1925 Michigan Wolverines football team The 1925 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the college football season of 1925 . The 1925 season was Fielding H . Yost ' s 24th as the head football coach at Michigan . Michigan compiled a record of 7 – 1 and outscored opponents by a combined score of 227 to 3 . The 1925 team won the Big Ten Conference championship and was ranked second in country ( tied with Alabama ) behind Dartmouth in the Dickinson System rankings . The only points allowed by the team were in a 3 to 2 loss to Northwestern in a game played in a heavy rainstorm on a field covered in mud five or six inches deep in some places . Michigan shut out seven of its eight opponents and allowed only four first downs in the last three games of the season . Quarterback Benny Friedman and left end Bennie Oosterbaan , sometimes referred to as " The Benny - to - Bennie Show , " were both consensus All - Americans and became known as one of the greatest passing combinations in college football history . Friedman finished second in close voting for the 1925 Chicago Tribune Silver Football trophy , which is awarded to the Most Valuable Player in the Big Ten . Both Friedman and Oosterbaan were later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame . Team captain and center Robert J . Brown and guard Tom Edwards also received first - team All - American honors from some selectors . At the end of the season , Yost called the 1925 Michigan team " the greatest football team I ever coached " and " the greatest football team I ever saw in action . " He continued to maintain that the 1925 squad was his greatest team even years later . Season summary . Pre - season . The 1924 Michigan Wolverines football team under first - year head coach George Little had compiled a 6 – 2 record but had suffered an embarrassing 39 – 14 loss to Illinois and Red Grange . On January 22 , 1925 , Little announced that he had accepted an offer from the University of Wisconsin to become that school ' s athletic director and head football coach . At the time , Little expressed his appreciation to Michigan ' s athletic director Fielding H . Yost , and Yost issued a statement noting , " Michigan ' s loss is Wisconsin ' s gain . It will take long thought and careful planning to fill the gap he leaves . " Following Little ' s resignation , Harry Kipke , an All - American for Michigan in the early 1920s , was hired to join Michigan ' s coaching staff . The " Chicago Daily Tribune " wrote that it was anticipated that Tad Wieman and Kipke may be given principal responsibility for developing the team under Yost ' s supervision . Ultimately , Yost took over as head coach for the 1925 team . The 1925 team returned a number of starters from the 1924 team , including 1925 team captain Robert J . Brown , quarterback Benny Friedman , tackle Tom Edwards , guard Harry Hawkins , and right end William Flora . Michigan State . Michigan opened the 1925 season on October 3 , 1925 , with a 39 – 0 victory over Michigan State College in Ann Arbor . A crowd of 30 , 000 persons set a Ferry Field record for the first game of a season . The game was the 20th meeting in the Michigan – Michigan State football rivalry . Michigan had won nine straight games , eight by shutouts , dating back to 1916 . Michigan scored twice in the first quarter . The first touchdown came on a 65 - yard run by Benny Friedman . Later in the quarter , Friedman completed a pass to Charles Grube for a 20 - yard gain and then completed another pass to Bruce Gregory for a 30 - yard gain and a touchdown . After a scoreless second quarter , Michigan led 13 – 0 at halftime . In the third quarter , Michigan scored three touchdowns . The first came on a pass from sophomore halfback Louis Gilbert to fellow sophomore Bennie Oosterbaan for a 40 - yard gain and a touchdown . The game marked the first in a Michigan uniform for both Gilbert and Oosterbaan . On the next drive , George Babcock ran 68 yards for a touchdown after " scooping up a fumble on the dead run . " Gilbert kicked the extra point , and Michigan led , 27 – 0 . Later in the quarter , Friedman intercepted a pass and then completed a pass to Oosterbaan for a 24 - yard gain and a touchdown . " The New York Times " noted that Oosterbaan " sparkled in his play " and that both of his touchdowns came on " clever catches and smart running . " Gilbert kicked two extra points , and Frederic Fuller kicked one . Michigan ' s starting lineup against Michigan State was Grube ( left