2006 Michigan Wolverines football team The 2006 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season . The team ' s head football coach was Lloyd Carr . The Wolverines came into the season with lower expectations than many Michigan teams of the previous few seasons , ranked # 14 . They won their first 11 games and rose to No . 2 in the national rankings before losing a close battle in Columbus to top - ranked Ohio State . Michigan concluded their schedule in the Rose Bowl against the USC Trojans . The game was tied 3 – 3 at half time , but USC pulled away in the second half , handing Michigan their second loss of the season . The 2006 Michigan Wolverines finished the season with a record of 11 – 2 , ranked No . 8 in the nation , and tied for second in the Big Ten Conference with Wisconsin , who they defeated , 27 – 13 , early that season . The Wolverines played their home games at Michigan Stadium . Preseason . The 2005 offseason saw a coaching shakeup , prompted by the departure of coordinators Terry Malone and Jim Herrmann . Ron English was promoted from secondary coach to defensive coordinator and Mike DeBord from special teams coach to offensive coordinator , while Steve Szabo and Ron Lee were hired as assistant coaches . Between the new coaching staff and many returning starters , the Wolverines , led by third year starting quarterback Chad Henne , expected to compete for the Big Ten title and associated BCS bowl bid . The voters of the coaches ' poll and AP poll also expected improvement , respectively ranking Michigan # 15 and # 14 . True sophomore Antonio Bass suffered a career ending knee injury in fall practice . Bass was expected to play wide receiver and occasionally quarterback . Projected starting right tackle Mike Kolodziej ' s career was cut short due to injury just before the season due to unknown medical problems . Game notes . Vanderbilt . Michigan ' s defense held the Commodores to 171 total yards of offense ( 129 passing , 42 rushing ) . Star junior running back Mike Hart ran for 146 yards on 31 carries to kick off the 2006 season . Defensive coordinator Ron English ' s squad proved to be considerably more aggressive than recent Wolverine defenses , collecting six sacks and forcing two turnovers ( both via lost fumbles ) . Michigan ' s offense was led by a strong rushing attack , which unveiled a new scheme using zone blocking . Behind this zone blocking scheme , the Wolverines rushed for 246 yards on the day and averaged 4 . 8 yards per carry . Michigan scored on their first drive of the game , as Hart busted off several big runs , and true sophomore running back Kevin Grady finished it off with a 19 - yard touchdown run . Later in the first , Michigan thought they had a touchdown pass from junior quarterback Chad Henne to true sophomore receiver Mario Manningham . But after reviewing the play , it was ruled that Manningham dropped the ball , and Michigan settled for a 33 - yard field - goal by senior kicker Garrett Rivas . In the second quarter , Vanderbilt caught the Wolverines by surprise , as sophomore receiver Earl Bennett completed a halfback toss pass to wide open senior receiver Marlon White for a 30 - yard touchdown . Bennett , led the Commodores on the day with 6 catches for 58 yards ) . On U - M ' s ensuing drive , Henne hit senior wide receiver Steve Breaston on a short hook route , and Breaston proceeded to make a phenomenal run after the catch , juking out several Commodores before finally being shoved out of bounds . The play went for 29 yards , and it set up a 48 - yard field - goal by Rivas . At halftime , it was 13 – 7 Wolverines . The third quarter was sluggish for both teams , but with 2 : 29 to go , Henne found senior tight end Tyler Ecker in the back of the end zone for a 14 yard touchdown pass . Ecker made a leaping catch with his arms stretched out in the air , and he managed to haul it down with one foot in the end zone . Vanderbilt wasn ' t out of it yet , and they advanced to the Michigan 27 yard - line with under 10 minutes to go in the fourth quarter , and a great chance to cut its deficit to one score . However , a 4th down and 5 pass on that drive fell incomplete . Michigan put the game away for good with 2 : 11 left , as Manningham redeemed himself with a 27 - yard bomb of a touchdown catch on 3rd and 10 , setting the final score at 27 – 7 . Michigan ' s defense was vicious all day , as they held Vanderbilt to 1 . 6 yards per carry . Senior defensive end Rondell Biggs led the Michigan defense with 6 tackles , 4 tackles for loss , and 2 sacks . Grady finished with 5 carries for 30 yards and one touchdown , Manningham had 3 catches for 44 yards and one touchdown , and Breaston led Michigan with 4 catches for 68 yards . Sophomore Quarterback Chris Nickson was Vanderbilt ' s leading passer and rusher , but he only completed 11 of 25 passes for 99 yards , and he was held to 16 carries for 22 yards on the ground . Central Michigan . In a game interrupted by the first weather delay in Michigan Stadium history , Michigan kept it on the ground against the Chippewas , rushing 50 times against only 21 pass attempts . The Wolverines running game once again dominated , rushing for 252 yards and averaging 5 . 