1969-89

1969: Bo Schembechler’s first season as head football coach at Michigan was highlighted by the Wolverines’ 24-12 victory over Ohio State and Bo’s mentor, Woody Hayes. Many consider this one of the greatest college football upsets of all time.

• Record: 8-3 overall, 6-1 Big Ten
• Conference Finish: Big Ten co-Champions
• Final Ranking: No. 9 AP, No. 8 UPI

1970: The Wolverines went undefeated until meeting Ohio State in November. Michigan beat powers Arizona, Washington and Texas A&M, and Bo got his first victory over Michigan State, a 34-20 win in Ann Arbor.

• Record: 9-1 overall, 6-1 Big Ten
• Conference Finish: 2nd-place tie
• Final Ranking: No. 9 AP, No. 7 UPI

1971: This time, not even Ohio State could ruin the regular season for Bo and his Michigan team. The Wolverines ran roughshod over their opponents, posting three consecutive shutouts (vs. Virginia, UCLA and Navy), and allowing just two teams to score double digits. U-M beat Woody and the Buckeyes, 10-7. With a possible national championship in the Wolverines’ grasp, Michigan was upset by Stanford in the Rose Bowl, 13-12.

• Record: 11-1 overall, 7-0 Big Ten
• Conference Finish: Big Ten Champions
• Final Ranking: No. 6 AP, No. 4 UPI

1972: With 10 straight wins and an unblemished mark, Michigan rose as high as No. 3 in the land in 1972, but fell to Ohio State, 14-11, to spoil the perfect season. Prior to the OSU game, Michigan did not allow a single opponent in double digits, shutting out Northwestern, Michigan State, Minnesota and Iowa.

• Record: 10-1 overall, 7-1 Big Ten
• Conference Finish: Big Ten co-Champions
• Final Ranking: No. 6 AP, No. 6 UPI

1973: Michigan again entered the Ohio State game undefeated at 10-0, and came out with a 10-10 tie. In a surprise vote, the Big Ten athletic directors voted to send Ohio State to the Rose Bowl, despite Michigan’s higher ranking in the polls. The Wolverines’ dominant defense posted shutouts against Navy, Oregon and Michigan State.

• Record: 10-0-1 overall, 8-0-1 Big Ten
• Conference Finish: Big Ten co-Champions
• Final Ranking: No. 6 AP, No. 6 UPI

1974: Ranked nationally in the top six all season, the Wolverines rattled off 10 straight wins in 1974 before falling at Ohio State, 12-10. Included in the wins were shutouts over Colorado (31-0), Navy (52-0), Minnesota (49-0) and Purdue (51-0).

• Record: 10-1 overall, 7-1 Big Ten
• Conference Finish: Big Ten co-Champions
• Final Ranking: No. 3 AP, No. 5 UPI

1975: Despite early season ties against Stanford and Baylor, Michigan won its next seven games, including a 69-0 shutout against Northwestern. Fifth-ranked Michigan earned a bid to the Orange Bowl, but fell to No. 3 Oklahoma, 14-6.

• Record: 8-2-2 overall, 7-1 Big Ten
• Conference Finish: 2nd place
• Final Ranking: No. 8 AP, No. 8 UPI

1976: Michigan was upset at Purdue, 16-14, after winning its first eight games of the season. The Wolverines posted shutouts against Stanford (avenging the 1971 Rose Bowl loss), Wake Forest, Indiana and Minnesota, and topped it off by keeping the Buckeyes off the scoreboard, 22-0. It would be Bo’s lone shutout over Ohio State. The Wolverines entered the Rose Bowl ranked No. 2, facing No. 3 Southern Cal. The Trojans took a 14-6 win, dropping U-M to a final No. 3 ranking.

• Record: 10-2 overall, 7-1 Big Ten
• Conference Finish: Big Ten co-Champions
• Final Ranking: No. 3 AP, No. 3 UPI

1977: With six dominating wins to open the season, No. 1 Michigan suffered an upset at Minnesota, falling 16-0, the team’s only loss of the regular season. Despite convincing wins over Michigan State (22-14), Wisconsin (56-0), Purdue (40-7), and Ohio State (14-6), Michigan lost to Washington in the Rose Bowl, 27-20.

• Record: 10-2 overall, 7-1 Big Ten
• Conference Finish: Big Ten co-Champions
• Final Ranking: No. 9 AP, No. 8 UPI

1978: Rick Leach completed his Michigan career under Bo by winning all but one regular-season game. Once again, the trip to Pasadena was riding on the U-M/OSU game, and the Wolverines did not disappoint, winning, 14-3. U-M earned a trip to the Rose Bowl, but lost to Southern Cal, 17-10.

• Record: 10-2 overall, 7-1 Big Ten
• Conference Finish: Big Ten co-Champions
• Final Ranking: No. 5 AP, No. 5 UPI

1979: Ranked as high as No. 6 during the season, the Wolverines avenged their loss to Michigan State the previous year, winning 21-7 in East Lansing. They provided one of the most stirring victories in college football as Anthony Carter hauled in a John Wangler hail Mary pass on the game’s final play to beat Indiana, 27-21. The season concluded with an appearance in the Gator Bowl, losing to North Carolina, 17-15.

• Record: 8-4 overall, 6-2 Big Ten
• Conference Finish: 3rd place
• Final Ranking: No. 18 AP, No. 19 UPI

1980: For the first time, a Bo Schembechler-coached team went into the Big Ten schedule with a losing record in 1980. The Wolverines regrouped and shut out Indiana, Wisconsin and Purdue consecutively before beating Ohio Sate, 9-3, to clinch a Rose Bowl berth. Michigan, on a roll, won its first bowl game for Bo, 23-6, over Washington.