end ) , Hawkins ( left tackle ) , Lovette ( left guard ) , Thisted ( center ) , Edwards ( right guard ) , George Babcock ( right tackle ) , Flora ( right end ) , Friedman ( quarterback ) , Fuller ( left halfback ) , Gregory ( right halfback ) , and Molenda ( fullback ) . Players appearing in the game as substitutes for Michigan included Bennie Oosterbaan ( left end ) , and Louis Gilbert ( left halfback ) . Michigan ' s team captain and center Robert J . Brown did not appear in the game due to a foot injury . Indiana . In the second week of the season , the Wolverines defeated the Indiana Hoosiers , 63 – 0 , at Ferry Field . The game was only the fifth meeting between the two programs and the first since 1903 . Michigan had won the four prior games by a combined score of 156 to 0 . Benny Friedman threw five touchdown passes in the game , kicked eight extra points , and had a 55 - yard touchdown run . In the " Chicago Daily Tribune " , Walter Eckersall , who served as the referee in the game , wrote that Friedman was " one of the best all around players in the conference . " The Associated Press wrote that Friedman " sparkled in the smooth - working Michigan offense . " Bruce Gregory scored three touchdowns , and Bennie Oosterbaan scored two . Friedman , Louis Gilbert , William Flora , and Sam Babcock each scored one . Friedman kicked eight extra points , and Carl Stamman kicked one . In its account of the game , the Associated Press described Michigan ' s performance as being " a reincarnation of her famous point - a - minute team of old . " Michigan ' s starting lineup against Indiana was Oosterbaan ( left end ) , Tom Edwards ( left tackle ) , John Lovette ( left guard ) , Robert J . Brown ( center ) , Harry Hawkins ( right guard ) , James Oade ( right tackle ) , William Flora ( right end ) , Friedman ( quarterback ) , Gilbert ( left halfback ) , Gregory ( right halfback ) , and Bo Molenda ( fullback ) . Substitutes appearing in the game for Michigan included Sam Babcock ( left halfback ) and Carl Stamman ( fullback ) . at Wisconsin . In the third week of the season , Michigan defeated Wisconsin , 21 – 0 , at Madison , Wisconsin . In eight prior games between Wisconsin and Michigan teams coached by Fielding H . Yost , Michigan was undefeated . George Little was in his first year as Wisconsin ' s head coach after having been an assistant to Yost in 1922 and 1923 and Michigan ' s head coach in 1924 . The game attracted a capacity crowd of 44 , 000 to Camp Randall Stadium . Michigan quarterback Benny Friedman held a grudge against Little for refusing to start him at quarterback during the 1924 season . He later recalled : " I could not play quarterback for Coach Little , because I did not personify what he wanted . Now , under Yost , I was the quarterback , and this game meant much to me . " On the first play from scrimmage , Friedman faked a pass to Bennie Oosterbaan who was sprinting downfield and threw a pass to Bruce Gregory for a 62 - yard gain and a touchdown . Following the touchdown , Wisconsin kicked off , and Friedman returned the kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown . Friedman converted both extra points , and Michigan led , 14 – 0 , after the first three plays . The Associated Press noted : " It took just thirty - one seconds for Michigan to win the game at Madison and show the football world that Benny Friedman is destined for top rank among the great players developed by Yost . " In the second quarter , Tom Edwards intercepted a pass deep in Michigan territory . After the interception , Friedman completed a pass to Bennie Oosterbaan for the final score of the game . In its account of the game , the Associated Press wrote that Michigan ' s line outplayed Wisconsin with " Edwards especially wrecking Wisconsin ' s attempts at a running game . " Michigan ' s starting lineup against Wisconsin was Oosterbaan ( left end ) , Hawkins ( left tackle ) , Lovette ( left guard ) , Brown ( center ) , Edwards ( right guard ) , George Babcock ( right tackle ) , Flora ( right end ) , Friedman ( quarterback ) , Gilbert ( left halfback ) , Gregory ( right halfback ) , and Molenda ( fullback ) . at Illinois . On October 24 , 1925 , Michigan won its fourth consecutive shutout with a 3 – 0 victory over Illinois at Champaign , Illinois . The victory came as Illinois celebrated homecoming in front of a record crowd of 67 , 000 at Memorial Stadium . In 1924 , Illinois had defeated Michigan , 39 – 14 , as Red Grange scored four touchdowns in