Michigan vs. Arkansas

Lately my Arkansas peers have been trying to compare their football program with that of Michigan's. The number of "Michigan Sucks" I have heard recently has been absurd. Those of you who know me well know that I do not take that lightly. However, I will let the numbers do the talking. For good measure, I've included a head to head comparison of Denard Robinson and Ryan Mallett. Also, I have limited the scope of my comparison to football and will not dive into comparing the two institutions in any other fashion.

*Note - Before anyone makes any claims about Big 10 vs. SEC competition, lets remember that from 1915-1991 Arkansas played in the Southwest Conference against: Texas, Texas A&M, Baylor, SMU, TCU, Houston, Texas Tech and Rice

First Season
M: 1879
Ark: 1894

Head-To-Head Record
M leads Ark 1-0 after Michigan won the 1991 Citrus bowl 45-31

Stadium Capacity
M: 109.901 (largest in the country)
Ark: 76,000

All-Time Record
M: 884–305–36 (.736) (Highest wins and win percentage in NCAA history)
Ark: 661–447–40 (.593)

Bowl Record
M: 19–20 (.487)
Ark: 12–22–3 (.324)

National Titles
M: 11
Ark: 1

Conference Titles
M: 42
Ark: 13

Consensus All-Americans
M: 77
Ark: 23

Heisman Trophy Winners
M: 3 (Tom Harmon, Desmond Howard, Charles Woodson)
Ark: 0

College Football Hall of Fame Inductees
M: 36
Ark: 12

Current NFL Players
M: 31 (Tom Brady, Chad Henne, Jake Long, LeMarr Woodley, Zoltan Mesko, Steve Hutchinson, Dahani Jones, Steve Breaston, Braylon Edwards)
Ark: 16 (Darren McFadden, Felix Jones, Peyton Hillis, Ken Hamlin)

Superbowl MVP's
M: 3 (Tom Brady x2, Desmond Howard)
Ark: 0

Football Player Graduation Rate
M: 77%
Ark: 52%

Number of D-1 Programs in the State
Michigan: 5 (Michigan, Michigan State University, Eastern Michigan, Central Michigan, Western Michigan) (Bonus: D2 4-Time National Champions Grand Valley State University - '02,'03,'05,'06)
Arkansas: 1 (University of Arkansas)

Number of Professional Sports Franchises in the State:
Michigan: 4 (Pistons, Red Wings, Lions, Tigers)
Arkansas: 0

The reason I include the previous two statistics is because it factors into atmosphere and perception. I have gotten dogged lately for some of my comments regarding SEC football. My point is that in Arkansas, there are no other in-state teams to cheer for. The closest teams to Fayetteville outside of the Razorbacks are in Kansas City, Dallas or Memphis, which are all over four hours away. This is much different from the state of Michigan, where there are five D-1 college and four professional teams that are battling for position within a fan's sport space. Additionally, there is the added factor of in-state rivalries, as well as the proximity of rivalries in adjacent states (Notre Dame and Ohio State). If I am feeling inspired later this year, I'll write an extensive blog post on these topics

Ryan Mallett vs. Denard Robinson
Denard: 6', 197 lbs, Sophomore (First Season Starting)
Mallett: 6'6", 238 lbs, Junior

QB Rating
Denard:157.7 (14th)
Mallett: 166.5 (4th)

Completion Percentage
Denard: 63.3% (37th)
Mallett: 67.3% (11th)

Passing Yards
Denard:2229 (42nd)
Mallett: 2967 (7th)

Total TD's
Denard: 30 (16 Passing, 14 Rushing)
Mallett: 28 (24 Passing, 4 Rushing)

Rushing Yards
Denard: 1538 (2nd) (NCAA Single Season QB Rushing Record)
Mallett: -20 (Really?)

Denard: First QB ever to Pass for 1,500 yards and Rush for 1,500 yards in the same season.


Immeasurables
- The Victors - best fight song in college football
- Michigan vs. Ohio State - Greatest rivalry in all of sports. Started in 1897 and has been played 106 times. Michigan leads the all-time series 57–43–6


Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan_football
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arkansas_football
http://espn.go.com/college-football/statistics/player/_/stat/passing/sort/collegeQuarterbackRating/year/2010/group/80
http://stanford.scout.com/2/952555.html
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1704437/the_best_college_fight_songs_top_5.html?cat=33
http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/20074/robinson-sets-record-puts-u-m-on-board
http://espn.go.com/nfl/players?college=45
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwest_Conference#Members
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NCAA_Division_II_National_Football_Championship
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superbowl_MVP
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan-Ohio_State_rivalry