1955 Michigan Wolverines football team

1955 Michigan Wolverines football
Conference Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches No. 13
AP No. 12
1955 record 7–2 (5–2 Big Ten)
Head coach Bennie Oosterbaan (8th season)
MVP Terry Barr
Captain Ed Meads
Home stadium Michigan Stadium
1955 Big Ten football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
No. 5 Ohio State $ 6 – 0 – 0     7 – 2 – 0
No. 2 Michigan State 5 – 1 – 0     9 – 1 – 0
No. 12 Michigan 5 – 2 – 0     7 – 2 – 0
Purdue 4 – 2 – 1     5 – 3 – 1
Illinois 3 – 3 – 1     5 – 3 – 1
Wisconsin 3 – 4 – 0     4 – 5 – 0
Iowa 2 – 3 – 1     3 – 5 – 1
Minnesota 2 – 5 – 0     3 – 6 – 0
Indiana 1 – 5 – 0     3 – 6 – 0
Northwestern 0 – 6 – 1     0 – 8 – 1
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1955 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1955 Big Ten Conference football season. In their eighth season under head coach Bennie Oosterbaan, the Wolverines finished in third place in the Big Ten Conference with a record of 7–2. The team was ranked No. 12 and No. 13 in the final AP and UPI Polls. Left end Ron Kramer was selected as a first-team All-American.[1] Kramer and right end Tom Maentz were nicknamed the "touchdown twins,"[2] became the first Michigan football players to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated,[3] and were both first-team selections for the All-Big Ten team. Left halfback Terry Barr was selected as the team's most valuable player.[1]

In the second week of the season, the Wolverines defeated Michigan State, 14–7.[4] The game was the only loss of the season for Michigan State which was ranked No. 2 in the final AP and UPI polls. The Wolverines were ranked No. 2 in the country after defeating the Spartans and rose to No. 1 after defeating the No. 6 ranked Army football team by a 26–2 score the following week.[5] In late October 1955, quarterback Jim Maddock led a come-from-behind victory in a nationally-televised game that included a 65-yard touchdown pass to Ron Kramer and a 60-yard touchdown pass to Tom Maentz.[6] After starting the season 6-0, the team lost to Illinois on November 5, 1955.[7] In the final game of the season, the Wolverines were favored but lost to Ohio State by a 17–0 score.[8]

Schedule

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Result Attendance
September 24 Missouri* No. 4/NA Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI W 42–7   51,801
October 1 No. NR/20 Michigan State No. 2/2 Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI (Paul Bunyan Trophy) W 14–7   97,239
October 8 No. 6/6 Army* No. 2/2 Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI W 26–2   97,366
October 15 Northwestern No. 1/1 Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI W 14–2   67,074
October 22 at Minnesota No. 1/1 Memorial Stadium • Minneapolis, MN (Little Brown Jug) W 14–13   63,530
October 29 Iowadagger No. 3/1 Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI W 33–21   73,275
November 5 at Illinois No. 3/1 Memorial Stadium • Champaign, Il (Series) L 6–25   56,056
November 12 Indiana No. 7/6 Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI W 30–0   61,019
November 19 No. 9/8 Ohio State No. 6/6 Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI (Rivalry) L 0–17   97,369
*Non-conference game. daggerHomecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll / Coaches' Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Players

Varsity letter winners

Reserves

Statistical leaders

Rushing

Player Attempts Net yards Yards per attemptTouchdowns
Tony Branoff863874.53
Terry Barr632453.94
Lou Baldacci692183.24

Passing

Player AttemptsCompletions InterceptionsComp %YardsYds/CompTDLong
Jim Maddock5220338.534317.1265
Jim Van Pelt219142.913915.4236
Terry Barr166237.511919.8057

Receiving

Player ReceptionsYards Yds/RecpTDLong
Tom Maentz1125323.0360
Ron Kramer1222418.7465
Terry Barr47418.5040

Kickoff returns

Player ReturnsYards Yds/ReturnTDLong
Tony Branoff614023.3027
Terry Barr48421.0025
Ed Hickey36321.0028

Punt returns

Player ReturnsYards Yds/ReturnTDLong
Terry Barr1421915.6182
Jim Pace46917.3034
Tony Branoff8587.3011

Awards and honors

Coaching staff

References

  1. 1 2 "1955 Football Team". University of Michigan, Bentley Historical Library.
  2. ↑ John Barbour (October 30, 1955). "Coaches Heap Praise Upon Great Ends". Council Bluffs Nonpareil.
  3. ↑ Ernie Harwell (June 7, 2004). "Michigan Has Covered SI 67 Times". Detroit Free Press.
  4. ↑ "Michigan Defeats Michigan State in Big Ten Contest Before 97,239 Fans". The New York Times. October 2, 1955.
  5. ↑ "Michigan Routs Army Jinx, 26-2: Fumbles Fatal To Cadets". The Miami News (AP story). October 9, 1955.
  6. ↑ Edward Prell (October 30, 1955). "Michigan Beats Iowa, 33-21; Badgers, Illini Lose: WOLVERINES WIN WITH 4TH PERIOD RALLY; Maddock Tosses 2 Scoring Passes What a Finish! Michigan's 4th Period Rally Overcomes Iowa, 33 to 21". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. A1.
  7. ↑ "Rampaging Illini Upset Mighty Michigan: No. 3 Team Handed First Loss of Year". The Spencer Sunday Times (AP story). November 6, 1955.
  8. ↑ "Ohio State Upsets Michigan, 17-0". The New York Times. November 20, 1955.
  9. ↑ Ed Sainsbury (November 22, 1955). "Ohio State Dominates Big Ten All-Conference". Warsaw Times Union (UPI story).
  10. ↑ "'55 All-Big Ten Team". The Portsmouth Times (AP story). November 22, 1955.
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