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1985 Michigan

10–⁠1–⁠1 (6–⁠1–⁠1 Big Ten), coached by Bo Schembechler, finished No. 2 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Michigan in 1985, game by game: won vs. No. 13 Notre Dame 20–12; won at No. 15 South Carolina 34–3; won vs. No. 17 Maryland 20–0; won vs. Wisconsin 33–6; won at Michigan State 31–0; lost at No. 1 Iowa 10–12; won vs. Indiana 42–15; tied at Illinois 3–3; won vs. Purdue 47–0; won at Minnesota 48–7; won vs. No. 12 Ohio State 27–17; won vs. No. 7 Nebraska 27–23+47−2Won 20–12 vs. No. 13 Notre Dame+8No. 13 Notre DameWon 34–3 at No. 15 South Carolina+31No. 15 South CarolinaWon 20–0 vs. No. 17 Maryland+20No. 17 MarylandWon 33–6 vs. Wisconsin+27WisconsinWon 31–0 at Michigan State+31Michigan StateLost 10–12 at No. 1 Iowa-2No. 1 IowaWon 42–15 vs. Indiana+27IndianaTied 3–3 at Illinois0IllinoisWon 47–0 vs. Purdue+47PurdueWon 48–7 at Minnesota+41MinnesotaWon 27–17 vs. No. 12 Ohio State+10No. 12 Ohio StateWon 27–23 vs. No. 7 Nebraska+4No. 7 Nebraska
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 14vs13Notre DameW 20–⁠1253%
Sep 21at15South CarolinaW 34–⁠339%
Sep 28vs17MarylandW 20–⁠049%
Oct 5vsWisconsinW 33–⁠662%
Oct 12atMichigan StateW 31–⁠067%
Oct 19at1IowaL 10–⁠1242%
Oct 26vsIndianaW 42–⁠1586%
Nov 2atIllinoisT 3–⁠358%
Nov 9vsPurdueW 47–⁠081%
Nov 16atMinnesotaW 48–⁠768%
Nov 23vs12Ohio StateW 27–⁠1764%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs7NebraskaFiesta BowlW 27–⁠2351%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Nebraska 27–⁠23 in the Fiesta Bowl; No. 2 in the final AP poll; 2nd in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 16th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 140 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 4: 19
  2. Wk 5: 12
  3. Wk 6: 7
  4. Wk 7: 3
  5. Wk 8: 2
  6. Wk 9: 4
  7. Wk 10: 4
  8. Wk 11: 9
  9. Wk 12: 8
  10. Wk 13: 6
  11. Wk 14: 5
  12. Wk 15: 5
  13. Wk 16: 5
  14. Final: 2

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 1985.

Led the nationJim Harbaugh: passer rating (163.7)

2 consensus All-AmericansMike Hammerstein, DT; Brad Cochran, DB

Record
10–⁠1–⁠1
Conference
6–⁠1–⁠1 2nd in Big Ten
AP final
No. 2 peak No. 2
Points
342–⁠98
Coach
Bo Schembechler
Elo
1752 +207 this season
SP+ rating
31.7 No. 1 of 106; offense No. 11, defense No. 1
SRS
26.3 No. 1 of 110 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
Gary Moeller
Captains
Brad Cochran, Eric Kattus and Mike Mallory
Most valuable player
Mike Hammerstein

Drafted in 1986

The 1986 draft
Rd 3Mike Hammerstein DTCincinnati Bengals
Rd 3Brad Cochran DBLos Angeles Raiders
Rd 4Eric Kattus TECincinnati Bengals

All-Big Ten

6 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

  • Billy HarrisDLUPI-2
  • Andy MoellerLBAP-2; UPI-2
  • Garland RiversDBAP-2; UPI-2

From Wikipedia’s 1985 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1985 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Iowa7–⁠110–⁠210
Michigan6–⁠1–⁠110–⁠1–⁠12
Illinois5–⁠2–⁠16–⁠5–⁠1
Ohio State5–⁠39–⁠314
Michigan State5–⁠37–⁠5
Minnesota4–⁠47–⁠5
Purdue3–⁠55–⁠6
Wisconsin2–⁠65–⁠6
Indiana1–⁠74–⁠7
Northwestern1–⁠73–⁠8

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