The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/337607
THE WOLVERINE 2014 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 21 M 15 YEARS AGO: 1999 Between 1963-97, just two Big Ten teams man- aged to string together consecutive Rose Bowl appearances: Michigan (1989-90, 1977-79) and Ohio State (1973-76). Meanwhile, Wisconsin had managed just one conference title in that timespan (1993) and had posted 24 seasons with sub-.500 records. That all changed in the late 1990s. The Badgers responded to their 11-1, Big Ten title, Rose Bowl championship season in 1998 with another strong run in 1999. Wisconsin went 10-2 on the year, with a 21-16 loss to Michigan and an inexplicable 17-12 upset loss to 3-8 Cincinnati. Badgers running back Ron Dayne won the Heis- man Trophy, rushing for 1,834 yards as a senior to bring his career tally to 6,397 yards, which still stands as the NCAA Division I record. By beating Stanford 17-9, the Badgers became the first Big Ten team to ever win Rose Bowl in consecutive seasons. BIG TEN TOP FIVE 1. Wisconsin (10-2, 7-1) 2. Michigan (10-2, 6-2) 3. Michigan State (10-3, 6-2) 4. Penn State (10-3, 5-3)* 5. Minnesota (8-4, 5-3) * Vacated due to Jerry Sandusky scandal CHICAGO TRIBUNE SILVER FOOTBALL WINNER Wisconsin running back Ron Dayne BIG TEN COACH OF THE YEAR Glen Mason, Minnesota 20 YEARS AGO: 1994 When Penn State joined the Big Ten prior to the 1993 season, many Nittany Lions fans be- lieved the team would immediately begin a dynasty within the conference. Penn State went 10-2 in its first year in the league, but consecutive losses to Michigan (21-13) and Ohio State (24-6) left the Nittany Lions short of a Big Ten title. The following year, though, Penn State found its groove, breezing through the 1994 season with a 12-0 record. The Nittany Lions' high-powered of- fense averaged 47.0 points per game and posted a resounding 63-14 blowout win over an Ohio State team that was ranked No. 21 at the time. Penn State capped the season with a 38-20 win over Oregon in the Rose Bowl, but voters in both the Associated Press and coaches' polls awarded the national championship to an unde- feated Nebraska team. BIG TEN TOP FIVE 1. Penn State (12-0, 8-0) 2. Ohio State (9-4, 6-2) 3. Wisconsin (8-3-1, 5-2-1) 4. Michigan (8-4, 5-3) 5. Illinois (7-5, 4-4) CHICAGO TRIBUNE SILVER FOOTBALL WINNER Penn State quarterback Kerry Collins BIG TEN COACH OF THE YEAR Joe Paterno, Penn State 25 YEARS AGO: 1989 After a disappointing 8-4 campaign in 1987 and an 0-2 start to the 1988 season, Michigan went on a tear. The Wolverines capped the 1988 campaign on a 9-0-1 run, including a 22-14 win over USC in the Rose Bowl, and continued its hot streak into 1989. That season, Bo Schembechler's last as the Wol- verines' head coach, started with a 24-19 loss to Notre Dame before the Wolverines rattled off 10 consecutive victories, including a 10-7 win at Mich- igan State, a 24-10 victory over Big Ten runner-up Illinois and a 28-18 beating of rival Ohio State. The Wolverines fell to USC (17-10) in the Rose Bowl in Schembechler's last game at the helm, but the 10-win streak was enough to earn the coach his 13th Big Ten title, including crowns in each of his last two years with the team. Indiana running back Anthony Thompson racked up 358 carries for 1,793 yards and 24 touch- downs, and became one of just four players to win the Chicago Tribune Silver Football Award, given annually to the Big Ten's best player, in back-to- back seasons (Minnesota's Paul Giel, 1952-53; Ohio State's Archie Griffin, 1973-74; and Ohio State's Braxton Miller, 2012-13). BIG TEN TOP FIVE 1. Michigan (10-2, 8-0) 2. Illinois (10-2, 7-1) 3. Michigan State (8-4, 6-2) 4. Ohio State (8-4, 6-2) 5. Minnesota (6-5, 4-4) CHICAGO TRIBUNE SILVER FOOTBALL WINNER Indiana running back Anthony Thompson BIG TEN COACH OF THE YEAR Bo Schembechler, Michigan (coaches) and John Mackovic, Illinois (media) 50 YEARS AGO: 1964 In the mid-1960s, the Wolverines' were mired in middling performances and mediocre seasons. After Michigan claimed the 1948 national cham- pionship with a 9-0 record, the program did not win more than seven games in a single season the next 15 years, with five sub-.500 records mixed in. The Wolverines went a combined 5-11-2 be- tween 1962 and 1963, but they climbed out of the doldrums the following season to win their first Big Ten title since 1950. Michigan, which went on to beat Oregon State (34-7) in the Rose Bowl, stumbled just once all sea- son, a tough 21-20 setback against Purdue. BIG TEN TOP FIVE 1. Michigan (9-1, 6-1) 2. Ohio State (7-2, 5-1) 3. Purdue (6-3, 5-2) 4. Illinois (6-3, 4-3) 5. Minnesota (5-4, 4-3) CHICAGO TRIBUNE SILVER FOOTBALL WINNER Michigan quarterback Bob Timberlake BIG TEN COACH OF THE YEAR (Not Given Out Until 1972) — Andy Reid In 2004, the year of Michigan's most recent Big Ten title, wide receiver Braylon Edwards won the Chicago Tribune Silver Football award, given to the best player in the conference. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN 8,10-12,14-28,30-32.IMA.indd 21 6/20/14 8:35 AM