The 1991 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in the 1991 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team's head coach was

Gary Moeller Gary Oscar Moeller (; January 26, 1941 – July 11, 2022) was an American football coach best known for being head coach at the University of Michigan from 1990 to 1994. During his five seasons at Michigan, he won 44 games, lost 13 and tied 3 f ...

. The Wolverines played their home games at

Michigan Stadium Michigan Stadium, nicknamed "The Big House," is the football stadium for the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It is the largest stadium in the United States and the Western Hemisphere, the third largest stadium in the world, and the ...

. The team was undefeated in the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

and was led by Heisman Trophy-winner

Desmond Howard Desmond Kevin Howard (born May 15, 1970) is an American former football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. He played college football at Michigan, where he won the Heisman Trophy as a senior. Howard w ...

Butkus Award The Butkus Award, instituted in 1985 by the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando, is given annually to the top linebackers at the high school, collegiate and professional levels of football. The award, named in honor of College Football Hall of Fame ...

-winner

Erick Anderson Erick Scott Anderson (born October 7, 1968) is a former American football player. Anderson played college football as a linebacker at the University of Michigan from 1988 to 1991. As a senior in 1991, he won the Dick Butkus Award, Butkus Award as ...

and national statistical champion

Elvis Grbac Elvis M. Grbac (born August 13, 1970) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons, most notably with the Kansas City Chiefs. He played college football at Michigan, where he won the ...

. The team won the fourth of five consecutive Big Ten championships. The team lost to national champion

Washington Huskies The Washington Huskies are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac-1 ...

in the 1992 Rose Bowl.

Schedule

Roster

Coaching staff

*Head coach:

*Assistant coaches: Tirrel Burton,

Cam Cameron Malcolm "Cam" Cameron (born February 6, 1961) is an American football coach. He is the former offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach of the LSU Tigers football program. Cameron attended Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana and playe ...

Lloyd Carr Lloyd Henry Carr Jr. (born July 30, 1945) is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Michigan from 1995 through the 2007 season. Under Carr, the Michigan Wolverines compiled a record ...

, Jerry Hanlon, Bill Harris,

Jim Herrmann James Herrmann (born December 8, 1960) is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the defensive coordinator for the San Antonio Brahmas of the XFL and was recently the defensive coordinator for the New York Guardians of ...

Les Miles Leslie Edwin Miles (born November 10, 1953) is a former American football coach. He most recently served as the head coach at Kansas. His head coaching career began with the Oklahoma State Cowboys, where he coached from 2001 to 2004. Following t ...

, Bobby Morrison,

Tom Reed Thomas or Tom Reed may refer to: Politicians and military * Thomas Buck Reed (1787–1829), senator from Mississippi * Thomas Reed (British Army officer) (1796–1883), British general * Thomas Brackett Reed (1839–1902), Speaker of the House of ...

*Trainer: Paul Schmidt *Managers: Brian Bickner, Scott Hanel, David Henderson, Marc Jacobson, Andy Riegler, Dave Schueler, Lance Satterthwaite, Mark Vainisi, Michael Weiskopf

Rankings

Statistical achievements

surpassed Anthony Carter's 11-year-old conference single-season record of 14

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...

receptions by totaling 19, which continues to be the conference record. During the season, he extended his consecutive games with a touchdown reception streak to 13 games, surpassing Carter's 9, set in 1980, a record that still stands. J. D. Carlson established the current Big Ten record for consecutive successful

point after touchdown The conversion, try (American football, also known as a point(s) after touchdown, PAT, or (depending on the number of points) extra point/2-point conversion), or convert (Canadian football) occurs immediately after a touchdown during which the sc ...

conversions at 126. Grbac won the first of his back-to-back

passing efficiency Passer rating (also known as passing efficiency in college football) is a measure of the performance of passers, primarily quarterbacks, in gridiron football. There are two formulas currently in use: one used by both the National Football Leagu ...

NCAA Division I FBS championships. He also won his second of three consecutive Big Ten passing statistical championships (177.8

in conference games and 161.7 in all games).

was the repeat Big Ten receiving yardage champion for all games with 82.1 yards per game and he won his only conference games yardage championship with a 90.1 average. Howard was also the scoring champion with an 11.3 points per game average in conference games and an 11.5 average overall. The team led the Big Ten in rushing offense both in conference games (264.6 yards per game) and all games (231.9 yards per game). They also led in passing efficiency for both conference games (166.5) and all games (154.7). They were the conference leader in

total offense Total offense (or total offence) is a gridiron football statistic representing the total number of yards rushing and yards passing by a team or player. Total offense differs from yards from scrimmage, which gives credit for passing yardage to the ...

