AP No. 9 | Coaches No. 8 1977 record 10–2 (7–1 Big Ten) | |
Defensive coordinator Bill McCartney (1st year) | ||
The 1977 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1977 NCAA Division I football season. In their ninth year under head coach Bo Schembechler, the Wolverines finished the regular season with a 10–1 record, won the Big Ten Conference championship, and lost to Washington in the 1978 Rose Bowl. In the final AP and UPI Polls, Michigan was ranked #9 and #8, respectively.
Contents
- Week 1 at Illinois
- Week 2 Duke
- Week 3 Navy
- Week 4 Texas AM
- Week 5 at Michigan State
- Week 6 Wisconsin
- Week 7 at Minnesota
- Week 8 Iowa
- Week 9 Northwestern
- Week 10 at Purdue
- Offense
- Defense
- Kickers
- Awards
- Coaching staff
- References
On offense, quarterback Rick Leach totaled 1,109 passing yards and 370 rushing yards. Russell Davis led the team with 1,013 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns and was selected as the team's most valuable player. Harlan Huckleby added 743 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns.
Three Michigan players received first-team honors on the 1977 College Football All-America Team: (1) offensive guard Mark Donahue (consensus); (2) center Walt Downing; and (3) linebacker John Anderson.
Week 1: at Illinois
On September 10, 1977, Michigan defeated Illinois, 37-9, at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois, in a game matching Michigan coach Bo Schembechler against his former defensive coordinator, who took over as Illinois' head coach in 1977. The game attracted a crowd of 60,477, the largest opening day crowd in Illinois school history. Michigan quarterback Rick Leach rushed for 78 yards and completed six of 11 passes for 76 yards, including touchdown passes of 30 yards to Ralph Clayton and 11 yards to Gene Johnson. Running back Harlan Huckleby rushed for 128 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries. Russell Davis also rushed for 99 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries.
Week 2: Duke
On September 17, 1977, Michigan (ranked #1 in the AP Poll) defeated Duke, 21-9, in front of a crowd of 104,072 at Michigan Stadium. On the opening kickoff, Harlan Huckleby stepped across the goal line to the one-yard line, then stepped back, with the ball being marked down at the one-yard line. From there, Michigan was penalized for being offside and then for delay of game. Michigan did not score in the first quarter, but then scored two touchdowns in the second quarter. Rick Leach rushed for 99 yards and two touchdowns and complete six of 11 passes for 76 yards. Russell Davis also rushed for 95 yards and a touchdown.
Week 3: Navy
On September 24, 1977, Michigan defeated Navy, 14-7, at Michigan Stadium. Michigan's points were all scored in the second quarter on runs of 13 and 34 yards by running back Harlan Huckleby. Huckleby rushed for 147 yards, and Russell Davis added 93 more, but Navy outgained Michigan by 301 total yards to 277 total yards. Michigan had defeated Navy by 56 points in 1976, and the seven-point victory in 1977 was considered a disappointment. After the game, Michigan dropped from #1 to #3 in the AP and Coaches' Polls.
Week 4: Texas A&M
On October 1, 1977, #3 Michigan defeated #5 Texas A&M, 41-3, in front of 104,802 spectators at Michigan Stadium. Russell Davis rushed for 110 yards and two touchdowns, and Harlan Huckleby added 73 yards and a touchdown. Rick Leach also threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Curt Stephenson. On defense, Ron Simpkins had 14 tackles, recovered a fumble, and blocked a punt that Jim Pickens recovered in the end zone for a touchdown. Mike Jolly also returned an interception 50 yards for a touchdown. After "skimpy victories" over Duke and Navy, the trouncing of the highly rated Aggies was considered "one of [Michigan's] most stunning performances in recent years. Columnist Joe Falls wrote: "It may have been Bo Schembechler's finest coaching job in his nine years at Michigan." Texas A&M coach Emory Bellard said, "Michigan came out in the second half and beat us every way you can beat a football team. . . . Michigan is an outstanding team."
Week 5: at Michigan State
On October 8, 1997, Michigan defeated Michigan State, 24-14, at Spartan Stadium. Michigan State took a 7-0 lead on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Ed Smith to Kirk Gibson. Michigan responded with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Rick Leach to White and a 50-yard field goal to take a 10-7 lead at halftime. Michigan extended its lead to 24-7 in the third quarter on touchdown runs by Russell Davis and Ed Leach. Harlan Huckleby rushed for 146 yards, and Russell Davis added 96 yards. Ralph Clayton caught three passes for 99 yards. Michigan completed four of 10 passes in the game and threw only one pass in the second half.
Week 6: Wisconsin
On October 15, 1977, #1 Michigan defeated undefeated and #14 Wisconsin, 56-0, in front of 104,892 spectators at Michigan Stadium. Rick Leach rushed for 32 yards and a touchdown and completed 10 of 16 passes for 127 yards and touchdown passes to Doug Marsh and Gene Johnson. Roosevelt Smith rushed for 157 yards and two touchdowns, and Russell Davis rushed for 105 yards and a touchdown. Stanley Edwards and B. J. Dickey also scored rushing touchdowns. After the game, Michigan coach Bo Schembechler said, "We played this one as a big game and it turned out that way."
Week 7: at Minnesota
On October 22, 1977, #1 Michigan lost to unranked Minnesota, 16-0, at Memorial Stadium, Minneapolis. All 16 of Minnesota points were scored by Paul Rogind (three field goals and an extra point) and Marion Barber, Jr. (three-yard touchdown run). Both Rogind and Barber were from the State of Michigan—Rogind from Farmington, Michigan and Barber from Detroit. Michigan's offense was shut out for the first time in 112 games dating back to 1967. After the game, Minnesota's players swarmed across the field to reclaim the Little Brown Jug trophy that had been in Michigan's custody for a decade. After the game the Detroit Free Press wrote: "In one fell swoop, Minnesota took away Michigan's No. 1 rating, its undefeated season, and, oh yes, that little chunk of pottery known as the Little Brown Jug."
Week 8: Iowa
On October 29, 1977, Michigan, ranked #6 after losing to Minnesota, defeated Iowa, 23–6, before a crowd of 104,617 at the annual homecoming game at Michigan Stadium. Rick Leach completed nine of 12 passes for 202 yards, including touchdown passes covering 63 yards to Russell Davis, six yards to Gene Johnson, and 32 yards to Rick White. Leach's three touchdown passes gave him 25 for his career, breaking the record of 23 set by Bob Chappuis in the 1940s. Michigan also scored on a safety in the fourth quarter when linebacker Dom Tedesco tackled Iowa's quarterback in the end zone. After the game, Bo Schembechler said, "That was a devastating defeat a week ago. No one will ever know how hard it was to come back from that game."
Week 9: Northwestern
On November 5, 1977, Michigan defeated Northwestern, 63-20, at Michigan Stadium. In the lopsided victory, 77 Michigan players had an opportunity to play in the game. Rick Leach ran for two touchdowns, passed for two more (one to Stanley Edwards, the other to Ralph Clayton), and set a new Michigan's record with 2,664 career passing yards. Late in the game, John Wangler threw a touchdown pass to Alan Mitchell. Michigan totaled 511 yards of total offense.
Week 10: at Purdue
Bo Schembechler's 100th game at Michigan