The 1980 Michigan Wolverines football team was an American football team that represented the University of Michigan in the 1980 Big Ten Conference football season. In their 12th season under head coach Bo Schembechler, the Wolverines compiled a 10–2 record (8–0 against conference opponents), won the Big Ten Conference championship, defeated Washington in the 1981 Rose Bowl, and outscored all opponents by a total of 322 to 129. The Rose Bowl victory was Schembechler's first in a bowl game, following seven bowl games losses. After falling out of the rankings for four weeks, the 1980 Wolverines ended up being ranked No. 4 in both the AP and UPI polls.
After starting the season 1–2 with losses to Notre Dame (on a last-second field goal) and South Carolina (featuring Heisman Trophy winner George Rogers), the defense gathered strength, scored three consecutive shutouts, and did not allow a touchdown in the final 22 quarters of the season. The defense was led by linebacker and co-captain Andy Cannavino and defensive linemen Mike Trgovac and Mel Owens.
The team's statistical leaders included quarterback John Wangler with 1,522 passing yards, running back Butch Woolfolk with 1,042 rushing yards, and wide receiver and All-Americans Anthony Carter with 818 receiving yards and 84 points scored.
Two Michigan players (Anthony Carter and center George Lilja) received first-team honors on the 1980 All-America college football team, and nine, including all five interior offensive linemen (Lilja, Ed Muransky, Bubba Paris, Kurt Becker, and John Powers), received first-team honors on the 1980 All-Big Ten Conference football team.
Schedule
Season summary
Preseason The 1979 Michigan Wolverines football team compiled an 8–4 record, including a loss to unranked North Carolina in the 1979 Gator Bowl. It was the first time Michigan was not ranked in the top 10 since Bo Schembechler took over as coach in 1969.
The 1980 season saw turnover among coach Schembechler's assistant coaches. Three assistant coaches from the 1979 team left prior to the 1980 season. In December 1979, Don Nehlen was hired as the head coach at West Virginia. In January 1980, Dennis Brown, who coached linebackers at Michigan, left to join Nehlen's staff. And in March 1980, Jack Harbaugh, Schembechler's defensive backs coach, left to become Stanford's defensive coordinator.
In March 1980, Michigan hired Gary Moeller to rejoin Schembechler's staff. Moeller had been a Schembechler assistant for years before serving as Illinois' head coach from 1977 to 1979. He was fired by Illinois after the 1979 season. Michigan also hired two of Moeller's assistant coaches from Illinois: Lloyd Carr and Tim Davis.
In the AP's 1980 preseason poll, Michigan was picked to finish third in the Big Ten. The AP picked Ohio State (led by Art Schlichter) as the No. 1 team in the country, and Purdue (led by Mark Herrmann) at No. 9, with Michigan ranked No. 12.
Linebacker Andy Cannavino and center George Lilja were selected as co-captains of the 1980 team.
Northwestern
On September 13, Michigan defeated Northwestern, 17–10, before a crowd of 100,824 at Michigan Stadium. The game began in a heavy rain that turned into a downpour for most of the first half.
On the first play from scrimmage, Northwestern fumbled the ball, and Mike Trgovac recovered the ball for Michigan at the Northwestern 34-yard line. Ali Haji-Sheikh kicked a 33-yard field goal to give Michigan an early lead. However, Michigan's next two drives ended with fumbles, and in the second quarter Northwestern tied the game on a 35-yard field goal by Jay Anderson.
Michigan's next drive stalled, but as Michigan punted on fourth down, Northwestern was penalized for having an extra player on the field. After the penalty, quarterback Rich Hewlett threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Carter. When the Wolverines got the ball back with 1:21 remaining the first half, coach Schembechler put John Wangler into the game in place of Hewlett. Wangler led the Wolverines 45 yards down the field to Northwestern's 35-yard line, but Haji-Sheikh missed a 52-yard field goal.
In the third quarter, Northwestern mounted a seven-minute drive that was stopped only when Brian Carpenter intercepted a pass at the five-yard line. Michigan was forced to punt after three plays, and Northwestern again drove the ball down the field, this time scoring on a one-yard run by Dave Mishler.
Northwestern, in the midst of a 34-game losing streak, dominated a third quarter in which Michigan ran only three plays and had the ball for two minutes and thirty seconds. As Michigan's offense stalled, Michigan fans began booing Hewlett, a sophomore who had won the starting job from John Wangler, a popular veteran who had been injured at the end of the prior season. With the game tied, 10-10, the Michigan fans began chants of "We Want Wangler."
Michigan was finally able to score after Andy Cannavino fell on a Northwestern fumble at the Wildcats' 23-yard line. Hewlett threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Carter in the left corner of the end zone, and Michigan led, 17–10. In the final three minutes of the game, Northwestern drove the ball from its own 27 to the Michigan 7, converting five times on fourth down, but Cannavino intercepted a pass on fourth down.
After the game, Hewlett said he tried not to pay attention to the chants calling for Wangler, and Bo Schembechler said, "I don't care who they call for. You know that won't dictate what I do."
