In the second week of the season, the Wolverines defeated
Michigan State, 14–7. 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. In late October 1955, quarterback
Jim Maddock threw touchdown passes of 65 and 60 yard in the fourth quarter to lead a come-from-behind victory over Iowa in a nationally televised game. After starting the season 6–0, the team lost to
Illinois on November 5. In the final game of the season, the Wolverines were favored but lost to
Ohio State on November 19.
Left end
Ron Kramer was a consensus first-team All-American. Kramer and right end
Tom Maentz were nicknamed the "touchdown twins,"[1] became the first Michigan football players to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated,[2] 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.[3] The team's statistical leaders were
Tony Branoff with 387 rushing yards, Jim Maddock with 343 passing yards, and
Tom Maentz with 253 receiving yards.
The
1954 Michigan Wolverines football team compiled a 6–3 record (5–2 Big Ten), finished in third place in the conference, and was ranked No. 15 in the final AP and UP polls.[13] At the end of the 1954 season, right guard
Ed Meads, a junior from
Oxford, Michigan, was selected by his teammates to be captain of the 1955 team.[14]
In May 1955, freshman quarterback
Jim Van Pelt received the team's Meyer W. Morton trophy as the most improved player in spring practice.[15]
Mike Rotunno 81-yard interception return (Van Pelt kick)
MICH 42–7
On September 23, Michigan opened its season with a 42–7 victory over
Don Faurot's
Missouri Tigers. The game was played before a crowd of 55,608 at
Michigan Stadium. Left end
Ron Kramer scored 23 points for Michigan on three touchdowns and five extra points. The Wolverines out-gained the Tigers by 318 yards (164 rushing, 154 passing) to 115 yards (48 rushing, 67 passing).[4][16]
On October 1, Michigan defeated
Michigan State, 14–7, before a crowd of 97,239 at
Michigan Stadium. Michigan's first touchdown was set up when Michigan halfback
Tony Branoff intercepted the first pass thrown by Michigan State quarterback
Earl Morrall. Branoff returned the ball 38 yards to the Spartans' 20-yard line and scored the touchdown six plays later on a short run.[5][17]
After a poor 24-yard punt by
Ron Kramer, Michigan State tied the game in the third quarter on a short run and extra-point kick by fullback
Jerry Planutis. Later in the third quarter, John Morrow blocked an Earl Morrall punt, and Michigan took over at the Spartans' 21-yard line. Quarterback
Jim Maddock scored on a short run, and Kramer kicked the extra point to give Michigan a 14–7 lead.[17] The Spartans out-gained the Wolverines by totals of 215 yards to 151 yards and had twice as many first downs.[5]
John Greenwood safety (tackled by Flay Goodwin in end zone)
MICH 26–2
On October 8, Michigan (ranked No. 2) defeated
Army (ranked No. 6) by a score of 26–2 before a crowd of 97,239 at
Michigan Stadium. Junior halfback
Terry Barr led Michigan's offense and also scored on an 82-yard punt return in the second quarter. Army had scored 116 points in its first two games, but stalled against the Wolverines. The Cadets fumbled the ball nine times with Michigan recovering on eight. Adding to Army's offensive woes, the Cadets completed only one of 10 passes.[6] It was Michigan's first victory against Army after five prior losses. It was also the worst defeat for an Army football team since 1952.[18]
Michigan end
Ron Kramer sustained a bruised chest in the second quarter, collapsed in the tunnel, and was rushed to University Hospital in an ambulance.[18]
The game was also marked by a halftime incident when Secretary of the Army
Wilber M. Brucker and top military brass attempted to cross the field and became tangled with the
Michigan Marching Band. The Michigan Daily reported that the band was supposed to wait for the military contingent to cross the field, but Michigan band director
William Revelli said he had not been informed of the trip.[19]
On October 15, Michigan defeated
Lou Saban's
Northwestern Wildcats, 14–2, before a crowd of 76,703 at
Michigan Stadium.
Terry Barr's 46-yard touchdown run was the highlight for Michigan. In a defensive struggle, Northwestern out-gained Michigan by 173 yards (128 rushing, 45 passing) to 168 yards (150 rushing, 18 passing). It was the third consecutive week in which the Wolverines won despite being out-gained. The Wolverines converted only six first downs and completed only two of seven passes and threw an interception.[7][20] Tommy Devine of the Detroit Free Press wrote that the Wolverines won despite being "flat, feeble and uninspired."[7]
On October 22, Michigan (ranked No. 1) defeated
Murray Warmath's
Minnesota Golden Gophers by a 14–13 score in the annual
Little Brown Jug game before a crowd of 64,434 at
Memorial Stadium in Minneapolis. Minnesota took a 13–0 lead with two touchdowns in the first quarter.
Terry Barr closed the gap with a five-yard touchdown run near the end of the second quarter. Michigan took the lead in the third quarter on a nine-yard touchdown pass from
Jim Van Pelt to
Tom Maentz.[8][21][22] Michigan dropped to No. 3 in the AP poll after the game.
