1910 Michigan Wolverines football team The 1910 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1910 college football season . The team ' s head coach was Fielding H . Yost in his 10th season at Michigan . While playing a schedule that included some of the best teams in the country , Michigan compiled an undefeated 3 – 0 – 3 record and outscored opponents 29 to 9 . Early in the season , the Wolverines defeated a Michigan Agricultural College ( now known as Michigan State University ) team that compiled a record of 6 – 0 and outscored opponents other than Michigan 165 to 2 ( including a 17 – 0 victory over Notre Dame ) . The Wolverines tied a Penn team that won the 1908 national championship and compiled a 9 – 1 – 1 record in 1910 while outscoring opponents 184 to 19 . They also tied an Ohio State team that finished the season with a 6 – 1 – 3 record and outscored opponents 182 to 27 and a team that handed Ohio State its only defeat . In the final game of the season , Michigan shut out an undefeated Minnesota team that had outscored its previous opponents 179 to 0 . On defense , the 1910 Wolverines did not give up a touchdown all season , shut out the final three opponents , and gave up an average of 1 . 5 points per game . At the end of the season , the team was recognized as the champions of the west . Three Michigan players received first - team All - American honors . Left guard and team captain Albert Benbrook was selected as a consensus first - team All - American for the second consecutive year . Stanfield Wells , who played three games at right tackle and three games at right end , was selected as a first - team All - American by Walter Camp . Left halfback Joe Magidsohn was the team ' s leading scorer and also received first - team All - American honors from some selectors . Six Michigan players received first - team All - Western honors , including Benbrook , Wells , Magidsohn , tackle William P . Edmunds , end Stanley Borleske , and center Arthur Cornwell . Season summary . Pre - season . In August 1910 , Dave Allerdice , captain of the 1909 Michigan Wolverines football team , was hired as an assistant coach with responsibility for developing a kicker . Allerdice joined Prentiss Douglass , Germany Schulz , and Curtis Redden as Fielding H . Yost ' s assistant coaches . Michigan opened its pre - season training camp at Whitmore Lake , Michigan on September 19 , 1910 . Coach Yost opined that the 1910 season would see a more open style of play under the new rules with reduced risk of injuries . Training camp began with light conditioning work , then progressed to " more strenuous labors . " The squad began with 11 players at Whitmore Lake but grew larger as more players arrived over the two weeks . Halfback Joe Magidsohn arrived at Whitemore Lake ten days later but was in " splendid condition after hard summer ' s work . " In late September , Yost announced that Shorty McMillan of Detroit would take over the quarterback spot held the prior year by Billy Wasmund . As the work at Whitmore Lake concluded , the " Detroit Free Press " wrote that the team was " rounding into form rapidly " and looked " like a machine . " The " Free Press " opined that the backfield showed plenty of speed , and the line appeared to be Michigan ' s strongest in years . Pre - season practice continued at Ferry Field during the first week of October . On October 5 , 1910 , Michigan announced that Grover " Dutch " Herrington , regarded by Coach Yost as " one of the most promising backfield men he has found in several seasons , " had suffered a broken bone in his right leg and would be unable to play during the 1910 season . Case . Michigan opened its 1910 season at Ferry Field in a 3 – 3 tie with the team from Cleveland ' s Case Scientific School . The game was the 14th meeting between the two programs , and Michigan had won all 13 of the prior games by a combined score of 354 to 37 . On the eve of the 1910 season opener against Case , Coach Yost expressed satisfaction with his team : " These boys are playing fine football . They are the best we have sent against Case in the past five years . " The game was played in good weather before the largest opening day crowd in Michigan history . In the first quarter , Michigan received excellent field position after a Case punt from behind the goal line traveled only 31 yards . After advancing to the seven - yard line , right guard George M . Lawton place - kicked a field goal from the 20 - yard line . In the second quarter , Case received excellent field position when Lawton punted from behind Michigan ' s goal line . Case ' s quarterback Goss made a fair catch at the 33 - yard line . Heller kicked a field goal to tie the score . In the " Detroit Free Press " , E . A . Batchelor wrote : " For the first time in many years what had come to be regarded as a fixed festival here will be omitted in 1910 , for Case , instead of submitting meekly to the annual licking , played Michigan to a standstill . . . This is all very lovely for the