0 yards per carry . Their defense was also relentless , holding the Mid - American Conference champions dangerous spread offense to 204 total offensive yards ( 188 passing and a measly 16 yards rushing ) . The game started off with a bad omen for Michigan , as Hart fumbled on the games first play — his first fumble since the 2004 game against Iowa . Hart had gone over 700 touches without fumbling , but luckily for Michigan , Manningham recovered the fumble , and Hart scored a 5 yard touchdown run on that opening drive . It was Hart ' s first touchdown - running or receiving - since midway through the 2005 season , when he scored a third quarter touchdown run in a 27 – 25 win over Penn State . Hart had gone six straight games without scoring a touchdown . The Chippewas marched to the U - M 14 yard line directly following Hart ' s touchdown run , but All - American senior defensive end LaMarr Woodley sacked sensational redshirt freshmen quarterback Dan LeFevour and caused a fumble , which he recovered . Hart added another touchdown run with 1 : 28 to go in the first quarter , this time from 18 yards out . CMU fumbled and turned the ball over again following Hart ' s second TD , and the fumble was once again recovered by Woodley . The Wolverines converted that turnover into a 21 – 0 lead , as Grady crashed in from three yards out with 12 : 24 left in the second quarter . On the drive following Grady ' s touchdown , CMU got on the scoreboard , with LeFevour finding junior receiver Justin Gardner for a 38 yard touchdown strike . The two teams then exchanged field - goals , and it was 24 – 10 Michigan at halftime . The Chippweas got the ball to start the third quarter , and they advanced to the Michigan 34 yard line , but a LeFevour pass on 4th and 7 fell incomplete , and the Wolverines all but put the game away on the ensuing possession . Breaston made a brilliant 26 yard run on a wide receiver reverse , and Hart finished off the drive with a 2 yard touchdown run - his third score of the day . Rivas added his second field goal of the day with 1 : 22 remaining to give Michigan a 34 – 10 lead going into the fourth quarter . With 11 : 41 left in the game , junior outside linebacker Max Pollack intercepted a bad pass by LeFevour and returned it 12 yards for a touchdown and a 41 – 10 lead . Pollack was merely a substitution at OLB , and he also was only a walkon . At this point , Michigan had all their backups on the field , and CMU scored one more touchdown : a 3 yard pass from LeFevour to senior receiver Damien Linson . Hart finished with 19 carries for 116 yards and 3 touchdowns . Grady added 12 carries for 46 yards and 1 touchdown . Breaston had 6 touches for 109 all purpose yards , and All - American senior middle linebacker David Harris led the Wolverines with 6 tackles . Aside from his 2 touchdown passes , LeFevour had a rough day , completing only 17 – 36 passes for 153 yards and the interception that was returned for a touchdown . He was also sacked 4 times , and as a result had 8 carries for −21 yards . Linson led the CMU receiving unit with 6 catches for 87 yards and one touchdown , while Gardner added 3 catches for 54 yards and one touchdown . The CMU running game was abominable , averaging only 0 . 8 yards per carry . Sophomore Ontario Sneed led the way with 11 carries for 33 yards , but almost all those yards came off a 25 yard run . Otherwise , Michigan limited him to only 10 carries for 8 yards . Notre Dame . In a nationally - televised game , Michigan routed the 2nd - ranked Fighting Irish of Notre Dame in South Bend , 47 – 21 . Using a combination of an aggressive defense , a vertical passing combination of Chad Henne to Mario Manningham , and ball control running by Mike Hart , the Wolverines intercepted Irish quarterback Brady Quinn three times and completely frustrated the Irish . Irish running back Darius Walker ran for just 25 yards on ten carries . Henne , although intercepted once , was 13 for 22 and completed three touchdown passes to Manningham , who had four receptions for 137 yards . Steve Breaston provided most of the remainder of the passing attack with six catches for 42 yards . Hart had a touchdown and 124 yards rushing . Defenders LaMarr Woodley and Prescott Burgess had long returns for touchdowns on Irish turnovers . The final score was 47 – 21 in a break - out game for the Wolverines . The Wolverines gave Coach Lloyd Carr a Gatorade bath after the huge victory which boosted them in the rankings and put them in contention for a national title . Wisconsin . Michigan entered the game ranked sixth nationally in the AP poll , while Wisconsin was unranked . The game marked the