2008 Michigan Wolverines football team

2008 Michigan Wolverines football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record3–9 (2–6 Big Ten)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorCalvin Magee (1st season)
Offensive schemeSpread
Defensive coordinatorScott Shafer (1st season)
Base defenseMultiple
MVPBrandon Graham
Captains
Home stadiumMichigan Stadium
Seasons
← 2007
2009 →
2008 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 8 Penn State $+   7 1     11 2  
No. 9 Ohio State %+   7 1     10 3  
No. 24 Michigan State   6 2     9 4  
Northwestern   5 3     9 4  
No. 20 Iowa   5 3     9 4  
Wisconsin   3 5     7 6  
Minnesota   3 5     7 6  
Illinois   3 5     5 7  
Purdue   2 6     4 8  
Michigan   2 6     3 9  
Indiana   1 7     3 9  
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • % – BCS at-large representative
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll
Brandon Graham tackles Terrelle Pryor during 2008 Michigan – Ohio State rivalry game.
Obi Ezeh attempts shoestring tackle on Beanie Wells during 2008 Michigan – Ohio State rivalry game.

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. The losses included a 13–10 defeat to a Toledo team that posted a 3–9 record that season; this was Michigan's first-ever loss to a team from the Mid-American Conference. In addition, Michigan's loss to Ohio State on November 22 was the fifth straight, the most consecutive losses by Michigan to the Buckeyes up until that point.[1]