2008 Michigan Wolverines football team The 2008 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season . The team ' s head football coach was Rich Rodriguez . The Wolverines played their home games at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor , Michigan . The 2008 season marked Rodriguez ' s first season as Michigan head coach , having replaced longtime head coach Lloyd Carr following Carr ' s retirement at the end of the 2007 season . Rodriguez installed a spread option offense , a marked departure from Michigan ' s prior offensive approaches . Rodriguez ' s first season was one of adjustment , with Michigan suffering its first losing season since 1967 , and more losses ( 9 ) in a single season than in any other in the program ' s 129 year history . In addition , Michigan ' s loss to Ohio State on November 22 was the fifth straight , the most consecutive losses by Michigan to the Buckeyes . Radio . Radio coverage for all games was on the University of Michigan Football Network and on Sirius Satellite Radio . The radio announcers were Frank Beckmann with play - by - play , Jim Brandstatter with color commentary , and Doug Karsch with sideline reports . Game notes . vs Utah . Recap : Week 1 In the season opener in Ann Arbor and Rich Rodriguez ' s first game as head coach , the Wolverines took on the Utah Utes . The Wolverines scored first with just over 11 minutes to go in the first , when Nick Sheridan threw an 8 yard TD pass to Michael Shaw . Utah struck back a few minutes later when Courbin Louks ran in a TD from 8 yards out . The Wolverines blocked the PAT though . Then with just over 5 minutes to go in the first , K . C . Lopata completed a 50 yard field goal . Utah ' s Louie Sakoda completed 3 field goals in the second quarter , from 28 , 43 and 41 yards out , respectively . Then a few seconds before halftime , Utah ' s Brian Johnson completed a 19 yard TD pass to Bradon Godfrey . Midway through the third quarter , Louie Sakoda of Utah completed his fourth field goal of the day , this one from 53 yards out . Midway through the fourth , Steven Threet completed a 33 - yard touchdown pass to Junior Hemingway . A few minutes later , Sam McGuffie ran in a TD from 3 yards out . The Wolverines attempted a 2 point conversion to tie the game but failed . Utah ' s defense held off the Wolverines for the remainder of the game . In retrospect , after Utah had finished the season unbeaten , blowing out Alabama 31 – 17 , this could be seen as one of Michigan ' s best games of 2008 . vs Miami ( Ohio ) . Recap : Week 2 Coming off their loss to Utah , the Wolverines stayed home to play the Miami RedHawks . The Wolverines had never lost to the Redhawks in the four games the teams have played in previous seasons . The Wolverines got on the board first with just under 11 minutes to in the first quarter when QB Steven Threet ran in the ball himself from 9 yards out for a touchdown . Then with just under 9 minutes to go in the first , the Wolverines got on the board again with a 47 yard field goal by K . C . Lopata . The RedHawks finally scored late in the half with a 27 yard field goal by Nathan Parseghian . With that the 2 teams retired to the locker rooms . The RedHawks scored next , on a 23 yard field goal by Nathan Parseghian with just under 7 minutes to go in the third . Then midway through the final quarter , the Wolverines capped off their victory when Brandon Minor ran in a TD from 15 yards out . However , the point after attempt by K . C . Lopata failed . It was Rich Rodriguez ' s first win as Michigan ' s head coach and the Wolverines ' first win of the season . The win made their all time record against the RedHawks 5 – 0 . at Notre Dame . Recap : Week 3 After their win over Miami , the Wolverines flew to South Bend , Indiana to take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish for their first road game of the season , renewing the longtime rivalry between the 2 teams ( see Michigan - Notre Dame rivalry ) . In the pouring rain , the Wolverines gave up the ball on 4 fumbles . They also threw 2 interceptions . The Fighting Irish got the first scores of the game with just under 12 minutes left in the first quarter , when Robert Hughes 2 ran in a touchdown from 2 yards out . Less than a minute later , QB Jimmy Clausen completed a 10 yard pass to Duval Kamara that was run in for another TD . A few minutes later Jimmy Clausen threw another TD pass , this time a 48 yard long bomb to Golden Tate . The Wolverines got on the board late in the first quarter with their own long bomb , a 40 