Clevelanders who consider the feat of tying the Yost team the event of their lives , but it ' s tough on Michigan which has become accustomed to whaling Case as an official and auspicious opening for the local football season . " The game was played in 10 - minute quarters . Michigan ' s starting lineup against Case was Daniels ( left end ) , Edmunds ( left tackle ) , Benbrook ( left guard ) , Cole ( center ) , Lawton ( right guard ) , Wells ( right tackle ) , Pattengill ( right end ) , McMillan ( quarterback ) , Magidsohn ( left halfback ) , Green ( right halfback ) , and Wenner ( fullback ) . Branch Rickey served as the head linesman . Michigan Agricultural . In the second week of the season , Michigan defeated by a 6 – 3 score at Ferry Field . It was the fifth game in the Michigan - Michigan State football rivalry , and Michigan had a 3 – 0 – 1 record in the four prior meetings , outscoring the Aggies by a combined total of 204 to 0 . The Aggies came into the 1910 game at Ann Arbor with a 2 – 0 record , having beaten two prior opponents by a total of 46 to 0 . The 1910 Aggies compiled a record of 6 – 0 and outscored opponents 165 to 2 against teams other than the Wolverines ( including a 17 – 0 victory over Notre Dame . Prior to the Michigan game , the M . A . C . student body adopted the slogan , " On to Michigan . " After a scoreless first half , the Aggies blocked two punts by George C . Thomson in the third quarter . On the second occasion , Thomson kicked from his 50 - yard line , and the low punt was blocked and rolled to Michigan ' s 12 - yard line where the Aggies ' left tackle Campbell recovered the ball . After Michigan stopped two runs , the Aggies ' right halfback , Hill , kicked a field goal from the 21 - yard line . The Aggies ' maintained a 3 – 0 into the fourth quarter . With less than five minutes left in the game , Shorty McMillan completed a pass to Stanley Borleske who ran 50 yards to the Aggies ' 15 - yard line . Don Green then carried the ball to the three - yard line . Due to a penalty , the Wolverines had five unsuccessful chances to score the touchdown after advancing to the three - yard line . Michigan then lined up for a field goal , but the play was a fake . Green took the snap from center and ran for the touchdown . Conklin kicked the extra point , and Michigan won by a score of 6 to 3 . After the game , Coach Yost praised the Michigan Agricultural team as " remarkably strong . " The referee , Ralph Hoagland , commented on Michigan ' s use of the news rules : " Yost has certainly taught his men some great things about the forward pass . " The game was played in 15 - minute quarters . Michigan ' s starting lineup against Michigan Agricultural was Borleske ( left end ) , Edmunds ( left tackle ) , Benbrook ( left guard ) , Bogle ( center ) , Conklin ( right guard ) , Wells ( right tackle ) , Pattengill ( right end ) , McMillan ( quarterback ) , Magidsohn ( left halfback ) , Green ( right halfback ) , and Thomson ( fullback ) . Branch Rickey was the head linesman . at Ohio State . In the third week of the 1910 season , Michigan played Ohio State to a 3 – 3 tie at Columbus , Ohio . The game was the 12th meeting in the Michigan – Ohio State football rivalry , with Michigan having won ten of the prior meetings and tied once . The 1910 Ohio State team was coached by former Yale coach , Howard Jones , who was later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame . The only scoring in the game consisted of an exchange of field goals in the second quarter . A forward pass from Shorty McMillan to Stanfield Wells took the ball to the Ohio State five - yard line . After an offside penalty and no gain on a fake kick , Frederick L . Conklin kicked a field goal from the 15 - yard line to give Michigan a 3 – 0 lead . Ohio State tied the score with a field goal by its left halfback , Wells , later in the second quarter . Neither team scored in the second half . The " Detroit Free Press " reported on the celebratory atmosphere in Columbus after the game : Seldom has such a demonstration been seen on Ohio field as was carried out by the O . S . U . rooters when the teams left the field after the final whistle . The band played , the rooters swarmed the field , hugged their mule mascot and went daffy in general . The town is in the hands of the celebrators tonight , the State contingent considering a tie score practically a victory for their team . Michigan ' s lineup against Ohio State ( starters listed first ) was Borleske ( left end ) , Edmunds ( left tackle ) , Benbrook ( left guard ) , Bogle and Cole ( center ) , Conklin ( right guard ) , Wells ( right tackle ) , Pattengill ( right end ) , McMillan ( quarterback ) , Magidsohn ( left halfback ) , Green ( right halfback ) , and Thomson ( fullback ) . Ralph Hoagland of Princeton was the umpire . John Esterline of Purdue was the field judge . at Syracuse . In the fourth week of the 1910 season , Michigan shut out Syracuse , 11 to 0 , before a crowd of 11 , 500 persons at Archbold Stadium in