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1948 Michigan

9–⁠0 (6–⁠0 Western Conference), coached by Bennie Oosterbaan, finished No. 1 in the AP poll.

Michigan, 1948
Photo: Unidentified (Michiganensian is the University of Michigan yearbook published by University of Michigan), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Schedule and results

Michigan in 1948, game by game: won at Michigan State 13–7; won vs. Oregon 14–0; won at No. 15 Purdue 40–0; won vs. No. 3 Northwestern 28–0; won at No. 13 Minnesota 27–14; won vs. Illinois 28–20; won vs. Navy 35–0; won vs. Indiana 54–0; won at No. 18 Ohio State 13–3+54Won 13–7 at Michigan State+6Michigan StateWon 14–0 vs. Oregon+14OregonWon 40–0 at No. 15 Purdue+40No. 15 PurdueWon 28–0 vs. No. 3 Northwestern+28No. 3 NorthwesternWon 27–14 at No. 13 Minnesota+13No. 13 MinnesotaWon 28–20 vs. Illinois+8IllinoisWon 35–0 vs. Navy+35NavyWon 54–0 vs. Indiana+54IndianaWon 13–3 at No. 18 Ohio State+10No. 18 Ohio State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 25atMichigan StateW 13–⁠763%
Oct 2vsOregonW 14–⁠078%
Oct 9at15PurdueW 40–⁠074%
Oct 16vs3NorthwesternW 28–⁠079%
Oct 23at13MinnesotaW 27–⁠1466%
Oct 30vsIllinoisW 28–⁠2084%
Nov 6vsNavyW 35–⁠094%
Nov 13vsIndianaW 54–⁠088%
Nov 20at18Ohio StateW 13–⁠369%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Ohio State 13–⁠3; No. 1 in the final AP poll; Western Conference champions.

In program history: The 4th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 140 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 7
  2. Wk 2: 4
  3. Wk 3: 1
  4. Wk 4: 1
  5. Wk 5: 2
  6. Wk 6: 1
  7. Wk 7: 1
  8. Wk 8: 1
  9. Final: 1

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 1948.

National championsNo. 1 in the final AP poll, and a title the school claims

Western Conference champions6–⁠0 in the conference

2 consensus All-AmericansDick Rifenberg, E; Alvin Wistert, OT

Bennie Oosterbaan’s first season: 9–⁠0 and No. 1 in the final AP poll.

Record
9–⁠0
Conference
6–⁠0 first in Western Conference
AP final
No. 1 peak No. 1
Points
252–⁠44
Coach
Bennie Oosterbaan
Elo
1802 +104 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
28.3 No. 1 of 117 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captain
Bruce Hilkene
Most valuable player
Dominic Tomasi

Drafted in 1949

The 1949 draft
Rd 2Dan Dworsky CGreen Bay Packers
Rd 4Dick Rifenburg ENew York Yankees (AAFC)
Rd 4Ralph Kohl OTBaltimore Colts (AAFC)
Rd 5Ed McNeill ECleveland Browns (AAFC)

All-Big Nine

4 first team, 1 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1948 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1948 Western Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Michigan6–⁠09–⁠01
Northwestern5–⁠18–⁠27
Minnesota5–⁠27–⁠216
Ohio State3–⁠36–⁠3
Iowa2–⁠44–⁠5
Purdue2–⁠43–⁠6
Indiana2–⁠42–⁠7
Illinois2–⁠53–⁠6
Wisconsin1–⁠52–⁠7

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