1980 Michigan Wolverines football team

1980 Michigan Wolverines football
Big Ten champion Rose Bowl champion
Rose Bowl, W 23–6 vs. Washington
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 4
AP	No. 4
1980 record	10–2 (8–0 Big Ten)
Head coach	Bo Schembechler (12th year)
Defensive coordinator	Bill McCartney
MVP	Anthony Carter
Captain	Andy Cannavino
Captain	George Lilja
Home stadium	Michigan Stadium (Capacity: 101,701)
Seasons ← 1979 1981 →

The 1980 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1980 Big Ten Conference football season. Coached by Bo Schembechler, Michigan won the Big Ten Conference championship with a record of 10–2 (8–0 in conference) and defeated the Washington Huskies in the 1981 Rose Bowl game, 23–6. After starting the season 1–2 with a narrow victory over Northwestern and losses to Notre Dame and South Carolina, the 1980 season looked like it would be disappointment. A quarterback controversy concerning the choice of Rich Hewlett to start the season over the popular John Wangler added to the early-season turmoil. However, the defense gathered strength over the course of the season, scored three consecutive shutouts, and did not allow a touchdown in the final 22 quarters of the season. The offense was led by All-Americans Anthony Carter at wide receiver and George Lilja at center. The Rose Bowl victory over Washington was Schembechler's first win in a bowl game, following seven bowl games losses. After falling out of the rankings for four weeks in the middle of the season, the 1980 Wolverines ended up being ranked #4 in both the AP and Coaches polls.

The 1979 season marked the first time Michigan had not ended the season ranked among the nation's top ten teams since Bo Schembechler took over as coach in 1969. In the AP's 1980 preseason poll, Michigan was not even picked to be one of the top two teams in the Big Ten Conference. The AP picked Ohio State (led by Art Schlichter) as the No. 1 team in the country, and Purdue (led by Mark Herrmann) at No. 9, with Michigan ranked No. 12.

In the first game of the year, Michigan played Northwestern. The game began in a heavy rain that turned into a downpour for most of the first half. The game was unexpectedly close, as Northwestern, in the midst of a 34-game losing streak, dominated a third quarter in which Michigan ran only three plays and had the ball for two minutes and thirty seconds. Northwestern then scored a touchdown early in the fourth quarter to tie the game, 10-10, "before a stunned crowd of 100,824 at Michigan Stadium." Michigan fans were unsure of the young sophomore quarterback, Rich Hewlett, starting in place of senior John Wangler, who had been injured in the previous year's Gator Bowl. With the game tied, 10-10, the disenchanted Michigan fans began chants of "We Want Wangler." With Northwestern still controlling the ball in the fourth quarter, Andy Cannavino fell on a Northwestern fumble at the Wildcats' 23-yard line. Hewlett responded with a 23-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Carter in the left corner of the end zone (Hewlett's second touchdown pass of the game to Carter) to give Michigan a 17-10 lead. In the final three minutes of the game, Northwestern drove the ball from its own 27 to the Michigan 7, but Andy Cannavino intercepted a pass on fourth down. After the game, Hewlett said he tried not to pay attention to the chants calling for Wangler, and Bo Schembechler said, "I don't care who they call for. You know that won't dictate what I do."