1902 Michigan Wolverines football team The 1902 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1902 college football season . In their second year under head coach Fielding H . Yost , Michigan finished the season undefeated with an 11 – 0 record , outscored their opponents by a combined score of 644 to 12 , and became known as the second of Yost ' s famed " Point - a - Minute " teams . With a conference record of 5 – 0 , Michigan won the Big Nine Conference championship . The 1902 Michigan Wolverines have also been recognized as national champions by the Billingsley Report , Helms Athletic Foundation , Houlgate System , National Championship Foundation and Parke H . Davis . Quarterback Boss Weeks was the team ' s captain and the leader of the Wolverines ' offense that twice scored more than 100 points against opponents and averaged 58 . 6 points per game . Right halfback Albert E . Herrnstein was the team ' s leading scorer with 135 points on 27 touchdowns ( valued at five points under 1902 rules ) . Fullback James E . Lawrence was the second - leading scorer with 113 points on 12 touchdowns and 53 extra point kicks ( then known as " goals from touchdown " ) . Willie Heston , Joe Maddock and Paul J . Jones added 15 , 12 and 11 touchdowns , respectively . Schedule . Overview . The 1902 Michigan football team won Michigan ' s second consecutive western football championship . Although there was no mechanism in place at the time for the selection of a national champion , the 1902 Wolveirnes have been recognized as the national championship team by the Billingsley Report , Helms Athletic Foundation , Houlgate System , National Championship Foundation and Parke H . Davis . The team finished the season undefeated and untied , having prevailed in all eleven of their games by a combined score of 644 to 12 . The 1902 squad was the second of five consecutive high - scoring teams that came to be known as Coach Yost ' s " Point - a - Minute " teams . From 1901 to 1905 , Yost ' s teams compiled a record of 55 – 1 – 1 and outscored their opponents by a combined score of 2 , 821 to 42 . Team captain and quarterback Boss Weeks wrote a review of the 1902 season for the 1903 yearbook , the " Michiganensian . " Weeks opened his review as follows : " The story of the football season of 1902 is easily told . Champions of the West , with no one to dispute it . " In the same publication , Fielding Yost published a 15 - point essay entitled , " Why Michigan Is Great . " Some of Yost ' s points included the following : " First . Speed . Both as a team and in the individual players , Michigan was speedy . . . . < br > Second . Knowledge of the Game . All of the Michigan players were well versed in the fundamental principles of the game in every department . . . . < br > Third . Endurance . the men are of wonderful endurance . This is much due to their fine training . . . < br > Fourth . Spirit . Among the players there is the finest of fellow - feeling . The men ' s love of the game had helped give them the proper spirit . They have the desire to win - - the spirit of fighters . < br > Fifth . Team Work . Michigan ' s team work has been wonderful . . . . < br > Seventh . Weight . Michigan had a well - balanced team . The average was 182 pounds very equally distributed . But one man weighed over 200 pounds ( Carter ) and but one less than 170 pounds ( Weeks at quarterback ) . < br > Eighth . Style of Attack . Michigan varied her onslaughts very much , depending largely upon the style of defense used by the team opposing it . Every man on the team was used to carry the ball , thus distributing the work . < br > Ninth . Generalship . Captain Weeks deserves great credit for Michigan ' s success . As a leader of forces and strategist I believe he has no equal on the gridiron today . . . . < br > Tenth . Punting . In Sweeley , Michigan has one of the greatest kickers in the country . Never has he had a kick blocked in his four years ' play at Michigan . . . . < br > Twelfth . Defense . Michigan ' s defensive playing has been wonderful . No team was able to cross Michigan ' s goal on straight football in the last two years . . . < br > Fifteenth . Met All Teams . Michigan ' s schedule was far harder than that usually arranged for a team . She played five state universities and all the strong Western teams . " Popularity of football on campus . With the success of Yost ' s football team , football enjoyed a surge of