1950 Michigan Wolverines football team The 1950 Michigan Wolverines football team , coached by Bennie Oosterbaan , won the Big Ten Conference championship with a record of 6 – 3 – 1 ( 4 – 1 – 1 in conference ) and defeated the California Bears in the 1951 Rose Bowl , 14 – 6 . The team had two All - Big 10 backs in Don Dufek and Chuck Ortmann and All - American tackle R . Allen " Brick " Wahl . Despite losing three times and tying once , Michigan was ranked # 9 in the AP Poll and # 6 in the UPI Poll at season ' s end . The Wolverines played a regular season game at Yankee Stadium against Army on October 14 , 1950 , losing 27 – 6 . Season summary . Week 1 : Michigan State . Michigan , ranked No . 3 in the country , opened the 1950 season playing against Michigan State College in Ann Arbor . Though favored by two touchdowns , the Wolverines were upset by the Spartans 14 - 7 . The defeat was Michigan ' s first loss in the opening game of a season since 1937 . Michigan played most of the game without its leading player , Chuck Ortmann . Ortmann was injured while being tackled on a 35 - yard kickoff return in the first quarter . On the next play , Ortmann dropped back to pass but fell to the ground and was unable to return to the game . Michigan State took a 7 - 0 lead in the first quarter on a touchdown run by Sonny Grandelius . Michigan tied the score in the third quarter on a touchdown pass from Don Peterson to Fred Pickard . Michigan ' s touchdown was set up when Frank Howell intercepted a Michigan State pass and returned it 32 yards to the Michigan State 20 - yard line . In the fourth quarter , Michigan State returned a punt to the Michigan 19 - yard line and scored on a run by Michigan State fullback Leroy Crane . Michigan drove to the Michigan State 10 - yard line in the fourth quarter , but the drive ended when quarterback Bill Putich threw an interception . Week 2 : Dartmouth . Michigan rebounded in the second week of the season with a 27 - 7 win over Dartmouth at Michigan Stadium . Dartmouth scored first with a touchdown pass from Johnny Clayton to John McDonald . Leo Koceski scored Michigan ' s first touchdown on 36 - yard end run in the first quarter . Sophomore Lowell Perry caught a 21 - yard touchdown pass from Bill Putich near the end of the first half to give Michigan a 13 - 7 lead at halftime . Perry also had three interceptions on defense . Michigan scored two touchdowns in the third quarter , one on a long pass from Don Peterson to Harry Allis . The final touchdown came after Tony Momsen recovered a blocked punt at the Dartmouth two - yard line . Fullback Ralph Staffon ran for the touchdown . Week 3 : vs . Army . In the third game of the 1950 season , Michigan faced an Army team that was ranked No . 1 in the AP and Coaches ' Polls at Yankee Stadium in New York . The two teams played to a 6 - 6 tie at halftime , but Army shut out the Wolverines 21 - 0 in the second half for a final score of 27 - 6 . The game marked the 23rd consecutive victory by Army . Chuck Ortmann threw for 118 yards , and Don Dufek gained 66 yards on the ground and scored Michigan ' s one touchdown . Week 4 : Wisconsin . In the fourth game of the season , Michigan played Wisconsin in Ann Arbor . Michigan came into the game unranked with a 1 - 2 record , while Wisconsin was undefeated and ranked No . 15 in the Coaches ' Poll . Chuck Ortmann ran 16 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter and threw a 29 - yard touchdown pass to Bill Putich in the second quarter to give Michigan a 14 - 0 lead at halftime . Don Dufek ran one yard for a touchdown in the third quarter . Dufek scored Michigan ' s final touchdown after intercepting a pass thrown by Wisconsin quarterback Bob Petruska . In the fourth quarter , Wisconsin closed the gap , scoring two touchdowns while playing against Michigan ' s reserves . Week 5 : at Minnesota . In its fifth game , Michigan traveled to Minneapolis to play Minnesota . After a scoreless first half , Michigan drove down the field culminating in a two - yard run by Don Dufek . Minnesota tied the game with a touchdown