yard TD Steven Threet pass to Sam McGuffie . Then with just under 12 minutes to go in the second quarter , the Wolverines got on the board again with a 23 yard K . C . Lopata field goal . A few minutes later , the Fighting Irish ' s Robert Hughes ran in a touchdown from 1 yard out . Then with just under 6 minutes in the half , the Wolverines struck back when Kevin Grady ran in a touchdown from 7 yards out . With that the teams went into their locker rooms to dry out temporarily . Both teams went scoreless in the third quarter . But the Fighting Irish capped off their scoring when the Wolverines fumbled the ball and Brian Smith picked it up and ran it back 35 yards for a touchdown . vs Wisconsin . Recap : Week 5 Following a bye week , the Wolverines played the 500th game in the Big House against the # 9 Wisconsin Badgers in their first contest against another Big Ten Conference school of the season . The Badgers missed a field goal in the first quarter but later scored on two field goal attempts . Scoring one touchdown and two field goals in the second quarter , Wisconsin finished the half with a 19 – 0 lead . The Wolverines gave up 5 fumbles , threw 2 interceptions and managed only 21 yards in the first half . The offense got going midway through the third quarter . A touchdown pass thrown to freshman Kevin Koger got them on the board . The Wolverines continued to have success offensively , scoring 3 touchdowns in the fourth quarter . They took the lead when John Thompson returned an interception for a touchdown . The Badgers were down 27 – 19 with a little over 5 minutes to go . Because of a series of big passes , the Badgers scored a touchdown and went for the two point conversion . Their initial attempt resulted in a pass caught for an apparent score , but was thwarted by an ineligible receiver penalty . On their second attempt , the ball sailed over the head of the intended target in the back of the endzone . The Badgers were unable to regain possession with an onside kick , ending the game . Their 20 point comeback was the second largest comeback in Michigan football history ( the largest was a 21 point comeback victory at Minnesota in 2003 ) . vs Illinois . Recap : Week 6 For their 2008 Homecoming Game , the Wolverines hosted the Illinois Fighting Illini . The Wolverines looked good in the first quarter , scoring a season high 14 points on 2 touchdowns . Michigan ' s Steven Threet was 18 - of - 35 for 250 yards and two TDs . Sam McGuffie ran for 70 yards and a touchdown and freshman Martavious Odoms set season highs with seven receptions and 129 yards receiving . However , they were blanked in the second and third quarter . They came back to life in the fourth quarter though , when Mark Moundros caught a 2 yard pass for a touchdown , but kicker K . C . Lopata failed on the PAT attempt . Illinois however had their best game against Michigan in the history of the Michigan / Illinois contests . The Illini set a school record for points against Michigan ( 45 ) , surpassing the 39 points Red Grange helped them score in 1924 as Memorial Stadium was dedicated , and they scored the most any team has at Michigan Stadium since Florida State had 51 in 1991 . It was also the Illini ' s first victory at the Big House since 1999 , and University of Illinois quarterback Isiah " Juice " Williams set a Big House record with 431 all - purpose yards , breaking the record previously held by former Illini quarterback Tony Eason ( 403 ) . Illini quarterback Isiah " Juice " Williams connected with Jeff Cumberland for a 77 - yard pass , the longest by an Illini quarterback since 1985 , and a perfectly lofted screen to running back Daniel Dufrene turned into a 57 - yard TD . With the loss , the Wolverines fell to 2 – 3 on the season and 1 – 1 in the Big Ten , their worst record after five games since starting 1 – 4 in 1967 , two years before Bo Schembechler arrived . vs Toledo . Recap : Week 7 After their huge loss to Illinois , the Wolverines hosted the Toledo Rockets . It was the first time the two teams had ever played . In the first quarter , the Rockets scored first when a pass from Michigan QB Steven Threet was intercepted in the end zone by Tyrrell Herbert and run back 101 yards for a touchdown . Later in the first quarter , the Wolverines got on the board with 27 - yard TD pass from Steven Threet to Brandon Minor . The next score came on a 26 - yard K . C . Lopata field goal midway through the second quarter . With that , the teams went into the locker rooms at the half with a score of 10 – 7 . In the second half , the Rockets shut out the Wolverines and scored two more field goals , both by Alex Steigerwald . He completed a 29 - yard attempt in the third quarter and a 48 - yard attempt in the fourth quarter . With less than a minute remaining in the game , the Wolverines got into the red zone and attempted a field goal to take the game into overtime . Lopata missed the field goal though , sealing the victory for the Rockets and marking the first time the Wolverines had ever lost to a Mid - American Conference team . Nick Moore of the Rockets set a record of 20 receptions against The Wolverines . With the loss , the Wolverines fell to 2 – 4 , their worst start in 41 years . at Penn State . Recap : Week 8 In the fourth - largest crowd in Beaver Stadium history , the Penn State Nittany Lions ended a nine game losing streak to the Wolverines , dating back to 1997 . Michigan tallied 204 yards of offense and scored on their first three possessions to take a 17 – 7 lead early in the second quarter , but the Nittany Lion defense made key halftime adjustments and limited the Wolverines to only 87 yards the remainder of the game . Penn State quarterback Daryll Clark ' s touchdown pass to Jordan Norwood late in the first half cut Michigan ' s lead to 17 – 14 , Penn State ' s first deficit at halftime this season . The Nittany Lions would outscore the Wolverines 32 – 0 in the second half for a 46 – 17 win . Clark finished 18 of 31 for 171 yards and a touchdown and also ran for 45 yards and two one - yard touchdowns but lost a fumble on State ' s second drive which led to a Wolverine field goal . Evan Royster ran for a career - high 174 yards on 18 carries for a 9 . 7 yard per carry average , including a 44 - yard touchdown for Penn State ' s first points . Deon Butler had a season - high eight receptions for 105 yards , his fourth - career 100 - yard game . Stephfon Green took a screen pass from Pat Devlin and outran the Wolverines defense 80 yards for the Nittany Lions ' final score . Linebacker Navorro Bowman led the defense with 11 tackles . Defensive tackle Jared Odrick made a career - high six stops , with 2 . 5 tackles for loss , but his biggest play occurred with 4 : 39 remaining in the third quarter . Odrick sacked Michigan quarterback Nick Sheridan , who was in for the injured Steven Threet , in the end zone for a safety and Penn State ' s first lead of the game , 19 – 17 . Aaron Maybin finished with four tackles , including a sack of Threet that forced a fumble , recovered by Abe Koroma , and led to a Penn State touchdown . vs Michigan State . Recap : Week 9 After their blowout loss at Penn State , the Wolverines went back to Ann Arbor to take on their in - state rivals , the Michigan State Spartans , for the Paul Bunyan Trophy . The Spartans struck first , scoring on a huge 61 yard TD pass from Brian Hoyer to Blair White with just under 12 minutes to go in the first quarter . The Wolverines tied it up near the end of the first quarter when Brandon Minor scored on a 19 yard TD pass from Steven Threet . The Spartans took the lead back near the end of the half with a 64 yard TD run by Javon Ringer . The Wolverines tied it back up less than a minute later when Brandon Minor ran in a TD from 2 yards out . Midway through the third quarter , the Wolverines took their only lead of the game when QB Steven Threet ran in a touchdown himself from 2 yards out . From there , Michigan State took control of the game . The Spartans tied it back up when Charlie Gantt scored on a 4 yard TD pass near the end of the third quarter . The Wolverines were shut out in the fourth quarter . The Spartans took the lead in the fourth quarter when Javon Ringer ran in another TD , this time from 3 yards out , and sealed their win when Josh Rouse scored on a 7 yard TD pass . With the loss , the Wolverines fell to 2 – 6 overall and 1 – 3 vs . Big Ten opponents . at Purdue . Recap : Week 10 In week 10 , the Wolverines traveled to West Lafayette , Indiana to take on the Purdue Boilermakers . The Wolverines gained an early lead in the first quarter . First Brandon Minor ran in a TD from 45 yards out . A few minutes later Martavius Odoms got a huge score when he ran a punt back 73 yards for another TD , putting the Wolverines up 14 - 0 . The Boilermakers quickly tied it up though with 2 TD ' s of their own later in the first quarter . First Kory Sheets ran in TD from 2 yards out . Then Justin Siller ran in a TD from 10 yards out . The Wolverines went up by 14 again in the second quarter though . First Laterryl Savoy scored on a 11 yard TD pass . Then the Wolverines got another big TD run , this time on a 51 yard rush by Darryl Stonum . The Boilermakers struck back with less than a minute to go in the half when Kory Sheets scored another TD , this time on a 3 yard run . At halftime the Wolverines were up 28 – 21 . In the 3rd quarter , the Wolverines were shut out , but the Boilermakers scored 2 more TD ' s , both by Kory Sheets , making his day ' s total 4 . His 3rd of the game came on a 7 yard pass , tying the game . His final TD of the game was on a 5 yard run which put the Boilermakers ahead . The scoring continued to see - saw in the fourth quarter . The Wolverines tied it back up when Brandon Minor ran in a TD from 12 yards out . Then Greg Orton put the Boilermakers back up by catching a 4 yard TD pass . The Wolverines re - tied the game when Brandon Minor got his 3rd TD of the game , this time on a 1 yard run . The Boilermakers put the game in the win column with less than 30 seconds left when Desmond Tardy caught a 28 yard TD pass . With the loss , Michigan was disqualified from all bowl games this season , the first time since 1967 . Brandon Minor ' s 154 yards and 3 touchdowns set a school record . Purdue ' s 48 points was the most the school had ever scored against Michigan , and their first win against Michigan since 2000 . at Minnesota . Recap : Week 11 In week 11 , the Wolverines flew to Minneapolis , Minnesota to take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers for the Little Brown Jug . The first half was all Michigan . Wolverines Kicker K . C . Lopata scored 3 field goals in the first half , 2 in the first quarter from 44 yards and 34 yards respectively , then another in the second quarter from 26 yards . Then Greg Mathews caught an 8 yard TD pass to put the Wolverines up 16 – 0 at halftime . In the third quarter , the Wolverines scored first on a 48 yard field goal . Then the Golden Gophers finally got on the board with a 28 yard field goal from kicker Joel Monroe . Then K . C . Lopata got his fifth and final field goal of the game , this one from 23 yards out . In the fourth quarter , the Golden Gophers managed to score on another field goal , this one from 32 yards out . The final score of the game was when Mark Moundros of the Wolverines ran in a TD from 3 yards out . It was the Wolverines ' 12th straight win in the Metrodome . With the Gophers ' move to the new TCF Stadium in the 2009 season , the Wolverines could claim to have never lost in the Metrodome . vs Northwestern . Recap : Week 12 < br > For their final home game of the season , the Wolverines hosted the Northwestern Wildcats . In the rain and snow , the Wildcats struck first midway through the first quarter when Stephen Simmons ran in a 21 yard TD . The Wolverines tied it up near the end of the 1st when QB Nick Sheridan ran in a TD himself from 3 yards out . The only score of the 2nd quarter was when Rick Reyes of the Wolverines blocked a punt and picked it up for a 3 yard TD run . The second half was all Northwestern . First Ross Lane caught a 17 yard TD pass to tie it up . Then Eric Peterman caught a 53 yard long bomb for another TD , sealing the win for the Wildcats . With this loss , Michigan fell to 3 – 8 , the school ' s most losses in a single - season in 129 years of football . It was also just Northwestern ' s second win in Ann Arbor in its past 21 trips . The program ' s only other win there since 1960 came in the Rose Bowl season of 1995 . at Ohio State . Recap : Week 13 For their final game of the season , the Wolverines traveled to Columbus , Ohio to take on their bitter rival the Ohio State Buckeyes for the 105th time in the rivalry ( see Michigan - Ohio State rivalry ) . The Buckeyes scored first when Chris Wells ran in a 59 yard TD . The Buckeyes made it 14 - 0 when Brian Hartline caught a 53 yard long bomb for another TD just after the start of the second quarter . Michigan got their only points of the game when Brandon Minor ran in a 1 yard TD near halftime . The second half was all Ohio State . First Daniel Herron got a huge 49 yard run for a TD in the 3rd quarter . Later in the 3rd , Brian Robiske caught a 8 yard TD pass . Just after the start of the 4th , Daniel Herron scored again , this time on a 2 yard TD run . Brian Hartline later caught an 18 yard TD pass . With the loss , Michigan ' s season ended with a 3 - 9 record , officially the worst for the school in the 129 years of the football program . This was their fifth loss in a row to Ohio State , and made the 2008 senior class the second in a row never to beat the Buckeyes .