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1956 Michigan

7–⁠2 (5–⁠2 Big Ten), coached by Bennie Oosterbaan, finished No. 7 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Michigan in 1956, game by game: won vs. UCLA 42–13; lost vs. No. 2 Michigan State 0–9; won vs. No. 15 Army 48–14; won vs. Northwestern 34–20; lost vs. Minnesota 7–20; won at No. 7 Iowa 17–14; won vs. Illinois 17–7; won vs. Indiana 49–26; won at No. 12 Ohio State 19–0+34−13Won 42–13 vs. UCLA+29UCLALost 0–9 vs. No. 2 Michigan State-9No. 2 Michigan StateWon 48–14 vs. No. 15 Army+34No. 15 ArmyWon 34–20 vs. Northwestern+14NorthwesternLost 7–20 vs. Minnesota-13MinnesotaWon 17–14 at No. 7 Iowa+3No. 7 IowaWon 17–7 vs. Illinois+10IllinoisWon 49–26 vs. Indiana+23IndianaWon 19–0 at No. 12 Ohio State+19No. 12 Ohio State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 29vsUCLAW 42–⁠1342%
Oct 6vs2Michigan StateL 0–⁠948%
Oct 13vs15ArmyW 48–⁠1453%
Oct 20vsNorthwesternW 34–⁠2085%
Oct 27vsMinnesotaL 7–⁠2066%
Nov 3at7IowaW 17–⁠1442%
Nov 10vsIllinoisW 17–⁠770%
Nov 17vsIndianaW 49–⁠2680%
Nov 24at12Ohio StateW 19–⁠035%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Ohio State 19–⁠0; No. 7 in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 64th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 140 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 8
  2. Wk 2: 13
  3. Wk 3: 5
  4. Wk 4: 12
  5. Wk 5: 8
  6. Wk 6: 5
  7. Wk 7: 17
  8. Wk 8: 10
  9. Wk 9: 10
  10. Wk 10: 9
  11. Wk 11: 7
  12. 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 1956.

Consensus All-AmericanRon Kramer, E

Record
7–⁠2
Conference
5–⁠2 tied for 2nd in Big Ten
AP final
No. 7 peak No. 5
Points
233–⁠123
Coach
Bennie Oosterbaan
Elo
1674 +105 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
22.9 No. 5 of 111 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captain
Tom Maentz
Most valuable player
Dick Hill

Drafted in 1957

The 1957 draft
Rd 1Ron Kramer EGreen Bay Packers
Rd 2Tom Maentz EChicago Cardinals
Rd 3Terry Barr RBDetroit Lions
Rd 7Mike Rotunno CCleveland Browns

All-Big Ten

3 first team, 2 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1956 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1956 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Iowa5–⁠19–⁠13
Michigan5–⁠27–⁠27
Minnesota4–⁠1–⁠26–⁠1–⁠212
Michigan State4–⁠27–⁠29
Ohio State4–⁠26–⁠315
Northwestern3–⁠3–⁠14–⁠4–⁠1
Purdue1–⁠4–⁠23–⁠4–⁠2
Illinois1–⁠4–⁠22–⁠5–⁠2
Wisconsin0–⁠4–⁠31–⁠5–⁠3
Indiana1–⁠53–⁠6

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