popularity on Michigan ' s campus in 1902 . Even the student literary magazine , " The Inlander " , which usually filled its pages with poems , short stories , and essays by students , gave its entire December 1902 issue to a celebration of the football team . The special issue featured a photograph of Yost on the cover and included all manner of facts and figures on the popular team . Noting the popularity of the sport with Michigan ' s female students , " Detroit Free Press " in November 1902 wrote about the spectators in attendance at Michigan ' s home game against Minnesota : " But the dominant note of the gathering was the girl . She was there in every type and style , in every section of the stands and on every row . There was the college girl and the town girl , sweater girl and gown girl . And whatever type of girl she was elsewhere , she was always the Michigan girl . " Game summaries . Michigan 88 , Albion 0 . Michigan opened the 1902 season with an 88 – 0 victory over Albion College . Michigan completed all but one drive with touchdowns . The Wolverines starters scored eight touchdowns and 45 points in the first 20 - minute half , and the substitutes added seven touchdowns and a safety in the second half . On defense , Michigan allowed only a single first down by Albion . The game was played in halves of 20 minutes each . Rinehart of Lafayette was the umpire , and Thomas of Michigan was the referee . Michigan ' s starting lineup was Redden ( left end ) , Johnson ( left tackle ) , Baker ( left guard ) , Gregory ( center ) , Lawrence ( right guard ) , Maddock ( right tackle ) , Cole ( right end ) , Weeks ( quarterback ) , Heston ( left halfback ) , Herrnstein ( right halfback ) and Jones ( fullback ) . Michigan 48 , Case 6 . In its second game of the 1902 , Michigan played the Case Scientific School ( later Case Western Reserve University ) of Cleveland . The October 4 game was the fifth meeting between the schools . Although Michigan scored eight touchdowns and easily defeated Case by a score of 48 to 6 , the big story of the game was a 30 - yard touchdown run by Case ' s left halfback , Davidson . Michigan had not allowed any points to be scored in the first 12 games under Fielding Yost . The headline in the " Detroit Free Press " referred not to Michigan ' s victory but instead read , " MICHIGAN ' S GOAL LINE CROSSED . " The " Michigan Alumnus " wrote that the touchdown by Case " caused consternation among coach , team , and students " as " it had been their fondest hope that the goal line should remain uncrossed another year . " The game was played in halves of 20 minutes each . Rinehart of Lafayette was the umpire , and Gaston of Cleveland was the referee . Michigan ' s starting lineup was Redden ( left end ) , Lawrence ( left tackle ) , McGugin ( left guard ) , Gregory ( center ) , Carter ( right guard ) , Maddock ( right tackle ) , Cole ( right end ) , Weeks ( quarterback ) , Kidston ( left halfback ) , Herrnstein ( right halfback ) and Jones ( fullback ) . Michigan 119 , Michigan Agricultural 0 . Michigan played a mid - week game against Michigan Agricultural College ( now known as Michigan State University ) on Wednesday , October 8 , 1902 , four days after the win against Case . Michigan attained its highest point total of the year , defeating the Aggies by a score of 119 - 0 . The Wolverines scored 71 points in the first half of 20 minutes and 48 in the second half of 18 minutes . The " Michigan Alumnus " called it " the greatest fusillade of touchdowns ever known to the football world , " excluding Michigan ' s 128 – 0 win over Buffalo in 1901 . Michigan was held on downs only once in the game , and the Aggies made only three first downs . Right halfback Albert Herrnstein ran back a kickoff the length of the field and scored seven touchdowns in the game . Willie Heston and Everett Sweeley did not play in the game , and the " Detroit Free Press " noted : " The opinion is quite general that if Heston and Sweeley had been in the game the Buffalo record would have been beaten , but , as it was , Michigan was simply fagged out running down the field for touchdowns . " The game was played in two halves of 20 minutes and 18 minutes . Demonstrating the understatement of the " Point - a - Minute " name given to the team , the Wolverines scored 119 points in 38 minutes of play , an average of 3 . 