Syracuse , New York . The game was the third played between the schools , with each team having won one game . Joe Magidsohn scored two touchdowns for Michigan . " The New York Times " wrote of Magidsohn : " The work of this sturdy warrior was most brilliant from start to finish of the spectacular struggle . Both on the offensive and on the defensive he was a whirlwind . . . " The " Detroit Free Press " wrote that " Michigan completely outclassed Syracuse in every department of the game . " However , Michigan had several drives deep into Syracuse territory that resulted in no points . Early in the game , Syracuse held at its one - yard line . Michigan also was penalized for 105 yards in the game , and two of the penalties stopped drives that had penetrated close to Syracuse ' s goal . Michigan ' s point total was also limited due to its kicking game . Conklin converted one of two extra point attempts and missed five field goal attempts on a muddy field . Michigan ' s defense held Syracuse to one first down in the entire game , and Syracuse never moved the ball to within 40 yards of Michigan ' s goal line . The game ended on an interception of a Syracuse pass by Magidsohn . Michigan ' s lineup against Syracuse was Edmunds ( left end ) , Conklin ( left tackle ) , Benbrook ( left guard ) , Cornwell ( center ) , Quinn and Lawton ( right guard ) , Cole ( right tackle ) , Wells ( right end ) , McMillan ( quarterback ) , Magidsohn ( left halfback ) , Pattengill and Green ( right halfback ) , and Thomson ( fullback ) . Notre Dame ( cancelled ) . Michigan had been scheduled to play Notre Dame on November 5 , 1910 . Michigan protested Notre Dame ' s use of two players ( Philbrook and Dimmick ) who had reportedly played more than four years of college football . After Notre Dame refused to bench the players , Michigan ' s Board of Control of Athletics canceled the game . " The New York Times " reported : " It is understood here that this ends all athletic relations between Michigan and Notre Dame . " The two teams did not play again for more than 30 years , the longest break in the Michigan – Notre Dame football rivalry . In lieu of the game with Notre Dame , Michigan played a game against the reserves on November 5 . The game proved costly , as quarterback Shorty McMillan , who had played every minute of the first four games , sustained torn muscles in his shoulder . As a result of the injury , he was unable to play against Penn . at Penn . On November 12 , 1910 , Michigan played the Penn Quakers to a scoreless tie at Franklin Field in Philadelphia . Since leaving the Big Ten Conference , Michigan had played annual rivalry games against Penn at or near the end of the season . Penn was one of the dominant football programs of the era , winning seven national championships between 1894 and 1912 . The 1910 game was the sixth meeting between the schools . Penn won the first four games , and Michigan won the 1909 game . Michigan arrived in Philadelphia on the Thursday afternoon before the game and set up camp in Wayne , Pennsylvania , a Philadelphia suburb . Although the game ended in a scoreless tie , newspapers opined that Michigan had outplayed Penn . In the " Detroit Free Press " , E . A . Batchelor wrote : " In everything but the count , it was Michigan ' s game . Yost ' s men , quoted at the long price of 10 to 6 in the betting prior to the opening of hostilities , showed a spirit and strength that completely astounded the easterners . In gaining ground on line bucking , the invaders were so superior to the Quakers that there was no comparison . " In the " Chicago Daily Tribune " , Walter Eckersall ( who also served as the game ' s referee ) wrote that the game was " the most important intersectional contest of the year , " a fierce struggle of " the kind which makes football history , " and " a decided triumph for western football . " Eckersall wrote that Michigan ' s versatile offense bewildered Penn , and he described Yost ' s 1910 squad as " a team which has reached the pinnacle of football perfection . " One of Michigan ' s best scoring opportunities came on a punt from Penn quarterback Scott to Michigan end Victor Pattengill . Pattengill raised his hand for a fair catch at the Michigan 40 - yard line , but was " buried in the sod " by several Penn players . The field judge Beacham did not see Pattengill call for the fair catch and did not call interference . Michigan protested , but the protest was overruled . Under 1910 rules , the penalty would have given Michigan a free kick from the Penn 25 - yard line . On another occasion , Stanfield Wells caught a pass and ran 20 yards for what appeared to be a touchdown . However , an official ruled that Wells had " stepped outside " and the play was called back . A third scoring opportunity was lost after a fumble by Penn . Michigan ' s right tackle , Wheaton Cole , had the ball in front of him with a clear path ahead . Cole was unable to grab the football and " instead kicked it over the goal line where one of Mr . Penn ' s