1948 Michigan Wolverines football team

1948 Michigan Wolverines football

Consensus national champion Big Nine champion
Conference	Big Nine Conference
Ranking
AP	No. 1
1948 record	9–0 (6–0 Big Nine)
Head coach	Bennie Oosterbaan (1st year)
MVP	Dominic Tomasi
Captain	Dominic Tomasi
Home stadium	Michigan Stadium
Seasons ← 1947 1949 →

1948 Big Nine football standings
	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
#1 Michigan $	6	–	0	–	0	9	–	0	–	0
#7 Northwestern	5	–	1	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
#16 Minnesota	5	–	2	–	0	7	–	2	–	0
Ohio State	3	–	3	–	0	6	–	3	–	0
Iowa	2	–	4	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
Purdue	2	–	4	–	0	3	–	6	–	0
Indiana	2	–	4	–	0	2	–	7	–	0
Illinois	2	–	5	–	0	3	–	6	–	0
Wisconsin	1	–	5	–	0	2	–	7	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Week 1: Michigan at Michigan State

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Michigan	7	0	0	6	13
Michigan St.	0	0	7	0	7

Date: September 25, 1948
Location: Macklin Stadium
East Lansing, MI
Game attendance: 51,511
Referee: George W. Rennix

Week 2: Oregon at Michigan

	1	2	3	4	Total
Oregon	0	0	0	0	0
• Michigan	0	7	7	0	14

Date: October 2, 1948
Location: Michigan Stadium
Ann Arbor, MI
Game attendance: 65,800
Referee: Rollie A. Barnum

Week 3: Michigan at Purdue

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Michigan	13	6	7	14	40
Purdue	0	0	0	0	0

Date: October 9, 1948
Location: Ross–Ade Stadium
West Lafayette, IN
Game attendance: 45,996

Week 4: Northwestern at Michigan

	1	2	3	4	Total
Northwestern (3–0)	0	0	0	0	0
• Michigan (3–0)	7	0	7	14	28

Date: October 16, 1948
Location: Michigan Stadium
Ann Arbor, MI
Game attendance: 85,938
Referee: William A. Blake

Week 5: Michigan at Minnesota

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Michigan (4–0)	0	13	7	7	27
Minnesota (3–1)	0	7	7	0	14

Date: October 23, 1948
Location: Memorial Stadium
Minneapolis, MN
Game attendance: 65,130

Week 6: Illinois at Michigan

	1	2	3	4	Total
Illinois (2–3)	0	7	6	7	20
• Michigan (5–0)	0	7	14	7	28

Date: October 30, 1948
Location: Michigan Stadium
Ann Arbor, MI
Game attendance: 85,938
Referee: Rollie Barnum

Week 7: Navy at Michigan

	1	2	3	4	Total
Navy (0–6)	0	0	0	0	0
• Michigan (6–0)	7	7	14	7	35

Date: November 6, 1948
Location: Michigan Stadium
Ann Arbor, MI
Game attendance: 85,938
Referee: Rupp (Lebanon Valley)

Week 8: Indiana at Michigan

	1	2	3	4	Total
Indiana (2–5)	0	0	0	0	0
• Michigan (7–0)	7	14	13	20	54

Date: November 13, 1948
Location: Michigan Stadium
Ann Arbor, MI
Game attendance: 84,043

The 1948 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan during the 1948 Big Nine Conference football season. In its first year under head coach Bennie Oosterbaan, Michigan compiled a 9–0 record, defeated six ranked opponents by a combined score of 122–17, and won both the Big Nine Conference and national football championships. In the final AP Poll, Michigan received 192 first place votes, twice as many as second-place Notre Dame which garnered 97 first place votes.

The 1948 season was Michigan's second straight undefeated, untied season. After Fritz Crisler led the 1947 team to a perfect 10–0 record, the Wolverines entered the 1948 season with a 14-game winning streak dating back to October 1946. Despite the loss of all four backfield starters from the 1947 team (including Big Nine MVP Bump Elliott and Heisman Trophy runner-up Bob Chappuis), the 1948 team extended the winning streak to 23 games.

On offense, Michigan was led by a new backfield that included All-American quarterback Pete Elliott and halfbacks Chuck Ortmann and Leo Koceski. The team scored 252 points, an average of 28 points per game. With Ortmann as the principal passer, the Wolverines relied on an air attack, gaining more yards in the air (1,355) than on the ground (1,262). Dick Rifenburg, the team's leading receiver, was picked as a first-team All-American at the end position. Team captain Dominic Tomasi was selected as the team's Most Valuable Player. The 1949 Michiganensian wrote of the 250-pound guard, "Famous for his sharp shattering blocking, Dom tore huge gaps in the opposing lines to pave the way for Michigan's steam roller offense."

...
Wikipedia