The 2006 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team's head football coach was Lloyd Carr. The Wolverines played their home games at Michigan Stadium.
The Wolverines came into the season with lower expectations than many Michigan teams of the previous few seasons, ranked #14. They won their first 11 games and rose to No. 2 in the national rankings before losing a close battle in Columbus to top-ranked Ohio State. Michigan concluded their schedule in the Rose Bowl against the USC Trojans. The game was tied 3–3 at half time, but USC pulled away in the second half, handing Michigan their second loss of the season.
The 2006 Michigan Wolverines finished the season with a record of 11–2, ranked No. 8 in the nation, and tied for second in the Big Ten Conference with Wisconsin, whom they defeated, 27–13, early that season.
Schedule
Preseason The 2005 offseason saw a coaching shakeup, prompted by the departure of coordinators Terry Malone and Jim Herrmann. Ron English was promoted from secondary coach to defensive coordinator and Mike DeBord from special teams coach to offensive coordinator, while Steve Szabo and Ron Lee were hired as assistant coaches.
Michigan returned 18 of 22 starters for 2006, one of the highest totals in the nation.
The Wolverines, led by third-year starting quarterback Chad Henne, expected to compete for the Big Ten title and associated BCS bowl bid. The voters of the Coaches Poll and AP poll also expected improvement, respectively ranking Michigan No. 15 and No. 14.
True sophomore Antonio Bass suffered a career ending knee injury in fall practice. Bass was expected to play wide receiver and occasionally quarterback. Projected starting right tackle Mike Kolodziej's career was cut short due to injury just before the season due to unknown medical problems.
Game summaries Vanderbilt
Michigan's defense held the Commodores to 171 total yards of offense (129 passing, 42 rushing). Star junior running back Mike Hart ran for 146 yards on 31 carries to kick off the 2006 season. Defensive coordinator Ron English's squad proved to be considerably more aggressive than recent Wolverine defenses, collecting six sacks and forcing two turnovers (both via lost fumbles). Michigan's offense was led by a strong rushing attack, which unveiled a new scheme using zone blocking. Behind this zone blocking scheme, the Wolverines rushed for 246 yards on the day and averaged 4.8 yards per carry. Michigan scored on their first drive of the game, as Hart busted off several big runs, and true sophomore running back Kevin Grady finished it off with a 19-yard touchdown run. Later in the first, Michigan thought they had a touchdown pass from junior quarterback Chad Henne to true sophomore receiver Mario Manningham. But after reviewing the play, it was ruled that Manningham dropped the ball, and Michigan settled for a 33-yard field-goal by senior kicker Garrett Rivas. In the second quarter, Vanderbilt caught the Wolverines by surprise, as sophomore receiver Earl Bennett completed a halfback toss pass to wide open senior receiver Marlon White for a 30-yard touchdown. Bennett, led the Commodores on the day with 6 catches for 58 yards). On U-M's ensuing drive, Henne hit senior wide receiver Steve Breaston on a short hook route, and Breaston proceeded to make a phenomenal run after the catch, juking out several Commodores before finally being shoved out of bounds. The play went for 29 yards, and it set up a 48-yard field-goal by Rivas. At halftime, it was 13–7 Wolverines. The third quarter was sluggish for both teams, but with 2:29 to go, Henne found senior tight end Tyler Ecker in the back of the end zone for a 14-yard touchdown pass. Ecker made a leaping catch with his arms stretched out in the air, and he managed to haul it down with one foot in the end zone. Vanderbilt wasn't out of it yet, and they advanced to the Michigan 27 yard-line with under 10 minutes to go in the fourth quarter, and a great chance to cut its deficit to one score. However, a 4th down and 5 pass on that drive fell incomplete. Michigan put the game away for good with 2:11 left, as Manningham redeemed himself with a 27-yard bomb of a touchdown catch on 3rd and 10, setting the final score at 27–7. Michigan's defense was vicious all day, as they held Vanderbilt to 1.6 yards per carry. Senior defensive end Rondell Biggs led the Michigan defense with 6 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, and 2 sacks. Grady finished with 5 carries for 30 yards and one touchdown, Manningham had 3 catches for 44 yards and one touchdown, and Breaston led Michigan with 4 catches for 68 yards. Sophomore Quarterback Chris Nickson was Vanderbilt's leading passer and rusher, but he only completed 11 of 25 passes for 99 yards, and he was held to 16 carries for 22 yards on the ground.
Central Michigan
In a game interrupted by the first weather delay in Michigan Stadium history, Michigan kept it on the ground against the Chippewas, rushing 50 times against only 21 pass attempts. The Wolverines running game once again dominated, rushing for 252 yards and averaging 5.0 yards per carry. Their defense was also relentless, holding the Mid-American Conference champions dangerous spread offense to 204 total offensive yards (188 passing and a measly 16 yards rushing).