the span of ten minutes . Stopping Grange was considered to be the key to beating Illinois in 1925 . During the pre - season practice sessions , Michigan ' s line coach Tad Wieman dressed a player in a sweater with Grange ' s number and sent his guards and tackles " after the mythical Grange with instructions to ' hit him hard . ' " Before the game , Michigan coach Fielding H . Yost told reporters : " One of the greatest throngs in all football history is here . For weeks the game has been on every tongue . . . . Our players have been compared as to weight , speed , and ability . The stage is set . " The only points of the game were scored in the second quarter on a Benny Friedman field goal from the 25 - yard line . The field goal was set up by a Bennie Oosterbaan interception and a long gain on a triple pass from Friedman to George Babcock who then handed the ball to Bruce Gregory . Earl Britton of Illinois attempted two field goals , but both missed the mark . The game was played on a rainsoaked field which was credited with handicapping Illinois ' All - American Red Grange . Michigan fullback Bo Molenda was also credited with stopping Grange . Grange played at quarterback for the first time in his career and was held to 56 net rushing yards on 25 carries . The Associated Press wrote of Molenda ' s efforts : " Molenda was the principal reason why the Illini ' s aerial attack was unsuccessful . Time after time he got in the way to make the pass incomplete or to gather it in his arms . " Molenda intercepted a pass thrown by Grange on the opening drive of the game and made a second interception of a pass thrown by Earl Britton later in the first quarter . He had two more interceptions in the fourth quarter , both on passes thrown by Daugherty . Multiple sources indicate that Molenda intercepted a total of five passes in the game . In an increasingly rare display of ironman football , the same 22 players who started the game for Michigan and Illinois also finished the game . The Associated Press noted : " The fact that the same men finished the game is causing wide comment , for such a happening has not occurred in Big Ten contests for a great many years . This seems to be the age of wholesale substitutions , and to have two elevens go through an important and hard contest without rushing in new men every few minutes is to upset modern football precedent . " Michigan ' s starting lineup against Illinois was Oosterbaan ( left end ) , George Babcock ( left tackle ) , Lovette ( left guard ) , Brown ( center ) , Dewey ( right guard ) , Hawkins ( right tackle ) , Flora ( right end ) , Friedman ( quarterback ) , Gilbert ( left halfback ) , Gregory ( right halfback ) , and Molenda ( fullback ) . Navy . Michigan secured its fifth consecutive shutout with a 54 – 0 victory over Navy at Ferry Field on October 31 , 1925 . The game was the first meeting between the two traditional football powers . The 1925 Navy team came into the game undefeated , averaging almost 23 points a game , and featuring two players ( Tom Hamilton and Frank Wickhorst ) who were later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame . The defeat was the worst suffered by a Navy football team up to that time . On Michigan ' s second play from scrimmage , quarterback Benny Friedman completed a pass to Bruce Gregory for a 20 - yard gain , and Bo Molenda then ran 18 yards for a touchdown . Michigan scored its second touchdown when William Flora blocked a punt and recovered the ball in the end zone . According to one account , Flora broke threw the line so quickly that he was able to snatch the ball as it dropped from the punter ' s hand to his foot . On the next scoring drive , Friedman passed to Sammy Babcock and then threw an 18 - yard touchdown pass to Molenda . Michigan led 21 – 0 at the end of the first quarter . In the third quarter , Friedman passed 22 yards to Oosterbaan for the fourth touchdown . On the next drive , Friedman completed two passes to Oosterbaan , with Oosterbaan running out of bounds at the Navy one - foot line after the second pass . Molenda ran for the touchdown from there . In the fourth quarter , Michigan played its second - string backfield . William Herrnstein returned a punt 50 yard and then scored on a run from the 11 - yard line . James Miller intercepted a pass and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown . And Leo Hoffman ran for a final touchdown just before the game ended . Friedman kicked five extra points in the game , and Miller