1980 Michigan Wolverines football team The 1980 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1980 NCAA Division I - A football season . Coached by Bo Schembechler , Michigan won the Big Ten Conference championship with a record of 10 – 2 ( 8 – 0 in conference ) and defeated the Washington Huskies in the 1981 Rose Bowl game , 23 – 6 . After starting the season 1 – 2 with a narrow victory over Northwestern and losses to Notre Dame and South Carolina , the 1980 season looked like it would be disappointment . A quarterback controversy concerning the choice of Rich Hewlett to start the season over the popular John Wangler added to the early - season turmoil . However , the defense gathered strength over the course of the season , scored three consecutive shutouts , and did not allow a touchdown in the final 22 quarters of the season . The offense was led by All - Americans Anthony Carter at wide receiver and George Lilja at center . The Rose Bowl victory over Washington was Schembechler ' s first win in a bowl game , following seven bowl games losses . After falling out of the rankings for four weeks in the middle of the season , the 1980 Wolverines ended up being ranked # 4 in both the AP and Coaches polls . Season summary . Preseason expectations . The 1979 season marked the first time Michigan had not ended the season ranked among the nation ' s top ten teams since Bo Schembechler took over as coach in 1969 . In the AP ' s 1980 preseason poll , Michigan was not even picked to be one of the top two teams in the Big Ten Conference . 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 . Week 1 : Northwestern . In the first game of the year , Michigan played Northwestern . The game began in a heavy rain that turned into a dowpour for most of the first half . The game was unexpectedly close , as 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 . Northwestern then scored a touchdown early in the fourth quarter to tie the game , 10 - 10 , " before a stunned crowd of 100 , 824 at Michigan Stadium . " Michigan fans were unsure of the young sophomore quarterback , Rich Hewlett , starting in place of senior John Wangler , who had been injured in the previous year ' s Gator Bowl . With the game tied , 10 - 10 , the disenchanted Michigan fans began chants of " We Want Wangler . " With Northwestern still controlling the ball in the fourth quarter , Andy Cannavino fell on a Northwestern fumble at the Wildcats ' 23 - yard line . Hewlett responded with a 23 - yard touchdown pass to Anthony Carter in the left corner of the end zone ( Hewlett ' s second touchdown pass of the game to Carter ) to give Michigan a 17 - 10 lead . In the final three minutes of the game , Northwestern drove the ball from its own 27 to the Michigan 7 , but Andy 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 . " Week 2 : at 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 . " Week 3 : South Carolina . Michigan faced South Carolina and 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 . Week 4 : California . In its fourth game , Michigan beat 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 by Michigan 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 . " Week 5 : Michigan State . In the fifth week of the season , Michigan defeated its in - state rival , Michigan State , in a close game by a score of 27 - 23 . Michigan running back Butch Woolfolk rushed for 136 yards , and the Spartans ' placekicker , Morten Andersen kicked three field goals in the game , including a school - record 57 - yarder . With the game tied 13 - 13 in the second half , Michigan State was penalized for roughing Michigan placekicker , Ali Haji - Sheikh . Though Haji - Sheikh ' s field goal was good , Michigan coach Schembechler decided to accept the penalty ( taking three Michigan points off the board ) and go for the touchdown . Three plays later , John Wangler threw a touchown pass to Anthony Carter . When questioned about the call after the game , Schembechler grinned and said , " So old Bo isn ' t too dumb is he ? " Michigan scored its final touchdown on a pass from Wangler to Craig Dunaway . Michigan intercepted a pass in the final minute - and - a - half of the game to stop the Spartans ' final drive . Week 6 : at Minnesota . In week six , Michigan won a convincing 37 - 14 road victory over Minnesota . Butch Woolfolk scored two first - half