2007 Michigan Wolverines football team The 2007 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season . This was Lloyd Carr ' s final season as Michigan head coach . The 2007 season began with a stunning loss to Appalachian State , but the Wolverines won eight straight games after starting 0 – 2 and finished 9 – 4 with a win over No . 9 Florida in the Capital One Bowl , 41 – 35 . In the Capital One Bowl , the Wolverines looked like the national championship contending team everyone thought they would be at the beginning of the year . Michigan finished tied for second in the Big Ten Conference with Illinois , a team the Wolverines defeated 27 – 17 in Champaign . Preseason . After a finishing 2006 11 – 2 and in contention for the national championship game , many were expecting the Wolverines to build on their success , earning a national preseason ranking of No . 5 . On March 25 , Coach Lloyd Carr announced that TE Carson Butler , DE Eugene Germany , and DB Chris Richards had been dismissed for violations of team policy . Carr also had stated that WR Adrian Arrington had been suspended for the spring practice session due to a violation of team policy . Carr was uncertain about Arrington ' s future at Michigan but Arrington did play WR at Michigan for the 2007 season . Backup QB Jason Forcier asked to be released from his scholarship to transfer to Stanford University , and LB Cobrani Mixon was released from his scholarship to transfer to Kent State University . Schedule . The 2007 Wolverine schedule was ranked the 15th toughest in the country . The home schedule was ranked as the 5th toughest . Radio coverage for all games was on the Michigan Sports Network , as well as on Sirius Satellite Radio . Game notes . Appalachian State . In the 34 – 32 loss , Michigan became the first team ever ranked in the AP Top 25 to lose to a Division I FCS team . Michigan started out strong , finishing the first quarter 14 – 7 , but the Mountaineers scored 21 unanswered points to go up 28 – 14 just before halftime . After trailing 28 – 14 in the first half , Michigan recaptured a 32 – 31 lead thanks to three Appalachian State turnovers and a dazzling 54 - yard touchdown run by senior running back Mike Hart with 4 : 36 left in the game . However , after the teams traded possessions , the Mountaineers drove 69 yards in 11 plays , and Julian Rauch connected on a 24 - yard field goal with 26 seconds remaining in the contest to give ASU a 34 – 32 lead . After a failed pass attempt , Chad Henne connected with Mario Manningham on a Hail Mary Pass with under 15 seconds left to get Michigan to the 20 - yard line . Michigan had a chip shot 30 - yard field goal to give Michigan what looked like to be their escape from the upset . Then , shocking the College Football world , Appalachian State ' s Corey Lynch blocked a potential game winning field goal with 6 seconds left to seal the huge upset . The attendance for the game was 109 , 218 . Adding insult to injury , Michigan dropped out of the Top 25 in the next poll . This was first time in the history of the AP Poll that a team ranked in the Top 5 had fallen out of the poll as a result of a single game and the first time a ranked FBS team was defeated by a FCS opponent . Oregon . Michigan looked to recover from their stunning loss the App State in their next game against Oregon . Michigan took a 7 – 0 lead in the first quarter but then Dennis Dixon and the high - powered Oregon offense went to town on the struggling Michigan Defense , giving Michigan its worst home loss ever . The Michigan fans booed the Wolverines on their home field and people were calling for Head Coach Lloyd Carr ' s head . The loss was another embarrassment to the football program at the University of Michigan . In addition to the huge defeat , Michigan lost its senior QB Chad Henne to a knee injury for two games due to a play in the second quarter . ESPN reported , " A week after getting stunned by Appalachian State , the Wolverines were handed their worst beating since before Bo Schembechler worked the sideline at the Big House . Dennis Dixon accounted for 368 yards and a career - high four touchdowns , helping the Ducks build a 25 - point lead at halftime and cruise to an easy victory . " The 32 - point defeat was Michigan ' s worst loss since losing 50 – 14 at Ohio State in 1968 and their worst home loss ever . The Wolverines started 0 – 2 for the first time since 1998 and the first time starting 