added one . Writing in " The New York Times " , Richards Vidmer opened his account of the game as follows : " The greatest naval disaster of them all took place on Ferry Field today when a hungry pack of Wolverines set upon the Navy eleven from Annapolis , snarled and snapped , chewed and clawed , and finally buried the Easterners under a defeat of 54 to 0 . It probably was the worst defeat the Navy ever has suffered on land or sea . " Vidmer added that the Michigan squad played " like one big monster " and opined that the team would probably go down in history as Fielding Yost ' s masterpiece . Writing in the " Chicago Daily Tribune " , James Crusinberry also employed a naval metaphor : " Under a maze of forward pass plays , double passes , delayed passes , and criss - cross , Uncle Sam ' s proud gridiron dreadnaught , rocked by a great Michigan tidal wave , limped into port tonight on the leeward side of a 54 to 0 score . " Crusinberry opined that Michigan had " played more new football . . . than any team ever did in one game " and declared quarterback Benny Friedman the star of the game : " If any one man stood out , it was Benny Friedman , who hurled forward passes with accuracy and abandon time after time . . . . Besides that , Benny was a regular whirligig in carrying the ball . And it was Benny who was the field general . His selections of plays was something that would make any general envious . " Two day after the game , Crusinberry wrote a column in the " Chicago Daily Tribune " opining that Michigan ' s offense was the culmination of the new , less brutish game of football : " The old time player , who did his stuff by brute strength , has given way to the modern man with a head full of tricks . . . . And now we have Mr . Yost ' s new Michigan team , with not a Grange on it , but with one of the brainiest players of the age in Benny Friedman and a lot of smart fellows to work with him . Before Benny Friedman ends his career all the teams of the country , even the Navy , will have abandoned the old style football and will be using , or at least trying to use , smart and unexpected stuff . It gains ground , it is spectacular , and it wins . " Michigan ' s starting lineup against Navy was Oosterbaan ( left end ) , George Babcock ( left tackle ) , Lovette ( left guard ) , Brown ( center ) , Dewey ( right guard ) , Hawkins ( right tackle ) , Flora ( right end ) , Friedman ( quarterback ) , Gilbert ( left halfback ) , Gregory ( right halfback ) , and Molenda ( fullback ) . Players appearing in the game as substitutes for Michigan were Norman Gabel ( left tackle ) , Carl Thisted ( center ) , Ray Baer ( right guard ) , James Oade ( right tackle ) , Charles Grube ( right end ) , Bill Puckelwartz ( quarterback ) , Frederic Fuller and Leo Hoffman ( left halfback ) , Sam Babcock , James Miller , and William Herrnstein ( right halfback ) , Carl Stamman and Wally Weber ( fullback ) . at Northwestern . Michigan suffered its lone setback of the 1925 season with a 3 – 2 loss to Northwestern at Soldier Field in Chicago . Michigan played the game without its All - American tackle Tom Edwards , who was recovering from an arm injury . Although the official paid attendance was recorded as 40 , 000 , newspaper accounts reported that only 20 , 000 actually attended , as the game was played in a heavy rainstorm on a cold afternoon . The rain turned the field into a " sea of mud " with an inch of standing water on top of the mud . In the " Chicago Daily Tribune " , Walter Eckersall ( who also served as the game ' s referee ) compared the field to a " bog " and added : " In my twenty - five years of football I have never seen worse conditions . Pools of water stood on parts of the field and in some places the players ' feet sunk into the field five or six inches . It rained throughout the game and a strong wind from the north gave the team defending that goal a decided advantage . " The conditions on the field were so poor that the schools ' marching bands declined the usual halftime parade across the field and instead played from the cinder path around the field . The poor playing conditions resulted in frequent fumbles by both teams and prevented either team from converting a single first down . Only one pass was attempted in the game , an incomplete pass by Friedman . Northwestern ' s three points were the only ones allowed by Michigan during the 1925 season . Michigan kicked off to Northwestern to open the game . Seeking to take advantage of the weather