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1926 Michigan

7–⁠1 (5–⁠0 Western Conference), coached by Fielding Yost.

Michigan, 1926
Photo: Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Schedule and results

Michigan in 1926, game by game: won vs. Oklahoma State 42–3; won vs. Michigan State 55–3; won vs. Minnesota 20–0; won vs. Illinois 13–0; lost at Navy 0–10; won vs. Wisconsin 37–0; won at Ohio State 17–16; won at Minnesota 7–6+52−10Won 42–3 vs. Oklahoma State+39Oklahoma StateWon 55–3 vs. Michigan State+52Michigan StateWon 20–0 vs. Minnesota+20MinnesotaWon 13–0 vs. Illinois+13IllinoisLost 0–10 at Navy-10NavyWon 37–0 vs. Wisconsin+37WisconsinWon 17–16 at Ohio State+1Ohio StateWon 7–6 at Minnesota+1Minnesota
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Oct 2vsOklahoma StateW 42–⁠383%
Oct 9vsMichigan StateW 55–⁠382%
Oct 16vsMinnesotaW 20–⁠076%
Oct 23vsIllinoisW 13–⁠066%
Oct 30atNavyL 0–⁠1055%
Nov 6vsWisconsinW 37–⁠070%
Nov 13atOhio StateW 17–⁠1655%
Nov 20atMinnesotaW 7–⁠658%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Minnesota 7–⁠6; Western Conference champions.

In program history: The 54th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 140 on file).

Photographs from 1926

Photographs from the Library of Congress’s Prints & Photographs Division, with no known restrictions on publication. Captions as each collection catalogues them.

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1926.

Western Conference champions5–⁠0 in the conference, shared with Northwestern

2 consensus All-AmericansBennie Oosterbaan, E; Benny Friedman, QB

Record
7–⁠1
Conference
5–⁠0 shared first in Western Conference
AP poll
Began in 1936
Points
191–⁠38
Coach
Fielding Yost
Elo
1691 +58 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
23.8 No. 2 of 96 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captain
Benny Friedman
Most valuable player
Benny Friedman

All-Big Ten

3 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

  • Ray BaerOTAP-2; UP-3; BE-2
  • John LovetteOGAP-2; UP-3; BE-2
  • Louis GilbertRBUP-3; BE-2

From Wikipedia’s 1926 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1926 Western Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Northwestern5–⁠07–⁠1
Michigan5–⁠07–⁠1
Ohio State3–⁠17–⁠1
Purdue2–⁠1–⁠15–⁠2–⁠1
Wisconsin3–⁠2–⁠15–⁠2–⁠1
Illinois2–⁠26–⁠2
Minnesota2–⁠25–⁠3
Iowa0–⁠53–⁠5
Indiana0–⁠43–⁠5
Chicago0–⁠52–⁠6

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.