The game started off badly for Michigan, as Hart fumbled on the game's first play. It was his first fumble since the 2004 game against Iowa, having gone over 700 touches without fumbling. However Manningham recovered the fumble, and Hart scored a 5-yard touchdown run on that opening drive. It was Hart's first touchdown-running or receiving-since midway through the 2005 season, when he scored a third-quarter touchdown run in a 27–25 win over Penn State. Hart had gone six straight games without scoring a touchdown. The Chippewas marched to the U-M 14 yard line directly following Hart's touchdown run, but All-American senior defensive end LaMarr Woodley sacked sensational redshirt freshmen quarterback Dan LeFevour and caused a fumble, which he recovered. Hart added another touchdown run with 1:28 to go in the first quarter, this time from 18 yards out. CMU fumbled and turned the ball over again following Hart's second TD, and the fumble was once again recovered by Woodley. The Wolverines converted that turnover into a 21–0 lead, as Grady crashed in from three yards out with 12:24 left in the second quarter. On the drive following Grady's touchdown, CMU got on the scoreboard, with LeFevour finding junior receiver Justin Gardner for a 38-yard touchdown strike. The two teams then exchanged field-goals, and it was 24–10 Michigan at halftime. The Chippweas got the ball to start the third quarter, and they advanced to the Michigan 34 yard line, but a LeFevour pass on 4th and 7 fell incomplete, and the Wolverines all but put the game away on the ensuing possession. Breaston made a brilliant 26 yard run on a wide receiver reverse, and Hart finished off the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run-his third score of the day. Rivas added his second field goal of the day with 1:22 remaining to give Michigan a 34–10 lead going into the fourth quarter. With 11:41 left in the game, junior outside linebacker Max Pollack intercepted a bad pass by LeFevour and returned it 12 yards for a touchdown and a 41–10 lead. Pollack was merely a substitution at OLB, and he also was only a walkon. At this point, Michigan had all their backups on the field, and CMU scored one more touchdown: a 3-yard pass from LeFevour to senior receiver Damien Linson.
Hart finished with 19 carries for 116 yards and 3 touchdowns. Grady added 12 carries for 46 yards and 1 touchdown. Breaston had 6 touches for 109 all purpose yards, and All-American senior middle linebacker David Harris led the Wolverines with 6 tackles. Aside from his 2 touchdown passes, LeFevour had a rough day, completing only 17–36 passes for 153 yards and the interception that was returned for a touchdown. He was also sacked 4 times, and as a result had 8 carries for −21 yards. Linson led the CMU receiving unit with 6 catches for 87 yards and one touchdown, while Gardner added 3 catches for 54 yards and one touchdown. The CMU running game was abominable, averaging only 0.8 yards per carry. Sophomore Ontario Sneed led the way with 11 carries for 33 yards, but almost all those yards came off a 25-yard run. Otherwise, Michigan limited him to only 10 carries for 8 yards.
Notre Dame
In a nationally-televised game, Michigan routed the 2nd-ranked Fighting Irish of Notre Dame in South Bend, 47–21. Using a combination of an aggressive defense, a vertical passing combination of Chad Henne to Mario Manningham, and ball control running by Mike Hart, the Wolverines intercepted Irish quarterback Brady Quinn three times and completely frustrated the Irish. Irish running back Darius Walker ran for just 25 yards on ten carries. Henne, although intercepted once, was 13 for 22 and completed three touchdown passes to Manningham, who had four receptions for 137 yards. Steve Breaston provided most of the remainder of the passing attack with six catches for 42 yards. Hart had a touchdown and 124 yards rushing. Defenders LaMarr Woodley and Prescott Burgess had long returns for touchdowns on Irish turnovers. The final score was 47–21 in a break-out game for the Wolverines. The Wolverines gave Coach Lloyd Carr a Gatorade bath after the huge victory which boosted them in the rankings and put them in contention for a national title.
Wisconsin
Michigan entered the game ranked sixth nationally in the AP poll, while Wisconsin was unranked. The game marked the Big Ten opener for both teams. Wisconsin came into the game averaging nearly 200 yards rushing per game, but Michigan entered the game ranked number 1 in the nation in rushing defense, allowing only 21 yards per game. The Wolverine defense won this matchup, holding Wisconsin to just 12 rushing yards and 3 second half points. Mario Manningham caught seven passes for 113 yards and two touchdowns, giving him five in the past two weeks. Adrian Arrington had his best game to date, catching four passes for 79 yards.
Minnesota
The Wolverines won their third straight revenge game, reclaiming the Little Brown Jug after losing it to the Gophers in 2005. This marked the first season since 1999 that Michigan made it through the month of September undefeated. The offense came out hot, scoring 21 points in the first half. Hart rushed for a season-high 195 yards on 31 carries, and Henne had another efficient game, completing 17 of 24 passes for 284 yards. Manningham had his third straight 100 yard game, while Arrington continued his emergence as Michigan's No. 2 receiver, scoring the first two touchdowns of the game. David Harris led the defense with nine tackles.
Michigan State
Michigan State suffered its third straight loss of the season as Michigan retained the Paul Bunyan Trophy for the fifth straight year. It was a mistake-filled game for the Spartans, who committed 11 penalties for a total loss of 87 yards. The Wolverines dominated the ground game on both sides of the ball, allowing 60 yards rushing on defense and gaining 211 yards on offense. Hart shared carries with both Kevin Grady and Brandon Minor, and the latter, a true freshman, broke a 40-yard run for the first touchdown of his career. Henne only attempted 17 passes, but three of them went for touchdowns, one to Arrington and the other two to Manningham. Leon Hall and Jamar Adams both intercepted passes from Drew Stanton, and Burgess had eight tackles, including the Wolverines' only sack of the afternoon.
Penn State