# 1957 Michigan Wolverines football team

The 1957 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1957 Big Ten Conference football season. In its 10th year under head coach Bennie Oosterbaan, Michigan compiled a 5–3–1 record (3–3–1 against conference opponents), finished in sixth place in the Big Ten, and outscored opponents by a combined total of 187 to 147. Michigan was unranked in the final AP and UPI polls; it was ranked at No. 19 in the final Litkenhous Ratings.
Left tackle Jim Orwig was the team captain. Left halfback Jim Pace received the team's most valuable player award, won the Chicago Tribune Silver Football as the most valuable player in the Big Ten, and was selected as a first-team All-American and All-Big Ten player.
The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Jim Van Pelt with 629 passing yards, Jim Pace with 664 rushing yards, and left end Gary Prahst with 233 receiving yards.

## Schedule

| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance |
| September 28 | at USC* | No. 10 | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA | W 16–6 | 44,739 |
| October 5 | Georgia* | No. 10 | Michigan StadiumAnn Arbor, MI | W 26–0 | 85,002 |
| October 12 | No. 2 Michigan State | No. 6 | Michigan StadiumAnn Arbor, MI (rivalry) | L 6–35 | 101,001 |
| October 19 | Northwestern | No. 18 | Michigan StadiumAnn Arbor, MI (rivalry) | W 34–14 | 70,884 |
| October 26 | at No. 14 Minnesota | No. 20 | Memorial StadiumMinneapolis, MN (Little Brown Jug) | W 24–7 | 64,680 |
| November 2 | No. 3 Iowa | No. 12 | Michigan StadiumAnn Arbor, MI | T 21–21 | 90,478 |
| November 9 | at Illinois | No. 11 | Memorial StadiumChampaign, IL (rivalry) | L 19–20 | 46,007 |
| November 16 | Indiana | No. 18 | Michigan StadiumAnn Arbor, MI | W 27–13 | 56,254 |
| November 23 | No. 3 Ohio State | No. 19 | Michigan StadiumAnn Arbor, MI (rivalry) | L 14–31 | 101,001 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the game |||||||

## Statistical leaders

Michigan's individual statistical leaders for the 1957 season include those listed below.

### Rushing

| Player | Attempts | Net yards | Yards per attempt | Touchdowns |
| Jim Pace | 123 | 664 | 5.4 | 7 |
| Brad Myers | 69 | 252 | 3.6 | 2 |
| Jim Byers | 31 | 161 | 5.2 | 0 |
| Bob Ptacek | 60 | 161 | 2.7 | 0 |

### Passing

| Player | Attempts | Completions | Interceptions | Comp % | Yards | Yds/Comp | TD | Long |
| Jim Van Pelt | 80 | 42 | 3 | 52.5 | 629 | 15.0 | 7 | 45 |
| Stan Noskin | 52 | 24 | 5 | 46.1 | 344 | 14.3 | 1 | 37 |

### Receiving

| Player | Receptions | Yards | Yds/Recp | TD | Long |
| Gary Prahst | 15 | 233 | 15.5 | 2 | 45 |
| Brad Myers | 9 | 159 | 17.7 | 2 | 33 |
| Walt Johnson | 9 | 122 | 13.6 | 0 | 22 |
| Jim Pace | 11 | 122 | 11.1 | 2 | 14 |

### Kickoff returns

| Player | Returns | Yards | Yds/Return | TD | Long |
| Jim Pace | 5 | 114 | 22.8 | 0 | 35 |
| Mike Shatusky | 6 | 110 | 18.3 | 0 | 24 |
| Stan Noskin | 3 | 68 | 22.7 | 0 | 25 |

### Punt returns

| Player | Returns | Yards | Yds/Return | TD | Long |
| Jim Pace | 8 | 98 | 12.3 | 1 | 65 |
| Bob Ptacek | 8 | 82 | 10.3 | 0 | 25 |
| Brad Myers | 5 | 40 | 8.0 | 0 | |

## Players

The starting lineup of the 1957 football team was made up of the following players. Players who started at least four games are shown with their names in bold.
* Robert Boshoven - started 1 game at right end
* Dave Bowers - started 1 game at left end
* James Byers- started 4 games at fullback
* Alex Callahan - started 1 game at left guard
* James Davies - started 9 games at right tackle
* Larry Faul - started 8 games at left guard
* Jerry Goebel - started 5 games at center
* John Herrnstein - started 4 games at fullback
* Dick Heynen - started 1 game at left tackle
* Walter Johnson - started 8 games at right end
* Jerry Marciniak - started 1 game at right guard
* Brad Myers - started 3 games at right halfback
* Stan Noskin - started 2 games at quarterback
* Marv Nyren - started 8 games at right guard
* Jim Orwig - started 8 games at left tackle
* Jim Pace - started 9 games at left halfback
* Gary Prahst - started 8 games at left end
* Mike Shatusky - started 6 games at right halfback
* Gene Snider - started 4 games at center
* Jim Van Pelt - started 7 games at quarterback (7)
Other players on the team included the following:
* Willie Smith - tackle

## Awards and honors

Honors and awards for the 1957 season went to the following individuals.
* Captain: Jim Orwig
* All-Americans: Jim Pace
* All-Big Ten: Jim Pace
* Most Valuable Player: Jim Pace
* Meyer Morton Award: Charles Teusher
* John Maulbetsch Award: George Genyk

## Coaching staff

Michigan's 1957 coaching, training, and support staff included the following persons.
* Head coach: Bennie Oosterbaan
* Assistant coaches: Jack Blott, Don Dufek, Bump Elliott, Robert Hollway, Cliff Keen, Matt Patanelli, Walter Weber
* Trainer: Jim Hunt
* Manager: Lynn Evans