CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1991 Michigan

10–⁠2 (8–⁠0 Big Ten), coached by Gary Moeller, finished No. 6 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Michigan in 1991, game by game: won at Boston College 35–13; won vs. No. 7 Notre Dame 24–14; lost vs. No. 1 Florida State 31–51; won at No. 9 Iowa 43–24; won at Michigan State 45–28; won vs. Indiana 24–16; won at Minnesota 52–6; won vs. Purdue 42–0; won vs. Northwestern 59–14; won at No. 25 Illinois 20–0; won vs. No. 18 Ohio State 31–3; lost vs. No. 2 Washington 14–34+46−20Won 35–13 at Boston College+22Boston CollegeWon 24–14 vs. No. 7 Notre Dame+10No. 7 Notre DameLost 31–51 vs. No. 1 Florida State-20No. 1 Florida StateWon 43–24 at No. 9 Iowa+19No. 9 IowaWon 45–28 at Michigan State+17Michigan StateWon 24–16 vs. Indiana+8IndianaWon 52–6 at Minnesota+46MinnesotaWon 42–0 vs. Purdue+42PurdueWon 59–14 vs. Northwestern+45NorthwesternWon 20–0 at No. 25 Illinois+20No. 25 IllinoisWon 31–3 vs. No. 18 Ohio State+28No. 18 Ohio StateLost 14–34 vs. No. 2 Washington-20No. 2 Washington
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 7atBoston CollegeW 35–⁠1376%
Sep 14vs7Notre DameW 24–⁠1458%
Sep 28vs1Florida StateL 31–⁠5154%
Oct 5at9IowaW 43–⁠2449%
Oct 12atMichigan StateW 45–⁠2872%
Oct 19vsIndianaW 24–⁠1679%
Oct 25atMinnesotaW 52–⁠675%
Nov 2vsPurdueW 42–⁠091%
Nov 9vsNorthwesternW 59–⁠1492%
Nov 16at25IllinoisW 20–⁠063%
Nov 23vs18Ohio StateW 31–⁠376%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs2WashingtonRose BowlL 14–⁠3448%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Washington 34–⁠14 in the Rose Bowl; No. 6 in the final AP poll; Big Ten champions.

In program history: The 13th-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: 2
  3. Wk 3: 3
  4. Wk 4: 3
  5. Wk 5: 3
  6. Wk 6: 7
  7. Wk 7: 5
  8. Wk 8: 4
  9. Wk 9: 4
  10. Wk 10: 4
  11. Wk 11: 4
  12. Wk 12: 4
  13. Wk 13: 4
  14. Wk 14: 4
  15. Wk 15: 4
  16. Final: 6

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 1991.

Big Ten champions8–⁠0 in the conference

Led the nationElvis Grbac: passer rating (169.0); Desmond Howard: receiving touchdowns (19 TD)

Heisman TrophyDesmond Howard, WR/PR; also the Maxwell and Walter Camp

Butkus AwardErick Anderson, LB

2 consensus All-AmericansDesmond Howard, WR/PR; Greg Skrepenak, OT

Desmond Howard won the Heisman Trophy; his punt-return touchdown against Ohio State ended with the pose.

Record
10–⁠2
Conference
8–⁠0 first in Big Ten
AP final
No. 6 peak No. 2
Points
420–⁠203
Coach
Gary Moeller
Elo
1764 +90 this season
SP+ rating
28.6 No. 5 of 104; offense No. 5, defense No. 12
SRS
23.2 No. 3 of 107 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
Lloyd Carr
Captains
Erick Anderson and Greg Skrepenak
Most valuable player
Desmond Howard

Drafted in 1992

The 1992 draft
Rd 1Desmond Howard WRWashington Redskins
Rd 2Greg Skrepenak OTLos Angeles Raiders
Rd 4Mike Evans DEKansas City Chiefs
Rd 7Erick Anderson LBKansas City Chiefs

All-Big Ten

8 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1991 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1991 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Michigan8–⁠010–⁠26
Iowa7–⁠110–⁠1–⁠110
Ohio State5–⁠38–⁠4
Indiana5–⁠37–⁠4–⁠1
Illinois4–⁠46–⁠6
Purdue3–⁠54–⁠7
Michigan State3–⁠53–⁠8
Wisconsin2–⁠65–⁠6
Northwestern2–⁠63–⁠8
Minnesota1–⁠72–⁠9

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