1959 Michigan Wolverines football team

1959 Michigan Wolverines football
Fred Julian (No. 16) carries the ball with Tony Rio (No. 37) blocking
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record4–5 (3–4 Big Ten)
Head coach
MVPTony Rio
CaptainGeorge Genyk
Home stadiumMichigan Stadium
Seasons
← 1958
1960 →
1959 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 6 Wisconsin $ 5 2 0 7 3 0
Michigan State 4 2 0 5 4 0
Purdue 4 2 1 5 2 2
No. 13 Illinois 4 2 1 5 3 1
Northwestern 4 3 0 6 3 0
Iowa 3 3 0 5 4 0
Michigan 3 4 0 4 5 0
Indiana 2 4 1 4 4 1
Ohio State 2 4 1 3 5 1
Minnesota 1 6 0 2 7 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1959 Michigan Wolverines football team was an American football team that represented the University of Michigan in the 1959 Big Ten Conference football season. In its first year under head coach Bump Elliott, Michigan compiled a 4–5 record (3–4 against conference opponents), finished in seventh place in the Big Ten, and was outscored by a combined total of 161 to 122.[1][2]

After losing their first two games to Missouri and Michigan State, the Wolverines won four of their last seven games, including victories over Oregon State (18–7) and rivals Minnesota (14–6), and Ohio State (23–14).

No Michigan players received first-team honors on either the All-America or All-Big Ten teams. Left guard George Genyk was the team captain, and fullback Tony Rio received the team's most valuable player award.[2] The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Stan Noskin with 747 passing yards, right halfback Fred Julian with 289 rushing yards, and right end Robert Johnson with 264 receiving yards.[3]

  1. ^ "1959 Michigan Wolverines Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  2. ^ a b "1959 Football Team". University of Michigan, Bentley Historical Library. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  3. ^ "1959 Michigan Wolverines Statistics". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 6, 2017.