NCAA college football has a long and storied past, dating back to the 19th century. One example of this heritage is the University of Michigan Wolverines - they played their first game in 1879, making them the fourth oldest program in the country. The Wolverines have become a powerhouse in the Big Ten Conference. Their all-time statistics are impressive: a record of 950-343-35 across 132 seasons, 48 bowl bids, and 886 total weeks in the Associated Press poll of top teams. While building this record, three Wolverines have won the prestigious Heisman Trophy: Tom Harmon (1940), Desmond Howard (1991), and Charles Woodson (1997). Michigan has made the list of national champions 11 times, mostly in the first half of the 20th century. Their last national crown came in 1997 with a perfect 12-0 record. In 2021, they finished the regular season 12-1, going 8-1 in conference play, taking the conference championship, and securing an invitation to the Capital One Orange Bowl against Georgia. Rivalries have livened up the team’s history. One perennial pairing is the Michigan-Ohio State matchup, which the Wolverines have won 59 times with 51 losses and six ties since the series debuted in 1897. The boys from Ann Arbor dominated the early decades of the series, but then the initiative swung to Ohio State after the 1930s. Neither team was able to win three in a row in the 1970s and 1980s, but Ohio State has dominated the series since 2001. Michigan snapped an eight-game losing streak in 2021 with a 42-27 win. In-state rival Michigan State has also proven a tough competitor. The teams began playing in 1898 and have competed annually since 1945, with Michigan leading the series 71-38-5.

1. 132 Seasons - The Michigan Wolverines’
Football Heritage
Joseph Vessecchia

2. Introduction
NCAA college football has a long and storied past, dating back to the 19th
century. One example of this heritage is the University of Michigan Wolverines -
they played their first game in 1879, making them the fourth oldest program in
the country.

3. The Wolverines have become a powerhouse in the Big Ten Conference. Their
all-time statistics are impressive: a record of 950-343-35 across 132 seasons,
48 bowl bids, and 886 total weeks in the Associated Press poll of top teams.
While building this record, three Wolverines have won the prestigious Heisman
Trophy: Tom Harmon (1940), Desmond Howard (1991), and Charles Woodson
(1997).

4. Michigan has made the list of national champions 11 times, mostly in the first
half of the 20th century. Their last national crown came in 1997 with a perfect
12-0 record. In 2021, they finished the regular season 12-1, going 8-1 in
conference play, taking the conference championship, and securing an
invitation to the Capital One Orange Bowl against Georgia.

5. Rivalries have livened up the team’s history. One perennial pairing is the
Michigan-Ohio State matchup, which the Wolverines have won 59 times with
51 losses and six ties since the series debuted in 1897.

6. The boys from Ann Arbor dominated the early decades of the series, but then
the initiative swung to Ohio State after the 1930s. Neither team was able to
win three in a row in the 1970s and 1980s, but Ohio State has dominated the
series since 2001. Michigan snapped an eight-game losing streak in 2021 with
a 42-27 win.

7. In-state rival Michigan State has also proven a tough competitor. The teams
began playing in 1898 and have competed annually since 1945, with Michigan
leading the series 71-38-5.

8. The victor receives the coveted Paul Bunyan Trophy, which features a four-
foot statue of the mythic hero. Wolverine winning streaks have been as long
as eight (1970-1977) and six (2002-2007). They lost their 2021 meeting, 37-
33.

9. Another well-known award, the Little Brown Jug, goes to the winner of the
Michigan-Minnesota game. The honor dates back to 1903, when Michigan
coach Fielding Yost was not sure if the opposition would provide clean
drinking water.

10. He purchased a five-gallon water container in Minneapolis to be sure. The two
undefeated teams tied in a nevertheless exciting game and the jug became an
annual award for the winner. Michigan leads the series 76-25-3, with
Minnesota prevailing in 49-24 in 2020.

11. In another conference series, Michigan and Northwestern played sporadically
beginning in 1903, with games becoming an almost yearly event in 1932. The
Wolverines dominate the rivalry, 59-15-2, coming out on top for seven straight
games starting in 2011, including a 33-7 win in 2021. The winner receives a
trophy named for George Jewett, a former player and doctor with ties to both
schools.

12. A number of Wolverines have advanced to the National Football League (NFL);
currently about 50 play professionally. Six of them are on the New England
Patriots roster, which earlier included stellar ex-Michigan quarterback Tom
Brady. Four teams sport three alumni: the Green Bay Packers, Kansas City
Chiefs, Pittsburgh Steelers, and New York Giants.

13. In addition to Brady, several other alumni stand out from earlier NFL seasons.
Quarterback Benny Friedman, an early master of the forward pass, played for
four teams in the 1930s and earned a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Another vintage player, defensive end Len Ford, stayed eight years at the
Cleveland Browns in the 1950s and also made it to the Hall of Fame. Hall of
Famer Dan Dierdorf played 13 years for the St. Louis Cardinals as an offensive
lineman from 1971 to 1983.

14. In the modern era, cornerback Ty Law competed 15 years in the NFL and won
three Super Bowl rings with the Patriots. At the same time, defensive back
Charles Woodson advanced twice to the championship with the Oakland
Raiders and the Green Bay Packers and was selected eight times for the Pro
Bowl.