On October 29, Michigan defeated
Forest Evashevski's
Iowa Hawkeyes by a score of 33–21 before a homecoming crowd of 72,096 and a national television audience at
Michigan Stadium. Iowa took a 14–0 lead at halftime and 21–13 at the start of the fourth quarter.[9][23]
Quarterback
Jim Maddock came into the game in the fourth quarter and led the Wolverines to three touchdowns. On Maddock's first drive, Michigan was backed up to its 35-yard line after a sack. Maddock then threw a long pass to
Ron Kramer; Kramer caught the ball at Iowa's 38-yard line and managed to stay in bounds as he ran along the sideline for a 65-yard touchdown. Kramer then kicked the extra point to bring the Wolverines within one point (21–20) with 8:50 remaining.[9]
After Kramer's touchdown, Iowa drove to Michigan's 28-yard line with a time-consuming ground attack. On fourth-and-one, Michigan's defense stopped Iowa's
Jerry Reichow for a one-yard loss. Michigan took over with 3:37 remaining. After a pass interference penalty moved the ball to Michigan's 40-yard line, Maddock threw a long pass to
Tom Maentz; Maentz caught the pass at the Iowa 25-yard line and ran into the end zone untouched. Kramer again kicked the extra point, and Michigan led, 26–21, with 3:24 remaining.[9]
After the Maentz touchdown, Iowa threw four incomplete passes, and Michigan then took over with two-and-a-half minutes remaining.
Tony Branoff ran 30 yards for Michigan's final touchdown. Kramer's kick was blocked, and Michigan won by a 33–21 score. The Michigan Daily described it as "perhaps the most thrilling game ever to be played in the Michigan Stadium."[23] The Detroit Free Press called it "one of the greatest comebacks of this, or any, football season."[9] The victory was Michigan's sixth straight.[9]
On November 5, Michigan (ranked No. 3) lost to Illinois by a 25–6 score before a crowd of 58,968 at
Memorial Stadium in
Champaign, Illinois. The game was tied, 6–6, at halftime, but the Illini scored three unanswered touchdowns in the second half. Sophomore halfback Bobby Mitchell gained 173 yards, including runs of 54 and 64 yards, on 10 carries for Illinois.[10][24][25] After the loss, Michigan dropped to No. 7 in the AP poll.
On November 12, Michigan defeated
Indiana, 30–0, before a crowd of 60,613 at
Michigan Stadium. Michigan's defense held the Hoosiers to minus 26 rushing yards in the first half and 61 yards of total offense in the game. On offense, Michigan totaled 302 rushing yards and 71 passing yards.[11][26]
On November 19, Michigan (ranked No. 6) lost to
Ohio State (No. 9) by a 17–0 score before a record crowd of 97,369 at Michigan Stadium.
Heisman Trophy winner
Howard "Hopalong" Cassady, playing in his final game for the Buckeyes, rushed for 146 yards on 28 carries. The Buckeyes out-gained the Wolverines by 333 rushing yards to 95. Neither team tallied significant yardage in the air: Michigan completed three of nine passes for 14 yards and gave up two interceptions; Ohio State completed one of three passes for four yards.[27] A Michigan victory would have given the Wolverines a conference championship and sent the team to the
1956 Rose Bowl. Instead, Ohio State won the conference championship, and Michigan State received the conference's Rose Bowl invitation.
It was the Buckeyes' first victory at Michigan Stadium since
1937. The Michigan Daily called it "one of the darkest days in Michigan football history." At the end of the game, "18,000 fanatical Buckeye rooters . . . swept to the field in a thunderous display of hysteria."[27]
Postseason
In the final
AP Poll, Michigan was ranked No. 12. Michigan State was ranked No. 2, and Ohio State No. 5.[28]
At a meeting of the team's lettermen held on November 28, left halfback
Terry Barr was selected by as the team's most valuable player. At the same meeting, right end
Tom Maentz was selected as captain of the 1956 team.[29]
Left end
Ron Kramer received numerous honors, including:
Kramer finished eighth in the balloting for the 1955 Heisman Trophy.[30]
End Tom Maentz also received multiple post-season honors including a second-team All-America designation from the AP,[33] and a first-team All-Big Ten honors from the AP and UP,[34][36] and first-team All-Midwest honors from the UP.[37]
Other Michigan player receiving All-Big Ten honors were halfback
Tony Branoff (UP-1), center James Bates (UP-2), guard
Dick Hill (UP-3), and fullback
Lou Baldacci (UP-3).[36]
James B. Orwig, tackle, junior,
Toledo, Ohio - started 9 games at left tackle
Mike Rotunno, end, junior,
Canton, Ohio - started 3 games at left end
Lionel Albert Sigman, tackle, junior, Ann Arbor, Michigan - started 9 games at right tackle
Other letter winners
A total of 38 players received varsity letters for their participation on the 1955 football team. In addition to the starters referenced above, the following players also received varsity letters:[38]
Frederick Krueger, end, sophomore, Allen Park, Michigan
Jack Lousma, quarterback, sophomore, Ann Arbor, Michigan - Lousma became a
NASA astronaut and politician. He was a member of the
Skylab 3 crew in 1973 and the commander of
STS-3, the third
Space Shuttle mission in 1983.
William MacPhee, center, sophomore, Grand Haven, Michigan
All-Conference: Ron Kramer (AP and UP first team),
Tom Maentz (AP and UP first team),
Tony Branoff (UPI first team and AP honorable mention), Jim Bates (UP second team and AP honorable mention)[39][40]