A month from now, all the attention will be on the 2026 college football season, and Michigan is heading into it with real expectations after an offseason full of chaos. Before the games start for real, though, there was still time for one more thoroughly unnecessary but undeniably fun project: figuring out which end zone at Michigan Stadium sees more action.
If you’ve spent the offseason rewatching highlights to pass the time, you’re probably not alone. One oddball memory can lead to another, and that eventually raises a very specific question: does Michigan score more often at the north end zone or the south end zone?
The answer, at least by the numbers from Michigan’s home games between 2021 and 2025, is that the north end zone gets the edge. Over those 36 games, Michigan averaged 4.2 touchdowns per home game, which is a pretty healthy number on its own.
The broader trend is clear too: the Wolverines were more prolific during the Jim Harbaugh years than they have been under Sherrone Moore. Michigan averaged 4.7 touchdowns per game during the Big Ten Championship streak, then dropped to 3.7 TD/game in the Sherrone Moore area.
Even when Group of Five opponents are removed, the same shape remains. The average falls from 3.8 TD/game before Moore to 2.8 TD/game over the past two seasons. That doesn’t exactly come as a shock, but it does set the stage for the real question.
On that front, the north end zone comes out ahead, though not by much. Michigan averaged about 2.25 touchdowns per game going that direction, compared with 1.94 when moving the other way. That works out to roughly two extra touchdowns a season, which is noticeable but not dramatic enough to turn the stadium into some kind of one-sided scoring machine.
Strip out the Group of Five games, and the split nearly disappears: 1.71 touchdowns in the north end zone, 1.67 in the south. The rivalry-game numbers are even cleaner.
Across the key rivalry game each season, the two end zones are deadlocked at seven scores apiece. That includes three touchdowns in each end zone during the 2021 Ohio State game, the kind of night most Michigan fans can probably picture in their heads without much effort.
There’s also a pretty natural reason to lean north if you’re choosing based on vibes alone. That’s the end with the student section and the band, and it’s where some of the most memorable moments land: Jake Moody’s last-minute field goal against Illinois in 2022, Rod Moore’s game-clinching play against Kyle McCord in 2023, the Blake Corum run a quarter before that, and Will Johnson’s pick six against USC in 2024.
Still, the larger takeaway is simple. Michigan Stadium gives you plenty to enjoy either way, and touchdowns have been spread around enough that no one side is getting completely fed. But if the Wolverines look a little better moving right to left this fall, you’ll know there’s at least a tiny statistical case for it.
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