Michigan is Top All-Time College Football Program

by Tom Penny
(UP, Mich)

University of Michigan football is undeniably one of the top two or three all-time programs in the country, no matter who is doing the judging or what criteria they are using. I rank them #1.

Michigan’s Wolverines were one of the first teams on the field, competing with other pioneers of the sport such as Notre Dame as long as one hundred twenty-nine years ago.

They hold the record for both number of games won (872), and winning percentage (.740). They are fourth on the list of all time National Championships with eleven, behind Princeton (24), Yale (20), and the SEC’s own Alabama (12). Since 1972, U of M has led the nation in attendance nearly every year, including 2008 (their worst team ever) with over 108,000.

Number of pro players, Heisman winners, victories over teams like Notre Dame and USC, however you figure it, Michigan has to be in the top two or three programs in the nation. In spite of all the supporting stats, it’s not the cold hard numbers that make UM so special. Football Saturday in Ann Arbor is magical. The crisp fall air, the sound of the huge crowd, the voice of Bob Ufer for 37 years, the legendary Bo vs Woody rivalry… it goes on and on.

When Woody punched Clemson’s Charlie Bauman in the 1978 Gator Bowl, nobody at Michigan was surprised, now the rest of the country saw what we had known for years. As a young man growing up in the 60’s and 70’s, I woke early each home game weekend, unable to wait for Bob Ufer to tell me that it was another beautiful Meeeeeeechigan Maize and Gold Saturday. Anyone who was there knows what I mean, and doesn’t have to ask.

The UM Wolverines are the best!