134 days to go ...
University of Michigan,
134 seasons of football, 910-321-36 for a .732 winning percentage ... started football in 1879, joined the BIG TEN in 1896 (known as Western Conference) ... have won 42 league titles, finished in the top-10 of the AP poll 37 times and claim 11 national championships (last in 1997).
From 1900 to 1989, Michigan was led by a series of nine head coaches, each of whom has been inducted into the
College Football Hall of Fame either as a player or as a coach.
Fielding H. Yost became Michigan's head coach in 1901 and guided his "Point-a-Minute" squads to a streak of 56 games without a defeat, spanning from his arrival until the season finale in 1905, including a victory in the
1902 Rose Bowl, the first college football
bowl game ever played.
Fritz Crisler brought his winged helmet from
Princeton University in 1938 and led the
1947 Wolverines to a national title and Michigan's
second Rose Bowl win.
Bo Schembechler coached the team for 21 seasons (1969–1989) in which he won 13 Big Ten titles and a program-record 194 games. The first decade of his tenure was underscored by a fierce competition with his former mentor,
Woody Hayes, whose
Ohio State Buckeyes squared off against Schembechler's Wolverines in a stretch of the Michigan–Ohio State rivalry dubbed the "Ten-Year War".
After Schembechler's retirement, his longtime assistants,
Gary Moeller and
Lloyd Carr, helmed the team for the next 18 years. Michigan continued its success under Moeller and Carr with a winning percentage of .755, eight more Big Ten Conference championships, and a share of the 1997 national title.
Rich Rodriguez succeeded Carr in 2008 and was fired after three seasons in which he compiled the worst record of any coach in program history. On January 11, 2011,
Brady Hoke was hired as Michigan's 19th head football coach.
The Michigan Wolverines have featured 78 players that have garnered consensus selection to the
College Football All-America Team. Three Wolverines have won the
Heisman Trophy:
Tom Harmon in 1940,
Desmond Howard in 1991, and
Charles Woodson in 1997.
Gerald Ford, the 38th President of the United States, started at
center and was voted most valuable player by his teammates on the
1934 team.
HISTORY
On May 30, 1879, Michigan played its first intercollegiate football game against
Racine College at
White Stocking Park in Chicago. The
Chicago Tribune called it "the first rugby-football game to be played west of the
Alleghenies."
In 1896, the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives—then commonly known as the Western Conference and later as the
Big Ten Conference—was formed by the
University of Michigan with the
University of Chicago, the
University of Illinois, the
University of Minnesota, the
University of Wisconsin,
Northwestern University, and
Purdue University. The first Western Conference football season was played in
1896, with Michigan going 9–1, but losing out on the inaugural Western Conference title with a loss to the
Chicago Maroons to end the season. By 1898
Amos Alonzo Stagg was fast at work at turning the University of Chicago football program into a powerhouse.
Before the final game of the
1898 season, Chicago was 9–1–1 and Michigan was 9–0; a game between the two teams in Chicago decided the third Western Conference championship. Michigan won, 12–11, capturing the program's first conference championship in a game that inspired "
The Victors," which later became the school's fight song.
Michigan went 8–2 and 7–2–1 in
1899 and
1900, results that were considered unsatisfactory relative to the 10–0 season of 1898.
From 1901 through 1904, Michigan didn't lose a single game. The streak was finally halted at the end of the
1905 season by
Amos Alonzo Stagg's
Chicago Maroons, a team that went go on to win two
Big 9 (as the Western Conference was now being called with the addition of
Iowa and
Indiana) titles in the next three years. The game, dubbed "The First Greatest Game of the Century," broke Michigan's 56-game unbeaten streak and marked the end of the "Point-a-Minute" years. The 1905 Michigan team had outscored opponents 495–0 in its first 12 games. The game was lost in the final ten minutes of play when
Denny Clark was tackled for a safety as he attempted to return a punt from behind the goal line. Michigan tied for another Big 9 title in
1906 before opting to go independent for the
1907 season.
In
1922 Michigan managed to spoil the "Dedication Day" for
Ohio Stadium, defeating the
Buckeyes 19–0. Legend has it that the rotunda at Ohio Stadium is painted with maize flowers on a blue background due to the outcome of the 1922 dedication game.
Under Fielding Yost, Michigan posted a 165–29–10 record, winning ten conference championships and six national championships. One of his main actions as athletic director was to oversee the construction of
Michigan Stadium. Michigan began playing football games in Michigan Stadium in the fall of 1927. At the time Michigan Stadium had a capacity of 72,000, although Yost envisioned eventually expanding the stadium to a capacity well beyond 100,000. Michigan Stadium was formally dedicated during a game against the
Ohio State Buckeyes that season to the tune of a 21–0 victory.