touchdowns , including a 27 - yard touchdown run on Michigan ' s opening possession . Quarterback John Wangler threw for a personal - high 227 yards on 16 - for - 22 passing , and Anthony Carter caught nine passes for 149 yards and two touchdowns . Ali Haji - Sheikh added three field goals . Week 7 : Illinois . Week seven ' s match - up against Illinois had special significance , because Michigan assistant coaches Gary Moeller and Lloyd Carr had been fired by Illinois after the 1979 season . Rumors spread before the game that coach Schembechler wanted to " make Illinois pay " for the firings . Michigan fullback Stan Edwards ran for a career - high 152 yards in the game , though he also fumbled the ball while running untouched in the open field in the second quarter . Michigan also had a 78 - yard punt return nullified for clipping . Anthony Carter caught five passes for 121 yards and a touchdown in the first half , and did not play in the second half . After the game , the Michigan players presented game balls to assistant coaches Moeller and Carr . Week 8 : at Indiana . The Michigan defense scored its first of three straight shutouts in week eight , as Michigan defeated Indiana , 35 - 0 . Michigan running backs Butch Woolfolk and Lawrence Ricks ran for 152 and 123 yards respectively . The game ' s most unusual moment came when Ricks scored two touchdowns in a span of only 28 seconds in the first quarter . Ricks ran 29 yards for a touchdown , and on the ensuing kickoff , Indiana fumbled on its own 22 yard - line . Ricks ran the ball twice , scoring on the second carry after the fumble recovery . Anthony Carter caught a 34 - yard touchdown pass from Wangler , and Woolfolk added a 64 - yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter . Week 9 : at Wisconsin . Michigan shut out Wisconsin on the road in week nine , by a score of 24 - 0 . Anthony Carter caught a touchdown pass to set a Michigan school record for touchdown receptions in a single season . Week 10 : Purdue . Michigan ' s most impressive defensive performance of the season came in week 10 , a 26 – 0 shutout of Purdue . Purdue was led that year by senior quarterback and Heisman Trophy candidate Mark Herrmann , who set all - time NCAA records for passing yardage and total offense . It was only the second time in Herrmann ' s four years at Purdue that the Boilermakers were shut out . In the second half , the defense did not allow a first down , and Herrmann passed for only 24 yards . The Wolverines defense also intercepted three of Herrmann ' s passes , including two by Tony Jackson . On offense , Michigan wide receiver Anthony Carter caught his 18th and 19th touchdown passes of the season . After the game , coach Schembechler expressed surprise when he was told that the defense had not allowed a single first down in the second half . Schembechler remarked , " Unbelievable . We ' ve never shut any body down since I ' ve been here like we did Purdue in the second half . " Week 11 : at Ohio State . In the final game of the regular season , Michigan faced Ohio State in front of a record crowd of 88 , 827 in Columbus , Ohio . Ohio State , which started the season ranked No . 1 in the country , had lost a non - conference game to UCLA and came into the game ranked No . 5 . The Buckeyes were led by senior quarterback Art Schlichter who became the third player in Big Ten history to surpass 6 , 000 yards in total offense ( Mark Herrmann and Rick Leach were the first to accomplish the feat ) . Michigan ' s only touchdown came late in the third quarter on a pass from John Wangler to Anthony Carter . Butch Woolfolk rushed for 142 yards . Placekicker Ali - Haji - Sheikh kicked a 43 - yard field goal in the first half , though he missed a 38 - yarder . However , the game was close due to Michigan mistakes , including three interceptions , two missed field goals , and an extra - point kick that hit the left upright and bounced back on the field . The errors led coach Schembechler to say , " It may not be the prettiest win and its wasn ' t the most explosive offensive show you ' ve ever seen , but we won it . " Ohio State had a chance to win late in the fourth quarter , as Schlichter completed a 28 - yard pass to the Michigan 32 - yard line with less than a minute to play . On the ensuing drive , Schlichter was penalized for intentional grounding and was sacked on