both for conference games (453.6 yards per game) and all games (419.8 yards per game). They were also the Big Ten scoring statistical champions for conference games (39.5 points per game) and all games (35.0 points per game). The team earned the second of four consecutive and six 1990s Big Ten rushing defense statistical championships for all games by holding opponents to 105.4 yards per game. The team also earned the first of five consecutive and six 1990s Big Ten rushing defense statistical championships for conference games by holding opponents to 102.0 yards per game. The team led the Big Ten Conference in scoring defense for conference games (11.4 points per game), while Iowa led for all games. They led the conference in turnover margin (+1.13) in conference games and (+0.92) in all games. They led the conference in punt return average in conference games (16.3 yards per return) and all games (14.7). Grbac posted his second (a school record that he would later extend) and the school's fifth 4-touchdown performance against Florida State on August 28. His season total of 25 touchdown passes surpassed his own school record of 21 set the prior year. His junior year total of 54 touchdown passes set a new school record, eclipsing

Rick Leach Rick Leach (born December 28, 1964) is a former professional tennis player and a coach from the United States. A doubles specialist, he won five Grand Slam doubles titles (three at the Australian Open, one at Wimbledon, and one at the US Ope ...

's total of 48 set in 1978. He also tied Jim Harbaugh's 1986 single-season completion percentage record of 65.0, which was surpassed the following year by Todd Collins. On September 14, his 20–22 performance against Notre Dame established the current single-game completion percentage, eclipsing his own September 16, 1989 17–21 performance against Notre Dame. On September 7, Howard became the third Michigan receiver to post a 3-touchdown reception performance and on October 19, he became the first two do so twice (a feat later matched by David Terrell and

Braylon Edwards Braylon Jamel Edwards (born February 21, 1983) is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Michigan, earned unanimous All-American honors, and was recognize ...

). The following season Derrick Alexander would become the only Wolverine to post a 4-touchdown reception performance. Howard also tied Carter's record of three consecutive 100-yard receiving games, a record tied by

Marcus Knight Marcus Larae Knight (born June 19, 1978) is an American football coach and former wide receiver who is currently the wide receivers coach at Ball State University. He played college football at Michigan and professionally as a wide receiver a ...

in 1999 and eclipsed by Edwards in 2003 who posted four.

Game summaries

Boston College

Desmond Howard’s 93 yard kickoff return for a touchdown to start the 2nd half sparked the Wolverines to a 35-13 victory over Boston College. The Eagles had closed to 14-13 early in the 4th quarter. BC had jumped to 10-0 lead after the 1st quarter, but the Wolverines rallied behind Howard’s four touchdowns. Howard caught three touchdown passes from Elvis Grbac. Lance Dottin returned an interception 50 yards for a touchdown to close out the scoring for Michigan. Ricky Powers led the ground attack with 176 yards rushing.

Notre Dame

Michigan, ranked #3, jumped to a 17-0 lead late in the 2nd quarter and held on for a 24-14 win over #7 Notre Dame. Desmond Howard scored twice, on a 29-yard run and a 25-yard reception from Elvis Grbac on 4th and inches, which effectively clinched the game. The latter would become known as "The Catch" and helped propel Howard to the Heisman Trophy. Ricky Powers ran for 164 yards and a touchdown while Grbac completed 20 of 22 passes for 195 yards. Lance Dottin had an interception and John Carlson kicked a 22 yard field goal. With the win, the Wolverines ended a four-game losing streak against the Irish.

Florida State

A matchup of two teams ranked in the top 3 ended in a blowout, 51-31, in favor of Florida State. It would be FSU's 10th consecutive victory, while marking the sixth time Michigan had lost to a No. 1 team in an eight-year stretch. The 51 points was the third-highest total by an opponent in Michigan history, the most ever by a visitor at Michigan Stadium and the most in any game against the Wolverines since Northwestern scored 55 in 1958. Eight Florida State touchdowns—scored by seven players—tied for the most a Michigan team has allowed. The #1 ranked Seminoles confused and pressured #3 ranked Michigan into four interceptions, three thrown by quarterback Elvis Grbac. Two were returned for touchdowns. Terrell Buckley's stunning 40-yard return on Michigan's second offensive play was the first of his two interceptions. Michigan was held to a total of 120 rushing yards.

Iowa

The Hawkeyes led 18–7 midway through the second quarter, but could not stop the Michigan ground game as the Wolverines rolled up 371 yards rushing on 50 attempts. Jesse Johnson led the way with 168 yards and a touchdown while Elvis Grbac completed 14 of 22 passes for 196 yards and three touchdown passes. Desmond Howard caught a 20 yard and a 2 yard TD reception. Johnson caught a 28 yard TD pass from Grbac as well. The Wolverines rolled up 567 yards of total offense on their way to a 43-24 victory.

Michigan State

Elvis Grbac threw three 1st half touchdowns, including two of them to Desmond Howard as they jumped to a 21-0 lead on the way to a 45-28 pasting of the Spartans. Ricky Powers rushed for 148 yards and Jesse Johnson ran for two touchdowns as the Wolverines rang up 326 yards on the ground. The Michigan defense held Michigan State to 84 yards rushing, while Dave Ritter and Cole Wallace each had interceptions. Howard had 8 catches for 101 yards.

Indiana

The #4 ranked Wolverines were pushed to the limit by the Hoosiers, but held on and prevailed 24-16 in a tightly contested game. The Hoosier defense held the Wolverines to 261 yards of total offense. Thanks to Desmond Howard and Elvis Grbac, the Wolverines pulled out the win on three Grbac TD passes to Howard. John Carlson added a 36 yard field goal.

Minnesota

Once again it was the Grbac and Howard show as the #4 ranked Wolverines stormed out to a 28-0 lead on the way to a 52-6 victory over the Golden Gophers and retained the Little Brown Jug for another year. Ricky Powers, Desmond Howard and Tyrone Wheatley each scored two touchdowns. Howard caught 6 passes for 155 yards and Elvis Grbac passed for 242 yards and three TD passes. Pat Maloney and Shonte Peoples had interceptions and the defense held Minnesota to 250 yards of total offense.

Purdue

The Wolverine defense was ferocious and held the Boilermakers to 188 yards of total offense while the offense scored at will as Michigan shutout Purdue, 42-0. Ricky Powers, Tyrone Wheatley and Desmond Howard each scored two touchdowns to lead the Wolverines. Powers and Wheatley on the ground and Howard on passes from Elvis Grbac. Powers finished with 118 yards rushing while Howard had 7 catches for 108 yards. Grbac finished with 175 yards on 11 of 16 completions.

Northwestern

The #4 ranked Wolverines raced to a 45-7 halftime lead on the way to a 59-14 victory over Northwestern. Michigan ran for 368 yards and three Wolverine quarterbacks passed for 259 yards, led by Elvis Grbac who completed 9 of 16 passes for 229 yards and a TD pass. Tyrone Wheatley ran for 141 yards and two touchdowns while Ricky Powers ran for three touchdowns and Jesse Johnson ran for two touchdowns.

Illinois

Desmond Howard and John Carlson provided all the Michigan points as they shutout the Fighting Illini in Champaign, 20-0. Howard caught a 1 yard TD reception and ran 15 yards for his touchdowns while Carlson kicked field goals from 36 and 43 yards. Ricky Powers ran for 151 yards and Jesse Johnson ran for 104 yards. Howard caught 7 passes for 80 yards. The Wolverine defense held the Illini to 49 yards rushing while the offense controlled the ball for over 38 minutes.

Ohio State

Desmond Howard put an exclamation point on his Heisman Trophy winning season with a 93 yard punt return for a touchdown as the Wolverines routed their hated rival Ohio State, 31-3. Howard also caught 3 passes for 96 yards. Tyrone Wheatley, Jesse Johnson and Burnie Legette each had touchdown runs for the Wolverines. The Michigan defense held the Buckeyes to 233 yards of total offense while Kirk Herbstreit was held to completing 8 of 11 passes for 82 yards. Lance Dottin intercepted a pass for the Wolverine defense. John Carlson added a field goal to give Michigan a 17-3 lead in the 2nd quarter. Michigan controlled the ball for nearly 34 minutes in the game.

vs. Washington (Rose Bowl)

After a scoreless first quarter, the Huskies went ahead as Billy Joe Hobert faked to Beno Bryant and ran off left tackle for two yards and the touchdown. Howard, an electrifying player, would then add another clip to his collegiate highlight film on Michigan's ensuing drive as he snared a leaping, 35 yard reception over eventual NFL first round selection Dana Hall. Three plays later, Elvis Grbac connected with Walter Smith on a 9 yard touchdown pass. Two Travis Hanson field goals made the score 13-7 Huskies at halftime. Washington extended its lead in the third quarter on an 80 yard touchdown drive. Hobert completed a 5 yard td toss to Mark Bruener and the two point conversion to Aaron Pierce. Facing a 21-7 deficit, the Wolverines were again unable to manage a first down and were forced to punt. Excellent field position awaited the Washington offense again, with the ball resting on the Michigan 48. On the second play of the final quarter, Hobert gave a play-action fake and found Pierce in the back of the end zone for a 2 yard touchdown. The Wolverines found themselves trailing 21-7. Michigan started the next drive at their own 29 yard line. Michigan moved the ball out to the 38 yard line before a Grbac keeper on fourth and one was stopped Washington took only six seconds to find the end zone again. Mark Brunell hit Mario Bailey streaking down the right side for the Huskies final score of the game. Tyrone Wheatley, a freshman, capped off an outstanding afternoon (68 yards on 9 carries) and closed the scoring on a 53 yard touchdown run, and J.D. Carlson's 126th consecutive PAT.

Players in the NFL

The following players were claimed in the

1992 NFL Draft The 1992 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 26–27, 1992, at the Marriott ...

Awards and honors

The individuals in the sections below earned recognition for meritorious performances.

National

*All-Americans: Erick Anderson, Desmond Howard, Matt Elliott, Greg Skrepenak *

* Jack Lambert Trophy: Anderson * Heisman Trophy: Desmond Howard *

Walter Camp Award The Walter Camp Player of the Year Award is given annually to the collegiate American football player of the year, as decided by a group of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I FBS head coaches and sports information directo ...

: Desmond Howard *

Maxwell Award The Maxwell Award is presented annually to the college football player judged by a panel of sportscasters, sportswriters, and National Collegiate Athletic Association head coaches and the membership of the Maxwell Football Club to be the best al ...

: Desmond Howard *

Sporting News College Football Player of the Year The ''Sporting News'' College Football Player of the Year award is given to the player of the year in college football as adjudged by ''Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Hold ...

: Howard *

UPI College Football Player of the Year The United Press International College Football Player of the Year Award was among the first and most recognized college football awards. With the second bankruptcy of UPI in 1991, along with that of its parent company, the award was discontinued. ...

: Howard *

Chic Harley Award The Touchdown Club of Columbus was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1956 by Sam B. Nicola at the request of state auditor James A. Rhodes, who later became governor of the state. Nicola served as the club's president until his death in 1993. More ...

: Howard *

Paul Warfield Trophy The Touchdown Club of Columbus was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1956 by Sam B. Nicola at the request of state auditor James A. Rhodes, who later became governor of the state. Nicola served as the club's president until his death in 1993. More ...

: Howard * Jim Parker Trophy: Skrepenak

Conference

* Big Ten Football MVP:

Big Ten Athlete of the Year The Big Ten Athlete of the Year award is given annually to the top male and female collegiate athletes in the Big Ten Conference. It was first awarded in 1982, with winners being selected by a panel of conference media members from nominations submi ...

(all sports): Howard *Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year: Howard *Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year: Skrepenak *Big Ten Dave McClain Coach of the Year:

(media) *All-Conference: J.D. Carlson,

Dean Dingman Dean Dingman (born September 27, 1968) is a former American football player. He was an All-American offensive guard who played for the University of Michigan Wolverines football team from 87 to 1990. He was drafted by in the eighth round of the ...

Tripp Welborne Sullivan Anthony "Tripp" Welborne III (born November 20, 1968) is a former American football player. Welborne played college football, principally as a safety and punt returner, from 1987 to 1990. He had five interceptions as a sophomore in 19 ...

Jon Vaughn Jonathan Stewart Vaughn (born March 12, 1970) is an American former professional football player who was a running back and kick returner in the National Football League (NFL) for four seasons from 1991 to 1994 for the Seattle Seahawks, New E ...

, Greg Skrepenak, Desmond Howard, Erick Anderson, Matt Elliott, Mike Evans,

Ricky Powers Richard Powers (born November 30, 1970) is a former running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the Cleveland Browns and a former University of Michigan Wolverines football co-captain. In the NFL, he had a brief career with the Bro ...

, Chris Hutchinson

Team

*Captain: Erick Anderson,

Greg Skrepenak Gregory Andrew Skrepenak (born January 31, 1970) is an American former county commissioner in Pennsylvania and retired professional football player. He was an offensive lineman in the National Football League (NFL) for the Los Angeles/Oaklan ...

*Most Valuable Player: Desmond Howard *Meyer Morton Award: Desmond Howard *John Maulbetsch Award: Steve Morrison *Frederick Matthei Award: Steve Morrison *Arthur Robinson Scholarship Award: David Ritter *Dick Katcher Award: Mike Evans *Hugh Rader Jr. Award: Greg Skrepenak *Robert P. Ufer Award: Matt Elliot *Roger Zatkoff Award: Erick Anderson

References

External links

1991 Football Team -- Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan Athletics History
{{Big Ten Conference football champions

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

Michigan Wolverines football seasons Big Ten Conference football champion seasons Michigan Wolverines football