The University of Michigan began playing football in 1879 and hasn’t slowed up yet. The Michigan Wolverines have an All-time record of 849-280-36. The Wolverines’ 849 victories is the most in NCAA history and their .744 winning percentage is also the best of all-time. The Michigan Wolverines have won more Big Ten Championships, forty-two, than anyone, won 18 bowl games, captured three National Championships and have had four Heisman Trophy winners.
Best Team
When you’ve won more games than any other college football program it’s safe to say you’ve had a lot of great teams. But despite having many great teams over the years there is still one team that stands out above the rest. From 1901 to 1905 Fielding H. Yost led a Michigan Wolverine team that seemed unstoppable. The 1901 team went 11-0-0 and outscored their opponents 550 – 0 including a 128 – 0 win over Buffalo. The 1901 Michigan Wolverines’ season concluded with a trip to the inaugural Rose Bowl. From 1901 to 1904 the Michigan Wolverines didn’t lose a game and only tied once. The tie against the Minnesota Gophers would result in the creation of the Little Brown Jug, the oldest college football rivalry trophy. In 1905 the Michigan Wolverines went 12-1-0 to make their total record from 1901 to 1905 55-1-1. Over that five year period the Michigan Wolverines outscored their opponents 2,821 – 42. Before their loss to Chicago in the 1905 season the Michigan Wolverines undefeated streak had reached fifty-six games, which still stands as the second longest streak ever one hundred years later.
Best Coach
A team that goes 55-1-1 over a five year span must have some great players, but players come and go. So a lot of the credit belongs to the mastermind behind it all Fielding H. Yost. Fielding H. Yost was a very innovative coach, he was responsible for the creation of the linebacker position and he was the first coach to ever have offensive players go in motion as a decoy. While coaching for the Michigan Wolverines Fielding H. Yost accumulated more shutouts than any other coach. In the five year period from 1901 to 1905 alone the Michigan Wolverines shutout fifty teams. Throughout the rest of his career Fielding H. Yost let the Michigan Wolverines to another sixty-one shutouts for a total of one hundred and eleven shutouts in his career.
Best Player
There have been a lot of great players at Michigan, there has been some great passers, great runners, great pass catchers and great kickers, but Tom Harmon did it all. Tom Harmon joined the Ohio State Buckeyes as a running back in 1938 but also became a kicker, quarterback and a defensive back. Tom Harmon rushed for 2,134 yard during his career as a Michigan Wolverine, completed 100 passes for 1,304 yards and 16 touchdowns and scored a total of 237 points. Harmon was the first player in NCAA history to lead the nation in scoring two times. In his final game as a Michigan Wolverine Tom Harmon led the Wolverines to a 40 – 0 victory over arch rival Ohio State with three rushing touchdowns, two passing touchdowns, four extra points, three interceptions, and three punts for an average of 50 yards on his way to winning the Heisman Trophy..
Rival
In 1990 Michigan Wolverines coach Gary Moeller, a former Ohio State player, claimed that Michigan State was Michigan’s biggest rival because it was their in state rival, but nobody is buying that. The Michigan Wolverines and Ohio State Buckeyes have played each other 102 times dating back to 1897. Michigan holds the overall lead 57 to 39 but from 1928 through 1990 their records against each other were 30-30-3 and Ohio State had scored 909 points to Michigan’s 903. The winner of the Ohio State and Michigan game went to the Rose Bowl every year from 1972 to 1981.
Best Games
In 1947 the Michigan Wolverines finished the regular season undefeated but Notre Dame was still number one in the polls. The Michigan Wolverines decided they had something to prove. In the 1948 Rose Bowl Michigan trounced USC 49 – 0. It was the worst defeat in the 60 year history of the USC Trojans. The Wolverines set nine Rose Bowl records that day including 491 total yard, 188 passing yard and 91 rushing yards. Michigan was so impressive that after the Rose Bowl victory they received 226 votes to be number one and Notre Dame received 119.
Another one of Michigan’s great games came in 1969. Ohio State’s legendary coach “Woody” Hayes had turned Ohio State into a perennial contender and he led the Buckeyes to a 12 – 6 record against Michigan. In 1969 one of “Woody” Hayes’ assistant coaches Bo Schembechler left and became the head coach of the Michigan Wolverines. In the previous season Ohio State had beaten Michigan 50 – 14 and the Buckeyes were in the midst of a 22 game winning streak when Bo Schembechler lead the Michigan Wolverines to a stunning 24 – 12 upset.
Unfortunately possibly the most well known play in Michigan’s history resulted in a loss. In 1994 the Colorado Buffaloes traveled to Michigan for a non-conference game. The Michigan Wolverines seemed to have the game won up 26 – 21 with six seconds left and the Colorado Buffaloes had the ball 64 yards from the end zone. Quarterback Kordell Stewart dropped back to pass as receivers Michael Westbrook, Blake Anderson and Rae Carruth ran towards the end zone. Stewart then threw the ball 73 yards into the opposing end zone where Blake Anderson tipped the ball up in the air then Michael Westbrook dove under the ball for the touchdown and a 27 – 26 win for the Colorado Buffaloes.