the next play with 13 seconds left on the clock . The Michigan defense held Schlichter to 8 - of - 25 passing and extended its streak of not having allowed a touchdown to 18 quarters and 274 minutes . After the game , coach Schembechler paid tribute to his Big Ten championship team : " This was a great group in terms of never giving up . I enjoy this championship more than any of the previous ones because of the way we came back . " 1981 Rose Bowl . As the Big Ten Conference champion , Michigan advanced to the 1981 Rose Bowl game in which it defeated the Pac - 10 Conference champion Washington Huskies by a score of 23 – 6 . Coach Bo Schembechler , who had gone winless in seven prior bowl games ( five Rose Bowls , an Orange Bowl , and a Gator Bowl ) , was the focus of much of the pre - game press coverage . Michigan center George Lilja noted before the game , " We want to win for our coach as much as for ourselves . " Michigan scored on a six - yard touchdown run by Butch Woolfolk to take a 7 - 6 lead at halftime . Michigan drove the ball 83 yards to start the second half , scoring on a 25 - yard field goal by Ali Haji - Sheikh . In the third quarter , Wangler completed a seven - yard touchdown pass to Anthony Carter , and added another touchdown in the fourth quarter on a one - yard run by Stan Edwards . After the game , Michigan players carried Schembechler off the field on their shoulders as the coach held his arms above his head in victory . In the post - game press conference , Schembechler said , " I stood here five times before a loser . Now I ' m smoking a cigar and smiling . . . . Right now , I ' m on top of the world . I feel great about everything . " Michigan finished the season ranked No . 4 in both the AP and UPI polls . Players . Professional football . Twenty - five ( 25 ) members of the 1980 Michigan football team went on to play professional football . They are : Kurt Becker ( Chicago Bears , 1982 - 88 , 1990 , Los Angeles Rams , 1989 ) , Marion Body ( Michigan Panthers , 1983 ) , Keith Bostic ( Houston Oilers , 1983 - 88 ) , Cleveland Browns , 1990 ) , Don Bracken ( Green Bay Packers , 1985 - 90 , Los Angeles Rams , 1992 - 93 ) , Andy Cannavino ( Michigan Panthers , 1983 , Chicago Blitz , 1984 ) , Brian Carpenter ( New York Giants , 1982 , Washington Redskins , 1983 - 84 , Buffalo Bills , 1984 ) , Anthony Carter ( Michigan Panthers , 1983 - 84 , Oakland Invaders , 1985 , Minnesota Vikings , 1985 - 93 , Detroit Lions , 1994 - 95 ) , Milt Carthens ( Indianapolis Colts , 1987 ) , Evan Cooper ( Philadelphia Eagles , 1984 - 87 , Atlanta Falcons , 1988 - 89 ) , Jerry Diorio ( Detroit Lions , 1987 ) , Tom Dixon ( Michigan Panthers , 1984 ) , Craig Dunaway ( Pittsburgh Steelers , 1983 ) , Stanley Edwards ( Houston Oilers , 1982 - 86 , Detroit Lions , 1987 ) , Paul Girgash ( Michigan Panthers , 1984 ) , Ali Haji - Sheikh ( New York Giants , 1983 - 85 , Atlanta Falcons , 1986 , Washington Redskins , 1987 ) , Stefan Humphries ( Chicago Bears , 1984 - 86 , Denver Broncos , 1987 - 88 ) , George Lilja ( Los Angeles Rams , 1982 , New York Jets , 1983 - 84 , Cleveland Browns , 1984 - 86 , Dallas Cowboys , 1987 ) , Ed Muransky ( Los Angeles Raiders , 1982 - 84 , Orlando Renegades , 1985 ) , Mel Owens ( Los Angeles Rams , 1981 - 89 ) , Bubba Paris ( San Francisco 49ers , 1983 - 90 , Indianapolis Colts , 1991 , Detroit Lions 1991 ) , Lawrence Ricks ( Kansas City Chiefs , 1983 - 84 ) , Carlton Rose ( Washington Redskins , 1987 ) , Rich Strenger ( Detroit Lions , 1983 - 87 ) , Robert Thompson ( Tampa Bay Buccaneers , 1983 - 84 , Detroit Lions , 1987 ) , and Butch Woolfolk ( New York Giants , 1982 - 84 , Houston Oilers , 1985 - 86 , Detroit Lions , 1987 - 88 ) . Coaching staff . Michigan ' s assistant coaches in 1980 included six individuals who went on to success as head coaches - - Les Miles ( who won the 2007 National Championship with LSU ) , Lloyd Carr ( who won the 1997 National Championship with Michigan ) , Bill McCartney ( who led Colorado to a national title in 1990 ) , Ron Vanderlinden ( head coach at Maryland for four years ) , Gary Moeller ( who led Michigan to three Big Ten championships and a No . 5 ranking in 1992 ) , and Paul Schudel ( head coach at Ball State from 1985 – 1994 ) . The coaching staff also included Tirrel Burton , Tim Davis , Jerry Hanlon , Jerry Meter , Bob Thornbladh , Milan Vooletich .