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1969 Michigan

8–⁠3 (6–⁠1 Big Ten), coached by Bo Schembechler, finished No. 9 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Michigan in 1969, game by game: won vs. Vanderbilt 42–14; won vs. Washington 45–7; lost vs. No. 9 Missouri 17–40; won vs. No. 9 Purdue 31–20; lost at Michigan State 12–23; won at Minnesota 35–9; won vs. Wisconsin 35–7; won at Illinois 57–0; won at Iowa 51–6; won vs. No. 1 Ohio State 24–12; lost vs. No. 5 USC 3–10+57−23Won 42–14 vs. Vanderbilt+28VanderbiltWon 45–7 vs. Washington+38WashingtonLost 17–40 vs. No. 9 Missouri-23No. 9 MissouriWon 31–20 vs. No. 9 Purdue+11No. 9 PurdueLost 12–23 at Michigan State-11Michigan StateWon 35–9 at Minnesota+26MinnesotaWon 35–7 vs. Wisconsin+28WisconsinWon 57–0 at Illinois+57IllinoisWon 51–6 at Iowa+45IowaWon 24–12 vs. No. 1 Ohio State+12No. 1 Ohio StateLost 3–10 vs. No. 5 USC-7No. 5 USC
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 20vsVanderbiltW 42–⁠1468%
Sep 27vsWashingtonW 45–⁠775%
Oct 4vs9MissouriL 17–⁠4055%
Oct 11vs9PurdueW 31–⁠2046%
Oct 18atMichigan StateL 12–⁠2352%
Oct 25atMinnesotaW 35–⁠958%
Nov 1vsWisconsinW 35–⁠787%
Nov 8atIllinoisW 57–⁠081%
Nov 15atIowaW 51–⁠664%
Nov 22vs1Ohio StateW 24–⁠1243%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs5USCRose BowlL 3–⁠1039%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to USC 10–⁠3 in the Rose Bowl; No. 9 in the final AP poll; Big Ten champions.

In program history: The 72nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 140 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 2: 20
  2. Wk 3: 13
  3. Wk 5: 13
  4. Wk 7: 20
  5. Wk 8: 18
  6. Wk 9: 14
  7. Wk 10: 12
  8. Wk 11: 7
  9. Wk 12: 7
  10. Wk 13: 7
  11. Final: 9

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 1969.

Big Ten champions6–⁠1 in the conference, shared with Ohio State

2 consensus All-AmericansJim Mandich, TE; Tom Curtis, S

Eddie Robinson Coach of the YearBo Schembechler, coach; also the Walter Camp Coach

Bo Schembechler’s first season: Michigan upset No. 1 Ohio State 24–⁠12, the start of the Ten-Year War with Woody Hayes. Bo had a heart attack the night before the Rose Bowl, which Michigan lost 10–⁠3 to USC.

Record
8–⁠3
Conference
6–⁠1 shared first in Big Ten
AP final
No. 9 peak No. 7
Points
352–⁠148
Coach
Bo Schembechler
Elo
1658 +91 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
24.0 No. 12 of 122 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
Jim Young
Captain
Jim Mandich
Most valuable player
Jim Mandich

Drafted in 1970

The 1970 draft
Rd 2Jim Mandich TEMiami Dolphins
Rd 5Cecil Pryor DEGreen Bay Packers
Rd 5Barry Pierson DBSt. Louis Cardinals

All-Big Ten

6 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1969 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1969 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ohio State6–⁠18–⁠14
Michigan6–⁠18–⁠39
Purdue5–⁠28–⁠218
Minnesota4–⁠34–⁠5–⁠1
Iowa3–⁠45–⁠5
Indiana3–⁠44–⁠6
Wisconsin3–⁠43–⁠7
Northwestern3–⁠43–⁠7
Michigan State2–⁠54–⁠6
Illinois0–⁠70–⁠10

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