Michigan football

Intercollegiate

The University of Michigan’s Division I Football Bowl Subdivision football team, the Michigan Wolverines, plays for the university. In the annals of collegiate football, Michigan has amassed the most victories overall.

At the record-breaking attendance at Michigan Stadium, The team is well-known for its distinctive winged helmet, its numerous rivalries, and its fight song, especially against Ohio State its yearly, regular season-ending game, which was chosen as the “Game” of best sports rivalry on ESPN.

Intercollegiate football was first played in Michigan in 1879.

Other than a break from 1907 to 1916, the Wolverines have been a part of the Big Ten Conference since it was founded in 1896.

Record

Michigan has had 39 top-10 finishes overall and 43 league championships won or shared since the AP Poll’s start in 1936. The 1997 team, which was selected as the best in the final AP Poll, won the most recent of the Wolverines’ 11 national championships.

Nine different head coaches during the course of the school’s history—from 1900 to 1989—led Michigan, and each of them was either a player or a coach who was honored by the College Football Hall of Fame.

When Fielding H. Yost became head coach at Michigan in 1901, his “Point-a-Minute” teams went 56 games without losing during that time period. This run included a triumph in the inaugural collegiate football bowl game, the 1902 Rose Bowl.

Second Rose Bowl Victory

Fritz Crisler, a quarterback for Princeton University, relocated his winged helmet to Michigan in 1938. There, in 1947, he helped the Wolverines capture a national title.

Goodbye Coach

For 21 seasons (1969–1989), Bo Schembechler oversaw the team, winning 194 games—a record for the program—and 13 Big Ten championships. In a period of the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry known as the “10-Year War,” Schembechler’s Wolverines faced off against Woody Hayes’ Ohio State Buckeyes in a violent rivalry that defined his first ten years in office.

Following Schembechler’s departure, the program’s general success continued for the next 18 years under the leadership of Gary Moeller and subsequently Lloyd Carr. Rich Rodriguez and Brady Hoke, the following two coaches, both lost their jobs after relatively brief tenures, and the program’s fortunes fell.

Welcome New Coach

Jim Harbaugh was hired by Michigan on December 30, 2014, following the firing of Hoke. As a quarterback for Michigan from 1982 and 1986 under Schembechler, Harbaugh is a former member of the squad.

85 players from the Michigan Wolverines were unanimously named to the College Football All-America Team. Tom Harmon received it in 1940; Desmond Howard in 1991; and Charles Woodson in 1997. Three Wolverines also received it. The team’s most valuable player in 1934 was Gerald Ford, who started at the center and ultimately became the 38th President of the United States.

In 49 bowl games over the course of its existence, Michigan has participated, compiling a 21-28 record. Before failing to qualify for a bowl game in 2008, Michigan had done so 33 times in a row. From 1921 until 1945, the Big Ten Conference forbade its teams from competing in bowl games.

Nation’s Champion

Except for Minnesota in 1961 and 1962, no club could win consecutive championships until the 1972 Rose Bowl. Only the conference champion or a proxy representative was allowed to attend the Rose Bowl from 1946 to 1974. A total of 16 times, including twice by the primary wire service AP Poll, eminent pickers recognized by the NCAA have selected Michigan as the nation’s champion.

It is an accomplishment for Michigan to hold 11 of these accolades (1901, 1902, 1903, 1904, 1918, 1923, 1932, 1933, 1947, 1948, and 1997). Prior to 1926, contemporaneous selectors were not common. The initial selections for the 1903 and 1904 teams came from NCF in 1980 and came from Billingsley in 1970 for the 1918 and 1923 teams (co-champions).

Championships for conferences

43 conference titles, including 17 outright and 26 shared, have been won by Michigan.

Championships for Divisions

Two division titles have been shared by Michigan.

Team stats

• Most victories ever in college football (984)
• Most successful program winnings seasons (121
• Numerous entries in the final AP Poll (62)
• The Big Ten has won more conference championships than any other FBS program with a single conference (43)
• A winning program versus every FBS league, one of only six

Predictions

For its busiest recruiting weekend of the year, Michigan did not disappoint on the field, thrashing in-state rival MSU in front of scores of top targets in the following three classes. Due to this, predictions for a few prospects who the staff would love to sign have poured in for Michigan.

Recruiting

• The Wolverines’ recruiting classes of 2023 and 2024 would undoubtedly benefit greatly from the acquisition of Davis.
• Visitors for the Michigan State game who are recruiting for the Michigan football team
• Recruitment Roundup: A four-star defensive back wants to return to Michigan before making a decision.
• Jamel Howard, another 2023 Wisconsin defensive line commit, is on Michigan’s offer
• The significance of concluding the agreement with five-star 2024 QB Jadyn Davis this weekend
• Recruiting Roundup: Jadyn Davis, a five-star quarterback, has averted a major threat.
• 2023 four-star CB Chris Peal chooses Georgia over Michigan in his commitment

Odds Overview

Spread: MSU +23.5 (-110), UM -23.5 (-110)

Money line: +1 100 MSU, UM (-3000)

Total: (54.5) Over (-115/105)

Michigan and Ohio State are rivals for what reason?

Both Michigan and Ohio claimed ownership of the Toledo Strip, a 468-square-mile territory that lies on the borders of the two states, which fed the animosity that spurred this rivalry.

Attempting to incorporate the Toledo Strip in its bounds when Michigan applied to join the union in 1835, Ohio rejected its admission.

Michigan football spread

The game will begin at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor at 7:30 p.m. ET.

The most recent Michigan State odds from Caesars Sportsbook give the Wolverines a 23-point advantage.

The total point total has a 55-point over/under.

Check out the college football predictions and betting tips from SportsLine’s tested model before deciding on any Michigan vs. Michigan State picks.