Big Ten opener for both teams . Wisconsin came into the game averaging nearly 200 yards rushing per game , but Michigan entered the game ranked number 1 in the nation in rushing defense , allowing only 21 yards per game . The Wolverine defense won this matchup , holding Wisconsin to just 12 rushing yards and 3 second half points . Mario Manningham caught seven passes for 113 yards and two touchdowns , giving him five in the past two weeks . Adrian Arrington had his best game to date , catching four passes for 79 yards . Minnesota . The Wolverines won their third straight revenge game , reclaiming the Little Brown Jug after losing it to the Gophers in 2005 . This marked the first season since 1999 that Michigan made it through the month of September undefeated . The offense came out hot , scoring 21 points in the first half . Hart rushed for a season - high 195 yards on 31 carries , and Henne had another efficient game , completing 17 of 24 passes for 284 yards . Manningham had his third straight 100 yard game , while Arrington continued his emergence as Michigan ' s No . 2 receiver , scoring the first two touchdowns of the game . David Harris led the defense with nine tackles . Michigan State . Michigan State suffered its third straight loss of the season as Michigan retained the Paul Bunyan Trophy for the fifth straight year . It was a mistake - filled game for the Spartans , who committed 11 penalties for a total loss of 87 yards . The Wolverines dominated the ground game on both sides of the ball , allowing 60 yards rushing on defense and gaining 211 yards on offense . Hart shared carries with both Kevin Grady and Brandon Minor , and the latter , a true freshman , broke a 40 yard run for the first touchdown of his career . Henne only attempted 17 passes , but three of them went for touchdowns , one to Arrington and the other two to Manningham . Leon Hall and Jamar Adams both intercepted passes from Drew Stanton , and Burgess had eight tackles , including the Wolverines ' only sack of the afternoon . Penn State . Michigan ' s defensive front seven was the story of the game , collecting seven sacks and holding the Nittany Lions to −14 net rushing yards . On a third - quarter pass play , Alan Branch knocked Penn State ' s quarterback Anthony Morelli out of the game with a concussion ; Penn State ' s backup quarterback Daryl Clark was later injured on a rushing attempt . Third - string quarterback Paul Cianciolo managed to throw the Nittany Lions ' only touchdown pass of the game . The game was a homecoming for Pennsylvania native Henne , who played the only game of his career at Penn State . With Manningham not playing due to a knee injury suffered against Michigan State , Arrington and Breaston caught the bulk of Henne ' s passes , each collecting five receptions . Hart picked up his sixth 100 - yard rushing game of the season and scored the winning touchdown . Iowa . The Hawkeyes gave Michigan one of its toughest contests of the year , staying within a touchdown well into the fourth quarter . After getting held to only 27 yards in the first half , Hart rushed for 99 in the second and scored the only two touchdowns of the game . Henne spread the ball out amongst his receivers with Manningham out , including Arrington , Breaston , and true freshman Greg Mathews . Arrington again was the Wolverines ' leading receiver ; the Iowa native caught eight passes for 79 yards . Offensive linemen Rueben Riley was injured in the second half , but was ably replaced by Justin Boren in the first meaningful time of the true freshman ' s career . Shawn Crable led the defense with three sacks on Iowa ' s senior quarterback Drew Tate . Woodley also picked up two sacks , bringing his total on the year to nine , good for fourth in the nation . Northwestern . On a cold , windy day , with Manningham still out , Michigan stuck with a conservative game plan against the Wildcats , throwing the ball only 20 times against 46 rushes . Northwestern , one week after losing to Michigan State in the largest comeback in Division I FBS history , turned the ball over five times to Michigan and were held to −13 yards on the ground . Hart led the offense with 95 yards , and in relief senior Jerome Jackson saw his first significant action of the season , gaining 59 yards on nine attempts . The defense had contributors from all positions : Defensive backs Hall and Willis Barringer each had interceptions , linebacker Harris had both a sack and an interception , and lineman Woodley had two sacks , forcing and recovering a fumble on one . Ball State . A game that Michigan was expected to win big – and in which it once held a big lead – turned into a surprisingly close affair . The Wolverines ' offense uncharacteristically gave up a quick nine points to the Cardinals , coached by future Michigan head coach Brady Hoke , with Hart fumbling out of the Michigan end zone for a safety and Henne throwing an interception that was