0 – 2 on a homestead since 1959 but in a positive note , both those times Michigan rebounded back and won the Big Ten title . " Notre Dame . The Wolverines and The Fighting Irish met for the first time with both teams boasting an 0 – 2 record . Since both teams lost their final two games of the 2006 season , the loser of this game would have a five game losing streak . Head coach Lloyd Carr faced many challenges , including the loss of his senior quarterback Chad Henne to a leg injury , fans calling for his firing , and his senior running back Mike Hart guaranteed a victory over the Irish . Michigan won 38 – 0 , tying their largest - ever win over Notre Dame set during the 2003 season . For only the second time in school history , Notre Dame opened the season with three losses . Penn State . In the 2007 Big Ten Season opener the unranked Michigan Wolverines defeated No . 10 Penn State 14 – 9 . Sr . Running Back Mike Hart had 44 carries 153 yards and a TD . In his second start freshmen QB Ryan Mallett was 16 – 29 passes and a rushing TD . Northwestern . The Michigan football team went on the first road game of the season defeating the Wildcats 28 – 16 . Henne returned to the lineup to complete 18 – 27 passes and 3 TDs . Mike Hart had 106 yards and a TD . The Wolverines forced a turnover on the last 4 of the Wildcat possessions . Minnesota . Despite a slow start and two early turnovers , the Wolverines extended their win streak to seven without Chad Henne or Mike Hart . After a Minnesota field goal , Minnesota ' s Dominique Barber recovered one of Ryan Mallet ' s three fumbles and returned it for a touchdown . Despite that , the Wolverines held the Gophers to just 231 yards and 3 offensive points all game . Michigan ' s Brandon Minor and Carlos Brown both ran for over 100 yards , meaning up until this game Michigan has had a back go over 100 yards in every match up . Mario Manningham had his fourth straight 100 + yard game . Michigan State . Led by Chad Henne and his four touchdown tosses , Michigan defeated Michigan State 28 – 24 . In the final minutes with Michigan trailing by a field goal , the team decided to turn it on . On a 3rd and 12 , Michigan desperately needed a first down . Henne , with 3 touchdown passes thus far , threw the ball deep into the endzone giving Mario Manningham a leap ball touchdown putting Michigan up 28 – 24 . On defense , the Wolverines got it done . Mixing up coverages , they sacked Michigan State for a 8 yard loss , the total yardage of the drive . The Wolverines got the ball back and finished off the game with a pair of Quarterback kneels . Florida . Chad Henne and Adrian Arrington set single - game career highs for passing and receiving yards , with 373 and 153 , respectively , to lead the Wolverines to a 41 – 35 victory over the 12th - ranked Gators . The Wolverine defense managed to contain Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Tim Tebow with constant pressure and blitzing for most of the game , holding him to 154 passing yards and 57 rushing yards . Tebow did score 4 touchdowns however . The Wolverines overcame 4 turnovers , including 2 fumbles by Mike Hart , and a late 35 – 31 deficit to win their first bowl game in 4 seasons and the final game of Lloyd Carr ' s career . Statistical achievements . Mike Hart set the following school rushing records : career carries ( 1015 ) , eclipsing Anthony Thomas ' seven year old record of 924 and still standing ; career yards ( 5040 ) , also eclipsing Thomas ' seven year old record of 4472 and still standing ; career yards per game ( 117 . 2 ) , surpassing Billy Taylor ' s 102 . 4 set in 1971 and still standing ; career 100 - yard games ( 28 ) , passing Thomas ' 22 set in 2000 and still standing ; career 150 - yard games ( 12 ) , surpassing Thomas ' 9 set in 2000 and still standing ; career 200 - yard games ( 5 ) , extending his own record set in 2005 and still standing . Mario Manningham established the school record for consecutive 100 - yard reception games with six , surpassing Braylon Edwards ' record of 4 . Chad Henne broke several of John Navarre ' s career records established in 2003 : attempts ( 1387 ) , completions ( 828 ) , yards ( 9715 ) , touchdown passes ( 87 ) , and 150 - yard passing games ( 38 ) . Henne also broke Rick Leach ' s career record for interception s of 35 set in 1978 with 37 . Players . Depth chart . 2007 Projected Starters OFFENSE : DEFENSE : SPECIAL TEAMS : Key Committed Freshman