• Record: 10-2 overall, 8-0 Big Ten
• Conference Finish: Big Ten Champions
• Final Ranking: No. 4 AP, No. 4 UPI

1981: Michigan entered 1981ranked No.1 by AP and UPI, but suffered a season-opening loss to Wisconsin. It went on to win its next four games, including Bo’s second victory over Notre Dame, 25-7. The Wolverines went on to claim four more wins and record their second consecutive bowl game victory, a 33-14 decision over UCLA in the Bluebonnett Bowl. Longtime U-M announcer Bob Ufer, who nicknamed the Michigan coach ” General Bo” and called Michigan Stadium ” The house that Yost built, Canham carpeted and Schembechler made famous,” passed away that year.

• Record: 9-3 overall, 6-3 Big Ten
• Conference Finish: 3rd place tie
• Final Ranking: No. 12 AP, No. 12 UPI

1982: Anthony Carter’s final year saw a 20-9 season-opening victory over Wisconsin, but U-M dropped games at Notre Dame and to UCLA before a seven-game winning streak ensued. The Wolverines went through the Big Ten schedule unscathed, until losing to Ohio State, 24-14. Michigan earned a trip to the Rose Bowl, but lost to UCLA, 24-14.

• Record: 8-4 overall, 6-1 Big Ten
• Conference Finish: Big Ten Champions
• Final Ranking: No. 15 UPI

1983: The Wolverines split two contests with Washington teams — a 20-17 victory over Washington State, and a 25-24 loss to Washington. They then went on a five-game winning streak that featured consecutive shutouts against Michigan State and Northwestern. A 16-6 loss against Illinois spoiled the Wolverines’ perfect Big Ten mark. Michigan then lost to Auburn on a last second field goal, 9-7, in the Sugar Bowl.

• Record: 9-3 overall, 8-1 Big Ten
• Conference Finish: 2nd place
• Final Ranking: No. 8 AP, No. 9 UPI

1984: This season began with a 22-14 victory over Bernie Kosar and the University of Miami, but concluded with a 6-6 mark. The Wolverines ended the season with a loss to No. 1 Brigham Young in the Holiday Bowl. In the Michigan State game, young quarterback Jim Harbaugh, a future All-American, broke his arm and was lost for the season.

• Record: 6-6 overall, 5-4 Big Ten
• Conference Finish: 6th place tie
• Final Ranking: Not ranked

1985: The Wolverines opened the season with five straight wins, including a 31-0 whipping of Michigan State and non -conference wins over Notre Dame, South Carolina and Maryland. In a game pitting the nation’s No. 1 (Iowa) and No. 2 (Michigan) teams, the Hawkeyes spoiled U-M’s perfect season with a 12-10 victory as Rob Houghtlin kicked a field goal with no time remaining. The Wolverines also tied Illinois, as Dieter Heren blocked a Chris White last-second field goal attempt. The Wolverines finished the year with four consecutive victories, including a 27-17 win over Ohio State and a 27-23 win over Nebraska in the Fiesta Bowl to finish the season with a No. 2 ranking.

• Record: 10-1-1 overall, 6-1-1 Big Ten
• Conference Finish: 2nd place
• Final Ranking: No. 2 AP, No. 2 UPI

1986: Ranked among the AP’s top six all season, only a 20-17 loss to Minnesota in the 10th game of the season spoiled the Wolverines’ regular season. With Jim Harbaugh quarterbacking, Michigan won four games by three points or less along the way: Notre Dame, 24-23; Florida State, 20-18; Iowa, 20-17; and Ohio State, 26-24. The Buckeye game was highlighted by Harbaugh’s 76-yard, fourth-quarter touchdown pass to John Kolesar. The Wolverines earned a Rose Bowl berth, but were defeated by Arizona State, 22-15.

• Record: 11-2 overall, 7-1 Big Ten
• Conference Finish: Big Ten co-Champions
• Final Ranking: No. 8 AP, No. 7 UPI

1987: The season began with a 26-7 loss to Notre Dame, but the Wolverines rebounded to defeat Washington State and blanked both Long Beach State and Wisconsin by identical 49-0 scores. The Wolverines were invited to the Hall of Fame Bowl and defeated Alabama, 28-24. Gary Moeller coached the Wolverines in the bowl game while Bo recuperated from his second open-heart surgery.

• Record: 8-4 overall, 5-3 Big Ten
• Conference Finish: 4th place
• Final Ranking: No. 19 AP

1988: The first of Bo’s two outright Big Ten championship seasons started with tight losses to Notre Dame, 19-17, and Miami, 31-30. Michigan rebounded though, claiming victories that included a 17-3 win over Michigan State, and a 34-31 victory over Ohio State, highlighted by John Kolesar’s 100-yard effort in the final minute of play (a 54-yard kickoff return and a 46-yard TD pass from Demetrius Brown). Only a 17-17 tie with Iowa marred the Wolverines’ Big Ten mark. Bo won his second Rose Bowl, a 22-14 triumph over Southern Cal and finished the year ranked No. 4.

• Record: 9-2-1 overall, 7-0-1 Big Ten
• Conference Finish: Big Ten Champions
• Final Ranking: No. 4 AP, No. 4 UPI

1989: Bo’s final season was a strong one, becoming the first coach to guide his team to back-to-back solo Big Ten titles since 1965-66. The season included wins over UCLA, Michigan State, Illinois and Ohio State. Its only setback was a 24-19 loss to Notre Dame thanks to two kickoffs returned for touchdowns by Rocket Ismail. The Wolverines had a rematch against Southern Cal in the Rose Bowl, but fell in Bo’s final game, 17-10.

• Record: 10-1 overall, 8-0 Big Ten
• Conference Finish: Big Ten Champions
• Final Ranking: No. 7 AP, No. 8 UPI

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