74 days until Michigan football: The Presidency and the 1974 season
There’s much anticipation heading into the Michigan Wolverines football season, and TheWolverine.com is counting down the days until the Sept. 2 opener against East Carolina. We’ll discuss current Michigan events, the 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.
There are 74 days until Michigan football kicks off its 2023 season, which throws us back to the 1974 season. The year was notable for a few reasons in Wolverine lore.
After Richard Nixon resigned his post as President of the United States on August 9, 1974, Gerald R. Ford – a Michigan football alum and program legend – automatically assumed the presidency and took the oath of office in the East Room at the White House. This made the former Wolverine the only person to assume the role without being elected to the presidency or vice presidency after he was appointed to the latter role in December 1973 after vice president Spiro Agnew’s resignation.
Coming off the Watergate scandal and Nixon’s resignation, Ford spoke to the country via a live broadcast and declared “Our long national nightmare is over.”
Ford’s Michigan roots were often on display during his presidency, which lasted through 1977. He would often have the Naval band play “The Victors” instead of “Hail to the Chief” prior to state events. Emperor Hirohito of Japan had his military band welcome Ford to the country on a visit by playing “The Victors,” as well.
Ford passed away in 2006 and was greeted by the U-M Marching Band upon his arrival for funeral services in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
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On the field, Michigan football had a mostly-fruitful 1974 season that ended in bitter disappointment. After storming out to a 10-0 start to the year, the Wolverines dropped a heartbreaker to the rival Ohio State Buckeyes in Columbus and missed a field goal in the waning moments of a 12-10 loss that would have kept their undefeated season alive and earned them a trip to the Rose Bowl.
The Wolverines would snap a four-game winless streak against the Buckeyes during the 1976 season with a 22-0 win over OSU in Columbus.
| Date | Opponent | Location | Result | Record |
| September 14 | Iowa | Home | 24-7 W | 1-0 (1-0 B1G) |
| September 21 | Colorado | Home | 31-0 W | 2-0 (1-0 B1G) |
| September 28 | Navy | Home | 52-0 W | 3-0 (1-0 B1G) |
| October 5 | Stanford | Away | 27-16 W | 4-0 (1-0 B1G) |
| October 12 | Michigan State | Home | 21-7 W | 5-0 (2-0 B1G) |
| October 19 | Wisconsin | Away | 24-20 W | 6-0 (3-0 B1G) |
| October 26 | Minnesota | Home | 49-0 W | 7-0 (4-0 B1G) |
| November 2 | Indiana | Away | 21-7 W | 8-0 (5-0 B1G) |
| November 9 | Illinois | Away | 14-6 W | 9-0 (6-0 B1G) |
| November 16 | Purdue | Home | 51-0 W | 10-0 (7-0 B1G) |
| November 23 | No. 3 Ohio State | Away | 12-10 L | 10-1 (7-1 B1G) |
Michigan football countdown to kickoff
75 days | 76 days | 77 days | 78 days | 79 days | 80 days | 81 days | 82 days | 83 days | 84 days | 85 days | 86 days | 87 days | 88 days | 89 days | 90 days | 91 days | 92 days | 93 days | 94 days | 95 days | 96 days | 97 days | 98 days | 99 days | 100 days