1 points per minute . After the game , " The Newark Advocate " wrote : " Michigan has undoubtedly the fastest scoring team in the world , and the Ann Arbor boys play Yosts ' ' hurry up ' formations like clock work . It requires a fast team to take the ball , line up and score 119 points , even if they have no opponents in two 20 minute halves . " Michigan ' s starting lineup was Redden ( left end ) , Lawrence ( left tackle ) , McGugin ( left guard ) , Gregory ( center ) , Carter ( right guard ) , Maddock ( right tackle ) , Cole ( right end ) , Weeks ( quarterback ) , Kidston ( left halfback ) , Herrnstein ( right halfback ) and Jones ( fullback ) . Richardson of Michigan was the umpire , and Thomas of Michigan was the referee . Michigan 60 , Indiana 0 . Michigan defeated Indiana 60 - 0 in the fourth game of the season . The Indiana team was led by College Football Hall of Famer Zora G . Clevenger . James Lawrence was the star of the game for Michigan . In his first game after Fielding Yost moved him to the fullback position , Lawrence scored four touchdowns and kicked nine goals after touchdown , accounting for 29 of Michigan ' s 60 points . The " Michigan Alumnus " wrote that Lawrence " was called upon repeatedly to take the ball and would always advance it eight or ten yards " with big holes being opened by guards Carter and McGugin . Michigan ' s " most spectacular play " of the game was a 75 - yard touchdown run by Maddock . The " Alumnus " gave particular praise to the defense : " Only once was Indiana able to make an impression on her impregnable wall and that on a very short run by Clevenger . " At the invitation of Michigan ' s graduate manager Charles A . Baird , more than 2 , 000 school children accompanied by their teachers attended the game . University of Michigan president James B . Angell also attended the game for the first time of the year . Wisconsin Badgers football coach Phil King also attended the game with his fullback Earl " Keg " Driver to scout the Michigan team in preparation for the upcoming game between the two teams . The game was played in halves of 25 and 20 minutes . Through the first four games of the season , Yost ' s " Point - a - Minute " team had scored 315 points in 163 minutes of play , an average of almost two points per minute . Michigan ' s starting lineup was Graver ( left end ) , Baker ( left tackle ) , McGugin ( left guard ) , Gregory ( center ) , Carter ( right guard ) , Maddock ( right tackle ) , Cole ( right end ) , Weeks ( quarterback ) , Heston ( left halfback ) , Herrnstein ( right halfback ) and Lawrence ( fullback ) . Michigan 23 , Notre Dame 0 . After four home games to open the season , Michigan played Notre Dame at a neutral site in Toledo , Ohio on October 18 , 1902 . The game was played on a slippery white clay field at Armory Park following a night of rain . Michigan had been heavily favored to win , and betting on the game was 2 to 1 that Notre Dame would not score . Though favored to run up a high score , Michigan scored only one touchdown and led 5 - 0 at the end of the first half . The " Detroit Free Press " wrote that the game was " the toughest proposition that the Wolverines have had , either this season or last year . " Michigan tackle Joe Maddock was the leading scorer with three touchdowns . The game also marked the debut of right end Everett Sweeley , who punted several times for a distance of 60 yards . On the opening kickoff , Sweeley returned the ball with a punt to Notre Dame ' s 43 - yard line . Although Notre Dame did not score on Michigan , its captain , Louis J . Salmon , demonstrated why he had earned " the reputation of being the hardest line bucker in the west . " On one drive , Salmon took the ball to the Michigan 43 - yard line in two attempts . After Notre Dame reached Michigan ' s 20 - yard line , " Salmon went at it in the most vicious and determined manner to score . He took the ball eight times in succession but was finally held for downs on the 5 - yard line . " In the second half , Michigan ' s running game wore down the Notre Dame defense . Michigan scored three touchdown in the second half , and Notre Dame did not move into Michigan territory . Michigan end Curtis Redden was ejected from the game after an altercation with Lonnegan of Notre Dame , though Redden claimed Lonnegan had been the instigator . After the game , Yost said , " I am satisfied . The score is just about what I though it would be after I had taken a look at the field . " The game was played in halves of 25 minutes . Hinkey of Yale was the umpire , and Jackson of Lake Forest was the referee . Michigan ' s starting lineup was Redden ( left end ) , Cole ( left tackle ) , McGugin ( left guard ) , Gregory ( center ) , Carter ( right guard ) , Maddock ( right tackle ) , Sweeley ( right end ) , Graver ( quarterback ) , Heston ( left halfback ) , Herrnstein ( right halfback ) and Jones ( fullback ) . Michigan 86 , Ohio State 0 . In the sixth game of the season , Michigan defeated Ohio State 86 - 0 in Ann Arbor on October 25 , 1902 . The game was played in front of a crowd of 6 , 000 ( including 2 , 000 from Columbus ) , " the largest crowd ever gathered at Ferry Field . " Michigan scored 45 points in the first half and 41 points in the second half . On offense , the " Detroit Free Press " wrote that the Wolverines " simply ran the Ohio team off their feet . " Willie Heston reportedly returned to " his 1901 form , " scoring the game ' s first points with a 20 - yard end run after three minutes of play . Heston scored his second touchdown on a 70 - yard run . Albert Herrnstein was credited by the " Free Press " with the most consistent play for Michigan and with " the star play of the day by cutting inside of end and running 35 yards for a touchdown . " The " Free Press " noted that , despite the coaching of former Yale fullback Perry Hale , the Ohio State players lacked " the first rudiments of tackling " and " failed to hold a man when they got their arms around him . " Michigan ' s defense was credited with playing a strong game as " Ohio State never got near enough to Michigan ' s goal line to see what the cross - bars looked like . " Ohio State ' s longest gain was a 15 - yard run around Michigan ' s right end for a 15 - yard gain in the second half . Everett Sweeley made the tackle to stop a touchdown . Herb Graver also blocked a punt for Michigan . The day before the Ohio State game , a reserve player for Michigan , Max Fleischer , died of injuries sustained while participating in a football practice session . The game was played in halves of 35 and 25 minutes . Hinkey of Yale was the umpire , and Hoagland of Princeton was the referee . Michigan ' s starting lineup was Redden ( left end ) , Palmer ( left tackle ) , McGugin ( left guard ) , Gregory ( center ) , Carter ( right guard ) , Maddock ( right tackle ) , Sweeley ( right end ) , Weeks ( quarterback ) , Heston ( left halfback ) , Herrnstein ( right halfback ) and Lawrence ( fullback ) . Michigan 6 , Wisconsin 0 . In the seventh game of the season , Michigan faced its toughest opponent , the Wisconsin Badgers . The game matched the two western teams that had finished the 1901 season with undefeated records and was played at Marshall Field in Chicago in front of a crowd estimated variously at between 20 , 000 and 22 , 000 , the largest number ever to watch a college football game in the west . The game began at 2 : 40 p . m . , and Michigan scored the game ' s only points at the end of a 65 - yard drive seven minutes into the first half . Willie Heston had the longest run ( 20 yards ) on the drive , and Joe Maddock scored the touchdown on a run through the tackle from the two - yard line . Despite the close score , Wisconsin only once had the ball in Michigan ' s territory . The " Michigan Alumnus " wrote : " The play was in Wisconsin ' s territory practically the whole time . They never got within striking distance of Michigan ' s goal , while Michigan was held at one time with the ball less than a yard from Wisconsin ' s goal line , at another time was held inside the 15 - yard line , and still again lost the ball on a fumble on the 7 - yard line . " The " Detroit Free Press " opened its coverage of the game as follows : " In what is conceded to be the greatest football game ever played on a western gridiron , Michigan decisively defeated Wisconsin on Marshall field this afternoon and undoubtedly won at the same time the championship of the west , though a later game must be won before that honor can be claimed . " Four times Michigan moved the ball deep into Wisconsin territory , and all four times Michigan ' s field goal attempts by Lawrence and Sweeley were unsuccessful . In the middle of the first half , a temporary bleacher at the northeast corner of the field collapsed , " carrying with it a mass of struggling people . " Several hundred people were thrown to the ground in the accident . The " Detroit Free Press " described the scene following