returned for a touchdown to give Ball State an early 9 – 7 lead . The Wolverines subsequently controlled the second and third quarters to build a 31 – 12 lead and seemed well in control of the game . However , the Michigan second - string defenders struggled to stop the Cardinal offense , and the first - string defense was forced to return late in the game to stave off a final Ball State drive . For the first time since its 2003 game against Houston , Michigan had a pair of 100 - yard rushers : Hart with 154 on 25 carries , and Minor with 108 on 12 carries . Each scored a touchdown , as did Jackson , who gained 68 yards on six carries . The Ball State game was notable for two other reasons : First , it was the 200th consecutive game with at least 100 , 000 people in attendance at Michigan Stadium . In addition , actor Patrick Stewart directed the Michigan Marching Band during their halftime performance in a salute to old - time television shows . Stewart was part of the Royal Shakespeare Company ' s fall 2006 residency at the University of Michigan , and directed the band to the theme from Star Trek . Upon being asked if he had any advice for the Wolverines for their upcoming Ohio State game , Stewart replied , " Boldly go and beat the Buckeyes . Make it so , number one ! " Indiana . Michigan jumped to an early lead with a touchdown pass to Adrian Arrington and a touchdown run by Mike Hart . Steve Breaston also had a big game with a 62 yard touchdown reception and an 83 yard punt return for a touchdown . Indiana allowed five sacks , and Michigan cornerback Leon Hall broke the school record for most deflected passes in a career . Michigan won 34 – 3 . Ohio State . On November 17 , 2006 , Bo Schembechler , the esteemed former coach of the Michigan Wolverines football program , died at the age of 77 . He collapsed prior to taping his weekly college football preview show . His death came the day before one of the biggest games in the history of the Michigan – Ohio State football rivalry : the two teams both brought undefeated records to the game for the first time since 1973 , and met as the # 1 - and # 2 - ranked teams for the first time in the 103 - game history of the series . In the game against the Ohio State Buckeyes , second - ranked Michigan received the ball to start the game and promptly scored a touchdown on a run by Mike Hart , the first of three he would score in the game . However , top - ranked Ohio State answered with a touchdown on its own initial drive , and dominated the rest of the half to take a 28 – 14 lead into intermission . Michigan scored on its first two possessions of the second half to close the deficit to four points , but could not wrest away the lead . The two teams exchanged touchdowns for the remainder , with each scoring twice ; the Wolverines converted a two - point attempt to make the score 42 – 39 with less than three minutes remaining . A subsequent onside kick by the Wolverines was unsuccessful , and the Buckeyes came away with the victory . This game was significant in the BCS Bowl Line - up , as rather than being matched with the Buckeyes in the championship game , the Wolverines were matched in the Rose Bowl a record seventh time with the USC Trojans . USC ( Rose Bowl ) . Michigan lost to the USC Trojans in the Rose Bowl Game on January 1 , 2007 . The game was tied 3 – 3 at the half but the high powered USC offense came out in the second half , giving USC the 32 – 18 victory . Statistical achievements . The team earned the Big Ten rushing defense statistical championships for all games by holding opponents to 43 . 4 yards per game . The team also earned the Big Ten rushing defense statistical championships for conference games by holding opponents to 50 . 9 yards per game . They were the conference leaders in quarterback sack s for conference games ( 3 . 3 sacks per game ) and all games ( 3 . 3 sacks per game ) . Garrett Rivas set the current Michigan Wolverines football records for career scoring ( 354 ) , surpassing Anthony Thomas ' 2000 record ( 336 ) , field goals ( 64 ) , surpassing Remy Hamilton ' s 1996 record ( 63 ) , and point after touchdown s ( 162 ) , surpassing J . D . Carlson ' s 1991 record ( 137 ) . He has also tied Mike Gillette ' s 1988 record of 13 career 40 - yard field goals . Players . Michigan returned 18 of 22 starters for 2006 , one of the highest totals in the nation . Key returning starters for the offense included quarterback Chad Henne , running back Mike Hart , and wide receiver and kick returner Steve Breaston . Henne and Hart , who both started in 2004 as true freshmen , looked to rebound from their 2005 sophomore slump s . Hart , Breaston , and captain Jake Long all missed significant time due to injury in 2005 . On defense , captains LaMarr Woodley , David Harris and Leon Hall respectively anchored the defensive line , linebacking corps and defensive secondary . Woodley and Hall were four - year starters .