in the final two minutes to tie the game at 7 - 7 . Dufek rushed for 63 yards , but the Minnesota team held Michigan to a total of only 46 yards rushing as Chuck Ortmann was held to - 38 rushing yards . With the tie game , Michigan retained possession of the Little Brown Jug . Week 6 : Illinois . In the sixth game of the year , Michigan played Illinois in a swirling snowstorm at Michigan Stadium . The cold temperature and slippery playing surface kept the offensive units of both teams in check . Chuck Ortmann went 0 for 11 passing , and the Michigan offense was limited to 119 yards of total offense - - all gained on the ground . Because of the inclement weather , the game was reduced to a punting duel between Don Laz of Illinois and Tony Momsen of Michigan . There were 25 punts in the game , 14 by Michigan and 11 by Illinois . Near the end of the first half , Illinois put together the only sustained drive of the game . Starting at its own 20 - yard line , Illinois drove 80 yards for the game ' s only touchdown , converting on a ten - yard pass from Fred Major to Tony Klimek . Week 7 : Indiana . In the seventh game of the season , Michigan defeated Indiana 20 - 7 at Michigan Stadium . Michigan scored on the third play of the game when Harry Allis intercepted a pass thrown by Lou D ' Achille and returned it 33 yards for a touchdown . The Wolverines ' offense received help from an unexpected source in Wes Bradford , a 155 - pound , fifth - string scatback from Troy , Ohio . Bradford rushed for 105 yards on 15 carries and scored his first career touchdown on a 41 - yard run in the second quarter . Don Dufek scored Michigan ' s final touchdown on a 54 - yard run on the first running play of the second half . Week 8 : Northwestern . In the eighth game of the season , Michigan had its biggest offensive output of the year , defeating Northwestern 34 - 23 at Michigan Stadium . Having averaged only 13 points a game in the first seven game , Michigan scored in touchdowns in all four quarters against the Wildcats . Michigan ' s offense was led by a running game that gained 291 net yards , including 110 yards from Don Dufek and 76 yards from Ralph Straffon . Dufek scored two touchdowns and also intercepted a Dick Flowers ' pass . Week 9 : at Ohio State ( Snow Bowl ) . The 1950 team is probably most remembered for its 9 – 3 victory over Ohio State in the famous Snow Bowl game played on November 25 . The game was played at Ohio Stadium in Columbus in a blizzard , at 10 degrees above zero , on an icy field , and with winds gusting over 30 miles per hour . U - M did not get a first down or complete a pass in the blizzard , punted 24 times , and rushed for only 27 yards , but won 9 – 7 on a touchdown and a safety , both off blocked punts . Michigan back Don Dufek recalled : " It was very cold . We kept our hands under our armpits in the huddle . Our center ( Carl Kreager ) didn ' t wear any gloves . You couldn ' t get up a head of steam for anything . It was bad news , period . " Both Michigan scores came off blocked punts , one resulting in a safety and the other in a touchdown . All - American " Brick " Wahl was responsible for the safety , blocking a punt by OSU ' s Heisman Trophy winner Vic Janowicz . " The Michigan Daily " reported the next day on Wahl ' s block : " In tallying the safety it was Michigan ' s captain Al Wahl , who crashed in Janowicz ' well - exercised kicking leg . The ball bounced erratically to the right of the onrushing Maize and Blue lineman and was floundering less than a foot outside the end zone border when speedy Al Jackson caught up with it . Six inches closer and the Wolverines could have added six more points . " Rose Bowl : vs . California . The Wolverines then advanced to the Rose Bowl where they beat the previously undefeated California Bears ( 9 – 0 – 1 ) by a score of 14 – 6 . Michigan was held scoreless and trailed 6 – 0 after three quarters , but Dufek took over in the fourth quarter . He ran for 113 yards in the game and scored two touchdowns in the final six minutes of the game . Dufek was named MVP of the game .