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1949 Michigan

6–⁠2–⁠1 (4–⁠1–⁠1 Western Conference), coached by Bennie Oosterbaan, finished No. 7 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Michigan in 1949, game by game: won vs. Michigan State 7–3; won at Stanford 27–7; lost vs. No. 7 Army 7–21; lost at Northwestern 20–21; won vs. No. 3 Minnesota 14–7; won at Illinois 13–0; won vs. Purdue 20–12; won vs. Indiana 20–7; tied at No. 7 Ohio State 7–7+20−14Won 7–3 vs. Michigan State+4Michigan StateWon 27–7 at Stanford+20StanfordLost 7–21 vs. No. 7 Army-14No. 7 ArmyLost 20–21 at Northwestern-1NorthwesternWon 14–7 vs. No. 3 Minnesota+7No. 3 MinnesotaWon 13–0 at Illinois+13IllinoisWon 20–12 vs. Purdue+8PurdueWon 20–7 vs. Indiana+13IndianaTied 7–7 at No. 7 Ohio State0No. 7 Ohio State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 24vsMichigan StateW 7–⁠372%
Oct 1atStanfordW 27–⁠771%
Oct 8vs7ArmyL 7–⁠2163%
Oct 15atNorthwesternL 20–⁠2162%
Oct 22vs3MinnesotaW 14–⁠759%
Oct 29atIllinoisW 13–⁠067%
Nov 5vsPurdueW 20–⁠1285%
Nov 12vsIndianaW 20–⁠790%
Nov 19at7Ohio StateT 7–⁠770%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Tied Ohio State 7–⁠7; No. 7 in the final AP poll; Western Conference champions.

In program history: The 35th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 140 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 1
  2. Wk 2: 7
  3. Wk 3: 12
  4. Wk 4: 6
  5. Wk 5: 5
  6. Wk 6: 5
  7. Wk 7: 5
  8. Wk 8: 6
  9. Final: 7

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 1949.

Western Conference champions4–⁠1–⁠1 in the conference, shared with Ohio State

Consensus All-AmericanAlvin Wistert, OT

Record
6–⁠2–⁠1
Conference
4–⁠1–⁠1 shared first in Western Conference
AP final
No. 7 peak No. 1
Points
135–⁠85
Coach
Bennie Oosterbaan
Elo
1722 +20 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
21.1 No. 7 of 119 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captain
Alvin Wistert
Most valuable player
Dick Kempthorn

All-Big Nine

3 first team, 1 second team

First team

Second team

  • Robert WahlOGAP-2

From Wikipedia’s 1949 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1949 Western Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ohio State4–⁠1–⁠17–⁠1–⁠26
Michigan4–⁠1–⁠16–⁠2–⁠17
Minnesota4–⁠27–⁠28
Wisconsin3–⁠2–⁠15–⁠3–⁠1
Iowa3–⁠34–⁠5
Illinois3–⁠3–⁠13–⁠4–⁠2
Northwestern3–⁠44–⁠5
Purdue2–⁠44–⁠5
Indiana0–⁠61–⁠8

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