24 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2025 FOOTBALL PREVIEW
BY JOHN BORTON
A
sk any hardcore Michigan football
fan if a season can be special with-
out even a Big Ten championship,
and you might draw some skep-
tical glances. Ask anyone veteran
enough to reach back 40 years to the 1985
Wolverines, and they'll assure you — oh,
yes, it can.
When the smoke cleared from a Fiesta
Bowl showdown with then-formidable
Nebraska, Bo Schembechler's crew stood
tall as the No. 2 team in the country. They
led the nation in scoring defense, allow-
ing a mere 6.8 points per game in the reg-
ular season. They outscored a dozen foes
by a combined 342-98. At 10-1-1, they
clawed within two plays of an undefeated
national championship.
They wiped away the bitter taste of a
.500 season the year before, shutting up
those who'd giddily predicted a down-
ward slide for Michigan and Schem-
bechler. The Wolverines of 1985 certainly
felt the stab of almost — ask any of them,
to this day. But most of all, they came
away with a pride and togetherness that
set the stage for many championships to
come, even when their quarterback even-
tually became the head coach.
Satisfaction
TINGED WITH SADNESS
Bo Schembechler's 1985 Wolverines
Reestablished Michigan's Dominance
Head coach Bo Schembechler — pictured here with (left to right) TE Jeffrey Brown (80),
DL Mark Messner (60), OL Dave Chester (64), OL John Vitale (67) and WR John Kolesar
(40) — and his 1985 squad were nearly perfect. The Wolverines finished No. 2 in the
nation, with their only blemishes being a two-point loss and a tie — both on the road.
PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN
