1985 Michigan Wolverines football team

1985 Michigan Wolverines football
Fiesta Bowl champion
Fiesta Bowl, W 27–23 vs. Nebraska
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 2
APNo. 2
Record10–1–1 (6–1–1 Big Ten)
Head coach
Defensive coordinatorGary Moeller (8th season)
MVPMike Hammerstein
Captains
Home stadiumMichigan Stadium
(Capacity: 101,701)
Seasons
← 1984
1986 →
1985 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 10 Iowa $ 7 1 0 10 2 0
No. 2 Michigan 6 1 1 10 1 1
Illinois 5 2 1 6 5 1
No. 14 Ohio State 5 3 0 9 3 0
Michigan State 5 3 0 7 5 0
Minnesota 4 4 0 7 5 0
Purdue 3 5 0 5 6 0
Wisconsin 2 6 0 5 6 0
Indiana 1 7 0 4 7 0
Northwestern 1 7 0 3 8 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1985 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1985 Big Ten Conference football season. In their 17th year under head coach was Bo Schembechler, the Wolverines compiled a 10–1–1 record, outscored all opponents by a combined total of 342 to 98,[1] defeated five ranked opponents (including three in a row to start the season), suffered its sole loss against Iowa in a game matching the #1 and #2 teams in the AP Poll, defeated Nebraska in the 1986 Fiesta Bowl, and were ranked #2 in the final AP and Coaches Polls.[1][2]

The team's offensive leaders were quarterback Jim Harbaugh,[1] who set a school record with 1,976 passing yards, and Jamie Morris, who rushed for 1,030 yards. Led by consensus first-team All-Americans Mike Hammerstein at defensive tackle and Brad Cochran at cornerback, the defense tallied three shutouts, gave up only 75 points in 11 regular season games (6.8 points per game), and led the nation in scoring defense. Four Michigan defenders were selected as first-team players on the 1985 All-Big Ten Conference football team: Hammerstein and Mark Messner from the defensive line, linebacker Mike Mallory, and Cochran from the secondary.

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  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Polls was invoked but never defined (see the help page).