the collapse : " A shudder went through the grand stands , and the game was stopped . A score of men were injured , but no one were killed . The immense crowd about the gridiron took advantage of the confusion to break down the wire fence surrounding it , and hundreds swarmed onto the field . The few police were powerless to force them out , but the scrubs from both teams lined up against the crowd and shoved them away from the side lines so the game could be played . " The game was resumed after a 15 - minute delay . The inadequate seating capacity of Marshall Field was blamed for the accident . The bleacher was designed to hold 400 but was crowded beyond its capacity . The facilities were insufficient for the crowd that showed for the game , and there were reports of spectators offering $ 20 for a ticket . The game was played in equal halves of 35 minutes . Michigan ' s starting lineup was Redden ( left end ) , Palmer ( left tackle ) , McGugin ( left guard ) , Gregory ( center ) , Carter ( right guard ) , Maddock ( right tackle ) , Sweeley ( right end ) , Weeks ( quarterback ) , Heston ( left halfback ) , Herrnstein ( right halfback ) and Jones ( fullback ) . Approximately 2 , 000 students accompanied the team to Chicago , and an account from Chicago was relayed to Ann Arbor ' s Athens theater which was " packed with students and citizens . " When the final score was announced , the crowd of 1 , 500 voices sung , " Oh ! What have we done ? Oh ! What have we done ? We have put Wisconsin on the bum . That ' s what we have done . " When the Michigan team returned to Ann Arbor late in the evening , they were met by a big delegation that marched behind the bus singing . " Michigan 107 , Iowa 0 . The Wolverines improved their record to 8 - 0 with a 107 - 0 win over Iowa . Michigan scored 17 touchdowns in the game , and its point total was the largest score ever registered against a Big Ten Conference team , and " the largest number ever chalked up by one big university against another . " Fielding Yost was absent from the game , choosing to travel to Minnesota to watch the Golden Gophers play in preparation for the upcoming game between the two schools . The " Detroit Free Press " wrote after the game that " Yost ' s smile can be seen all the way from Minneapolis . " Michigan scored 65 points in the first half , and its offense dominated the game . The " Michigan Alumnus " reported : " [ T ] he versatility of Michigan ' s play so disconcerted the Iowa team within the first ten minutes that she seemed wholly bewildered . Delayed passes , fake kicks , double passes , end runs , line - bucks off tackle and into the line followed each other like kaleidoscopic transitions . Gains were made at every point and in every conceivable manner . " The " Detroit Free Press " also noted the innovative nature of Michigan ' s offensive game plan : " Michigan to - day mixed up her plays so completely that Iowa was completely bewildered . Delayed passes , double passes , ends skirting ends , halves dodging in between end and tackle after their opponents had been boxed out and in , tackles and full back hitting the line like trip hammers made the giant Hawkeyes look like a weak scrub team . " Everett Sweeley was singled out as the star of the Iowa game for Michigan . He converted 10 goals from touchdown , punted for an average of 50 yards , kicked a field goal from the 35 - yard line , and returned a punt 90 yards for a touchdown . After the game , the umpire , Hoagland of Princeton , praised Michigan ' s blocking ( then known as interference ) : " If you can tell me how you are going to break such a perfect interference , four men running ahead of the man with the ball on end runs without allowing Michigan to make a score , I would like to know how it is done . " Michigan ' s trainer , Keene Fitzpatrick , filled in for Yost as the on - field coach against Iowa . After the game , Fitzpatrick noted : " I think our team - work today was fine . The men certainly have the right spirit . Coach Yost hated to go away . . . . The last thing he said to me was , ' Keene , just before they go into the game , give them a good talk . ' Well , I guess they did , and I am proud of them . " One of the Iowa team members reported receiving a message from Iowa City : " Oh , My . Isn ' t it awful . Box the remains and send them home . " In the first eight games of the season , Michigan had scored 537 points ( 67 . 