Michigan football countdown to kickoff: 75 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.
The milestone of 75 days left until Michigan football kicks off the 2022 campaign has us looking at No. 75 today. Instead of focusing on a jersey, today’s look is at the 75th anniversary of one of the most dominant teams in program history.
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The 1947 Michigan squad took care of its business in impressive fashion under 10th-year head coach Fritz Crisler. The Wolverines went 10-0 on the season with a 6-0 mark in Big Nine play, won the Rose Bowl and received 12 of 14 national championship votes. Outscoring its opponents 394-53, many consider this to be the best team in the history of the storied program.
The 1947 Wolverines had five players who would wind up in either the College or Pro Football halls of fame: halfbacks Bob Chappuis and Bump Elliott, defensive back Pete Elliott, defensive end Len Ford and tackle Al Wistert. Other team stars included offensive tackle Bruce Hilkene (captain), fullback Jack Weisenburger and quarterback Howard Yerges, often referred to as “Crisler’s second brain.”
Enter the ‘Mad Magicians’
Michigan not only was dominant throughout the year, but it also pushed the sport of football forward. Crisler’s team had its players develop specific roles on either offense or defense instead of players playing both ways. Only Elliott and Weisenburger were active on both sides of the ball.
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The offensive concepts laid the groundwork for much of the modern spread we see today. Crisler ran a single-wing look, the basis for the spread and shotgun formations that make up seemingly most modern offenses today. In the single-wing, the snap usually would go to either the tailback or fullback, but it came with the option that the quarterback could grab the ball. In the early days, the quarterback would also be used as a lead blocker. The basis of it is deception and sleight of hand, and Michigan perfected it. This earned the 1947 squad the nickname “Mad Magicians.”
The 1947 schedule
Sept. 27 – vs. Michigan State (55-0 W)
Oct. 4 – vs. Stanford (49-13 W)
Oct. 11 – vs. Pittsburgh (69-0 W)
Oct. 18 – at Northwestern (49-21 W)
Oct. 25 – vs. Minnesota (13-6 W)
Nov. 1 – at No. 11 Illinois (14-7 W)
Nov. 8 – vs. Indiana (35-0 W)
Nov. 15 – at Wisconsin (40-6 W)
Nov. 22 – vs. Ohio State (21-0 W)
Jan. 1, 1948 – Rose Bowl vs. No. 8 USC (49-0 W)
Michigan football countdown to kickoff
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