conditions , Leland " Tiny " Lewis of Northwestern punted on the first play from scrimmage . Michigan quarterback Benny Friedman tried to scoop up the ball , but he fumbled it and Northwestern recovered on Michigan ' s three - yard line . Michigan ' s defense held on three straight runs by Northwestern . On fourth down , Lewis kicked a field goal from the 18 - yard line with the ball having " barely enough power " to go over the crossbar . Michigan ' s defense played a strong game , and its line was described as " a veritable stone wall . " Throughout the game , both teams played a kicking game , punting on second or third down and hoping for a break . Walter Eckersall described the pattern of the game as follows : Each team would make two attempts to gain . The referee would then charge time out to himself so the centers could wipe off the ball before punting . The ball would be kicked , permitted to hit the ground , and be declared dead by the referee . This was the procedure throughout practically the entire game . " In the third quarter , Michigan had the wind at its back and had field position in its favor . On one drive , the Wolverines pushed the Wildcats ' offense back to their own one - yard line . On fourth down , Northwestern faced the prospect of punting into the wind from its own end zone and giving Michigan its best scoring opportunity . Rather than punting , Northwestern captain Tim Lowry directed Lewis to down the ball behind the goal line , giving Michigan two points on the safety . Under the rules in effect at the time , Northwestern received possession of the ball at their 30 - yard line after taking the safety . Walter Eckersall called Lowry ' s decision to take the safety " a smart piece of strategy " and " the deciding factor in an otherwise featureless game . " Others described Lowry ' s call " a brilliant bit of generalship " and " a great exhibition of football brains . " ( The rule allowing the team giving up a safety to retake possession was changed the following year . ) Michigan ' s coach Fielding H . Yost expressed his thorough disgust with the condition of the field and said he may start a movement to postpone games under similar conditions . The " Chicago Daily Tribune " quipped that , after losing " in one of the best swimming matches Michigan has ever entered , " it was a safe bet that Yost would " never again permit a Michigan football team to play a game on Soldiers ' Field . " Michigan ' s starting lineup against Northwestern was Oosterbaan ( left end ) , Gabel ( left tackle ) , Lovette ( left guard ) , Brown ( center ) , George Babcock ( right guard ) , Hawkins ( right tackle ) , Flora ( right end ) , Friedman ( quarterback ) , Herrnstein ( left halfback ) , Gregory ( right halfback ) , and Molenda ( fullback ) . Ohio State . In the seventh game of the season , Michigan defeated Ohio State , 10 – 0 , in front of a capacity crowd at Ferry Field . Michigan opened the game focused on the passing game with Benny Friedman throwing 10 passes in the first eight minutes of the game . In the entire game , Friedman completed seven of 26 passes for 71 passing yards . In the " Chicago Daily Tribune " , Irving Vaughan wrote that , with a dry field , " the Wolverines turned loose a veritable broadside of passes during the sixty minutes of combat , but it was grueling , old fashioned football that won the game . " The only touchdown of the game followed a blocked punt in the first quarter . William Flora of Michigan blocked a punt by Wendler . Ohio State fell on the ball at their own one - yard line , but the ball went to Michigan on downs . From the one - yard line , Friedman twice handed off to left tackle Tom Edwards for no gain or a gain of a foot . Bo Molenda was stopped on third down , but carried the ball across the goal line on fourth down . Friedman kicked the extra point to give Michigan a 7 - 0 lead . In the second quarter , Bennie Oosterbaan intercepted a pass at Ohio State ' s 18 - yard line , but a fumble resulted in a loss of 15 yards . Friedman kicked a field goal " at a hazardous angle " from the 40 - yard line . Michigan ' s starting lineup against Ohio State was Oosterbaan ( left end ) , Edwards ( left tackle ) , Lovette ( left guard ) , Brown ( center ) , Baer ( right guard ) , Hawkins ( right tackle ) , Flora ( right end ) , Friedman ( quarterback ) , Gilbert ( left halfback ) , Gregory ( right halfback ) , and Molenda ( fullback ) . Players appearing in the game as substitutes for Michigan were Charles Grube , George Babcock , Sam Babcock , William Herrnstein , and Carl Stamman . Minnesota . Michigan concluded its 1925 season with a 35 – 0 victory over Minnesota for the Wolverines ' seventh shutout in eight games . The game was played at Ferry Field before a sellout , homecoming crowd of 47 , 000 on a warm Indian summer afternoon . Minnesota came into the game with a 5 – 1 – 1 record and a highly - touted offense featuring Herb Joesting that was averaging 25 points per game . More than 3 , 000 Minnesotans and the 100 - piece Minnesota band traveled to Ann Arbor on five special trains . The " Associated Press " wrote that Michigan won the game with " a driving line attack and a bewildering aerial game . " Michigan ' s first touchdown drive was led by Benny Friedman ' s passing . He completed a pass to sophomore Bennie Oosterbaan for a 23 - yard gain and followed with a pass to William Flora for an 11 - yard gain . Fullback Bo Molenda then ran 24 yards for the touchdown , and Friedman kicked the extra point . Michigan ' s second touchdown drive started with a 25 - yard gain on a pass from Friedman to Oosterbaan . Sophomore halfback Louis Gilbert then ran 20 yards , and Molenda ran for the touchdown from the one - yard line . Friedman kicked the extra point , and Michigan led , 14 – 0 , at halftime . In the third quarter , Friedman threw a touchdown pass to Oosterbaan , and Friedman kicked his third extra point . In the fourth quarter , Minnesota opened up its passing game in an attempt to overcome Michigan ' s 21 – 0 lead . Halfway through the quarter , Louis Gilbert intercepted a pass and returned it 60 yards down the right side for a touchdown . In addition to the interception return , Gilbert also returned a punt 35 yards in the second quarter , handled the punting for Michigan , and was credited by the " Chicago Daily Tribune " with " sensational open field running . " Michigan ' s final touchdown was set up by another turnover , as Carl Stamman intercepted a pass and returned it 35 yards to the Minnesota nine - yard line . Friedman threw a pass to Oosterbaan for the touchdown . Benny Friedman completed seven of 16 pass attempts for 130 yards and converted all five extra point kicks to give Michigan a 35 – 0 victory . On defense , Michigan did not allow Minnesota to complete a pass and held the Gophers to four first downs , two in each half , and 45 net rushing yards . Minnesota ran an offense featuring the " Spear shift , " named for the team ' s head coach Clarence Spears . The shift failed to gain against Michigan ' s line , leading the " Chicago Daily Tribune " to write : " The famous Minnesota shift was a bloomer . The Gophers shifted and shifted and kept on shifting like a lot of hop toads and every time they shifted , the Michigan line shifted with them and knocked them flat as soon as the ball was snapped . To the Michigan team that shift was about as puzzling as a dog ' s bark . " Michigan ' s starting lineup against Minnesota was Oosterbaan ( left end ) , Tom Edwards ( left tackle ) , Ray Baer ( left guard ) , Robert J . Brown ( center ) , John Lovette ( right guard ) , Harry Hawkins ( right tackle ) , Flora ( right end ) , Friedman ( quarterback ) , Gilbert ( left halfback ) , Wally Weber ( right halfback ) , and Molenda ( fullback ) . Players appearing in the game as substitutes for Michigan were George Babcock ( left tackle ) , Norman Gabel ( left guard ) , Syd Dewey ( right guard ) , Charles Grube ( right end ) , James Miller and Frederic Fuller ( left halfback ) , Bruce Gregory ( right halfback ) , and Carl Stamman ( fullback ) . Post - season . Controversy over Big Ten Championship . At the end of the season , Michigan and Northwestern each had one loss to conference opponents . However , Northwestern also lost two non - conference games . When it was reported that Coach Yost had given gold footballs emblematic of championship to members of his team , a riot broke out involving 1 , 200 Northwestern students in Evanston , Illinois . An abandoned fraternity house was set on fire , and firemen who tried to extinguish the fire were thrown aside and their fire hoses were cut . A large bonfire was also built in the middle of Fountain Square . When the mayor of Evanston tried to calm the crowd , he was slugged , and the automobile of the police chief was overturned and damaged . One police officer was disarmed and " so badly mauled that two ribs were broken . " Evanston police fired " tear bombs " into the crowd , and the mayor threatened to