Notre Dame
In the second week of the season, Michigan played Notre Dame in South Bend. After a scoreless first quarter, Notre Dame took a 14–0 lead in the second quarter. John Wangler replaced Rich Hewlett in the second quarter, and threw two touchdown passes in the span of 1:19 to tie the game, 14-14, at halftime. In the second half, Anthony Carter returned the opening kickoff 67 yards to the Notre Dame 32-yard line, and Michigan scored on a two-yard run by Stanley Edwards. Notre Dame scored a touchdown (but missed the extra point) with 1:03 left in the third quarter on a 49-yard interception return of a Wangler pass. The last three minutes of the game proved to be one of the most exciting finishes in the Michigan-Notre Dame rivalry. With 3:03 left in the game, Notre Dame scored to take a 26–21 lead (an attempted two-point conversion failed). On the next drive, Butch Woolfolk ran 36 yards on a trap play, taking the ball to the Notre Dame four-yard line with less than a minute to play. Wangler threw a pass to Woolfolk in the end zone that was tipped and caught by Michigan tight end, Craig Dunaway, to give the Wolverines a 27–26 lead with 41 seconds left. After a touchback, Notre Dame took over on its own 20-yard line with 40 seconds left. In five plays, Notre Dame moved the ball to the Michigan 41-yard line. Notre Dame's drive was aided by a controversial pass interference call against Michigan of which Coach Schembechler said after the game, "It was the key play, without it, they wouldn't have scored at all." And on the final play of the game, Notre Dame placekicker Harry Oliver kicked an improbable 51-yard field into a strong wind to give Notre Dame the 29–27 victory. Notre Dame coach Dan Devine performed the sign of the cross as Oliver's kick left his foot, and Oliver said, "This is by far the greatest moment of my life. I have to thank God and Our Lady, God had to be with me." Schembechler said after the game, "I'm proud of the way we came back. We had as much right to win as they did. But they hung in there and they had the last shot. Time just ran out."
South Carolina
Michigan faced South Carolina and eventual 1980 Heisman Trophy winner George Rogers in the third week of the season. The press deemed South Carolina to be a heavy underdog going into the game. One writer noted, "Opponents like South Carolina are expected to be patsies. No trouble to beat." Consistent with expectations, Michigan took a 14–3 lead into halftime on a pair of touchdown passes from John Wangler to Anthony Carter. On the first drive of the second half, Michigan drove the ball to South Carolina's 8-yard line and appeared to be poised to take a 21–3 lead. However, on first and goal, Stan Edwards fumbled the ball into the endzone, and South Carolina recovered. South Carolina drove the ball 80 years for a touchdown to tighten the score to 14–10. On the ensuing drive, Michigan faced a fourth down with one yard to go at its own 29-yard line. Michigan faked the punt, but Stan Edwards was stopped for no gain. South Carolina responded with its second touchdown on the short field and took a 17–14 lead. After the game, Coach Schembechler blamed himself for the loss and the fake punt call. He said, "It was that a coach didn't have confidence in his defense. Hey, I've got to start realizing our defense isn't that bad. We should have punted ..." Late in the fourth quarter, Michigan had a chance to tie the game with a field goal, but opted to go for the touchdown on a pass play that was tipped off the hands of Anthony Carter. On not kicking the field goal, Schembechler said, "My players wouldn't want a tie in a non-conference game." South Carolina's offense was led by its tailback (and Heisman Trophy winner) George Rogers, who gained 142 yards on 36 carries.
With the loss to South Carolina, Michigan was 1-2 and had lost 5 of its last 6 games. It was the first time Michigan had lost consecutive non-conference games since 1967.
California
On October 4, Michigan defeated California, 38–13, in front of 104,621 spectators at Michigan Stadium. The game was close for the first three quarters, as Cal's Heisman Trophy candidate, quarterback Rich Campbell, completed 22 of 34 passes (including 15 for 15 in the second half) for 249 yards. But three fourth-quarter touchdowns gave Michigan a 25-point margin of victory. Michigan gained 388 rushing yards in the game, including 184 yards by Lawrence Ricks and 127 yards by Stan Edwards. After the game, Schembechler noted that respect for Cal quarterback Campbell led Michigan to emphasize the run: "Our intention was to control the ball and keep our defense off the field. You won't see that kind of running much more this season. . . . Campbell dictated our offense. Our strategy was to keep him off the field. You're never out of the woods with Campbell."
Michigan State
On October 11, Michigan defeated Michigan State, 27–23, before a crowd of 105,263 at Michigan Stadium. Michigan State was led by first-year head coach Muddy Waters.
In the first quarter, John Wangler led Michigan on a 50-yard, 10-play drive, but the Wolverines stalled at the Michigan State seven-yard line. Michigan settled for a 25-yard field goal from Ali Haji-Sheikh. On the next play from scrimmage, Andy Cannavino tipped a John Leister pass, and Marion Body grabbed it for an interception. Michigan took over on the Spartans' 23-yard line, and Wangler threw a 22-yard completion to Anthony Carter at the one-yard line. Lawrence Ricks ran for the touchdown, and Michigan led, 10–0. In the closing minutes of the first quarter, Leister led the Spartans on a 49-yard drive ending with a 49-yard field goal by Morten Andersen.