1 points per game ) , more than the 506 points Michigan ' s 1901 team had scored in the entire regular season . The game was played in halves of 35 and 30 minutes . Michigan ' s starting lineup was Graver ( left end ) , Palmer ( left tackle ) , McGugin ( left guard ) , Gregory ( center ) , Carter ( right guard ) , Maddock ( right tackle ) , Sweeley ( right end ) , Weeks ( quarterback ) , Heston ( left halfback ) , Herrnstein ( right halfback ) and Jones ( fullback ) . Michigan 21 , Chicago 0 . Michigan returned to Marshall Field in Chicago to play Amos Alonzo Stagg ' s Chicago Maroons on November 15 , 1902 . Michigan won the game 21 – 0 in front of a crowd of 14 , 000 . The game began at 2 : 15 p . m . Before the game started , the Michigan fans in attendance released toy red balloons marked " Chicago " into the " somewhat murky and frosty atmosphere . " One Michigan fan , described as " a long - haired collegian wearing a yellow and blue streamer , told a reporter , " That is the way we will toss Chicago up in the air . " Everett Sweeley gave Michigan a 5 – 0 lead with a field goal from a difficult angle at the 25 - yard line . Later in the first half , Heston took the ball on a delayed pass and ran 71 yards for a touchdown . Michigan led 10 – 0 at halftime . In the second half , Sweeley extended Michigan ' s lead to 15 - 0 with a field goal from the 17 - yard line . With approximately 10 minutes remaining in the game , left tackle William Palmer ran for a touchdown , and Sweeley converted the goal from touchdown to give Michigan its final total of 21 points . The game was the second match between the two legendary coaches , Yost and Stagg . Michigan had defeated Chicago 22 – 0 in 1901 . Despite the successive defeats , Stagg was credited with developing a " magnificent defense to hold Yost ' s ' hurry up ' offense to 21 points in 70 minutes of play . " The game was played in halves of 35 minutes . Joseph Beacham of Cornell was the referee , and Raymond Starbuck of Cornell the umpire . Michigan ' s starting lineup was Redden ( left end ) , Palmer ( left tackle ) , McGugin ( left guard ) , Gregory ( center ) , Carter ( right guard ) , Maddock ( right tackle ) , Sweeley ( right end ) , Weeks ( quarterback ) , Heston ( left halfback ) , Herrnstein ( right halfback ) and Jones ( fullback ) . Michigan 63 , Oberlin 0 . Michigan defeated Oberlin 63 – 0 in the ninth game of the season . Michigan scored 28 points in the first half and 33 in the second . The speed of Michigan ' s " hurry up " offense was demonstrated by a three - play drive in which Herb Graver returned a kickoff 60 yards and Willie Heston ran the remaining 40 yards for a touchdown . Early in the second half , Herb Graver fumbled the ball at Michigan ' s 10 - yard line , and the ball was recovered by Oberlin . On a fake field goal , Oberlin took the ball to the four - yard line but was unable to advance the ball further and missed a field goal attempt . Michigan ' s Herrnstein and Sweeley were both taken out of the game with injuries to their knees . With Minnesota ' s head coach Henry L . Williams and five of his players attending the game to scout the Wolverines , Michigan ' s quarterback Boss Weeks did not open up the great variety of Michigan ' s plays and " did not pull much down out of his sleeve for their edification . " Only once did Michigan run one of its renowned trick plays , a double pass to Everett Sweeley that was good for 15 yards . After the game , the umpire , Allen of Chicago , was asked what he thought of the Michigan team and responded : " Why , it goes without saying that Michigan is a wonder . It is the greatest team I ever saw , and I have watched a lot of them . " The game was a benchmark game in which Michigan could be compared to the best teams in the east . Cornell had defeated Oberlin 57 – 0 earlier in the year , and the " Detroit Free Press " suggested that Michigan ' s victory by a greater margin " may give the easterners an eye - opener . " With the popularity of the " Point - a - Minute " tradition at Michigan , the " Detroit Free Press " reported : " The score is one of particularly gratification to Michigan ' s enhusiasts as it makes Yost ' s whirlwinds secure a record that never was equalled before , and probably never will be again . Michigan started out the season with as tough a schedule apparently as any team in the west , and if anybody had made a break that this aggregation would be a ' point to the minute ' team the man who made the assertion would have been the guy of the town . Yet now , having played 540 minutes , this scoring machine has piled up 621 points , and even if Michigan is shut out by Minnesota in seventy minutes of play the Wolverines will have obtained an average that is the greatest feat in gridiron history . " The game was played in halves of 30 minutes . Michigan ' s starting lineup was Redden ( left end ) , Cole ( left tackle ) , McGugin ( left guard ) , Gregory ( center ) , Carter ( right guard ) , Maddock ( right tackle ) , Sweeley ( right end ) , Weeks ( quarterback ) , Heston ( left halfback ) , Herrnstein ( right halfback ) and Jones ( fullback ) . Michigan 23 , Minnesota 6 . In the final game of the 1902 season , Michigan defeated Minnesota 23 – 6 on Thanksgiving Day . The game got under way at 2 : 15 p . m . on a brisk afternoon in Ann Arbor . Michigan took the opening kickoff and sustained a 90 - yard , seven - minute drive ending with a touchdown by Joe Maddock and a goal after touchdown by Everett Sweeley . The " Detroit Free Press " reported that , during the opening drive , " the Minnesota line was hurled back , again and again , like that of a minor college eleven . " Michigan ' s second touchdown came on an end run by Heston from the 35 - yard line , with Sweeley again kicking the goal to give Michigan a 12 – 0 lead at halftime . At halftime , South Bend , Indiana resident Louis Elbel conducted the as it played a song Elbel had composed four years earlier which was then known as " The Champions of the West " ( now known as " The Victors " ) . In the second half , the Golden Gophers scored after Boss Weeks missed the catch on a punt . The ball contacted Weeks and bounded past him . Flynn of Minnesota recovered the ball and ran for a touchdown , only the second touchdown scored against Michigan since Fielding Yost took over as head coach in 1901 . Michigan ' s leading scorer , Albert Herrnstein , was pulled from the game in the second half due to an injury . The " Detroit Free Press " described Herrnstein ' s removal from his final game for Michigan as follows : " He had been laid out a number of times , but refused to quit the game until he was unable to stand . Then , crying , he was dragged off the field by trainer Keene Fitzpatrick . " On its next drive , Michigan was stopped at Minnesota ' s 25 - yard line , and Sweeley kicked a field goal for five points to give the Wolverines a 17 – 6 lead . Sweeley ' s field goal was converted from a difficult angle , and its success " set the rooters wild . " Later in the game , Heston scored the game ' s final touchdown on a run from the 35 - yard line , as he hurdled over a Minnesota tackler . Sweeley added the goal after touchdown to give Michigan the win at 23 – 6 . With the win , Michigan completed its second consecutive perfect season under Fielding Yost . The game was played in equal halves of 35 minutes . Michigan ' s starting lineup was Redden ( left end ) , Cole ( left tackle ) , McGugin ( left guard ) , Gregory ( center ) , Carter ( right guard ) , Maddock ( right tackle ) , Sweeley ( right end ) , Weeks ( quarterback ) , Heston ( left halfback ) , Herrnstein ( right halfback ) and Graver ( fullback ) . Players . Varsity letter winners . The following 14 players received varsity " M " letters for their participation on the 1902 football team : 1902 players who became coaches . Fielding Yost earned a reputation as an innovator of the sport . His " Point - a - Minute " teams at Michigan compiled an overall record of 43 - 0 - 1 from 1901 to 1905 and outscored their opponents 2 , 326 to 40 . The unprecedented performance of these teams created a demand for Yost ' s players , known as the " Yost - men " , to serve as head coaches at other schools . Ten of the 14 lettermen on Yost ' s 1902 team became college football head coaches . Dan McGugin , who played left guard for the 1902 team , was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame for his accomplishments as head coach at Vanderbilt from 1904 to 1934 . And end / tackle William C . " King " Cole led the Nebraska Cornhuskers to two Missouri Valley Conference championships . The 1902 Michigan players who went on to head coaching positions are : Scoring summary . The following chart accounts for the 644 points scored by the 1902 football team and is based on the box scores published in 1902 by the " Detroit Free Press " and " The Michigan Alumnus " .