sons fell on it for a touchback that was a lifesaver to the Red and Blue hosts . " On another occasion , Michigan drove to Penn ' s eight - yard line and needed three yards for a first down . Wells carried the ball on fourth down and was stopped with the ball going to Penn on downs . Batchelor blamed Michigan ' s inability to score on a rule change preventing the ball carrier from being pushed or pulled across the goal line by his own teammates . He complained about the new game which " the reformers invented and handed to that element of the public which believes the gridiron pastime should be a sport for invalids in evening dress . " The game was rough and physical . Penn ' s halfback Sommer was ejected for kicking Frederick Conklin during a play . Despite the rough play , all eleven Michigan starters played the full 60 minutes without substitutions . Quarterback Shorty McMillan was twice hurt so badly that the trainer , Alvin Kraenzlein , had to work on him . Batchelor wrote that " though they did count nine on him , " McMillan at the end of the game was still " barking signals and catching punts with all the ginger in the world . " Eckersall singled out Joe Magidsohn as the star of the game : In Magidsohn , Michigan has a great half back , and his brilliant playing in today ' s game was the bright feature . He tore through the heavy Penn forwards for substantial gains , while his squirming , turning end runs added many yards to Michigan ' s total . He was equally effective on the defense , and his ability to solve Penn ' s offense and direct his team mates to the point of attack had a good deal to do with the checking of the local ' s best ground gaining plays . " Maggie " was in every play , and carried the ball a greater number of times than any other man of either eleven . Batchelor praised the work of Michigan captain Albert Benbrook who loomed " like a mountain above the ruck of players " and on defense " smashed up plays with a vigor that sometimes threatened the very lives of the enemy . " The Michigan student band traveled with the team to Philadelphia and burst into song " on the slightest provocation , " with several band members " parading the field and defying the Quakers with the strains of ' The Victors . ' " Michigan ' s starting lineup against Penn was Edmunds ( left end ) , Conklin ( left tackle ) , Benbrook ( left guard ) , Cornwell ( center ) , Quinn ( right guard ) , Cole ( right tackle ) , Wells ( right end ) , McMillan ( quarterback ) , Magidsohn ( left halfback ) , Pattengill ( right halfback ) , and Thomson ( fullback ) . Minnesota . After three consecutive road games , Michigan concluded its 1910 season at Ferry Field with a 6 – 0 victory over Minnesota in front of a crowd of more than 20 , 000 persons . The game was the ninth meeting between the two football programs , and the second game in which the teams competed for possession of the Little Brown Jug , the oldest rivalry trophy in American college football . Both teams came into the game undefeated and were considered the best teams in the west . Minnesota had a 6 – 0 record and had outscored its opponents 179 to 0 . In the four weeks before the game , Minnesota had defeated Iowa State 49 – 0 , Nebraska 27 – 0 , Chicago 24 – 0 , and Wisconsin 28 – 0 . The game was expected to decide the western championship , and Minnesota fans sent the Gophers off with a parade in their honor . Some even opined that the contest would decide the national championship . In the days leading up to the game , Minnesota officials reportedly challenged the eligibility of George C . Thomson to play against the Gophers . The dean of Michigan ' s literary department was deputized to investigate . The investigation concluded that Thomson ' s entrance credits were " equivalent to the requirements of the literary department , though not corresponding to the precise subjects enumerated in the university calendar . " Nevertheless , Thomson did not play in the Minnesota game . Neither team was able to score in the first three quarters . At the end of the third quarter , Michigan drove to the Minnesota nine - yard line . Following the three - minute intermission before the fourth quarter began , the drive stalled . Fullback George Lawton attempted a field goal , but his kick missed the mark by a foot . With five minutes remaining in the game , Michigan finally sustained a touchdown drive . Michigan began the drive at its own 53 - yard line ( midfield was the 55 - yard line in 1910 ) . With time running out , the Wolverines resorted to the forward pass . On the first play of the drive , Stanfield Wells threw to Stanley Borleske for a gain of 27 yards to the Minnesota 30 - yard line . On the next play , Michigan ran the same play , and Borleske took the ball for 24 yards to the three - yard line . Wells ran with the ball on first down and was stopped for no gain . On second down , Wells again ran into the Minnesota defense . With a crowd of players on top of Wells , it was not clear initially whether he had