Upon arriving at Michigan, Fritz Crisler introduced the
winged football helmet, ostensibly to help his players find the receivers down field. Whatever the reasoning, the winged helmet has since become one of the iconic marks of Michigan football. Michigan debuted the winged helmet in a game against
Michigan State in
1938. Two years later in
1940,
Tom Harmon led the Wolverines to a 7–1 record on his way to winning the
Heisman Trophy.
[16] Harmon ended the season by scoring three rushing touchdowns, two passing touchdowns, four extra points, intercepting three passes, and punting three times for an average of 50 yards in a game against the
Ohio State Buckeyes. The
1943 season included a No. 1 (Notre Dame) vs. No. 2 (Michigan) match-up against
Notre Dame, a game the Wolverines lost 35–12.Michigan ended the season at 8–1, winning Crisler's first
Big Ten championship.
It took 15 minutes for
Don Canham to be sold on
Bo Schembechler, resulting in Schembechler becoming the 15th coach in Michigan football history. At the time, Schembechler's current employer, the
Miami RedHawks, could have thrown more money at Schembechler, but Canham managed to sell Schembechler on Michigan's tradition and prestige. Schembechler's respect for Michigan was evident early on when assistants complained about how the equipment they had was worse than what they had to work with at Miami. Schembechler gestured to a rusty chair and said, "See this chair? Fielding Yost sat in this chair. See this nail? Fielding Yost hung his hat on that nail. And you're telling me we had better stuff at Miami? No men, we didn't. We have tradition here, Michigan tradition, and that's something no one else has!"Schembechler immediately got to work in turning around his team. He had a reputation for being hard on his players, causing 65 of his 140 players to quit the team before the season even started. In response, Schembechler promised his team "Those Who Stay Will be Champions," assuring the players that remained that their efforts would be rewarded.
http://www.ufer.org/sounds/Wrangler_Carter.mp3 /// LISTEN TO THE FAMOUS CALL FROM THE 1979 INDIANA-MICHIGAN GAME
After the end of the Ten Year War, Michigan's regular season performance declined, but their post season performance improved. The
1979 season included a memorable game against
Indiana that ended with a touchdown pass from
John Wangler to
Anthony Carter with six seconds left in the game. The play was made famous by
Bob Ufer's emotional radio narration:
"Under center is Wangler at the 45, he goes back. He's looking for a receiver. He throws downfield to Carter. Carter has it. [unintellibible screaming] Carter scores. . . . I have never seen anything like this in all my 40 years of covering Michigan football. . . . I hope you can hear me – because I've never been so happy in all my cotton-picking 59 years! . . . Johnny Wangler to Anthony Carter will be heard until another 100 years of Michigan football is played! . . . Meeeshigan wins, 27 to 21. They aren't even going to try the extra point. Who cares? Who gives a damn?". Michigan went 8–4 on the season, losing to
North Carolina in the
1979 Gator Bowl.
The 1994 season was marked by an early-season
loss to Colorado that included a
Hail Mary pass from
Kordell Stewart to
Michael Westbrook to end the game, leading to the game being dubbed "The Miracle at Michigan." After the 1994 season, Gary Moeller was found intoxicated at a Southfield, MI restaurant in an incident in which Moeller was caught on tape throwing a punch at a police station, which resulted in his firing.
During this era under Lloyd Carr, Michigan began to establish for itself a reputation as a quarterback school, with future NFL quarterbacks such as
Brian Griese (1993–1997),
Tom Brady (1996–1999),
Drew Henson(1998–2000),
John Navarre (1999–2003), and
Chad Henne (2004–2007) all playing for Michigan. With this string of quarterbacks, Michigan had a starting quarterback that later joined the NFL every year from 1993 through 2007. Under Tom Brady, Michigan went 10–3 and repeated as Big Ten champions in
1998, but in
1999 Michigan lost out on the conference championship at 10–2 to a
Wisconsin Badgers team led by
Ron Dayne.
Drew Henson led Michigan to a 9–3 record and a tie for the Big Ten championship in
2000.
