CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1976 Michigan

10–⁠2 (7–⁠1 Big Ten), coached by Bo Schembechler, finished No. 3 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Michigan in 1976, game by game: won vs. Wisconsin 40–27; won vs. Stanford 51–0; won vs. Navy 70–14; won vs. Wake Forest 31–0; won vs. Michigan State 42–10; won at Northwestern 38–7; won at Indiana 35–0; won vs. Minnesota 45–0; lost at Purdue 14–16; won vs. Illinois 38–7; won at No. 8 Ohio State 22–0; lost vs. No. 3 USC 6–14+56−8Won 40–27 vs. Wisconsin+13WisconsinWon 51–0 vs. Stanford+51StanfordWon 70–14 vs. Navy+56NavyWon 31–0 vs. Wake Forest+31Wake ForestWon 42–10 vs. Michigan State+32Michigan StateWon 38–7 at Northwestern+31NorthwesternWon 35–0 at Indiana+35IndianaWon 45–0 vs. Minnesota+45MinnesotaLost 14–16 at Purdue-2PurdueWon 38–7 vs. Illinois+31IllinoisWon 22–0 at No. 8 Ohio State+22No. 8 Ohio StateLost 6–14 vs. No. 3 USC-8No. 3 USC
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 11vsWisconsinW 40–⁠2780%
Sep 18vsStanfordW 51–⁠076%
Sep 25vsNavyW 70–⁠1478%
Oct 2vsWake ForestW 31–⁠087%
Oct 9vsMichigan StateW 42–⁠1079%
Oct 16atNorthwesternW 38–⁠788%
Oct 23atIndianaW 35–⁠081%
Oct 30vsMinnesotaW 45–⁠084%
Nov 6atPurdueL 14–⁠1680%
Nov 13vsIllinoisW 38–⁠785%
Nov 20at8Ohio StateW 22–⁠038%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs3USCRose BowlL 6–⁠1453%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to USC 14–⁠6 in the Rose Bowl; No. 3 in the final AP poll; Big Ten champions.

In program history: The 17th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 140 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

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 1976.

Big Ten champions7–⁠1 in the conference, shared with Ohio State

Heisman voteRob Lytle, third

Led the nationJim Smith: yards per catch (27.5)

2 consensus All-AmericansMark Donahue, OG; Rob Lytle, RB

Record
10–⁠2
Conference
7–⁠1 shared first in Big Ten
AP final
No. 3 peak No. 1
Points
432–⁠95
Coach
Bo Schembechler
Elo
1751 +101 this season
SP+ rating
29.0 No. 1 of 132; offense No. 2, defense No. 10
SRS
30.2 No. 1 of 137 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
Gary Moeller
Captains
Kirk Lewis, Rob Lytle and Calvin O’Neal
Most valuable player
Rob Lytle

Drafted in 1977

The 1977 draft
Rd 2Rob Lytle RBDenver Broncos
Rd 3Jim Smith WRPittsburgh Steelers
Rd 6Calvin O’Neal LBBaltimore Colts

All-Big Ten

9 first team, 7 second team

First team

Second team

  • Gene JohnsonTEUPI-2
  • Kirk LewisOGAP-2
  • Mike KennOTUPI-2
  • Dwight HicksDBAP-2
  • Jim PickensDBUPI-2
  • Jerry ZuverDBUPI-2
  • Bob WoodKUPI-2

From Wikipedia’s 1976 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1976 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Michigan7–⁠110–⁠23
Ohio State7–⁠19–⁠2–⁠16
Minnesota4–⁠46–⁠5
Illinois4–⁠45–⁠6
Purdue4–⁠45–⁠6
Indiana4–⁠45–⁠6
Iowa3–⁠55–⁠6
Wisconsin3–⁠55–⁠6
Michigan State3–⁠54–⁠6–⁠1
Northwestern1–⁠71–⁠10

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