crossed the goal line . When the referee separated the pile , Wells was holding the ball and had crossed over the goal line . E . A . Batchelor described the " Niagara of sound " that erupted from the stands : Venerable professors , giddy freshmen , staid , and usually phlegmatic , business men , small boys , pretty girls and even sweet faced old ladies stood up and howled until their vocal chords refused to emit another sound . Down on the field the Michigan team , substitutes , coaches , band and everyone else who manged to pass the barriers and gain admittance to the inclosure [ sic ] set aside for the elect , swarmed out on the battle ground , mingling in one wild , joyous , shouting , hugging , handshaking mob . It took several minutes for the officials to clear the field so that the game could be completed . Conklin kicked the extra point , and the game ended as Minnesota began to drive downfield after Lawton ' s kickoff . E . A . Batchelor summed up the victory over Minnesota : Two perfectly executed forward passes , each swift and sure as a rapier ' s thrust ; two plunges into the Minnesota line , and Michigan this afternoon has beaten the Gophers , won the undisputed championship of the west , established her claim to be considered the country ' s best and proved the superiority of skill and cunning over mere strength . All eleven Michigan starters played the full 60 minutes without substitution . Quarterback Shorty McMillan sustained a broken rib and played the last hour with the injury . Batchelor praised McMillan for his courage : " That he must have endured agonies in such a bruising combat easily can be appreciated . The whole history of football records no gamer exhibition than this . Michigan men who were aware of the boy ' s condition cheered him until their throats were sore . " Batchelor also praised Michigan ' s defensive effort , noting that " the tackling was deadly in its accuracy and fierceness . " Batchelor noted that the final minutes of the game were like the events that " occur mostly in books featured by the exploits of Frank Merriwell " and other fictional heroes . Batchelor also noted that Michigan played " the most open game that she had shown all season , using the forward pass time and again . Michigan ' s starting lineup against Minnesota was Borleske ( left end ) , Conklin ( left tackle ) , Benbrook ( left guard ) , Cornwell ( center ) , Bogle ( right guard ) , Edmunds ( right tackle ) , Wells ( right end ) , McMillan ( quarterback ) , Magidsohn ( left halfback ) , Pattengill ( right halfback ) , and Lawton ( fullback ) . Post - season . After the season had ended , " The New York Times " wrote that , by defeating Minnesota , Michigan had " captured the Western football championship . " Walter Eckersall also concluded that Michigan was entitled to the western championship . He also wrote a column in the " Chicago Daily Tribune " opining that Michigan had the best offense in the country and that its defense was also as good as any other . Three Michigan players received first - team All - American honors . Left guard and team captain Albert Benbrook was selected as a consensus first - team All - American for the second consecutive year . Stanfield Wells , who played three games at right tackle and three games at right end , was selected as a first - team All - American by Walter Camp . Left halfback Joe Magidsohn was the team ' s leading scorer with 10 points on two touchdown runs of 30 and 40 yards against Syracuse and also received first - team All - American honors from some selectors . Six Michigan players received first - team All - Western honors . In the " Chicago Daily Tribune " , Walter Eckersall selected Michigan players for five of the eleven first - team positions on his All - Western team . The five players so honored by Eckersall were Benbrook ( left guard ) , Wells ( left end ) , Magidsohn ( left halfback ) , William P . Edmunds ( right tackle ) , and Stanley Borleske ( right end ) . Michigan ' s Coach Yost also selected an All - Western team with five Michigan players . Yost ' s selections differed from Eckersall ' s only in the exclusion of Borleske and the inclusion of Arthur Cornwell at center . In " Collier ' s Weekly " , E . C . Patterson selected Benbrook as the best player in the West and named two other Michigan players to his All - Western team . In the weeks after the conclusion of the 1910 football season , much attention was focused on the question of whether Michigan should return to the Big Eight Conference . Facing a threatened break in athletic relations with Amos Alonzo Stagg ' s Chicago Maroons and a rebuke from the conference , Minnesota was forced to cease scheduling games against Michigan . ( Michigan remained independent of the conference until 1917 and would not play another game against Minnesota until 1919 . ) Players . Varsity letter winners . At the end of the 1910 season , 15 Michigan players were awarded varsity letter " M ' s " for their participation on the football team . They were :