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1977 Michigan

10–⁠2 (7–⁠1 Big Ten), coached by Bo Schembechler, finished No. 9 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Michigan in 1977, game by game: won at Illinois 37–9; won vs. Duke 21–9; won vs. Navy 14–7; won vs. No. 5 Texas A&M 41–3; won at Michigan State 24–14; won vs. No. 14 Wisconsin 56–0; lost at Minnesota 0–16; won vs. Iowa 23–6; won vs. Northwestern 63–20; won at Purdue 40–7; won vs. No. 4 Ohio State 14–6; lost vs. No. 13 Washington 20–27+56−16Won 37–9 at Illinois+28IllinoisWon 21–9 vs. Duke+12DukeWon 14–7 vs. Navy+7NavyWon 41–3 vs. No. 5 Texas A&M+38No. 5 Texas A&MWon 24–14 at Michigan State+10Michigan StateWon 56–0 vs. No. 14 Wisconsin+56No. 14 WisconsinLost 0–16 at Minnesota-16MinnesotaWon 23–6 vs. Iowa+17IowaWon 63–20 vs. Northwestern+43NorthwesternWon 40–7 at Purdue+33PurdueWon 14–6 vs. No. 4 Ohio State+8No. 4 Ohio StateLost 20–27 vs. No. 13 Washington-7No. 13 Washington
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 10atIllinoisW 37–⁠967%
Sep 17vsDukeW 21–⁠981%
Sep 24vsNavyW 14–⁠779%
Oct 1vs5Texas A&MW 41–⁠356%
Oct 8atMichigan StateW 24–⁠1475%
Oct 15vs14WisconsinW 56–⁠080%
Oct 22atMinnesotaL 0–⁠1676%
Oct 29vsIowaW 23–⁠688%
Nov 5vsNorthwesternW 63–⁠2095%
Nov 12atPurdueW 40–⁠769%
Nov 19vs4Ohio StateW 14–⁠656%
Jan 2Bowls & playoffvs13WashingtonRose BowlL 20–⁠2767%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Washington 27–⁠20 in the Rose Bowl; No. 9 in the final AP poll; Big Ten champions.

In program history: The 31st-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: 3
  5. Wk 5: 3
  6. Wk 6: 1
  7. Wk 7: 1
  8. Wk 8: 6
  9. Wk 9: 6
  10. Wk 10: 6
  11. Wk 11: 5
  12. Wk 12: 4
  13. Wk 13: 4
  14. 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 1977.

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

Consensus All-AmericanMark Donahue, OG

Bobby Dodd Coach of the YearBo Schembechler, coach

Record
10–⁠2
Conference
7–⁠1 shared first in Big Ten
AP final
No. 9 peak No. 1
Points
353–⁠124
Coach
Bo Schembechler
Elo
1735 +67 this season
SP+ rating
22.4 No. 13 of 140; offense No. 19, defense No. 10
SRS
22.9 No. 9 of 145 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
Bill McCartney
Captains
Walt Downing and Dwight Hicks
Most valuable player
Russell Davis

Drafted in 1978

The 1978 draft
Rd 1Mike Kenn OTAtlanta Falcons
Rd 1John Anderson LBGreen Bay Packers
Rd 2Walt Downing OGSan Francisco 49ers
Rd 6Dwight Hicks DBDetroit Lions

All-Big Ten

9 first team, 5 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1977 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1977 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Michigan7–⁠110–⁠29
Ohio State7–⁠19–⁠311
Michigan State6–⁠1–⁠17–⁠3–⁠1
Indiana4–⁠3–⁠15–⁠5–⁠1
Minnesota4–⁠47–⁠5
Purdue3–⁠55–⁠6
Iowa3–⁠54–⁠7
Wisconsin3–⁠65–⁠6
Illinois2–⁠63–⁠8
Northwestern1–⁠81–⁠10

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