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1979 Michigan

8–⁠4 (6–⁠2 Big Ten), coached by Bo Schembechler, finished No. 18 in the AP poll.

Michigan, 1979
Photo: Robert Kalmbach, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Schedule and results

Michigan in 1979, game by game: won vs. Northwestern 49–7; lost vs. No. 9 Notre Dame 10–12; won vs. Kansas 28–7; won at California 14–10; won at No. 16 Michigan State 21–7; won vs. Minnesota 31–21; won at Illinois 27–7; won vs. Indiana 27–21; won vs. Wisconsin 54–0; lost at No. 14 Purdue 21–24; lost vs. No. 2 Ohio State 15–18; lost vs. North Carolina 15–17+54−3Won 49–7 vs. Northwestern+42NorthwesternLost 10–12 vs. No. 9 Notre Dame-2No. 9 Notre DameWon 28–7 vs. Kansas+21KansasWon 14–10 at California+4CaliforniaWon 21–7 at No. 16 Michigan State+14No. 16 Michigan StateWon 31–21 vs. Minnesota+10MinnesotaWon 27–7 at Illinois+20IllinoisWon 27–21 vs. Indiana+6IndianaWon 54–0 vs. Wisconsin+54WisconsinLost 21–24 at No. 14 Purdue-3No. 14 PurdueLost 15–18 vs. No. 2 Ohio State-3No. 2 Ohio StateLost 15–17 vs. North Carolina-2North Carolina
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 8vsNorthwesternW 49–⁠791%
Sep 15vs9Notre DameL 10–⁠1258%
Sep 22vsKansasW 28–⁠787%
Sep 29atCaliforniaW 14–⁠1056%
Oct 6at16Michigan StateW 21–⁠751%
Oct 13vsMinnesotaW 31–⁠2181%
Oct 20atIllinoisW 27–⁠785%
Oct 27vsIndianaW 27–⁠2182%
Nov 3vsWisconsinW 54–⁠089%
Nov 10at14PurdueL 21–⁠2458%
Nov 17vs2Ohio StateL 15–⁠1858%
Dec 28Bowls & playoffvsNorth CarolinaGator BowlL 15–⁠1762%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to North Carolina 17–⁠15 in the Gator Bowl; No. 18 in the final AP poll; 3rd in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 59th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 140 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 7
  2. Wk 2: 6
  3. Wk 3: 11
  4. Wk 4: 11
  5. Wk 5: 11
  6. Wk 6: 11
  7. Wk 7: 11
  8. Wk 8: 10
  9. Wk 9: 10
  10. Wk 10: 10
  11. Wk 11: 13
  12. Wk 12: 16
  13. Wk 13: 15
  14. Wk 14: 14
  15. Final: 18

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 1979.

Consensus All-AmericanRon Simpkins, LB

Record
8–⁠4
Conference
6–⁠2 3rd in Big Ten
AP final
No. 18 peak No. 6
Points
312–⁠151
Coach
Bo Schembechler
Elo
1685 +22 this season
SP+ rating
17.5 No. 19 of 135; offense No. 30, defense No. 24
SRS
17.6 No. 16 of 140 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
Bill McCartney
Captains
John Arbeznik and Ron Simpkins
Most valuable player
Ron Simpkins

Drafted in 1980

The 1980 draft
Rd 1Curtis Greer DESt. Louis Cardinals
Rd 2Doug Marsh TESt. Louis Cardinals
Rd 2Ralph Clayton WRNew York Jets
Rd 4Mike Jolly DBNew Orleans Saints
Rd 5Mike Harden DBDenver Broncos
Rd 7Ron Simpkins LBCincinnati Bengals

All-Big Ten

6 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1979 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1979 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ohio State8–⁠011–⁠14
Purdue7–⁠110–⁠210
Michigan6–⁠28–⁠418
Indiana5–⁠38–⁠419
Iowa4–⁠45–⁠6
Minnesota3–⁠5–⁠14–⁠6–⁠1
Michigan State3–⁠55–⁠6
Wisconsin3–⁠54–⁠7
Illinois1–⁠6–⁠12–⁠8–⁠1
Northwestern0–⁠91–⁠10

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