order police to " shoot and shoot to kill " if such a disorder was repeated . On the day after the riot , Northwestern ' s head coach and team captain sent a telegram to University of Michigan president C . C . Little disavowing any claim by Northwestern to the Big Ten football championship . They wrote : " In view of the remarkable showing that has been made by the 1925 football team of the University of Michigan , we believe that the University of Michigan is entitled to sole and undivided honors in the conference , and we wish you to know that Northwestern makes no claim for any share in them , but regards it as a privilege to be even for a few minutes placed in a class with the University of Michigan ' s team . " Following the announcement , Evanston police continued to guard Northwestern ' s football field to prevent the burning of the wooden stands . The forces dispatched to the stands included a car mounted with a machine gun . Individual honors . At the close of the 1925 season , football writers were divided over whether Benny Friedman or Northwestern ' s Tim Lowry should receive the Chicago Tribune Silver Football as the Most Valuable Player in the Big Ten Conference . Lowry won the award with 23 points to 18 for Friedman . Friedman and Bennie Oosterbaan were both selected as consensus first - team All - Americans . Oosterbaan received the most first - team honors , including first - team selections by the United Press , Associated Press , Collier ' s Weekly , Athlete & Sportsman magazine , the All - America Board , and Knute Rockne . The passing combination of Friedman and Oosterbaan , which became known as " The Benny - To - Bennie Show , " is considered " one of the greatest passing combinations in college football history . " Both players were later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame for their contributions as players at Michigan . Michigan team captain and center Robert J . Brown was selected as a first - team All - American by Athlete & Sportsman magazine ( selections made based on the votes of 228 leading football coaches ) , Billy Evans , Norman E . Brown , and Sam Willaman . Walter Eckersall called the 1925 Michigan team " by far the best team in the conference " and selected three Wolverines as first - team selections on his All - Big Ten team . They were Friedman , Bennie Oosterbaan , and Tom Edwards . Eckersall also selected Robert J . Brown , Harry Hawkins , and William Flora for second - team All - Big Ten honors and included Bo Molenda and John Lovette as third - team honorees . On December 20 , 1925 , Eckersall announced his All - American selections . He picked Oosterbaan and Edwards as first - team All - Americans . Team honors and legacy . In national rankings for the 1925 season , Michigan was tied with Alabama for second place behind Dartmouth under the Dickinson System , a rating model developed by Frank G . Dickinson , an economics professor at the University of Illinois . Despite coaching six national championship teams at Michigan , Fielding H . Yost regarded the 1925 Michigan squad as the greatest team he ever coached . At the annual awards dinner in 1925 , Yost told the players , " You are members of the greatest football team I ever coached ; in fact you are the greatest football team I ever saw in action . I am making this statement cognizant of the wonderful record of the 1901 team and the Point - A - Minute teams that followed . " Yost noted that Michigan had allowed only four first downs in the last three games of the season and added , " This is the most remarkable defensive record ever made in football . " In 1931 , Yost told Grantland Rice that he still considered the 1925 team to be better than his " Point - a - Minute " from the early 1900s : " I still think the best team I ever coached was the 1925 bunch . They had everything . Those early teams had speed and power . But the game was simpler then . That 1925 bunch , which included Friedman and Oosterbaan , could run an end , buck a line , throw passes , kick , block , tackle , think , and do about everything needed on a football field to gain ground and keep other people from gaining ground . Don ' t forget about that 1925 team that our opponents had a hard time making first downs , much less winning the game . " Even years later , at the time of his 66th birthday in 1937 , Yost continued to wear a watch charm identifying the 1925 team as a championship eleven and continued to maintain that the 1925 team was his greatest eleven .