In
2005, Michigan struggled to make a bowl game, only going 7–5, with the season capped with another loss to
Ohio State.Expectations were tempered going into the
2006 season; however, a 47–21 blowout of
#2 Notre Dame and an 11–0 start propelled Michigan to the No. 2 rankings going into "
The Game" with
#1 Ohio State. The
2006 Ohio State-Michigan game was hailed by the media as the "
The Game of the Century." The day before the game, Bo Schembechler died, leading Ohio State to honor him with a moment of silence, one of the few Michigen Men to be so honored in
Ohio Stadium. The game itself was a back-and-forth affair, with Ohio State winning 42–39 for the right to play in the
2007 BCS National Championship Game. Michigan lost to
USC in the
2007 Rose Bowl, ending the season at 11–2.
Rivalries
Notre Dame
Michigan and
Notre Dame began playing each other in 1887 in Notre Dame's first football game. Since then, Michigan and Notre Dame have played in 41 contests, with Michigan holding a 24–16–1 advantage. The rivalry is notable due to the historical success of the football programs. Michigan is ranked No. 1 in wins and No. 2 in all-time winning percentage while Notre Dame is No. 3 and No. 1, respectively. However, the schools have traded positions in the past few years, sometimes with the result hinging on the game between the schools. Both schools also claim 11 national championships.
Ohio State
Michigan and
Ohio State first played each other in 1897 and have since played in 108 contests with Michigan holding a 58–45–6 advantage. The rivalry was particularly enhanced during
The Ten Year War, a period in which Ohio State was coached by
Woody Hayesand Michigan was coached by
Bo Schembechler. Overall, the Buckeye and Wolverine football programs have combined for 18 national titles, 76 conference titles, and 10
Heisman Trophy winners.
Michigan State
Michigan and
Michigan State first played each other in 1898 and have since the rivalry has been played in 106 contests with Michigan holding a 68-33-5 advantage. Since Michigan State joined the
Big Ten Conference in 1953, the two schools have competed annually for the Paul Bunyan-Governor of Michigan Trophy. The winner retains possession of the trophy until the next year's game. Michigan currently leads the trophy series 35–24–2. The Spartans currently hold the Paul Bunyan Trophy after a 29-6 win in 2013.
Minnesota
Michigan plays
Minnesota for the Little Brown Jug, with their record in games played for the Jug, which dates to 1909, being 69–22–3. The Wolverines currently hold the trophy having won the 2013 contest, 42-13.
Program records and achievements
Winning superlatives
- Most all-time wins in college football history (910)
- The most winning seasons (114)
- The most undefeated seasons of teams currently competing in Division I-A/FBS (23)
Attendance and television
- The largest crowd to ever attend an NCAA football game: 115,109 on September 7, 2013 at Michigan Stadium vs. Notre Dame
- The longest streak in home game attendance of over 100,000 (252 games; since November 8, 1975 vs. Purdue)
- The most televised school in college football history: 437 televised games
Current streaks
- The longest current streak of games in Division I-A/FBS since last being shut out: 375 games. Michigan was last shut out on October 20, 1984, at Iowa. This streak sets a new NCAA record for longest scoring streak in Division I-A/FBS previously held by BYU from 1975 to 2003.
Bowl games
Michigan has played in 43 bowl games in its history, compiling a record of 20–23. Before missing a bowl game in 2008, Michigan had made a bowl game 33 years in a row, the second longest streak (as of end of 2013 season) in college football history. From 1921 to 1945, the
Big Ten Conference did not allow its teams to participate in bowls. From 1946 to 1974, only a conference champion, or a surrogate representative, was allowed to attend a bowl, the
Rose Bowl, and no team could go two years in a row, with one
exception.
Retired numbers
Michigan no longer retires numbers; now all retired numbers have since been recirculated and honored as Michigan Football Legends. The last number to make the transition to Legend status was Tom Harmon’s No. 98 in September 2013. Other numbers that were once retired were No. 11, No. 47, No. 48, and No. 87.
Michigan Football Legends
To honor a Michigan Football Legend, a patch is placed on the upper left chest of the jersey which was worn by the Michigan Football Legend during his time as a Wolverine. Desmond Howard became the first Michigan Football Legend when a patch bearing his name on the 21 jersey was introduced prior to the Michigan-Notre Dame game on September 10, 2011. Michigan removed Bennie Oosterbaan's No. 47, Gerald Ford's No. 48, Ron Kramer's No. 87, and The Wistert Brothers' No. 11 from retirement in the
2012 season, with the Michigan Football Legend patch added to the jersey. Oosterbaan was honored prior to the Michigan-Air Force game on September 8, 2012, while Kramer was honored prior to the Michigan-Massachusetts game on September 15, 2012, and Ford was honored prior to Michigan's homecoming game against Illinois on October 13, 2012. The Wistert Brothers' (
Francis,
Albert, and
Alvin) No. 11 were honored prior to the Michigan-Northwestern game on November 10, 2012. Tom Harmon’s No. 98 was honored prior to the last Notre Dame–Michigan game at the Big House on September 7, 2013 with Tom’s son
Mark Harmon in attendance.
