Michigan football countdown to kickoff: 71 days until 2022 season
There’s much anticipation heading into the Michigan Wolverines football season, and TheWolverine.com is counting down the days until the Sept. 3 opener against Colorado State. We’ll discuss the current Michigan events, upcoming season and/or take a look at a significant number that correlates with how many days remain until kickoff, whether it be a player’s jersey number, a year, a date, a score, etc.
Today’s Countdown to Kickoff look is at the 1971 Michigan Wolverines, another dominant group from the Bo Schembechler era. In his third season on the job, the squad went 11-1 and won a Big Ten Championship with its lone loss coming to Stanford in the Rose Bowl.
Michigan finished the season ranked No. 4 in the UPI poll and No. 6 in the AP and outscored their opponents 421-83. The season included three-consecutive shutout wins over Virginia (56-0), UCLA (38-0) and Navy (46-0). They also eclipsed 60 points twice in a 61-7 victory over Indiana and 63-7 win over Iowa. At this point, these were the highest point totals in a game since 1947’s Mad Magicians.
Defensive back Fran Gusich and center Guy Murdock were named the team’s captains. Running back Billy Taylor garnered team MVP honors after rushing for 1,297 yards and a first-team All-American nod. Three other Wolverines grabbed All-America honors in linebacker Mike Taylor, guard Reggie McKenzie and defensive back Thom Darden.
Michigan’s Rose Bowl loss to Stanford was a heartbreaker. The Wolverines dropped a 13-12 decision thanks to a Cardinal field goal with 12 seconds to go. Regardless, the squad still went down as Schembechler’s best through three seasons on the job.
McKenzie was arguably the team’s best professional success story. He was a second-round pick of the Buffalo Bills in 1972 and spent 11 years with the team. McKenzie was a three-time All-Pro selection between 1973-75 and finished his career with the Seattle Seahawks in 1983-84. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2002.
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Darden was a first-round pick of the Cleveland Browns and spent a decade in the NFL from 1972-81. He was a three-time second-team All-Pro selection and led the NFL in interceptions in 1978, which was also the only year he made the Pro Bowl in his career.
Another notable thing to come out of the year was linebacker Dana Coin’s 55-of-55 mark on extra points. The dual-purpose player was also the team’s leading scorer with 79 points on the campaign.
Michigan football countdown to kickoff
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