive game surpassing 100-yards. With the win, Michigan snapped a 17 game losing streak to ranked opponents on the road.^[63][66] The team went into its bye week with a 7–1 record.

After facing in-state rival Michigan State and having abye week, Michigan hosted the Penn State Nittany Lions.^[69]

Michigan won in a blowout, 42–7.^[70] Michigan opened the scoring in the first quarter with a one-yard touchdown run fromShea Patterson. Michigan extended its lead in the second quarter on a 23-yard touchdown pass from Patterson toDonovan Peoples-Jones, which made the score 14–0 in favor of Michigan at half-time. Michigan added 14 points in the third quarter on a seven-yard touchdown pass from Patterson toZach Gentry and a 62-yard interception return byBrandon Watson. Michigan added 14 more points in the fourth quarter on a four-yard touchdown run fromKaran Higdon, and a one-yard touchdown run fromChris Evans. Penn State finally got on the board late in the fourth quarter on an eight-yard touchdown run fromTommy Stevens to avoid a shutout.^[71]

Michigan's honorary captains for the game were alumni Bryan and Kathleen Marshall, and formerMichigan basketball star andFab Five memberChris Webber. Michigan's defense held Penn State to just 77 total yards in the first half, and allowing just 186 total yards during the game. This marked an FBS-best eighth time allowing less than 100 yards in a half this season. Higdon rushed for 132 yards, his seventh consecutive game surpassing 100-yards. This is the second-longest streak in Michigan program history, trailing onlyMike Hart's eight consecutive games with 100-yards rushing in2007. With his interception return for a touchdown in the third quarter, Brandon Watson became the fourth player in program history with two or more interceptions returned for touchdowns, joiningLavert Hill,Thom Darden and Lance Dottin.^[69]

After hosting Penn State, Michigan traveled to Piscataway, New Jersey to face the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.^[74]

Michigan won in a blowout, 42–7.^[75] Michigan opened the scoring in the first quarter with a one-yard touchdown run fromKaran Higdon. Rutgers responded with an 80-yard touchdown run from Isiah Pacheco to tie the game. Michigan responded with 35 unanswered points. Michigan added 14 points in the second quarter on a one-yard touchdown run from Higdon and a 36-yard touchdown pass fromShea Patterson toNico Collins, which made the score 21–7 in favor of Michigan at half-time. Michigan again added 14 points in the third quarter on a 16-yard touchdown pass from Patterson to Oliver Martin, and a 10-yard touchdown pass from Patterson to Collins. Michigan added seven points in the fourth quarter on a 61-yard touchdown run fromChris Evans.^[76]

Michigan's defense allowed only 59 passing yards, the lowest by any team against Michigan this year. Michigan held Rutgers to just 4-of-12 on third-down conversions. Michigan tied a season-high with 24 first downs during the game. Higdon rushed for 42 yards, surpassing the 1,000-yard rushing mark in the second quarter. He became the first 1,000-yard running back for Michigan sinceFitzgerald Toussaint in2011, and the first player of any kind to rush for over 1,000 yards sinceDenard Robinson in2012.^[74]

Following its game against Rutgers, Michigan played its final home game against Indiana.^[79]

Michigan defeated Indiana 31–20.^[80] Michigan opened the scoring in the first quarter with a 32-yard field goal by Jake Moody. Indiana responded with a 13-yard touchdown run from Stevie Scott, to take its first lead of the game. Michigan added 12 points during the second quarter on two field goals by Moody, from 30-yards, and 31-yards respectively, and a 41-yard touchdown pass fromShea Patterson toNick Eubanks. Indiana added 10 points on a 41-yard field goal by Logan Justus and a seven-yard touchdown pass fromPeyton Ramsey toTy Fryfogle, which made the score 17–15 in favor of Indiana at half-time. Michigan added 10 points in the third quarter on a two-yard touchdown run fromKaran Higdon and a 33-yard field goal by Moody to regain the lead. Michigan extended its lead in the fourth quarter on two more field goals by Moody, from 23-yards, and 29-yards, respectively. Indiana responded with a 32-yard field goal by Justus, for its only points of the second half.^[81]

Freshman kicker Jake Moody set a Michigan single-game record with six field goals, going 6-for-6 in his collegiate placekicking debut. Running back Karan Higdon recorded his eighth 100-yard game this season. Higdon's 100-yard game was the 13th of his career, tying him withGordon Bell,Billy Taylor andTim Biakabutuka for the eighth-most 100-yard rushing games during a career in Michigan program history.^[79]

Following its home finale against Indiana, Michigan traveled to Columbus, Ohio to face its arch-rival, the Ohio State Buckeyes, in the 115th playing of"The Game".^[82]

Michigan was defeated by Ohio State 62–39.^[83] Ohio State opened the scoring in the first quarter with a 24-yard touchdown pass fromDwayne Haskins toChris Olave. Michigan responded with a 39-yard field goal by Jake Moody. Michigan scored 16 points in the second quarter on a 31-yard field goal by Moody, a 23-yard touchdown pass fromShea Patterson toNico Collins, and a nine-yard touchdown pass from Patterson toChris Evans. Ohio State scored 17 points in the quarter on a 24-yard touchdown pass from Haskins to Olave, a 31-yard touchdown pass from Haskins to Johnnie Dixon and a 19-yard field goal by Blake Haubeil as time expired, which made the score 24–19 in favor of Ohio State at half-time. Ohio State added 17 points in the third quarter on a 19-yard field goal by Haubeil, a 33-yard punt return bySevyn Banks and a two-yard touchdown run fromMike Weber. Michigan scored 20 points in the fourth quarter on a 12-yard touchdown pass from Patterson to Collins, a one-yard touchdown run fromBen Mason, and a four-yard touchdown run fromJoe Milton. Ohio State added 21 points on a 78-yard touchdown run fromParris Campbell, a one-yard touchdown pass from Haskins toK. J. Hill, and a 16-yard touchdown pass from Haskins to Campbell.^[84]

Michigan finished as co-champions of the Big Ten East Division with an 8–1 record in conference play, for its first division title since the conference introduced divisions in 2011. This was its best conference record since going 7–1 in2004.^[82]

On December 2, Michigan was selected to play in thePeach Bowl against the Florida Gators. Michigan won the previous meeting in the 2017Advocare Classic, by a score of 33–17. This was Michigan's 47th bowl game appearance, and its first appearance in the Peach Bowl.^[86]

Florida defeated Michigan 41–15.^[87] Florida opened the scoring in the first quarter with a 21-yard field goal byEvan McPherson. Michigan responded with a nine-yard touchdown pass fromShea Patterson toDonovan Peoples-Jones. Michigan extended its lead in the second quarter on a 48-yard field goal by Jake Moody. Florida added ten points in the quarter on a 26-yard field goal by McPherson and a 20-yard touchdown run fromFeleipe Franks, which made the score 13–10 in favor of Florida at half-time. Florida added 14 points in the third quarter on a five-yard touchdown pass from Franks toLa'Mical Perine, and a one-yard touchdown run fromJordan Scarlett. Michigan added five points in the fourth quarter on a 26-yard field goal by Moody and a safety. Florida extended its lead on a 53-yard touchdown run from Perine and a 30-yard interception return fromC. J. Gardner-Johnson.^[88]

The2019 NFL draft was held on April 25–27, 2019 inNashville, Tennessee. Five Wolverines were selected as part of the draft, and another six signed with NFL teams asundrafted free agents.^[94][95]

Former Michigan starting quarterbackWilton Speight, who grad transferred toUCLA before the 2018 season, also signed as an undrafted free agent with theSan Francisco 49ers.^[95]